The perfect response. Our two favourite pastimes are complaining and taking the piss out of the English. None of it really means anything and it certainly doesn't change anything but it gets us through the day!
Australians - the healthy, sociable, tanned, happy go lucky fuckers who live on the beach - are what happens when you take Irish and Brits and remove seasonal affective disorder.
I remember living in a hot country for the first time and seeing families sitting out in the park at 8pm on a Friday night. It's a completely different and very positive culture.
I can't imagine where two families would bring their kids to play at that time in Ireland.
I watched Angela's Ashes with a non-Irish person and she highlighted that if the same story was set in somewhere like Italy, the fact its sunny and warm would completely change the whole tone of the film
The weather, and surroundings. We have an almost stunning number of dull and 'concrete grey' buildings when you factor in how grey our skyline is. Some areas of parts like Crumlin, the most colourful thing in sight might be the tarmac on the streets.
It's not just the weather; it's the price of going out and getting a coffee with someone or having an aul aperitivo and a chat. Different dining/drinking culture. But the cold really drives you to Kerrygold. It definitely makes us pudgier.
Espresso is €3.20 (no, not only on O'Connell St), rather invite the friend home... if my living situation wasn't awkward and embarrassing (there are unrelated strangers using the same kitchen and bathroom as me!)
What I'm saying is that the drinking culture isn't that different the only retail businesses open these days aside from vapes, candy and take aways are coffee shops.
Also €3.20 for an hour or so's entertainment with a friend is hardly breaking the bank
Finland actually has one of the highest rates of depression and unhappiness, but they rank highly in life satisfaction, which gets misinterpreted as "happiness" because it makes a better headline.
If you ever actually look into that fact, it's from The Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford.
The main criteria for it is "on a scale of 1-10 how satisfied are you with your life", which most Finns are quite satisfied with due to high wealth/wages, low rent/mortgages, low inequality, high freedom, high job security, great healthcare/education, high social security, etc
But Finland's is far better. And we should be able to offer something equivalent. But we don't. My original comment was a relative comparison, but if you couldn't discern that that's what I meant I've edited it to be clearer.
They're not entirely wrong tbf. We're luck that we don't have to deal with extreme weather like hurricanes or drought. Grey and overcast doesn't help with mood though.
I was raised in Galway and now live in Clare. I don't mind the weather and I've lived in rain central most of my life. I'm thinking I'm in the minority though haha. Like I was in Italy last year and it hit 39 degrees and I couldn't wait to get some clouds over me. Anyway, I feel like the rugged scenery of the west really suits some dramatic clouds. There's a kind of stark beauty to it.
I was in Italy in fucking March last year and there were people out laying down bathing in the sun, couples cavorting like it was good out of fashion. Really does make a difference.
We should campaign for a 2nd sun, in geostatic orbit.
Or at very least a hugh array of high altitude solar mirrors, beaming down loads of directed free energy power, and radiated UV, it could also track the Sun's position so it's always sunny.
Europe has plenty of issues, but its still the best place to be for the average person, especially Western/Central Europe. Although I'll admit that America is best for the very wealthy.
Sad. Even with the problems we have, Ireland is still one of the best countries in the world to live in and is regularly in the top 10 and top 5 in various measures such as peace, freedom, stability etc.
We seen with our own eyes the government could afford to house thousands of Ukranians and other immigrants, which means they could have housed people the entire time but didn't bother.
Wages marginally increase nowhere near enough to match the cost of living.
You watch the news to see were just mongrel Irish, we can't build our own houses or manage our own healthcare only immigrants can do it.
You say anything against the correct agenda or mind set and your far right.
Instead of fixing our problems the government want police online, move your money to digital wallets, send more to Ukraine, TD pay rises and scandals.
There's more than enough wrong in Ireland today to not be happy with it.
I actually think cynical is a better word and I often think it's why the far right has a tough time over here (although gaining some ground). Like we're too cynical for anyone giving solutions, even populists
It’s hard to overstate just how important housing is. Everything else in the country could be 10% more fucked but if rents were achievable for young people, we’d be happier as a nation on balance.
It’s an extremely good country, but housing is extraordinarily bad when compared to our European peers.
I would argue that the majority of us are not gullible and taper our expectations for the coming year being better based on the fact that we can see things are getting worse. Having been to other countries, an effort is made to give people facilities to enjoy themselves and forgot about all the shit going on in the world. There's nothing done in this country to encourage joy. It's just about what more can be squeezed out of us. So we become cynical of everything.
