Starbucks Ireland asks customers to describe "what it means to be British" #Fail

Woops! Starbucks Ireland asked their Emerald Isle customers, via Twitter, to let them know "what makes you proud to be British" this morning.


The international coffee company was reaching out to its Irish customers as part of a frozen coffee promotion.

So far the response to this silly gaffe has  not been good.

Just an hour after the mistake went live "Starbucks" was trending with Irish twitter users.

Here's a sample of the reaction:

‏@soundmigration tweeted "@StarbucksIE Hey guys, Dont get to concerned> Give it a few weeks and ask how German we will feel #MyFrappuccino".

@Elaine_Mc tweeted "What an absolute FAIL @StarbucksIE. Of all things to call us!! #Insult #ProudToBeIRISH #MyFrappuccino http://bit.ly/JlXOcu".

@TheWholeyTruth tweeted "@StarbucksIE wants you to tweet what makes you proud to be British. Starbucks IRELAND. Well, herp derp to you too. #MyFrappuccino #fail".

The natives do not seems impressed.

It is little wonder that the Seattle coffee company has never taken off Ireland. Far from the US, where there is a Starbucks on every second corner, there are only 17 Starbucks cafes in the whole country.

The Irish Times reports that in 2010 the company made a loss of €3.3 million in Ireland. However in the year to October 2011 they managed to make a profit of €490,000.

We'll see how they do if they continue to make marketing mistakes such as these.

Irish dance troupe Prodijig win Sky’s “Got to Dance” – VIDEO

Prodijig

With a fusion of Irish dance and hip-hip, the impressive dance troupe Prodijig walked away with the top prize from Sky One’s British TV show “Got to Dance”.

Front man Alan Kenefick and his six colleagues won the grand prize of $396,000 (£250,000) after they received a standing ovation from all three judges on the show.

Their style of dance has clearly been influenced by “Riverdance” and according to Journal.ie, Kenefick’s first dancing memory is of trying to learn the dance moves while watching the Irish dance phenomenon on the TV. All seven members of the group were lucky enough to gain experience with Riverdance over the years, and they have clearly used what they learned there to create their own signature moves.

Here’s their finale performance:

It’s ‘Paddy,’ not ‘Patty’ - Irish group clamp down on St. Patrick’s Day error

Through his website ‘Paddy not Patty,’ Marcus Campbell makes clear the important difference between ‘Paddy’ and ‘Patty’ just in time for this year’s St. Patrick’s Day.

When shortening the phrase ‘St. Patrick’s Day,’ many people erroneously turn to ‘Patty’ instead of ‘Paddy’ to replace the Patrick. No more, says Campbell on his website, whose header reads “The provisional government of Paddy, Not Patty to the people of the New World.”

Campbell breaks it down succinctly: “Paddy is derived from the Irish, Pádraig, hence those mysterious, emerald double-Ds. Patty is the diminutive of Patricia, or a burger, and just not something you call a fella. There's not a sinner in Ireland that would call a Patrick, ‘Patty.' It's insulting. It's really as simple as that.”
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Still curious about which shortened version of St. Patrick you should go with?

It's Paddy, not Patty. Ever.
Saint Patrick's Day? Grand.
Paddy's Day? Sure, dead-on.
St. Pat's? Aye, if ye must.
St. Patty? No, ye goat!

For Campbell, opting for ‘Patty’ is purely a ‘Daft Eejit Version.’

In addition, Campbell makes clear that shamrocks have only three leaves, Irish Car Bomb drinks and cupcakes are still considered controversial and shouldn’t be taken lightly, and in certain contexts, the term ‘Paddy’ can be read as ethnic slur.

Stars of “21 Jump Street” Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum try their hand at speaking Irish - VIDEO

Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum

The stars of the upcoming movie "21 Jump Street" Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum try to speak Irish for the Dublin radio station, 98fm's promo.

We have to hand it to them, we've heard worse.

