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THERE WERE THREE Irish contestants on Love Island this year, but it took a Polish woman to bring the phrase “póg mo thóin” to the UK mainstream.

The final episode of a Love Island season that was rich with Irish participation aired last night, bringing the season to a close – but not without another hark back to “póg mo thóin”, which had been thrown around the villa on several occasions over the last month, much to the amusement of Irish viewers.

The term, as every Irish schoolchild gleefully learns in the playground, means “kiss my ass” as Gaeilge.

So how did an Irish phrase become a key plot point of a British reality TV show about would-be influencers finding love in a Spanish villa?

The key was Julia, the show’s first eastern European contestant who went on to win the show last night with her partner Lorenzo.

Julia entered the show about halfway through during what’s known as ‘Casa Amor’. The existing couples of men and women are split up and sent to separate villas, where six new male and six new female ‘bombshells’ are sent in to the respective villas to test the existing partnerships.

During Casa Amor, Julia had several conversations with Ireland’s own Seán Fitzgerald, or Fitzy, as he was known on the show.

The Galway GAA player generated a lot of buzz on this side of the Irish Sea when it was announced that he’d be in the starting cast line-up – not least because of a pre-show video in which he pitches himself to the producers going viral.

(The buzz around Seán was helped by widespread speculation before the show aired that Irish influencer Charleen Murphy would be on the show this year. The Dubliner ultimately made an appearance as a ‘Casa girl’ alongside Julia. The trio of Irish contestants was completed by Victoria Onanusi from Kildare, who entered the show on the fifth day of week one, but unfortunately was knocked out five days later.)

Despite Julia’s advances, at the end of the ‘Casa Amor’ phase of the show, Seán chose to return to his original partner, Lola – who wasn’t best pleased with Julia.

Lola took umbrage with Julia’s attention to Seán and it culminated in an argument in which Julia told Lola: “Póg mo thóin.”

Lola – who’s from Kent in England – thought Julia was swearing at her in Polish as a flustered Seán tried to stop Julia from repeating the Irish phrase – now, who on earth could Julia have learned that from?

Sean Fitzy teaching Julia “Póg mo thóin” in Casa Amor and her saying it directly to LOLA hahahaha I am howling. Lorenzo’s got his hands full. Love Island UK

— xmegsor (@_MeganOreilly) July 3, 2026

*it means (Kiss My ^ss) in Irish language ☘️ pic.twitter.com/4oW2c7VGEG

Irish fans ate up that scene, and the wider audience fully saw the humour and drama in it too.

Guys I might have to tune back in. We have a generational islander on our hands #LoveIsland pic.twitter.com/OsGPPnJ08E

— sᴜᴘᴇʀ ᴛᴠ (@superTV247) July 3, 2026

It wasn’t to be the last time the phrase cropped up.

As the weeks went on, Seán and Lola were dumped from the island, while Julia and her partner Lorenzo progressed. In the penultimate episode, with just five couples remaining, all of the contestants from the season who had previously been dumped were invited back with the task of voting for one couple that should be knocked out ahead of the final. Our Irish contestants – Charleen, Victoria, and of course, Seán – all made their return to the villa on Sunday night’s episode for the vote.

Julia and Lorenzo came out pretty well, with only two votes cast against them. Those were, as you might guess, from Lola and Seán.

After Seán voted for Julia and Lorenzo to be eliminated, Julia stared him down with a mischievious twinkle in her eye and said: “If there’s anything I’d like to say to you, Seán, it’s… póg mo thóin.”

Julia hitting Sean with Póg mo thóin (kiss my arse) was top-tier banter😭😂#loveisland #loveislanduk pic.twitter.com/Yp3vZ1HFOY

— VD 🌹 (@Mister_Hammed) July 26, 2026

A day later, Julia and Lorenzo won the whole show in the public vote, but not before she got in one last playful “póg mo thóin” to Seán and Lola during her final interview with host Maya Jama – but also saying that she wishes them all the best.

Most people go on Love Island to gain social media followers, chase brand deals, or maybe even in the hope of finding a real romantic connection. Seán is probably the first islander to come away with a valuable life lesson: bí curamach about to whom you decide to teach cúpla focail.

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