Irish humor falls into 2 categories – jokes based on illogic and jokes about priests and nuns. Here are examples of both.

Illogic. (This is not an Irish joke. This is what I actually tell people if they ask me if I believe in astrology.)  I do not believe in astrology. The reason why I don’t believe in astrology is because I’m an Aries, and therefore, governed by the planet Mars. Like other Aries, I am suspicious and confident that I am right, and that is why I am sure that astrology is just plain nonsense. On the other hand, my stepsister does believe in astrology, but that is because she is a Pisces, and Pisces are the most psychic of all people.

Priests. (This one actually is an old Irish joke.) After mass, a sobbing Mrs. Crowley approached Father Sullivan. Father Sullivan said: “Mary, what is troubling you?” She said: “Father, I have terrible news. My husband passed away last night.” Father Sullivan said: “That is terrible news. Did Cassidy have any last requests?” Mrs. Crowley said: “Yes. He had one last request. Just before my husband died, he said: ‘Mary – please – put down the gun.'”

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A ‘Mc’ AND AN ‘O’ IN IRISH LAST NAMES?

A lot of Irish last names begin with ‘Mc’ or an ‘O’, like McCarthy or O’Sullivan, but what’s the difference? ‘Mc’ comes from the Irish word ‘mac’, which means ‘son.’ ‘O’ means ‘grandson’. Ireland was one of the first countries in Europe to use surnames. When people in Ireland started using surnames, around 1,000AD, most were patronymic, meaning they were based on the name of the father and were added to someone​’​s first name. However, many last names were based a person’s grandfather’s name. That was because life expectancy was often quite short in those days. A lot of people were raised by their grandparents because their fathers died young.