Meaning of Paddyism | Babel Free

Definitions

1. The quality of being stereotypically Irish.
   colloquial, derogatory, uncountable
2. A Hibernianism.
   colloquial, countable

Examples

“Faith and begorrah it’s that time of year again. Time, that is, for the kind of “virulent eruptions of Paddyism” that, in the words of Ireland’s greatest newspaper columnist, is another form of “the claptrap that has made fortunes for cute professional Irishmen in America.” Yes it’s St Patrick’s Day and Myles na Gopaleen’s withering verdict on the nonsense of professional Irishism remains about the best there is.”

“He referred to the late Fine Gael TD and constitutional expert John Kelly. He said Mr Kelly, “described this constant tendency to look at what is happening in the UK, of emulating the UK and of measuring ourselves against the UK as malignant ‘Paddyism’ and I agree”.”

“Leaving aside the Paddyisms we put upon ourselves in order to sell aran jumpers and claddagh rings to Yanks, how do we define ourselves in this country? What makes a person Irish? What qualifies as “Irishness”?”

CEFR level