Wild that places like Moldova would be more optimistic. I guess when you're coming from a low place you may think things can only improve. But places like Ireland and France may feel they have had good times and can't hold on to them, and unlike the yanks are more pesimistic by nature.
40% of Americans would still be perkily enthusiastic if the planet were about to crash into the sun. It probably explains a lot ...
France does not surprise me. It's a culture where "pas mal" (not bad) is seen as enthusiastic praise. Describing things as "fantastique" tends to indicate you're probably on drugs. You never want to over egg it.
Surprisingly enough, fantastic.
It's just that you'll come across as a bit over enthusiastic... The tendency is basically to keep things to the "that's grand" level of energy.
Everytime I read some of the posts on here I understand why! But can you blame people. The big one is the housing crisis and the series of fuck ups by the ruling axis which donkeys vote in continuously.
It’s one of the reasons I don’t want to return.
Regardless of how good some
things are nobody will recognise that at all and focus on the negatives, regardless of how small instead. It’s relentless and draining.
And it’s now just a have/have nots, young/old, house/no house thing. My family aren’t poor, they all own homes, they live in a nice area, and yet still moan about fucking everything. Friends who still live there are the same and it’s always been that way.
Well one of the issues we were ranked on is whether next year would be more peaceful than this year. Maybe the constant war-drum beating is having an effect! (And waking up to the news that three days into the new year, the main contributor to NATO has kidnapped a head of state, I think on this point we’re being realistic rather than pessimistic)
https://preview.redd.it/55q6aryzn0bg1.png?width=1080&format=png&auto=webp&s=d78862ed65d9f6d07aeea5ab8f1ed6f5dfc11094
https://preview.redd.it/fv6w0kdus0bg1.jpeg?width=600&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=29310095cd0eed8d92e675ecf8048670d384cc09
https://preview.redd.it/ft3x4id524bg1.jpeg?width=615&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=83072e181375366bdad3fdbb65a94f3ec41bdb80
The perfect response. Our two favourite pastimes are complaining and taking the piss out of the English. None of it really means anything and it certainly doesn't change anything but it gets us through the day!
I knew they were going say that about us .
Always the same shite isn’t it.
I didn't think we would do that great anyway.
I bet you we'll do worse next year...
I’m not happy with this.
Well hey, at least we’re among the top 10 in the world so there’s that.
As long as we beat Denmark /s
yeah, but wont be long before they beat us in another top ten
Aim for top 3 this year.
try harder………or try less.
There's no point in trying at all.
Ever the optimist
Fuck sake, we couldn't even make the top 5!
We never win anything
Are we not first for Obesity in the EU?
No, Malta still has us beat
"Smile!" they said, "life could be worse!"
So I did...
... and it was.
Seems to get worse every day.
Look on the bright side though, it could be tomorrow already.
Well, technically it is (I'm in Europe!) but then tomorrow is Sunday....
https://preview.redd.it/vfo8gmi021bg1.jpeg?width=512&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=e7f193fbf3c3553e510d784502e64ef25f5b1c3b
Well they only surveyed 60 countries, so that rules out like 150 to begin with.
another top 10 victory for us lads!
Bring on the world cup!
“This is gonna be great!”
Another quarter final exit
Enough of that now
It's the weather.
It really impacts your mood, but also how social you can be and what activities you can do.
If Ireland had Italy's weather, safe to say people would be a lot more happy/optimistic (and also in better shape!)
I swear we have one of the highest rates of seasonal depression too. Not a shocker at all
Think of Australia.
Australians - the healthy, sociable, tanned, happy go lucky fuckers who live on the beach - are what happens when you take Irish and Brits and remove seasonal affective disorder.
Skin cancer?
I remember living in a hot country for the first time and seeing families sitting out in the park at 8pm on a Friday night. It's a completely different and very positive culture.
I can't imagine where two families would bring their kids to play at that time in Ireland.
You couldn't be that openly positive in Ireland. Fianna fail would find some way to tax it.
Tommy Tiernan had a skit along those lines "oh there he goes, the happy fucked"
8pm we were sent to bed lol
The pub, for a good moan.
I watched Angela's Ashes with a non-Irish person and she highlighted that if the same story was set in somewhere like Italy, the fact its sunny and warm would completely change the whole tone of the film
Sounds like a Foil Arms & Hog scetch.
