The Irish Kerryman Joke: Culchies, Cute Hoors, and the Emergence of a Late Modern Fool Region Joke Leah Lowthorp

This article explores the emergence and swift decline of the Kerryman joke, a late modern fool region joke told by the Irish about their fellow countrymen from the south-westernmost county of Kerry. It both contextualizes the joke cycle within a rapidly modernizing, late-twentieth century Ireland, and examines tensions between the emic interpretations of joke tellers and the etic interpretations of scholars of stupidity jokes more generally. KEYWORDS: Ireland, Jokes, Ethnic humor, Stupidity jokes, Kerryman