Text only  Print this page | E-mail this page| Add to favourites
British Council Northern Ireland
Dumb Questions
Provided by past students - be prepared with a polite response!

No matter how funny or silly, consider the words of one former student  'Being asked dumb questions is better than being asked no questions at all!'

  • When we were in Philadelphia there was a lady who was convinced leprechauns were real. When she saw the bunch of Irish BEI students travelling together she had a field day. She was organizing some parade and her float was based on Ireland. So she took out her pen and paper and started jotting down notes on what they actually looked like. Oh and this lady was around late 50s to early 60s!
  • Is Christmas on the same day in Ireland? Or Is Saint Patrick's Day big in Ireland?
  • How long would it take you to DRIVE to Ireland?
  • You’re not from here? Yeah, I'm from Ireland, oh Ireland, Texas? How long did it take for you to drive here!!!???
  • One person was shocked to learn that Ireland was an island; they thought that it was connected to England.
  • I told someone that I had a leprechaun in my dorm room and they believed me for a few weeks. They were convinced that they couldn’t see it because only Irish people could!
  • Do you have electricity in your house?
  • Do you have cats and dogs?
  • Where’s Ireland?
  • Do you have cities, or is it all green?
  • Do you have Lucky Charms? Is that where the Lucky Charms are from?
  • Do the leaves in Ireland change colour??
  • I thought you could get a train to Ireland??
  • Do you drive cars there?
  • Why are you putting mayonnaise on your fries?!
  • Is it really awful living in NI?
  • Are there hot girls in Ireland?
  • Is France the capital of London?
  • Do we have hotels in Ireland?
  • Are there really leprechauns in Ireland?
  • Is Ireland near that place they call the UK?
  • Does everyone in Ireland have red hair?
  • You don't look like an Irish person; I'd think you were an American if you didn’t talk funny.
  • When did you start learning English in school?
  • Do you know what a tennis racquet is?
  • How long did it take you travelling here from Ireland by bus?
  • Do you have Christmas in Ireland?
  • Do you have McDonalds in Ireland?
  • Is their really a pot of Gold at the end of the Rainbow in Ireland?
  • Can you do the river-dance?
  • Is Ireland in Germany?
  • You know people in Australia but not in Austria? But there is only one letter of a difference!
  • Have you ever been to the movies?
  • Where are you from? Ireland? You speak German there, right?
  • Does the sun rise in the East in Ireland?
  • Are you really Irish? So you must know Sean Connery.
  • Do people in Ireland really always wear green clothes?
  • Have you ever been on an airplane?
  • Do you have fairies in Ireland?
  • So is Northern Ireland like Iraq?
  • Ireland...that's next to New Zealand...right?!
  • I showed my UK driving licence to the girl at the door of my local bar and this was her response: "Oh my God, you're from the Ukraine…that’s awesome!”
  • What country is Ireland in?
  • Do you have boats in Ireland?
  • Do you get your Christmas turkey from the USA?
  • Do you get your lambs from the US?
  • Do you have Universities in Ireland?
  • Does it snow in Ireland?
  • Isn’t Amsterdam a European country?
  • Do you know that a lot of your people moved over here to the states a few years ago because they ran out of potatoes?
  • Do people French kiss in Ireland?
  • Have you ever heard of New York? Or Washington...the place where the President lives?
  • Is it true on St Patrick ’s Day that Catholics wear green and Protestants wear orange?
  • Do you really eat corned beef and cabbage?
  • Oh, you’re from Ireland, which makes you Scottish!!!
  • I can’t believe you don't have Irish Spring Soap in Ireland!
  • You live in Ireland, that’s cool, have you been to Stonehenge?
  • Do you have birds in Ireland?
  • Is it true you don’t eat peanut butter in Ireland?
  • Ireland, that’s beside Berlin right?
The United Kingdom’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.
A registered charity: 209131 (England and Wales) SC037733 (Scotland)
Our privacy and copyright statements.
Our commitment to freedom of information. Double-click for pop-up dictionary.
 Positive About Disabled People Download Browsealoud