--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What's the use of being Irish if you…" description: "\"What's the use of being Irish if you can't be thick?\" — Billy Conn" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/billy-conn-223484_being-irish_what-s-the-use-of-being-irish-if-you-can_1257578.png" --- # What's the use of being Irish if you can't be thick? ![“What's the use of being Irish if you can't be thick?” quote by Billy Conn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/billy-conn-223484_being-irish_what-s-the-use-of-being-irish-if-you-can_1257578.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/billy-conn-223484_being-irish_what-s-the-use-of-being-irish-if-you-can_1257578.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/billy-conn-223484_being-irish_what-s-the-use-of-being-irish-if-you-can_1257578.png) > “What's the use of being Irish if you can't be thick?” Billy Conn ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Irish identity is humorously tied to resilience and thick‑skinnedness. **In simple terms:** Embrace cultural resilience. Key Takeaway Celebrate Irish spirit. Themes Culture Humor Resilience Mood playful proud Type cultural humorous When to use this quote - festivals - social media - personal identity Key Concepts Identity Community solidarity Questions to Reflect On - What does “thick” symbolize in cultural contexts? - How does humor strengthen group identity? ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Being irish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-irish/) [Boxing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boxing/) [Funny irish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/funny-irish/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Ireland and the irish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ireland-and-the-irish/) [Irish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/irish/) ## Related quotes > [What's the use of being Irish if the world doesn't break your heart?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-f-kennedy/what-s-the-use-of-being-irish-if-the-world-doesn-t-break-your-heart/) [John F. Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-f-kennedy/) > [You know it is summer in Ireland when the rain gets warmer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-roach/you-know-it-is-summer-in-ireland-when-the-rain-gets-warmer/) [Hal Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-roach/) > [The Irish are a fair people: They never speak well of one another.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/samuel-johnson/the-irish-are-a-fair-people-they-never-speak-well-of-one-another/) [Samuel Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/samuel-johnson/) > [God invented whiskey to keep the Irish from ruling the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-mcmahon/god-invented-whiskey-to-keep-the-irish-from-ruling-the-world/) [Ed McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mcmahon/) > [Ireland is a fruitful mother of genius, but a barren nurse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyle-o-reilly/ireland-is-a-fruitful-mother-of-genius-but-a-barren-nurse/) [John Boyle O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyle-o-reilly/) > [Irish Alzheimer's: you forget everything except the grudges](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-collins/irish-alzheimer-s-you-forget-everything-except-the-grudges/) [Judy Collins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judy-collins/) > [When you marry your mistress, you create a job vacancy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-goldsmith/when-you-marry-your-mistress-you-create-a-job-vacancy/) [James Goldsmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-goldsmith/) > [Cheaters never prosper, unless they get away with it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-tosh/cheaters-never-prosper-unless-they-get-away-with-it/) [Daniel Tosh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-tosh/) > [In heaven there is no beer. That's why we drink ours here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yankovic/in-heaven-there-is-no-beer-that-s-why-we-drink-ours-here/) Frank Yankovic > [St. Patrick... one of the few saints whose feast day presents the opportunity to get determinedly whacked and make a fool of oneself all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-madigan/st-patrick-one-of-the-few-saints-whose-feast-day-presents-the/) Charles Madigan > [Ireland, sir, for good or evil, is like no other place under heaven, and no man can touch its sod or breathe its air…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/ireland-sir-for-good-or-evil-is-like-no-other-place-under-heaven-and/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [Eternal is the fact that the human creature born in Ireland and brought up in its air is Irish. I have lived for twenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/eternal-is-the-fact-that-the-human-creature-born-in-ireland-and/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [I showed my appreciation of my native land in the usual Irish way: by getting out of it as soon as I possibly could.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/i-showed-my-appreciation-of-my-native-land-in-the-usual-irish-way-by/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) > [This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/this-is-one-race-of-people-for-whom-psychoanalysis-is-of-no-use/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [We are no petty people. We are one of the great stocks of Burke; we are the people of Swift, the people of Emmet,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-butler-yeats/we-are-no-petty-people-we-are-one-of-the-great-stocks-of-burke-we-are/) [William Butler Yeats](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-butler-yeats/) ## More Being irish quotes > [I was elected by the women of Ireland, who instead of rocking the cradle, rocked the system.