An Irish TikToker has racked up millions of views after launching what should be a simple challenge: ordering food from businesses in Ireland, in the Irish language.
Jonathan Finlay, who posts under the name Nasti_2k, started a series last week with the caption “Day 1 of ordering food in Irish... in Ireland until someone says yes.” The videos feature calls to restaurants where he attempts to place his orders using Irish Gaelic.
So far, there has not even been remote success. The farthest along he's been able to go is responses where the restaurant will apologize for not being able to speak Irish. On day 7 of the challenge, one person even went so far as to mock his Irish, responding "Blah blah blah blah," and demanding that he make his order in English, to which Finlay responds "No, because I'm in Ireland," and hangs up.
The series has now reached its seventh installment, with the videos collectively attracting around 11 million views in just a few days. Finlay has nearly 800,000 followers on TikTok. The challenge continues as he searches for a business able to take his order in the country's traditional language.
Irish is the first official language of the Republic of Ireland, although English remains overwhelmingly dominant in everyday life. Ireland's 2022 census recorded roughly 1.87 million people who said they could speak Irish to some degree. Only about 195,000 people were classified as fluent, while slightly more than 15,000 reported speaking the language daily. Irish-speaking communities are concentrated particularly in designated Gaeltacht areas.
Finlay previously worked in digital marketing and journalism before becoming a social media creator. His online name reportedly came from a 2018 trip to New York, where a street rapper wrote “Jay Nasty” on a copy after asking Finlay his name, reports the Irish Star.
Comments on the latest installment of the challenge have been harsh toward the restaurateur. One commenter said, "Speak English is like saying speak Zulu in France." Another responded, "That's actually unfair to say considering Irish is a language of Ireland." Nasti, on his part, has been class. One commenter said, "You should put a review on that business so disrespectful that's like telling Spanish people to speak English in Spain," to which Finlay responded, "I could but I won't. I understand not speaking Irish but there's no need to be rude."
Jonathan Finlay, who posts under the name Nasti_2k, started a series last week with the caption “Day 1 of ordering food in Irish... in Ireland until someone says yes.” The videos feature calls to restaurants where he attempts to place his orders using Irish Gaelic.
So far, there has not even been remote success. The farthest along he's been able to go is responses where the restaurant will apologize for not being able to speak Irish. On day 7 of the challenge, one person even went so far as to mock his Irish, responding "Blah blah blah blah," and demanding that he make his order in English, to which Finlay responds "No, because I'm in Ireland," and hangs up.
The series has now reached its seventh installment, with the videos collectively attracting around 11 million views in just a few days. Finlay has nearly 800,000 followers on TikTok. The challenge continues as he searches for a business able to take his order in the country's traditional language.
Irish is the first official language of the Republic of Ireland, although English remains overwhelmingly dominant in everyday life. Ireland's 2022 census recorded roughly 1.87 million people who said they could speak Irish to some degree. Only about 195,000 people were classified as fluent, while slightly more than 15,000 reported speaking the language daily. Irish-speaking communities are concentrated particularly in designated Gaeltacht areas.
Finlay previously worked in digital marketing and journalism before becoming a social media creator. His online name reportedly came from a 2018 trip to New York, where a street rapper wrote “Jay Nasty” on a copy after asking Finlay his name, reports the Irish Star.
Comments on the latest installment of the challenge have been harsh toward the restaurateur. One commenter said, "Speak English is like saying speak Zulu in France." Another responded, "That's actually unfair to say considering Irish is a language of Ireland." Nasti, on his part, has been class. One commenter said, "You should put a review on that business so disrespectful that's like telling Spanish people to speak English in Spain," to which Finlay responded, "I could but I won't. I understand not speaking Irish but there's no need to be rude."
