Does the saying 'Down the country' offend any culchies?

Liam Byrne

Turpentine wrote: »

Liam Byrne wrote: »

It's generally Dubs that use the word to refer to soccer though.

Oh, you were making a GAA reference, very drol. I have no interest in sport so that divisive little comment went straight over my head.

I wasn't being divisive - just explaining one
option that may have caused confusion and irritation.

Of course, the "city (lol)" and the "bog" and other sneery and condescending crap that the OP came out with would have already pissed anyone reasonable off or at least made them laugh and realise the OP wasn't worth talking to.

Turpentine

Liam Byrne wrote: »

I wasn't being divisive - just explaining one
option that may have caused confusion and irritation.

Of course, the "city (lol)" and the "bog" and other sneery and condescending crap that the OP came out with would have already pissed anyone reasonable off or at least made them laugh and realise the OP wasn't worth talking to.

Just because someone who happens to be from Dublin makes condescending moronic remarks about people from another Irish city doesn't mean it's open season on all of Dublin.

He merely represents insular arrogant types that exist in every town and city in the country. He's not Dublin's ambassador for culture.

nadey

The King of Moo wrote: »

Growing up in Galway city, I could never conceive of being considered a culchie.
I'd go for Sunday drives to the countryside and be amazed at the huge differences I saw between my accent and that of the countryfolk. I'd marvel at their apparently much more relaxed pace of life.
The countryside seemed like a completely different world.
I felt that I was a sophisticated urbanite, and as a naive youngster I'd joke about culchies and boggers, especially when I'd see older people from rural areas in Galway for Christmas shopping, clearly a few steps behind the pace of the city, and even speaking Irish sometimes!

I knew that Galway was effectively just a large town, and that Dublin was bigger, but I felt that any difference was merely one of size, and that any Dub and I would be kindred spirits against the "boggers" as there was nothing, for better or worse, that they had in Dublin that we didn't have in Galway.

Then I got older, and lost much of my anti-rural prejudices, but also began to realise that a minority of Dubliners saw everyone outside of the city as a culchie.
I was shocked. In such a small country, how had they not been to places like Galway, Waterford, Cork etc and not seen that we had our own urban cultures similar to theres, and were so different from the real countryfolk?
I know not all Dubs are so smug, far from it, but it's still sad to see.

It also seems so ridiculous, in such a tiny country seen by many with an outside perspective as an insignificant backwater, that we make such a big deal from such small distinctions. It makes me fear sometimes that at heart we'll always be small-minded tribal creatures, looking for any difference in others that we can use to make ourselves look or feel superior.

As for the word "down" being the most offensive element of the phrase "down to the country:" does that not originate from the English tradition of saying "to go up to London" and some thus assuming that one would therefore logically go "down" to the country?

Galway aint a city

theres like 1 shopping centre in the whole town

its practically a village that is smaller than coolock,swords,clondalkin etc.

so you sir are definatly a culchie so dont fool yourself, you're obviously in denial

and this is coming from someone living in galway

CiaranC

Cracking thread, you bog warriors sure are sensitive

nadey

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Er - lived and worked there temporarily. So post fail.

Dad never owned or worked a farm. So post fail. Again.

You're also forgetting - again - that there are other cities and thereby confusing me with an actual culchie.

anyone else thinking the likes of galway,limerick etc. are cities are deluding themselves

galway town centre is basically just 1 street(shop street) and eyre square...the length of like 3 football pitches

its more like a small town or village in english town standards

some of you wannabe townies really make me laugh

sensitivity and an inferiority complex towards dubs is a real trait of culchies as ive found since working in galway town(village) the last few months

oh how i miss living in a place without small minded rednecks and the smell of horse and cow manure everywhere

LH Pathe

Is inland not technically up - after all that tends to be where the mountains come from. or hills we have hills.