The weather, and surroundings. We have an almost stunning number of dull and 'concrete grey' buildings when you factor in how grey our skyline is. Some areas of parts like Crumlin, the most colourful thing in sight might be the tarmac on the streets.
Utterly abysmal infrastructure and our refusal to improve it to any decent extent doesn't help either.
It's not just the weather; it's the price of going out and getting a coffee with someone or having an aul aperitivo and a chat. Different dining/drinking culture. But the cold really drives you to Kerrygold. It definitely makes us pudgier.
the place is awash in coffee shops
Espresso is €3.20 (no, not only on O'Connell St), rather invite the friend home... if my living situation wasn't awkward and embarrassing (there are unrelated strangers using the same kitchen and bathroom as me!)
What I'm saying is that the drinking culture isn't that different the only retail businesses open these days aside from vapes, candy and take aways are coffee shops.
Also €3.20 for an hour or so's entertainment with a friend is hardly breaking the bank
Not the same at all. Way too overpriced so there's no culture around it.
The go to example in my mind for this is France. People go to their local bakery daily to get bread and its like a social hangout.
Finland is the world’s happiest country and the sun sets before 15:00 there this time of the year and they’ve a constant bitter cold and sleet.
Finland actually has one of the highest rates of depression and unhappiness, but they rank highly in life satisfaction, which gets misinterpreted as "happiness" because it makes a better headline.
If you ever actually look into that fact, it's from The Wellbeing Research Centre at the University of Oxford.
The main criteria for it is "on a scale of 1-10 how satisfied are you with your life", which most Finns are quite satisfied with due to high wealth/wages, low rent/mortgages, low inequality, high freedom, high job security, great healthcare/education, high social security, etc
The report also considers
Almost like a
decentbetter quality of life leads to people being happier.edit: changed decent to better for pedants
If you dont think that there's a good quality of life in Ireland, you're deluded
No you're right, quality of life here is good.
But Finland's is far better. And we should be able to offer something equivalent. But we don't. My original comment was a relative comparison, but if you couldn't discern that that's what I meant I've edited it to be clearer.
Don't they also have the highest suicide rates...
no
Used to be. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/22/the-finnish-miracle-how-the-country-halved-its-suicide-rate-and-saved-countless-lives
Nah, its the culture.
We’ve some of the best weather in the world. We just too miserable to enjoy it
We have a serious lack of sunshine which massively affects our mood. We are lucky, because we have no extremes, so it's good in that way.
Because we don't have extreme temperatures*
We do in our fucking hole
They're not entirely wrong tbf. We're luck that we don't have to deal with extreme weather like hurricanes or drought. Grey and overcast doesn't help with mood though.
If drought counts as extreme weather (and tbf, I'd say it does), so does flooding rain.
I was raised in Galway and now live in Clare. I don't mind the weather and I've lived in rain central most of my life. I'm thinking I'm in the minority though haha. Like I was in Italy last year and it hit 39 degrees and I couldn't wait to get some clouds over me. Anyway, I feel like the rugged scenery of the west really suits some dramatic clouds. There's a kind of stark beauty to it.
I wouldn't say "best weather" at all but I would say "best temperatures".
I was in Italy in fucking March last year and there were people out laying down bathing in the sun, couples cavorting like it was good out of fashion. Really does make a difference.
We should campaign for a 2nd sun, in geostatic orbit.
Or at very least a hugh array of high altitude solar mirrors, beaming down loads of directed free energy power, and radiated UV, it could also track the Sun's position so it's always sunny.
Times a squillion
Interesting that it's all European countries in the top 10.
Western Europe is stagnant. Heavy on regulations and taxes, low on natural resources.
Yeah and Eastern Europe is doing soo good isn’t it…
Yes, it is. Good economic growth.
what future is there in europe realistically?
declining populations, consumerist homogenisation, nanny state scolding, nearly irrecoverable debt etc.
a drug addicted teenager has a better prognosis lol
Yes, that's why all immigrants of the world never immigrate to Europe and always choose other continents
Yeah the really poor ones with limited options do. It's only average attraction for say a successful tech person vs US.
Lots of Chinese/developed asians pretty happy where they are too.
Compared to the other continents?
Europe has plenty of issues, but its still the best place to be for the average person, especially Western/Central Europe. Although I'll admit that America is best for the very wealthy.
