Cork tops rankings for ‘gift of the gab’

HAVE you ever noticed that your non- Corkonian friends have a hard time keeping up with you in conversation?

According to recent studies, Cork has been proven to boast the strongest ‘gift of the gab’ – and not just because the county is home to the Blarney Stone!

The nationwide survey found that us Irish are not all equal in our way with words and that the Rebel County has come out on top as home to the country’s best talkers with the majority using “Well” as their initial greeting.

Topping the list of preferred topics to discuss is the Emerald Isle’s unpredictable weather forecast; which will come as no surprise to many.

While we are currently basking in Ireland’s soaring summer temperatures, many of us are still in doubt and opt to carry a raincoat to avoid falling victim to the country’s ever-changing weather conditions.

The studies also showed that three out of four believe Irish women are better conversationalists than men while common phrases such as “Ah here!”, “Sure look” and “Take it handy” ranked as the most popular Irishisms.

The poll of over 1,000 people showed that Dubliners ranked in second place for having the gift of the gab while The Kingdom also placed in the top three.

However, the survey results also reveal that owning the crown of Best Talker doesn’t necessarily mean that Cork possesses the most soothing of dialects. That honour was, in fact, bestowed upon the county of Donegal with Cork trailing behind in second place.

Unfortunately, the south-east does struggle with discussing certain topics such as a breakup or personal qualities in a job interview.

The fact that 75% of people in Ireland still prefer to chat in person as opposed to using texts and phonecalls means that there is no need to worry about the world renowned ‘gift of the gab’ moniker disappearing anytime soon.