Ellis Dee

It doesn't bother me in the slightest what members of certain poorly-educated segments of the Dublin population say in their awesome ignorance and quite misguided belief in their own superiority vis-à-vis people from outside the capital. In fact, it's really quite amusing to witness what Myrdahl called "urban peasants" adopting such airs and thereby further magnifying their own ludicrousness.:rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

The J Stands for Jay

I would refer to Dublin as being down the country.

dingdong1234567

jimpump wrote: »

So a new fella from waterford town started at my work and while having a conversation with him he took offense when we referred to him as being from 'down the country'

he let us know in no uncertain terms that waterford town is actually a city(lol) even though its probably smaller than blanchardstown. and he really takes offense to being called a culchie or bogger

To be honest i dont think he will last much longer at the job as we all get on well here and have the craic and banter but this guy seems to be a bit too sensitive. we would gladly buy a train ticket for him to head back to where he came from

so is this guy a one off, or do other culchies get offended like this chap over remarks about being from the bog?

I'm impressed that you know where 'down the country' is. In the majority of cases it totally alien to most city folk after the M50 tbf .

gosuckonalemon

jimpump wrote: »

So a new fella from waterford town started at my work and while having a conversation with him he took offense when we referred to him as being from 'down the country'

he let us know in no uncertain terms that waterford town is actually a city(lol) even though its probably smaller than blanchardstown. and he really takes offense to being called a culchie or bogger

To be honest i dont think he will last much longer at the job as we all get on well here and have the craic and banter but this guy seems to be a bit too sensitive. we would gladly buy a train ticket for him to head back to where he came from

so is this guy a one off, or do other culchies get offended like this chap over remarks about being from the bog?

I don't think anyone who lives outside of the greater Dublin area should take offence to the ignorance of jackeens saying "down the country" no more than jackeens should take offence to being called scumbags or knackers because they are from Dublin.
(For the most part I am referring to Northsiders and people from Blanch, Tallaght and all those shi.tholes as they are the type who use such colloquialisms)

gosuckonalemon

nadey wrote: »

anyone else thinking the likes of galway,limerick etc. are cities are deluding themselves

galway town centre is basically just 1 street(shop street) and eyre square...the length of like 3 football pitches

its more like a small town or village in english town standards

some of you wannabe townies really make me laugh

sensitivity and an inferiority complex towards dubs is a real trait of culchies as ive found since working in galway town(village) the last few months

oh how i miss living in a place without small minded rednecks and the smell of horse and cow manure everywhere

Galway, Cork and Waterford are cities. If you don't understand this (particularly as you live there) you are just compounding the typical lower class, poorly educated Dublin stereotype.

mikemac1

Everyone forgets Kilkenny City

Liam Byrne

nadey wrote: »

Galway aint a city

theres like 1 shopping centre in the whole town

its practically a village that is smaller than coolock,swords,clondalkin etc.

so you sir are definatly a culchie so dont fool yourself, you're obviously in denial

and this is coming from someone living in galway

Do you not know the definition of a city ? Since you don't, why make such a ridiculous comment ?

Look up what the word means and get back to us (like).

Liam Byrne

nadey wrote: »

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Er - lived and worked there temporarily. So post fail.

Dad never owned or worked a farm. So post fail. Again.

You're also forgetting - again - that there are other cities and thereby confusing me with an actual culchie.

anyone else thinking the likes of galway,limerick etc. are cities are deluding themselves

Anyone claiming that they're not is making up their own definition of the word.

It's amazing the number of people on this thread who obviously haven't a notion what the word actually means and - despite not knowing - are happy to pretend that cities aren't cities.

If it has a charter, it's a city.
If you don't like the facts, take it up with the now-dead guy who gave them the charter

But claiming they don't have a charter is just exposing your ignorance and inexplicabe bias.

Dyr

newmug wrote: »

Eh, you mean we're about 60% Gaelic, 15% Norman, 10% Viking, 10% english (who all seemed to settle in dublin), and 5% other.




"Culchie" was a derogatory term used by the planters / english settlers for those native Gaelic Irish who carried the Irish "culture". To this day the divisions in culture are obvious, the fact that this thread exists is a perfect example.

So you know conclusively where the term culchie originated from then? That's very clever

foxyboxer

So if I say no it doesn't that implies that I'm a cluchie?

