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Dublin: 4 °C Thursday 28 March, 2024
Nostalgia

7 Irish things you'll probably never use again

I remember when all this was fields…

WE SPOTTED THIS World Cup ’94 callcard on Reddit this morning, and it got us thinking about things that have gone the way of the dodo here in Ireland… things that are ‘with O’Leary’ if you will.

Let’s kick off with one of our most recent losses…

1. Analogue telly

We all remember that moment when Miriam hit that big red button (well, clicked the mouse) and turned off analogue TV, don’t we?

Photocall Ireland

2. Callcards

Imgur/Reddit

In pre-mobile phone Ireland Eircom Callcards were all the rage. They came in a range of trendy and topical designs, and were great for when you got stranded in 'the village' after being dropped off by the bus.

More recently attention has turned to Callcard collections, and you can pick up some gems for your collection from eBay or Adverts.ie

Ebay

Adverts.ie

3. Sparklers

These little slivers of joy from HB seem to be no more.  Has anyone spotted a Sparkler* recently?

*It's been pointed out in the comments section that they are in fact called 'Sparkles'. Everyone called them Sparklers though, right?

Unilever/HB Ice Cream Memories on Facebook

4. Telephone boxes

Back in 2008 Eircom announced that about half of the existing phoneboxes in Ireland were being dismantled because they cost more money to maintain than they made.

And with the phone boxes go the reverse charges calls, the prank calls, the frantic scrambling for a 20p piece, and that particular smell they all have.

Have you used a phone box recently? Let us know in the comments section below.

Phone box in Enniskerry, Co. Wicklow (Flickr/Creative Commons/Informatique)

5.VHS

Ok so videotapes aren't exclusively Irish, but many of us can probably remember when that first video player came into the house, and many of us probably had at least one tape with "DO NOT TAPE OVER" scrawled in red pen across it.

6. The phrase "there's a new episode of Father Ted on tonight"

After three brief series, and the tragic loss of actor Dermot Morgan, there were never to be any more Father Ted episodes. But hey, we'll always have Paris (er, Craggy Island)

Here are 9 Father Ted quotes you can use every day.

Niall Carson/PA Wire

7. A disgusted face at the liver fluke ad on the radio just before your dinner

Inevitably, just as you were sitting down to your stew or sausage and chips, a liver fluke, mange mite or 'scour' ad would blare out of the radio in advance of The Angelus and The News.

Those were the days...

Chris Bacon/PA Archive/Press Association Images

Vanishing phoneboxes doc represents Ireland in China film festival>

Outrages at the price of sweets these days? You're not alone...

9 Father Ted quotes you can use every day>

11 amazing things you used to get in cereal boxes>

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