why are irish people held in such love and affection generally abroad especially in the USA?

I can't speak for other countries; however, in the U.S., many of us have Irish ancestry (I've got at least three or four lines that I know of), even if it's only a little bit. I think we also perceive it as a colorful and interesting culture, so we undoubtedly romanticize it.

I think it's also a product of the fact that we have no one overriding cultural identity, and that's something that many of us wish we had. Most of us descend from people who came from a definite tradition that they were often trying DESPERATELY to leave behind for one reason or another. The result is a nation of people who are busy, like me, looking for who they are, and not necessarily having a lot of success finding it.

I think it's the accent...