Liam Byrne

gosuckonalemon wrote: »

nadey wrote: »

anyone else thinking the likes of galway,limerick etc. are cities are deluding themselves

Galway, Cork and Waterford are cities.

So are Limerick, Kilkenny and - IIRC -Sligo.

thomasj

jimpump wrote: »

So a new fella from waterford town started at my work and while having a conversation with him he took offense when we referred to him as being from 'down the country'

he let us know in no uncertain terms that waterford town is actually a city(lol) even though its probably smaller than blanchardstown. and he really takes offense to being called a culchie or bogger

To be honest i dont think he will last much longer at the job as we all get on well here and have the craic and banter but this guy seems to be a bit too sensitive. we would gladly buy a train ticket for him to head back to where he came from

so is this guy a one off, or do other culchies get offended like this chap over remarks about being from the bog?

At least you didnt day "down the country" when he was from donegal or sligo. That happens alot. Youd be a bigger fool for that.

TURRICAN

jimpump wrote: »

So a new fella from waterford town started at my work and while having a conversation with him he took offense when we referred to him as being from 'down the country'

he let us know in no uncertain terms that waterford town is actually a city(lol) even though its probably smaller than blanchardstown. and he really takes offense to being called a culchie or bogger

To be honest i dont think he will last much longer at the job as we all get on well here and have the craic and banter but this guy seems to be a bit too sensitive. we would gladly buy a train ticket for him to head back to where he came from

so is this guy a one off, or do other culchies get offended like this chap over remarks about being from the bog?

Jesus you really are a fuccin clown.

Triangla

I always found it funny. From Cork suburbs, only time I've been called it in Dublin was either people just being friendly or the odd dope.

Kind of like working in London and a local referring to Ireland in relation to the British mainland. Just small people trying to feel big.

When I go home I do say I'm travelling down the country as Cork is down the country from Dublin. If I was from Louth I'd say I was going up the country.

mikemac1

Dubs are the only ones to talk about the Pale

The Pale was something I learned about in primary school, Silken Thomas and the uncles invited to a feast and then arrested and beheaded. Treacherous tactics
And there it remained, old Irish history. How would I ever use that in everyday conversation?

You'll still find Dubs going on about the Pale though, why?

Liam Byrne wrote: »

IIRC -Sligo.

No, Sligo town

They like to call themselves a city though

Liam Byrne

johnr1 wrote: »

Katgurl wrote: »

not on my iPhone

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Not on mobile it isn't.

That's odd, they do on mine, which I'm posting on.

I have the setting at 40 posts/page on though, maybe that makes a difference.

.

Just had a look and it says nothing worthwhile anyway......basically tries to pretend that the definition of a city is arbitrary (as defined by De Dubs only, of course) and tries to belittle and sneer at those who know better.

KittyeeTrix

From Galway CITY myself and I don't mind being called culchie in a joking way by friends I made when living in East Wall many years ago....,

I have many terms I slag them off with too:D

As for the term "down the country"... M'eh,

Once brought friends on the Nestors bus to Galway once. They were from Coolock and had never been out of Dublin.... I was shocked by their reaction to Galway!!!!
She couldn't believe we had nightclubs and shopping centres :eek::o

I was stunned that they'd have this view of Galway..... Can only imagine that some kids growing up in Dublin still imagine cows and fields when they hear that Galway, cork etc are down the country:pac:

summerskin

I find it hilarious that Dubs have the cheek to call anyone culchies. Dubs are the culchies of europe, a comical sidenote that is of no consequence to anyone outside Ireland. Dublin is a little city, nothing more, nothing less.

The idea that Galway(where i work), Limerick, Waterford and Kilkenny can be classed as cities baffles me. I grew up in what is a medium-ish sized town in the UK(about the 25th or so largest) and the population of that was about 30k more than any of those "cities".