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-robinson/i-was-elected-by-the-women-of-ireland-who-instead-of-rocking-the/) [Mary Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-robinson/) > [You know it is summer in Ireland when the rain gets warmer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hal-roach/you-know-it-is-summer-in-ireland-when-the-rain-gets-warmer/) [Hal Roach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hal-roach/) > [I think the genetics of being Irish are that you sort of prefer when it's rainy and cloudy. It's just genetic.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-flannery/i-think-the-genetics-of-being-irish-are-that-you-sort-of-prefer-when/) [Kate Flannery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-flannery/) > [“There's no sense to being Irish unless you know the world's going to break your heart.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-adcock/there-s-no-sense-to-being-irish-unless-you-know-the-world-s-going-to/) [Thomas Adcock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-adcock/) > [Why do we like being Irish? Partly because It gives us a hold on the sentimental English As members of a world that never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louis-macneice/why-do-we-like-being-irish-partly-because-it-gives-us-a-hold-on-the/) [Louis MacNeice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louis-macneice/) > [This is one race of people for whom psychoanalysis is of no use whatsoever.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/this-is-one-race-of-people-for-whom-psychoanalysis-is-of-no-use/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [I find being Irish quite a wearing thing. It takes so much work because it is a social construction. People think you are going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-enright/i-find-being-irish-quite-a-wearing-thing-it-takes-so-much-work/) [Anne Enright](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-enright/) > [I'm Irish and very proud of being Irish, but as an actor, your extraction should be secondary, really. You should be able to embody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cillian-murphy/i-m-irish-and-very-proud-of-being-irish-but-as-an-actor-your/) [Cillian Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cillian-murphy/) > [St. Patrick... one of the few saints whose feast day presents the opportunity to get determinedly whacked and make a fool of oneself all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-madigan/st-patrick-one-of-the-few-saints-whose-feast-day-presents-the/) Charles Madigan > [Ireland is a fruitful mother of genius, but a barren nurse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-boyle-o-reilly/ireland-is-a-fruitful-mother-of-genius-but-a-barren-nurse/) [John Boyle O'Reilly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-boyle-o-reilly/) > [In heaven there is no beer. That's why we drink ours here.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-yankovic/in-heaven-there-is-no-beer-that-s-why-we-drink-ours-here/) Frank Yankovic > [Sheep are not considered the most intelligent animals but British scientist say humans may have underestimated the woolly creatures. In fact, the British scientific…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jon-stewart/sheep-are-not-considered-the-most-intelligent-animals-but-british/) [Jon Stewart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jon-stewart/) > [When I die, I want to decompose in a barrel of porter and have it served in all the pubs in Dublin. I wonder…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/j-p-donleavy-2/when-i-die-i-want-to-decompose-in-a-barrel-of-porter-and-have-it/) [J. P. Donleavy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-p-donleavy-2/) > [God invented whiskey to keep the Irish from ruling the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ed-mcmahon/god-invented-whiskey-to-keep-the-irish-from-ruling-the-world/) [Ed McMahon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ed-mcmahon/) > [Eternal is the fact that the human creature born in Ireland and brought up in its air is Irish. I have lived for twenty…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-bernard-shaw/eternal-is-the-fact-that-the-human-creature-born-in-ireland-and/) [George Bernard Shaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-bernard-shaw/) [Browse all 39 Being irish quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/being-irish/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "What's the use of being Irish if you can't be thick?", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Billy Conn" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-conn/what-s-the-use-of-being-irish-if-you-can-t-be-thick/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Being irish" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-conn/what-s-the-use-of-being-irish-if-you-can-t-be-thick/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/billy-conn-223484_being-irish_what-s-the-use-of-being-irish-if-you-can_1257578.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/billy-conn-223484_being-irish_what-s-the-use-of-being-irish-if-you-can_1257578.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/c1a/billy-conn-223484_being-irish_what-s-the-use-of-being-irish-if-you-can_1257578.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“What's the use of being Irish if you can't be thick?” — Billy Conn", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Billy Conn", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/billy-conn/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "What's the use of being Irish...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-conn/what-s-the-use-of-being-irish-if-you-can-t-be-thick/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/billy-conn/what-s-the-use-of-being-irish-if-you-can-t-be-thick/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```