Unfortunately, bad attitudes seem to come hand-in-hand with 23% paycuts. It's part of the new world order. That being said, the purser should have clarified this for you. If s/he didn't know, ask until s/he gets an answer. This flight is operated everyday. So, the ground crew should know the answer -- even if the FA's are eternally confused (as they sometimes are).

Hopefully, one of our wonderful AA FA's will chime in here. Does the company NOT give you this type of information? Or is it just the "Ireland" confusion that confuses everyone? Really, IMHO, the ground staff should have made an announcement of what you should do!!