When I was in Dublin last week for the rugby I mentioned to someone that i lived in Clare, and was almost immediately met with "Ah, so what's a culchie doing travelling over here for the game?". I simply pointed out that having grown up in Greater Manchester(pop. 2.6m), moved to Geneva(pop. 200k but a worlwide hub of business), New York(pop. 8m) and then London(pop. 8m) that I found it very quaint and even funny(in the way you laugh when a child tries to do something "grown-up"") that people from Dublin had the cheek to call anyone else culchies when they are the most small-minded people i have come across anywhere on my travels.

I'm pretty sure it never used to be this way, Dublin seemed a nice place to me 20 years ago whenever I was there. I think the tiger economy ruined the place. Suddenly what was basically a poor city populated by good, predominantly working class people changed into what it thought was a metropolitan centre of excellence, where everyone drove a BMW and flew to NY for the weekend to watch Moby or some other shiite that they'd never have listened to a few years previously, followed by two weeks in Thailand(which they couldn't even pronounce properly, the way they said Phuket was a classic) being massaged on the beach by local "peasants".

Dublin is a city that has lost it's identity and it's heart. Galway, Limerick etc are cities in name only.

Either everyone here is a culchie, or nobody is.

mikemac1

summerskin wrote: »

The idea that Galway(where i work), Limerick, Waterford and Kilkenny can be classed as cities baffles me. I grew up in what is a medium-ish sized town in the UK(about the 25th or so largest) and the population of that was about 30k more than any of those "cities".

The UK is a strange example.
They make lots of tiny places cities for various reasons. A royal charter or a cathedral or maybe something else

Armagh is a city, so are Lisburn and Newry

And there are far smaller cities in the UK then those three

Wikipedia has a fantastic list of them
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_the_United_Kingdom

summerskin

mikemac1 wrote: »

The UK is a strange example.
They make lots of tiny places cities for various reasons. A royal charter or a cathedral or maybe something else

Armagh is a city, so are Lisburn and Newry

And there are far smaller cities in the UK then those three

Wikipedia has a fantastic list of them
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_in_the_United_Kingdom

I fully agree. Most of those smaller cities are not viewed as cities by anyone in the UK, they were mostly named as cities hundreds of years ago because they had a cathedral. I wouldn't call anything with a population of under 150k at a minimum a city, personally.

I'm not trying to compare here to the UK, I was just comparing the town I grew up in to the majority of irish cities.

Dyr

summerskin wrote: »

I'm pretty sure it never used to be this way, Dublin seemed a nice place to me 20 years ago whenever I was there. I think the tiger economy ruined the place.

Yeah it brought a lot of **** in from out foreign etc

Liam Byrne

mikemac1 wrote: »

The UK is a strange example.
They make lots of tiny places cities for various reasons. A royal charter or a cathedral or maybe something else]

At last someone who knows what the word means!

And since Ireland used to be in British hands, the above rules apply.

summerskin

Bambi wrote: »

Yeah it brought a lot of **** in from out foreign etc

Think you'll find it was the locals, pal. Used to go there regularly to visit friends and the changes have been amazing. My wife's a Dub and she's dismayed by the place now. Glad we ended up in Clare(post tiger, thankfully), people don't seem to have the same sense of entitlement there. Dubs seem to think the world owes them a favour these days.

Cú Giobach

summerskin wrote: »

I fully agree. Most of those smaller cities are not viewed as cities by anyone in the UK, they were mostly named as cities hundreds of years ago because they had a cathedral. I wouldn't call anything with a population of under 150k at a minimum a city, personally.

I'm not trying to compare here to the UK, I was just comparing the town I grew up in to the majority of irish cities.

You could call a small dog a cat if you wanted to, but it won't make it one.
There are small cities, huge cities and everything in between.

Dyr

summerskin wrote: »

Think you'll find it was the locals, pal. Used to go there regularly to visit friends and the changes have been amazing. My wife's a Dub and she's dismayed by the place now. Glad we eneded up in Clare(post tiger, thankfully), people don't seem to have the same sense of entitlement there. Dubs seem to think the world owes them a favour these days.

Your missus agrees with you? Ah well case closed so.

Clare's a lovely little county altogether, bit curtain twitchy at times but smashing otherwise. although not many people would use the term "pal" down there, very odd.

