My most famous relative is probably my grandmother's cousin Johnny Weissmuller.

A great somethingother grandfather and uncle came over during the civil war and gained citizenship fighting for the union.

We have the passport of a great grandmother who emigrated from Transylvania in the 30s. It's stamped with a swastika.

I've always known the Red Hand of Ulster is on our family crest but it was just recently that I found out about the fabled boat race. Man the Irish are some sick fuckers.

Man the Irish are some sick fuckers.

Ummmmmm.

Maybe it's just the way my Dad tells the story.

Winning by cheating through self-mutilation: YAY!

Man the Irish are some sick fuckers.

Yeah, that attitude led to my great-great-grandfather and assorted relatives not getting hired here in the U.S. of A. back in the day. It's swell to hear it again in 2009.

Laga is Irish, just to be clear. I think she was joking about her own family heritage.

I took "the Irish" at face value, as a broadly generalized term indicative of all Irish folk, not just one family. I think that's a reasonable reading of the phrase.

My family is pretty much all Irish, all the time, with a bit of Scots and English thrown in. While I'm sensitive to Steph's point, I took Laga's comment as Kristin did.

Oops sorry for the unintentional offense. I should have said "we Irish" (or we Ulstermen) and to me, "sick fucker" is a term of endearment.

Eh, I object to insulting sweeping generalizations of any ethnic group, but particularly one that makes up part of my family. I'm fairly certain I wouldn't mis-read "The McCarthys are some sick fuckers!" as meaning an entire ethnic group is a bunch of sick fuckers.

"we Irish"

That includes me, thanks.

(or we Ulstermen)

That's cool, as long as you don't mind offending all other Ulstermen.

and to me, "sick fucker" is a term of endearment.

That's nice.