Craic: (pronounced crack) an Irish term for fun, enjoyment, good times; encompassing lively conversation, entertainment, and a general sense of good company. Saying “We had great craic” means “We had great fun”.
I first heard the term “craic” last August at an outdoor Lowry Happy Hour from an Irish/American woman, Stella, who lives in Lowry. Towards the end of the Happy Hour, Stella, myself and another woman were engaged in great conversation – some of it humorous, some more serious. At the conclusion of the Happy Hour, Stella said with a big smile, “That was some really great craic tonight.” I asked Stella what it meant, and she gave a similar definition as the one above.
Fast forward a month later – Mrs. Snark and I went on a walking/hiking vacation to Ireland with Gate 1 Travel. Six days -14 tourists (including us) and three tour guides. We spent three nights in two separate towns, Killarney and Lahinch, and were motor coached to different parts of the island to do a three to eight mile hike each day. I won’t get into the details of the trip other than to say that the Irish are amongst the nicest and friendliest people that I’ve ever met. And if you haven’t been to Ireland then you should put it on your bucket list. It’s a beautiful country.
On the first day of the trip, we were sitting in the motorcoach about to drive to the trailhead for the first hike and the lead tour guide was laying down the ground rules for the trip. At the end of his talk, he asked if anyone knew what the term “craic” meant. I did not raise my hand for fear of being THAT guy – Mr. KnowItAll. He explained the meaning of the term and said that one of the goals of the trip was to make craic. He instructed us that to make craic you need to engage with your fellow travelers. Get to know them. Have dinner or drinks with them. Go listen to live music at the pubs with them. Everyone heeded his advice and it turned into one of our best vacations with lots of great memories.
Making craic generally requires four to six people. Any less than that is too few and any more than that is too many. A certain level of etiquette needs to be followed as well. All participants need to be equally engaged in the conversation – sharing but not oversharing, asking questions of others and being good listeners. Topics need to have an organic flow and need to be kept light – stay away from politics, religion or other sensitive topics. It also helps if people are self-deprecating and check their egos at the door. Being snarky generally adds to the levity but you have to be careful who you snark on. As KidSnark recently informed me, “Some people don’t like it, Dad.” Who knew?! And if you deal the snark then expect to receive it in return.
Table configuration is also important. You need to be able to see everyone’s face. A square four-seat table is ideal – the high tops at the Dub, for instance. The shuffleboards at OC and LBG also work well – although LBG can get a bit loud sometimes – and the Elbow at OC also works but only if you have the right people in the right places.
Frequency is also a factor. If you meet the same people too often then the novelty wears off and the conversations tend to get stale and uninteresting.
Instant buzzkill for making craic includes any of the following: someone dominating the conversation; someone constantly pivoting the topic back to himself/herself; someone retelling a story that everyone has already heard; someone showing you 50 photos from their most recent vacation when only a couple were needed …give us the Cliff Notes please and not the unabridged version.
Once or twice a month – generally when Mrs. Snark has Book Club or Choir practice – I like to venture out to one of the local watering holes for dinner and drink. And sometimes the evening can result in craic.
I wanted to profile some of my favorite Lowry Craic Heads for this article but received push-back from a couple folks regarding the snark … so no profiles. Yes, some people can be a little thin-skinned and/or have “images” to maintain. Eyeroll.
Stealing a concept from the Demon Copperhead book – which is the best book that I’ve read in the last five years and a Pulitzer Prize winner – I’ve given code names to my favorite Lowry Craic Heads. If they’re at the bar in the right seating configuration, then the evening can turn into straight-up craic. In no particular order …
UncensoredHotMic, AvidReader, FireFox, SpitBall, PeakedInHighSchool, Kerfuffle and CamAlamaDingDong. There are others too, but if I was forced to choose, then I would select from this motley crew.
Let’s get craicing!