The Clown Man

I think it's funny myself. Dubs can be some of the most small minded people in the country, closed off in their own happy bubbles. The only difference between them and the small mindedness found in small country towns is the added delusions of grandeur, which is a pretty grating combination for sure. But it's very easy to prove this on an individual basis and laugh it off.

If the Dub is from the south side, ask him directions to Blanchardstown. If he's from the north side, ask directions to Killiney. It's hilarious that people will go their whole lives in a small city and not leave the near 3 miles!

I once had this guy tell me the way he'd get to Blanchardstown from the CC would be to go out to the m50 at dundrum and northbound! I laughed so hard! :-D

biko

Yay, another Scumbagville versus the nation thread.


I never never say "I'm going up to Dublin", I say "I'm going over to Dublin" because we're on the same longitude.
I go up to Sligo and down to Cork.

mikemac1

I've found the same, lack of knowledge of their own city

A lot know their area, they know the city centre and that's about it

If you move to a city you are forced to learn the good and dodgy areas, the best bus routes, where everything is and then when your lease is up, learn it all again

But then I'm guilty of it too, I was fairly close to the Burren and I never once visited it. Locals don't make the best of their own area maybe

Nothingbetter2d

jimpump wrote: »

So a new fella from waterford town started at my work and while having a conversation with him he took offense when we referred to him as being from 'down the country'

he let us know in no uncertain terms that waterford town is actually a city(lol) even though its probably smaller than blanchardstown. and he really takes offense to being called a culchie or bogger

To be honest i dont think he will last much longer at the job as we all get on well here and have the craic and banter but this guy seems to be a bit too sensitive. we would gladly buy a train ticket for him to head back to where he came from

so is this guy a one off, or do other culchies get offended like this chap over remarks about being from the bog?

there is plenty of Dulchies (dubliner's that move out of dublin) "down the country" too so it works both ways... but no i dont take offence to it.

skregs

The Clown Man wrote: »

If the Dub is from the south side, ask him directions to Blanchardstown. If he's from the north side, ask directions to Killiney. It's hilarious that people will go their whole lives in a small city and not leave the near 3 miles!

From Blanchardstown Village to Killiney Shopping Centre? Drive away from the Blachardstown centre past Superquinn and thn get onto the N3 heading towards town by driving past The Bell, and then get onto the M50 southbound (watch the signs, can be tricky to get to the right lane).
Drive for about 20 mins, take exit 16 to Cherrywood. Drive in a straight line for about 5 minutes down the wyattville road until you reach a big roundabout with The Graduate in front on you.
You are now in Killiney shopping centre.

Source: the top of my head

johnr1

Liam Byrne wrote: »

Just had a look and it says nothing worthwhile anyway......basically tries to pretend that the definition of a city is arbitrary (as defined by De Dubs only, of course) and tries to belittle and sneer at those who know better.

^^^^ translation: Waaaaaa, nobody agrees with meeee! I'll stamp my feet.

.

You need to work on your small talk op.

Did you try chatting about the weather?

Omackeral

Liam Byrne wrote: »

If I were a culchie I'd have to find an insult in there somewhere, but - since I'm not - you're off the hook.

Did I mention "....home" ?

Just coz de Dubs try to be cool using rhyming slang or the Yankee term "cellphone"

What the fcuking fcuk?!?!?!!??!!?!?!?!?

Mal-Adjusted

cloptrop wrote: »

It doesnt insinuate anything , does calling me a dub mean you think your better than me?

Whether you acknowledge it or not, it does. Calling someone a dub isn't the opposite of calling someone a culche. It's identifying someone as being from Dublin, similar to the term galwegian identifying a person from Galway. The problem with the word "culche" is that it identifies someone as NOT being from one particular urban area, which yes, does insinuate superiority.

Carter P Fly

I find it hilarious that people from "cities" like Cork or Galway think that they're not mud slinging savages.

I even had one girl from Dundalk try to say she was a town girl and she refused to accept that coming from a border pirate encampment made her as much a culchie as someone hoofing turf in the wilds of Roscommon.

