Tag Archives: Ireland
Cé a chuaigh ó Éirinn go dtí an India ar rothar (Which Irish cyclist went from Ireland to India by bike) agus ar an ábhar sin, cén Ghaeilge atá ar ‘full tilt’? Posted by róislín on May 15, 2018
(le Róislín) Recently, we’ve had several blogposts on “airde an chompáis” (Thuaidh, Theas, Thoir, Thiar). One of the most dramatic examples I know of that involved “going east” (ag dul soir) and “coming from the west” (ag teacht aniar) is Dervla Murphy’s amazing account of her 1963 bicycle journey entitled Full Tilt: Ireland to India…
Níl tuile dá mhéad nach dtránn: Vocabulary for discussing the floods in Ireland Posted by róislín on Jan 4, 2016
(le Róislín) Like many people, I’m very concerned about the amount of flooding in Ireland. Not being any sort of innealtóir sibhialta, hidreolaí, or céad fhreagróir, I think the most I can to is “mo chuid imní a léiriú” and provide some vocabulary for discussing the situation. First, let’s start with the word for flood…
‘Being Loud’ Not Allowed? (i gcaife sa Choireán, Co. Chiarraí) Posted by róislín on Aug 6, 2014
(le Róislín) By now you might have seen the article about the café sign in Waterville, Co. Kerry (An Coireán, Co. Chiarraí), which appeared to ban bus and coach passengers and loud Americans. Why do I say “appeared”? The punctuation on the sign is such that it defeats its own purpose. The phrase “loud American’s”…
From ‘Multilingual Madness’ to the ‘Siege Perilous’ via a Discussion of ‘Ord na bhFocal’ in Irish Posted by róislín on Apr 14, 2014
(le Róislín) Lately we’ve looked at the possibilities for saying “multilingual” and “madness” in Irish (ilteangach, buile, among other choices). The next question is how do we put the two words together. We’ll follow the typical word order in Irish, first noun, then adjective. This is the reverse of the normal word order in English…
Droichead na Cónaidhme nó ‘Réise na mBeann Glas’ (Mar a Dúradh) Posted by róislín on Feb 22, 2014
(le Róislín) I couldn’t resist spending a little more time with bridges (droichid) since Canada’s Confederation Bridge has such a clever nickname, as bestowed by …, hmm, which Irish person? (freagra thíos). Just a quick review of the phrase “Droichead na Cónaidhme,” before we get to the nickname: droichead [DRIH-hud], bridge na [nuh], here it…
‘Bean’ or ‘Ban’ or ‘Mná’ or “mBan’: How to Say ‘Woman’ (Women) in Irish (just in time for Nollaig na mBan on 6 January) Posted by róislín on Jan 5, 2014
(le Róislín) As the final day of “dhá lá dhéag na Nollag” (6 Eanáir), we recognize “Nollaig na mBan.” Many other sites online offer some commentary on the day’s activities, typically with women taking some time off for a relaxing afternoon tea or evening out. One interesting article, by actress and playwright Sheila Flitton, is…
Speaking of Pigeons (Colúir) Posted by róislín on Dec 14, 2013
(le Róislín) I’ll leave journalists Sean Dunne (IrishCentral) and Liz Alderman (New York Times) to “squabble” over the accuracy of the recent reference in the New York Times to “pigeon-eating” in Ireland. But it does seem to me like a good opportunity to explore the related Irish vocabulary (naisc do na hailt thíos). So we’ll…