Why all the Apologies?

I'm convinced that the most-used words in the Irish vocabulary are as follows:

1) bye
2) sorry
3) hiya (or how'erya)
4) pint
5) feck (or fuck)
6) cheers

Here's my rationale:

Bye -- bye is the most-used word in Ireland (or at least County Galway) because most Irish don't say "bye" once: they say it at least three times with each farewell.

Sorry -- the word that truly inspired this blog post...I'm not quite sure why the Irish feel the need to apologize for, well, almost everything. Sorry is used when you bump into someone, when you want to get past someone blocking your way, when you can't hear or understand someone, when you want to get someone's attention quickly, when you are actually sorry or when you aren't sure what else to say, "sorry" is usually the most appropriate word. They don't say "pardon me," "excuse me," "could you repeat that?" etc, etc. Yes, I do realize that "sorry" is just politeness here, the Irish aren't really apologizing, but it's really cute to witness it from the American perspective. Why do the Irish have to be so kind all the time? I love their warm spirits, but if you're not in the wrong, is there really any reason to accept the blame? I'll have to wean myself off this habit when I return to the States, or everyone will be looking at me strangely.

Hiya - the smile "hi" or "hello" just aren't that common here. Greetings need to include a warm inquiry into the other person's wellbeing, such as "Hi, how'erya?" -- which is really pronounced as more of a run-on word.

Pint - no explanation needed. This is the land of Guinness, the place where keg-truck driver is a highly skilled, sought-after and highly demanded employment position.

Feck - this swear word is like our usage of "damn" or "shit." Think of it as the ketchup in your vocabulary, if every other word was a French fry.

Cheers - from what I can tell, "cheers" means "goodbye" and "thank you." Talk about word economy. Plus it can also be used for toasts (but I think this is more common in the States.) Love this word.