Logical Fallacy

Katgurl wrote: »

pure sarcasm? I am referring to a convention of the English language. It is quite old fashioned now but explains where the expression 'down the country' came from.

Nope, i meant pure genius. It's a convention that was driven into the language in built up area's, particularly back in the day for those with a center of learning. Back in Rome the saying was "all roads lead to Rome", or "I shall travel up to Rome", despite the fact that the Roman empire was vast. It was a clever way to drive home the implicit idea that Rome was , by right, better than other places and it stuck in a surprising amount of cultures that developed after the fall of the Roman Empire.

The King of Moo

nadey wrote: »

Galway aint a city

theres like 1 shopping centre in the whole town

its practically a village that is smaller than coolock,swords,clondalkin etc.

so you sir are definatly a culchie so dont fool yourself, you're obviously in denial

and this is coming from someone living in galway

The King of Moo wrote: »

Growing up in Galway city, I could never conceive of being considered a culchie.
I'd go for Sunday drives to the countryside and be amazed at the huge differences I saw between my accent and that of the countryfolk. I'd marvel at their apparently much more relaxed pace of life.
The countryside seemed like a completely different world.
I felt that I was a sophisticated urbanite, and as a naive youngster I'd joke about culchies and boggers, especially when I'd see older people from rural areas in Galway for Christmas shopping, clearly a few steps behind the pace of the city, and even speaking Irish sometimes!

I knew that Galway was effectively just a large town, and that Dublin was bigger, but I felt that any difference was merely one of size, and that any Dub and I would be kindred spirits against the "boggers" as there was nothing, for better or worse, that they had in Dublin that we didn't have in Galway.
?

Sigh.

You're really just perpetuating the stereotype of the smug yet ignorant Dub.

Completely wrecks my cheese!

If you'd argued that Galway is about the same size as many large towns, I might have been with you to an extent.

While (I'm not sure you noticed even though you quoted my post, maybe the manure fumes are getting to you and you didn't notice) I acknowledge that Galway is a very small city, a city it officially is nonetheless.
I can't think of anything Dublin has that Galway doesn't, only in smaller numbers. The shopping opportunities may be more limited, but I'd have no idea about that and it wouldn't affect me anyway.

But saying things like it's just a village of basically one street and is the same size as places that are much smaller like Swords (have you lived in both Swords and Galway? I have and Galway is far, far bigger, something that is immediately evident to anyone who's spent a short time in both places) is just trolling because if you're telling the truth about living in Galway, then you know for a fact that what you've said is wrong.

Silliness.

mikemac1

The Dubs have nothing to compare to McDonaghs fish n' chips in Galway

The finest in Ireland, a Galway institution

Liam Byrne

johnr1 wrote: »

^^^^ translation: Waaaaaa, nobody agrees with meeee! I'll stamp my feet.

.

If that's how you view "stating the facts", the work away.

Would you react the same way to someone who stated that there were 7 days in a week and that people who claim there are 8 are wrong, or would you ridicule the idiot who claimed there were 8 ?

Mance Rayder

newmug wrote: »

Relax there "bud",

Don't call me bud , I'm from Dublin yes, but that doesn't mean I go around wearing tracksuits calling everyone bud, smoking Johnny blue and drinking cans of dutchy asking people if they have any hash or odds on them.

Sorry to dissapoint you and your stereotypical narrow world view.

TheZohanS

Cork is waaaaay better than Dublin.

stovelid

Galway annoys me profoundly.

Explosions in the Sky

I wouldn't mind "down the country" as I live in the south of Ireland but when it's used in terms of being called a cluchie I'm slightly confused. Culchie means farmer etc and if someone wants to stereotype everyone outside of Dublin a culchie/ farmer they live sad little lives. This isn't an insult to people from Dublin but I never understand the whole Dublin being classed as better than everywhere else in Ireland, if I could pick any county to live in Ireland Dublin would be last. That's not to say Dublin people aren't nice because I've met lovely Dubs, great football team too

Edit : OP you are a bully and don't deserve a job if you're going to act like a scumbag

Mance Rayder

If Galways a city then so is Dundalk.