Dáil Éireann

Yes that was petty of me I do admit. But I got that exact phrase from an Irishman working over here, & from what I see in the news, european economies (including Ireland's) are in all sorts of trouble while Australia's economy is going great, there is this demand for labour being filled from all over the world - Ireland & the UK have the advantage in that we speak the same language so we get a lot of both.
In case you think I am boasting about our wonderous economy - it is good because we are selling the farm to China, Australia is living in a short term fools paradise.
I have been told that to speak English with an Australian or American accent is "a get out of gaol free card" and that speaking English with a British accent is less accepted - I am surprised to hear that there are towns in Ireland that only speak Gaelic (or Erse or whatever).
People are more or less the same everywhere Seanan, if there is any difference it is in humour - Australia & Ireland have much in common & a lot of shared history. Drinking alcohol to a certain extent is great for socialising. I do drink a little bit for that.
We both probably know more about each others cultures than we realise as obviously we have family there. One of these days I would like to visit County Claire as that is where some of my Irish ancestors came from. Their name is a variation on Synot, Sinnot, Sinnott etc.
And btw, being away from Ireland we are not as close to things - Ian Paisley is not seen as an evil monster nor Gerry Adams seen as a saint.
In truth I do hope that Ireland does become one nation & the stirrers on both sides just shut up & allow it to happen.