When I moved to London 13 years ago, I was the only person at the pub table ordering Guinness, now it’s unusual if the whole table isn’t ordering Guinness. I promise this isn’t an article from yet another Irish person talking about the enduring popularity of Guinness, but instead it poses a very important question. Are we seeing an Irishification of culture?

Before you all roll your eyes, 'Irishification' was actually brought to my attention by my good friend, Englishman and Here Be Dragons creative director, Dom Radcliffe. And, do you know what? I think he might be right. More than ever it feels like parts of Irish culture are making their way across the pond.

Over lockdown, Paul Mescal running down Hackney canal in his Maynooth GAA shorts, sent the men of England into a frenzy about where they could get those shorts, so much so that GQ wrote a whole article about getting the look. JW Anderson wearing an Irish rugby jersey on the catwalk of one of his shows spawned ‘Rugbycore’ and an increasing number of British people for some reason know the names of the Irish president’s dogs.

But, why is it? Are we just seeing more Irish people on the TV over here than usual? Graham Norton has the prime Friday night spot on BBC, Angela Scanlon on Strictly, Aisling Bea flying the flag for funny women everywhere, Sharon Horgan cracking out series after series and the recent Woman in the Wall.

Or is it the podcasts? I went to see My Therapist Ghosted me live and I was one of about five Irish people in a packed out audience. Maybe it's the literature, and yes I am going to talk about Sally Rooney. Her books showcased a new, modern, progressive Ireland, and Normal People gave everyone over here a taste of what it’s actually really like to grow up in modern Ireland, live in Dublin and attend a Debs.

Hmm - could it be the food? Pubs all over London now stock Tayto (lets not get into whether they are the real ones or not), the Kardashians are using KerryGold, and my local corner shop in Walthamstow stocks Barry’s Tea. Cafe Cecilia, Richard Corrigan, Shankey’s and their Holy Water (specifically from Lourdes) Cocktail - I won’t list everything out because we’ll be here all day.

Social media, and TikTok obviously have a part to play, and not just Shit London Guinness. Irish people are naturally pretty funny and the random weird things that happen in rural Ireland are some of the funniest things that can possibly happen. Like Tadhg Flemming chasing a bat around his house, Monaghan’s Sound Quality Gifts, The Man Who Fell On The Ice, or the more recent National Ploughing Championships doing the rounds.

I don’t think we can pin it down to just one of the reasons I’ve listed out, and it's not about the number of Irish people living here either - because that has dropped significantly. For me, what brings all of this together is that Ireland is funny, humble and doesn’t take itself too seriously. We’re a nation of begrudgers, which means no one can get above their station. I had a friend who wore a leather jacket in his first week of uni and from then on was referred to as 'Jacket'.

Will we see this Irishification move into marketing next? Probably. Marketeers went mental for Hygge, Japanese culture, K Pop, blokecore (which is just British pub culture), Italian maximalist and a lot more, so it would seem that way.

Let's hope it’s not an Irish version of Hygge though, as that really is just your parents shouting at you to leave the heating alone and PUT ON ANOTHER JUMPER.