We have alot going for us but for anyone under 40 without a house times are very bleak presently
For those under 30 the future looks bleak
For kids and teens childhhood is bleak
Everyone else is depressed because the rest are hating the bleakness
No it doesn't, that's the whole point of this survey.
It is a selectively comparative bleakness
Ee do have alot going for us in comparison with other parts of the world, we have so much we don't appreciate.
As an outsider that hangs out this sub this doesn’t surprise me in the slightest lol, granted I know Reddit is not a good reflection of reality
I'm on many subs, forums, Irish are definitely the most pessimistic, it's depressing sometimes, yeah yeah I know where are the door, just saying ;)
I find the main canada one more negative/less humorous than this tbh.
Interesting, I always though Canadians are very optimistic.
Honestly just a glance at this subreddit’s reaction to anything would make this fact pretty clear
Ha, in your face Denmark 🇩🇰
Every cloud
“Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy.”
William Butler Yeats
Can’t be getting ahead of ourselves. We are more optimistic than we will ever be allowed to admit
I don't think we could rate that high
Why can I hear the Glenroe theme. The Sunday fear 24/7
Try waiting for the bus (that never shows up on time) under the rain for an hour and then try to stay positive
This does not come as a surprise.
Happy on the outside, dead on the inside.
Given our utter inability to develop infrastructure, I'm surprised we're not number one.
Sad. Even with the problems we have, Ireland is still one of the best countries in the world to live in and is regularly in the top 10 and top 5 in various measures such as peace, freedom, stability etc.
The ones about peace, freedom, democracy, etc. are valid, but the ones about economics and development are insanely distorted.
Agree, which is why I didn't mention them.
IPAS costs, Tax Increases, Fuel/Heating increases, Rent increases, Cost of Shopping increases.
We seen with our own eyes the government could afford to house thousands of Ukranians and other immigrants, which means they could have housed people the entire time but didn't bother.
Wages marginally increase nowhere near enough to match the cost of living.
You watch the news to see were just mongrel Irish, we can't build our own houses or manage our own healthcare only immigrants can do it.
You say anything against the correct agenda or mind set and your far right.
Instead of fixing our problems the government want police online, move your money to digital wallets, send more to Ukraine, TD pay rises and scandals.
There's more than enough wrong in Ireland today to not be happy with it.
I was worried we would be one of them 🙁
It's the people that burst my bubble
I’ve not looked at the full list but I’m betting those Danish bastards have beaten us again.
They were plus 35% optimistic, cheery bunch of røvhuller
We were -18% negative, so we smashed them .
I actually think cynical is a better word and I often think it's why the far right has a tough time over here (although gaining some ground). Like we're too cynical for anyone giving solutions, even populists
Nah I dont believe that we're top 10.
Well........take that Denmark?
What did the optimist say to the pessimist? "No, it can get worse"
Hmm I wonder why, we’re robbed blind at every turn
I knew it.
This does not come as a surprise.
Well, sorry if we've spotted the rather obvious trend of decline in the last decade.
There's a reason for it.
Housing.
It’s not the weather ffs.
The widening gap between the haves and have nots when it comes to housing would have anyone aged 18-40 fairly pessimistic.
No inequality in Saudia Arabia, Kenya, Colombia and South Africa who all rate as optimistic?
Bollix. Miserable little “oh if only we had housing” whiners didn’t invent misery. We’ve always had it.
Let me remind you: Peig had a roof over her head.
You don't think the prospect of never owning your own home isn't playing a huge part on people's mental health?
Probably not as much as the prospect of not being able to put food on the table tomorrow.
But grand, if you think we weren’t miserable before the housing crisis, you must be very young
It’s hard to overstate just how important housing is. Everything else in the country could be 10% more fucked but if rents were achievable for young people, we’d be happier as a nation on balance.
It’s an extremely good country, but housing is extraordinarily bad when compared to our European peers.
I would argue that the majority of us are not gullible and taper our expectations for the coming year being better based on the fact that we can see things are getting worse. Having been to other countries, an effort is made to give people facilities to enjoy themselves and forgot about all the shit going on in the world. There's nothing done in this country to encourage joy. It's just about what more can be squeezed out of us. So we become cynical of everything.
Do you have an example of the facilities other countries give people to enjoy themselves?
Cheap alcohol, cheap cigarettes, nightclubs
[deleted]
We don't have nightclubs not real ones
Also outdoor pursuits in Ireland barely exist , no right to roam, camping is illegal, fishing and hunting highly regulated
Down with this sort of thing!
