The Story of Dublin’s Favourite Meme Page And Their War With Mr. Tayto
Words: Dray Morgan
We are facing the end of an era folks. For some time now, the rise of the hyper-miche Dublin meme page has been a cornerstone of the chronically online, capital-dwelling zoomer. However, there was one to rule them all. Formerly going under the name “Taytocock”, the Instagram account satirised every facet of Dublin culture, creating a cult fanbase in the process with an icon of Mr.Tayto with his member out at the forefront of their brand. But with the Tayto lords being more than unsatisfied with the branding of the page, legal threats have forced a rebrand.
“It was just supposed to be an account for shit posting to be fair, but as time went on it just
naturally became an Irish shit posting page. Irish people are genuinely the funniest people in
the world, especially when they’re not trying to be.” A representative from the page told District. With a tone that is unfiltered, the account was able to create “an inside joke amongst thousands of people”.
“Everybody who follows the page just gets it” they said.
As the page gained popularity, it became obvious that it was more than a meme page. The secrecy surrounding the identity of the creators who had a hyper-local fanbase in a chokehold only added to the allure. The first foray into the physical world came in 2024, where the owners distributed stickers of their now-renowned “alternative” Mr. Tayto mascot.
These stickers were undeniably eye-catching, which only furthered the momentum of the page as the icon popped up in bars, pubs and on the street, “As soon as they started appearing on the street the page started growing crazy and the demand for stickers went insano after that.”
Valentine’s Day 2025 was the beginning of the end for the Taytocock label. The account was first suspended on this date, with no promises that it would return. The stickers and memes had intertwined the page with on-the-ground Dublin culture. The only option after this was to host an event to celebrate and satirise the city that hosts this community.
“We heard Pawn Shop were interested in hosting us through a friend of ours they contacted
after the account was suspended on Valentine’s Day. The original idea was to have a funeral
for the page but we thought it’d be hard to promote given we didn’t have a platform anymore,
thankfully we won our case with Instagram and were able to reposition the event as a rebirth
more than a funeral.”, their representative said.
However, the legal turmoil didn’t stop there. Now on the Tayto radar, it was only a matter of time before a rebrand had to happen. More pressure from the crisp giant forced the hand of the Taytocockians to rebrand to giovannismokes.
“Mr * has mad beef with us now. It’s crazy to think of C-levels in Tayto having an emergency meeting over a page called taytocock. Loada suits yappin to each other about taytocock in some massive building. Honestly, I thought they could have used the page to their benefit in terms of marketing etc. different folks, different strokes I suppose. Spuddys are so much nicer anyway. We always felt somewhat limited by the branding so it’s nice to finally be freed from that. May he fly high and rest in peace.”
The page has got to a point now where it has transcended being a novel parody of Mr. Tayto. Whatever label the page goes under, it still encapsulates the feeling of Dubliners. Charicaturising genuine struggles that young people experience in Ireland’s capital gives a coping mechanism against the housing crisis, anti-immigration rhetoric and the general darker side of Ireland, which we are bombarded by online and in the news.
The future is just fun the for the guys behind the page “Long-term we’ll have to see where we wanna take things, no doubt there’s potential for stuff to happen but we’ve all got our own lives with college and work, so it’s not something thats a priority right now. I don’t think all admins have ever been in the same room at the same time so the conversation for future plans and goals is yet to be had. Meme page board meeting before GTA 6?”