The movie "21 Jump Street" is out on 16th March and sees immature cops Schmidt and Jenko join the secret Jump Street unit. They are given the mission of going undercover at a high school,  due to their youthful appearances,  to investigate a drugs ring.

"21 Jump Street" which is already being called the next "Super Bad" for Jonah Hill also stars Johnny Depp and Ice Cube.

Here's the clip:


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Is the Irish accent too much to handle? BBC video goes viral - VIDEO

Ye what? Is the Irish accent hard to fathom?

Derry native Aileen Faller had Irish television host Graham Norton “in stitches” with laughter while she recounted her tale of a mistaken car on the late night talk show.

As a segment on the show, Norton has audience members sit in a red chair and tell some sort of an amusing anecdote. Should the anecdote not be humorous or entertaining to Norton and his audience, Norton pulls a lever which flips the chair over.

Well, Faller and her thick Derry accent - which had the likes of Kenneth Branagh, American actor Zach Braff and English popstar Taio Cruz both confused and laughing - kept the audience well entertained and saved her from a flip.
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The video of Faller telling her story is now on YouTube and has racked up in excess of an impressive 35,000 views. Whether or not all those viewers can understand her thick Northern accent is another matter.

While Faller couldn’t see Graham and his guests while she was telling her story, she could hear the reaction from the audience.

“It was like Ireland had won the World Cup,” she said of hearing the fits of laughter. “The place was just going mad.”

“I’m just really, really pleased that people enjoyed it,” said Faller in the wake of her newly found online fame.

Below, catch Faller’s appearance on the Graham Norton show. Can you understand what she’s saying?:

Irish newspaper looks at the 50 things that have been killed by technology

Old school Apple Mac

It’s very near to 2012 now and it is abundantly evident that we as a global society have become increasingly dependent on technology. So much so, many ways of the past have become defunct at the hands of nearly ubiquitous computing. The Irish Independent has compiled a list of 50 - yes, 50! - habits of the past that are no longer practiced in today’s computerized world.

Here they are:
1. Ring the cinema to find out times

2. Going into the travel agents to research a holiday

3. Record things using VHS

4. Dial directory enquiries

5. Use public telephones

6. Book tickets for events over the phone

7. Print photos

8. Put a classified ad in the shop window

9. Ring the speaking clock

10. Carry portable CD players

11. Write handwritten letters

12. Buy disposable cameras

13. Take plenty of change for pay phones

14. Make mix tapes

15. Pay bills at the post office

16. Use an address book

17. Check a map before or during car journey

18. Reverse charges in payphones

19. Go into the bank or building society to conduct your business

20. Buy TV listings

21. Own an encyclopaedia

22. Queue to get car tax in Post Office

23. Develop and send off for photographs

24. Read a hard copy of the Yellow Pages

25. Look up something in dictionary

26. Remember phone numbers/ Have a phone book

27. Watch videos

28. Have pen friends

29. Use a telephone directory

30. Use pagers

31. Fax things

32. Buy CD's/ Have a CD collection

33. Pay by cheque 34. Make photo albums

35. Watch programmes at the time they are shown

36. Dial 1471 when you get home

37. Warm milk or other hot drinks on stove

38. Try on lots of pairs of shoes on high street

39. Hand wash clothes 40. Advertise in trading papers

41. Send love letters

42. Hand-write essays / school work

43. Buy flowers from a florist

44. Work out how to spell something yourself

45. Keep a personal diary

46. Send post cards

47. Buy newspapers

48. Hang washing out in winter

49. Keep printed bills or bank statements

50. Visit car boot sales

Do you still do any of these ‘outdated’ practices? Can you add any to the list?

140 Irish Twitter users launch Christmas single ‘Winter Song’ on iTunes – VIDEO

'Winter Song' - Twitter

What started with a notion, tweeted by Brenda Drumm (@BrendaDrumm )turned into a reality when 140 Irish Twitter users came together to record a charity Christmas single.

Their charity single, with all proceeds going to Neonatal special care unit at Holles Street National Maternity Hospital, has reached number one on the iTunes store.

