The Irish Round

It’s customary for groups of Irish people meeting for drinks at the pub to engage in “rounds”. Usually, someone takes everyone’s orders, proceeds to the bar to get them, and then pays for all of them.

Once that person has done so, their round is complete.

There is no particular rule or order for who goes next during the first round, it just has to be someone other than the person who just went.

When everyone has bought a round once, the next round will go in the same order as was established during the first round.

Obviously, it is considered bad etiquette to bow out of the scene before you’ve bought a round (especially if you have accepted the rounds bought for you)! If you plan to exit early, you should do so immediately after you have bought your round (whatever round that may be).

Rounds can also be done as couples, where one person from the couple gets the round and it still counts as their one round.

So, if you find yourself out with a group of mostly Irish people, you probably won’t be let to simply buy your own drinks (and you should be prepared to cover everyone else’s—at least once!)

Yer what?

Sometimes, while speaking to an Irish person, they might say something that sounds like “Yer man” and/or “Yer one”. What they mean is “Your man” and “Your one”.

The “man” they are referring to is a man they don’t know.

The “one” they are referring to is a woman they don’t know.

It might be said while passing comment about a stranger in public. For example, “Yer one nearly fell off her seat there!” or “Yer man looks lost…” It might also be used while telling a story about an encounter with a stranger. For example, “I had to tell yer man to wait in the queue like everyone else!”

It is not meant rudely in any way. It is simply like saying, “That guy” or “That woman”.

Have a go at it the next time you’re out with an Irish person!

Gabby Dunne was born and raised in Las Vegas, NV, and never left the States before meeting her Irish husband on the Vegas Strip. She moved to Dublin a year later and has been here for 12 years. She has one son and two stepchildren, and she works in early intervention for neurodiverse children. Gabby joined the AWCD in 2023 and is 'finally reconnecting with [her] American side!'