Comment

Ireland: A Friendly Nation or Masters of Linguistic Politeness?

The language of politeness is part of our everyday lives, but as Helen McMahon explains, in Ireland we have a particular mastery of social discourse

FEATURES

Ireland regularly trumps all other nations in lists published regarding “friendly” or “welcoming” countries. Are we truly deserving of this international reputation or is there another reason behind our amiability? To take a cynical view, it may be that we