Can’t even top a simple happy clappy quiz. Typical. Inevitable even
Stuck betweek uk and usa. Thats the reaaon
Ahead of Denmark!
Wild that places like Moldova would be more optimistic. I guess when you're coming from a low place you may think things can only improve. But places like Ireland and France may feel they have had good times and can't hold on to them, and unlike the yanks are more pesimistic by nature.
Tell me something I don’t know.
Not surprised by reading this subreddit
"Ireland has ranked 15th in the 2025 World Happiness Report, making it one of the happiest countries in the world."
Fair play to Bulgaria, we were never going to be number 1 anyway.
We complain a lot, but also not ever in a way to cause any change
Number 1 politician looks like a hemorrhoidal bank manager, and Number 2 looks like a 70s sitcom undertaker.
No shit.....
I’ll do better this year, just hard to commit myself full time to the moaning.
I think this is a pointless survey.
Sure lookit, down with excessive optimism anyway.
Honestly, I’ve been away for nearly 3 years now. It’s gone so sad because every single thing I read about Ireland is negative.
Sadly the negative stuff gets the most traction but honestly, there isn’t a whole lot of things that are going good at the minute.
Meh
Tenth ? I thought we wouldn’t make the top 50,
maybees aye maybees naw
Top 10. Not bad
We’re all going to die
Why would I want to be optimistic? That's for people with notions.
Well.. gestures at everything
Can't wait to throw this in my manager's face the next time I'm told I'm too negative around the office
40% of Americans would still be perkily enthusiastic if the planet were about to crash into the sun. It probably explains a lot ...
France does not surprise me. It's a culture where "pas mal" (not bad) is seen as enthusiastic praise. Describing things as "fantastique" tends to indicate you're probably on drugs. You never want to over egg it.
What does fantastiqie translate to?
https://i.redd.it/qvvg8xk361bg1.gif
Surprisingly enough, fantastic. It's just that you'll come across as a bit over enthusiastic... The tendency is basically to keep things to the "that's grand" level of energy.
"That would be an ecumenical matter."
I thought we would rank worse.
Misery, misery, misery, the whole flippin' way.
It’s so weird… we are the happiest apparently and then we’re pessimistic.. all these stupid “polls” paid to try and influence people….
Go feck off with your politics and bullshit …
We have our challenges… but we’re not assholes and we will find a way.
Nothing good ever happens to us ever.
That's what happens when we've got England as a neighbor
That's not a good sign
It’s the lack of the big D
…who beat us..
Everytime I read some of the posts on here I understand why! But can you blame people. The big one is the housing crisis and the series of fuck ups by the ruling axis which donkeys vote in continuously.
It will be grand
Just knowing we're all miserable together makes me happy. Thats something to be positive about.
How are we when it comes to sarcasm? Has to be top 5 at least, or am I being too optimistic?
That is terrible news.
https://preview.redd.it/r6zlllcr32bg1.jpeg?width=1853&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=d7657cf509f11227da7ed054830193b868458074
did we beat the Brits?
Nooo, yah think
Oh I'm pretty sure things will improve. Next year we'll get to at least the top 3!
Not even top 3, those are rookie numbers
10th! we really must try harder......but what good will it do?
Oh I'd believe it. I'm a miserable cunt
Typical.
No we aren't.
There is a difference between unjustified pessimism and having an accurate assessment of the current situation.
Tell us something we don’t know.
Irish is a much more positive language than English.
Tá tinneas orm > I am sick
Go raibh maith agat > Thankyou
Etc.
Defo 9th, not 10th.
Tax, tax and more taxes and nothing to show for it
Smh I thought we'd be top 5
USA should be #1.
Generational trauma.
Ah sure! It'll be grand
It’s one of the reasons I don’t want to return. Regardless of how good some things are nobody will recognise that at all and focus on the negatives, regardless of how small instead. It’s relentless and draining.
And it’s now just a have/have nots, young/old, house/no house thing. My family aren’t poor, they all own homes, they live in a nice area, and yet still moan about fucking everything. Friends who still live there are the same and it’s always been that way.
This is the Times explaining to NATO why their fear mongering failed.
Well one of the issues we were ranked on is whether next year would be more peaceful than this year. Maybe the constant war-drum beating is having an effect! (And waking up to the news that three days into the new year, the main contributor to NATO has kidnapped a head of state, I think on this point we’re being realistic rather than pessimistic)