American Accent + English Accent = Irish Accent???

I don't know if anyone else has gotten this, but about the last 4 or 5 months I've been asked by people that I've never met before "Oh what part of Ireland are you from?" 

I've been living in the North East of England for 1 year and 2 months now, originally from Florida. And before it seemed like people could tell I'm from the states when I first came here, and now everyone seems to think I sound slightly Irish lol

Is it because Americans and Irish people both pronounce their "R's"? Or maybe I'm picking up the accent here in certain words and the combination sounds Irish?

I feel kind of sad sometimes because I don't really want to lose my American accent. It's part of who I am, but I guess it's just another thing to adapt and change to. Anyone else experience this?

I would never, EVER have realized this before I moved here, but the American and Irish accents really are pretty close. Mostly because of the hard "r" I guess.

There've been several times I heard an Irish person speaking on the radio and thought for a moment it was an American. I get the Irishness after a few sentences, but still...first impressions.

I guess you hear it more when you're immersed in a British world for a few years.

I've had a few people ask me if I am Irish, and one woman say 'Now THAT'S an Irish accent if I have ever heard one!', and I giggle inwardly every time. I can see similarities between American and Irish accents, but overall I don't think I sound Irish at all.

The one that struck me most odd was when a nurse at the hospital asked if I was Australian.

I got this on the phone yesterday.  I was talking to a builder and he told me he didn't go to Ireland... Ireland?  I live in Liverpool- "oh, you sound Irish, sorry." ......   

 A: Irish people live all over the UK
 B: uh... really guy?

 If this were the first time this has happened I would have been more surprised, but I get it a lot actually.  I think it has to do with the hard R's and my cadence changing a bit since I've been here.  Oh well- I like the Irish. except that Jedward.. they can go to hell in a flamboyant teeny-bopper hand basket! 

Yep. Me too....from an Irish woman! A few others times from random people. It seems a common guess.

Someone once thought I was Northern Irish, which I think was strange. I don't think that American and Irish accents should all that much alike at all, personally.

I've always thought that Australian accents sound like the bastard child of English and Boston accents, though.

The first time I heard Terry Wogan I could have taken him for an American -- who had perhaps been in the UK awhile.

He he.  I used to get it all the time when I used to work in a call centre.

It could also be the combination of your pronunciation and the pace at which you speak.  Some Irish people speak so fast that everything melds into one long word.  It really did my head in sometimes when they would call up asking about something and I could only make out about every other word.   

When I lived in Switzerland, I'd get that all the time. Now that I live here and hear Irish accents more frequently, I can see why they had the confusion. I've got difficulty immediately distinguishing an Irish accent on just a few words.

It seems to me that my American accent, which had been quite soft over the last 9 years that I've been gone has started to come back since I started my job. Extremely odd...

An Irish accent sound like an American accent?

I can't believe anyone would confuse them at. 

An Irish accent sound like an American accent?

I can't believe anyone would confuse them at. 

I agree!  *Except*, some of the more 'posh' Irish-accented folks (with less of an accent, if you know what I mean) sound American to me at first glance, but only at first glance.

I agree!  *Except*, some of the more 'posh' Irish-accented folks (with less of an accent, if you know what I mean) sound American to me at first glance, but only at first glance.

Aidan Gillen sounds like that to me. But he's also very good at doing an American accent!

There are Irish accents -- and then there are Irish accents, to be sure 

There are Irish accents -- and then there are Irish accents, to be sure 

Absolutely!  A thick West Clare accent I can understand now that I've had practice, but a Kerry accent--tough going!  (but lovely!)

lol I dont get this impression at all, but I'm from Oregon. I can understand MAYBE confusing some Irish accents with Massachusets or other East Coast accents IE "hoow aer ya Bob?!"