An Irishman employed in a large factory had taken a day off without permission and seemed likely to lose his job in consequence. When asked by his foreman the next day why he had not turned up the day before, he replied:
"I was so ill, sir, that I could not come to work to save me life."
"How was it, then, Pat, that I saw you pass the factory on your bicycle during the morning?" asked the foreman.
Pat was slightly taken aback, then regaining his presence of mind, he replied:
"Sure, sir, that must have been when I was going for the doctor."
A college graduate was walking down the street one evening with a friend of Irish descent, and, pausing to look up at the starry sky, remarked with enthusiasm:
"How bright Orion is tonight!"
"So that is O'Ryan, is it?" replied Pat. "Well, thank the Lord, there's one Irishman in heaven, anyhow!"