On November 19th Drumm tweeted “Wouldn't it be great to have a Twitter Xmas Single?”

By November 27th 140 Twitter users included professional musicians and producers had gathered in the Westin Hotel in Dublin.

For more search for #twitterxmassingle on Twitter.

Click here to buy the single. 

Here’s RTE’s report on the charity song - 

The Wanted rock Irish trad music with The Irish House Party - VIDEO

The Wanted

The latest video to go viral in Ireland is of two of the highly entertaining acts on last week’s “Late Late Show” as they give an impromptu backstage performance.

The Irish House Party played in their traditional Irish style to the tune of The Wanted’s pop song “Glad You Came”, sung by band member Siva Kaneswaran, from Dublin.

The familiar tune instantly comes alive with the enthusiastic performance from The Irish House Party, known around Ireland for their lively shows, full of craic agus ceol.

See the backstage performance below:

Irish culture, Irish dance and 'Riverdance' embraced in Israeli - VIDEO

Airforce gents doing their best 'Riverdance' impression in Tel-Av

This has to be on of the weirdest clips to stumble on but also the most refreshing. From the Tel-Aviv TV series "Naor's friends" the clip shows "Israeli Air Force pilots performing Riverdance, drinking beer in an Irish pub and enjoying Irish music".

The clip is being used to promoted Israeli Film Days at the Filmbase in Dublin (November 24th - 27th).

Who knew Irish culture in Israel is considered pretty trendy.''

Here's the clip:

What does 'Irishness' mean to you? - VIDEO

Is it our personality, our world famous friendliness, our sense of community or something inexplicable? What do you think "Irishness" really is?

The people at TasteIreland.com.au asked a group of Irish people to define what they believe "Irishness" is.

What is that makes everyone love the Irish?

Let us know what you think below.


What is Irishness? from Hunting With Pixels on Vimeo.
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Irishman's beautiful diary of his year in New York city - VIDEO

Talented Irishman Andrew Clancy took a huge bite out of the Big Apple and thankfully documented his year living in New York City.

Writing about this video he said “It’s a bit rough and ready but that’s life in the Big Apple I guess.”

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Here's his stunning snapshot of New York City:


A Year in New York from Andrew Clancy on Vimeo.

Ever wonder what leprechauns hide at the base of rainbows? Turns out it's Guinness

The treasure at the bottom of the rainbow

I'm sure we've all suspected this to be true for years but this great shot gives definitive proof that the Leprechaun's "Pot of Gold" at the end of a rainbow is in fact a truck load of Guinness.

Talk like a real life Leprechaun - new iPhone app for kids - VIDEO

The new iPhone app "Talking Woody the Leprechaun" may be for kids but you can be sure that adults will be getting Woody to repeat phrases like "Where's me Lucky Charms".

Just like a digital talking parrot Woody's app allows you to record a phrase and have Woody repeat the phrase back to you in an every so 'begorrah, bejaysus' accent.

Woody's described as a "digital hooligan" that "will repeat anything users say, react to their touch, and even grant users a pot of gold should they wish for it!"
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"If users talk to Woody he'll repeat whatever they say in his signature high pitched voice. If they poke him with their finger Woody will react, often offering different responses depending on how users touch him. Tickle him and he'll burst out laughing, but hit him a little too hard and Woody won't be nearly so enthusiastic. Users can even have Woody say their favorite movie quotes or grant them gold with a single click"

Here's a clip of what the app can do:

In modern Ireland people still enjoy a good old fashioned duck race – VIDEO

No, this isn’t extra footage from “Father Ted” this is the uniquely Irish duck race.

On Sunday afternoon at the Castlemaine vintage town fair, County Kerry locals turned out to enthusiastically support the “2011 Castlemaine World Championship Duck Race”.

Although the winning race participant was hard to track down it seems that duck number 44 was first to make it across the line / get into the goal at the local field.

The best duck won.