Irish Wit

The Irish have their own way of seeing the world. The American poet Marianne Moore said as much in six words. “I'm troubled. I'm dissatisfied. I'm Irish.”

Frank McCourt said the same, but in more words, on the first page of his memoir, Angela's Ashes.

“It was, of course, a miserable childhood: the happy childhood is hardly worth your while. Worse than the ordinary miserable childhood is the miserable Irish childhood, and worse yet is the miserable Irish Catholic childhood.

“People everywhere brag and whimper about the woes of their early years, but nothing can compare with the Irish version: t...