Well speaking as a born Irish citizen myself things are pretty good in Ireland for the most part. We are starting to really come out of recession in a big way, jobs are becoming more available. However the cost of living in Ireland (especially Dublin) is very high. Rent and mortgage is very over priced in Ireland at the moment. Public transport isn’t one of our strong points and that certainly needs improvement. Same goes for healthcare in Ireland, it needs a dramatic improvement.

Financial stuff aside, Ireland has become a very progressive nation over the years in terms of human rights. Its certainly not the conservative Catholic country it was a few years ago. We hope to repeal the 8th amendment giving women the choice to have an abortion if she so needs to.

Just some information to any non-Irish people who are not aware. The Republic of Ireland is an independent European country separate from the UK. Our currency like most European states is the Euro. Our mother tongue is the English language. Although some Irish people can speak fluent Irish as well (although that is less common these days). We have a similar government structure to the UK. Except we call our prime minister “An Taoiseach” (pronounced “On Tea-shock”). An Taoiseach is the head of state, however we also have a president. The president plays a similar role as the Queen in England would play. That is has some political power but acts as an official representative for our country.

Ireland has a thriving nightlife (especially in our bigger cities such as Cork and Dublin). Drinking is a big part of our culture still. Although I am sometimes still quite embarrassed by the lack of self control of some of my fellow Irish. Don’t get me wrong I enjoy the occasional drink myself. But I respect alcohol and drink it in moderation. My favourite alcohol drink of choice is vodka. Not very Irish I know. But I was never fond of beer or stout (Guinness).

Our night life however is not restricted to clubs and bars. We also have a great selection of restaurants to choose from. Theatre has always been a big business in Ireland too. Our most famous theatre is the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. We have quite a lot of cinemas too for any movie lovers. Every year we have film and theatre festivals.

That’s all the information about my country I can think of right now. But feel free to ask me any questions at all about Ireland and I’ll do my best to answer. I could be wrong, but I may be the only Irish Jelly here hehe.

Is it just immediate grandparents, or do great grandparents count? My mom’s grandpa was Irish, I’m sharing this information with her ASAP.

I was just watching videos last night about the Travelers, ( Irish Gypsys ) and their history and of course, their famous horse trading skills. Being a horsey person I was beside myself looking at all the amazing Gypsy Cobs and Gypsy Vanner horses. I want to go to an Irish Horse fair like this one. Somebody ship me some Irish horseflesh! haha

www.youtube.com/watch?v=UmGPyp_DAZ8

@DrasticDreamer The requirements on Ireland’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade website state:

An application for Irish citizenship through Foreign Birth Registration (FBR) can be submitted by any person with a grandparent born in any part of Ireland or by any person whose parent received Irish citizenship or was deemed to be an Irish citizen prior to the birth of the applicant.

It would seem that your mother is eligible. All the requirements, including required supporting documentation, are listed on the above-linked page.

@nerdykeith – you’re Irish and don’t drink whiskey?

If you want to smoke and drink while socializing outside your home you’ll have no luck.

@imrainmaker I’ve tried whiskey before and I didn’t like it haha. Only exception is when its inside a cocktail.

Ok..)