We like to think we're a romantic bunch there. Irish people are often cast as romantics in films, so clearly everyone else agrees. We are devastatingly attractive, famously funny and known for our kindness and good humour, all in all a great bunch of lads and lasses. Imagine if we could knock the checked shirts and bootcut jeans, we'd be irresistible.
But which among us are actually the most romantic? This is the question that Picodi, the coupons website, sought to answer this Valentine's Day. And the winner came as something of a shock (to me at least): Athlone.
The Co. Westmeath town wouldn't traditionally rank as a destination for lovers, but they are apparently the most likely people in Ireland to search out Valentine's Day-related phrases on Google.
"Our queries list consisted of terms like "Valentine's Day", "love confession", "flowers", "love", and others which would associate with Valentine's Day," said Picodi. "During the period before Valentine's Day, the frequency of searching these queries increases in whole Ireland. However, in some places, the interest in making a pleasant surprise to the significant other increases more, and in some - notably less."
Athlone came out on top, followed by Waterford and Tralee. "After looking closely at Google's figures, it turns out that the most romantic Irish people live in Athlone, Waterford, and Tralee."
"In these cities, the increase in popularity of queries connected to Valentine's Day was the highest. Residents of Athlone, living in the heart of the country, seem to have a soft spot in their hearts for romance."
Of course, if those places are the most romantic, the obvious follow up question is: who is the least. Well, it's not a great time to be looking for love in the Dublin commuter belt, I can tell you.
Swords, Celbridge and Bray did terribly, with only Ennis splitting them at the bottom. Clearly, living in the city isn't too great - Dubliners were also quite close to the bottom of the list - but living directly to the south, north or west was even worse.
Perhaps we can make sweeping generalisations about the sort of people who live there: rich folks who spend too much time in Dublin working, leaving their significant others at home all day, wondering when they're going to get that special present as a symbol of their love.
Or, perhaps, they all go to Athlone to buy their Valentine's gifts. Who knows?
Featured Image Credit:Topics: Ireland