Ode to Tayto
One of the deep cultural differences I have discovered between Ireland and the United Kingdom lies in the arena of potato crisps.
Here the crisp of choice for the discerning consumer is the Tayto, a brand I have not seen elsewhere (though apparently it is also made under licence in Northern Ireland). So familiar is the name Tayto over here that people use it to refer to any kind of crisp, in much the same way that in the UK you might use ‘Hoover’ to refer to any kind of vacuum cleaner.
If you don’t believe that a humble potato crisp can be a cultural phenomenon then note that there is even a Tayto Park which is only 30 minutes from Dublin but which, regrettably, I have not yet visited.
Tayto’s crisps have been around since 1954 and the manufacturer is credited with inventing the method of production of flavoured potato crisps. Tayto has the right, therefore, to call itself the original potato crisp.
Naturally, while in Ireland I try to buy locally produced items whenever possible, so I have sampled Tayto crisps on a number of occasions. They come in a relatively narrow range of flavours, but the Cheese & Onion variety is definitely nicer than, e. g. Walkers.
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In the Dark 
June 3, 2018 at 6:55 pm
There’s an Irish pub near where I live in the US that sometimes sells packets of Taytos. They’re only available occasionally, so I suspect that they don’t have any sort of formal importation arrangement — the owner probably just brings them back from Ireland from time to time.
An Irish expatriate friend of mine was very excited to find them here.
June 3, 2018 at 6:57 pm
I’ve heard that they can occasionally be found in Australia too, presumably on the same informal basis.
June 5, 2018 at 6:43 pm
Informal transport of crisps makes it sound like the crisps will be found to be in smaller pieces than usual once opened.
June 4, 2018 at 8:00 pm
I believe that the word derives from the Irish Gaelic word prátaí which means ‘a luxury food item which is the envy of the world’.
August 19, 2018 at 7:41 pm
I always thought Tayto crisps originated in Tandragee, NI.
Their website says they started in 1956: https://www.tayto.com/about/
However, Tayto of Dublin appear to have started in 1954: https://taytocrisps.ie/about-tayto/
Thanks for the education!
btw. they are still easy to find elsewhere in the UK. Not sure whether this will remain true post-Brexit.