Arcadia Ireland

I hope you clicked into this blog purely for the fact that you have no idea what ‘exam weather’ is and you are hoping to find out. Well, your dreams have been answered as I’m going to dedicate this blog to telling you exactly what summer in Ireland is like. Summer, you say- surely summer is the same everywhere? No. No, it is not. Summer in Ireland it is a unique experience and one that lasts a maximum of about two weeks. Read on to find out just how the Irish like their sun.

Summer visits Ireland for a fleeting moment and it flirts with us. It pretends to be sunny and warm, and then adds in a freezing gust of wind to blow up our dainty summer dresses. It also rains instantaneously with absolutely no warning whatsoever. However, there is one period where we know it will be nice and that is during exams. All secondary (high school) students sit two sets of exams; the Junior and the Leaving Certificate. These exams bring huge amounts of stress and worry, but they also bring sunshine. Yes, you heard me, sun in Ireland. We literally call it ‘exam weather’ as the only two weeks we know we will get sun, is when a big group of our young people are cooped up doing exams (it’s not fair- but we have all been there!)

If you are not sitting these exams, exam time is the best time of year. It is for fun and frolics in the sun and boy, do we make the most of it. If you catch Ireland during this highly anticipated period, here’s what you can expect;

It starts with barbeques. Once there is a glimmer of sunshine we are outside. We don’t wait for heat, just sun. Shops have sales on every food item that could possibly be used, disposable barbeques can be found in every type of store and our homeware departments see a dramatic rise in profits as people scramble to buy a new and improved BBQ to impress their friends with. The odd thing; nobody gets bored of them. We eat grilled food for days and are happy every single time- what’s rare is wonderful, eh? (Side note, if you’ve organised a barbeque and it starts raining you will still host the barbeque. Umbrellas at the ready.)

When we are not at home burning our burgers to a crisp we are at the beach. People forget that Ireland has some of the most beautiful beaches in the world and it’s purely because we never get to use them. Visit Kerry on a sunny day though, and ‘Costa Del Ballybunion’ will knock the Portuguese Algarve out of the water (intended- 100%.) Beaches are packed and people will be there until the late hours of the evenings as everyone wants to make the most of the few beach-worthy days. When you’re on the beach there are a few food essentials. Irish beaches are not set up for people (nobody tends to swim in freezing temperatures) so there are no eating facilities anywhere close by. That means that a picnic is a must. Cool boxes, ham ‘sand’wiches and orange juice galore. It’s the dream. The other beach food that is glorious is the humble 99 ice-cream. Queues for the ice-cream van are the length of the beach. The people that own the vans get so much business in our ten minute summer that they can take the rest of the year off.

Obviously, while wining and dining our friends and Baywatch running down the beach we need the sun kissed, toned bodies of our European neighbours. While we get caught up in this, we tend to forget that we are Irish and somehow missed the gene that results in toned and tanned. Now, don’t get me wrong, there are some people who have two weeks of glory in the sunshine, but for us mere mortals- the sun brings a few issues. Tanning and Irish are not a good mix. We think we can handle the rays and, nine times out of ten, we think wrong. After the spike in sales for BBQ’s and ice-creams, comes after suns time to skyrocket. We are pale, we are not made for the sun and we burn. Ooooh, we burn so badly. Sun kissed turns to sun scalded pretty quickly but our answer to it? ‘’Sure you’ll have a great tan in a few days when the burning dies down’’- really responsible sun worshiping there Ireland. Peeling skin and sleepless sweaty nights? Check.

But hey, everyone can burn- it happens. What doesn’t happen elsewhere but does over here is the way Irish males start to act in weird and wonderful ways. We have talked about the tan, and are about to touch on the toned. The Irish are a fantastic breed of men but for some reason the ones who prefer an afternoon pint to an afternoon gym session decide that t-shirts just have no place in the world when it’s sunny. Sit on a bus through any city in Ireland and you will see well-rounded, middle aged men with proudly protruding stomachs walking around the place with not a stitch on their upper half- baffling.

The last and most prominent behaviour of us Irish in the summer is helping us to live up to a particular stereotype- drinking. No judgements here though as drinking in the sun in Ireland is great craic! It’s a genuine activity that we all look forward to and it’s so social. There are also special rules that apply when the sun is out. They are unwritten, but they are there and they are worshipped. For one there are mid-week pints. Contrary to popular belief, the regular Irish person does not drink pints every day. We have jobs and we are a hard-working bunch. However, this attitude changes drastically when the sun makes an appearance. We so rarely get to enjoy our beer gardens that we have to make the most of them when we can. If the sun is out there won’t be a sinner inside. Grab a pint and soak up those rays.

There is also a legal issue that tends to be skipped by when it is sunny. Sun in Ireland makes the country a happier place and so the Gardi (police) have a much easier job during these cherished days. Due to this they have an understanding and the guards tend to turn a blind eye to drinking outdoors. Something that is usually illegal in Ireland is temporarily allowed and we drink with glee getting our fix of vitamin D. These softer rules also lead to some mad behaviour. A popular spot for some outdoor beverages is ‘The Barge’ in Dublin. It is a pub that is situated beside the canal and crowds flock in their hundreds to this holy grail on a sunny day. Take a lot of Irish people, some drinks, and a bit of sun and great things happen. Check out this video from last week at The Barge. Yes, that is a man tight rope walking naked across the canal. Good clean fun right there ladies and gents.

Ah, but all good things must come to an end and what goes up must come down. As much as we like sun, we also like complaining and when there is too much sun, the complaining starts. For one, there is no air-conditioning in Irish buildings which leads to a very sweaty work situation. The first few days of perspiring colleagues is fine but it does get old quite quickly.

Ireland is also known as the Emerald Isle and we do not like to lose that reputation. A few days of sun and you will hear mutterings of ‘we need a drop of rain now, the ground is like the Sahara.’

The final issue with the Irish summer is the fact that it is so elusive, sneeze and you’ve missed it. The real pain- booking a two week holiday in the sun when it’s hot in Ireland- if this happens you are done. No weather forecast will predict the weather but if you’re planning on visiting Ireland then check when the Leaving Cert is taking place.