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Tag Archives: Lá Fhéile Pádraig

Ten St. Patrick’s Day Items and How to Lenite and Eclipse Them Posted by on Mar 19, 2014

(le Róislín) Before we completely leave Lá Fhéile Pádraig (aka Lá ‘le Pádraig) behind us and turn to “céad lá an Earraigh” (20 mí an Mhárta 2014), let’s practice lenition and eclipsis of some Irish nouns pertaining to “an Naomh é féin” and the celebrations of the day. The concepts of lenition and eclipsis have been discussed many times…

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When to Say ‘Pádraig,’ When to Say ‘Phádraig,’ and When to say ‘Saxifraga spathularis’ Posted by on Mar 11, 2014

(le Róislín) With Lá Fhéile Pádraig just around the corner, let’s take a closer look at the name “Pádraig” itself.  It has two main forms, “Pádraig” being the basic form, and “Phádraig,” used in certain types of phrases.  Less frequently, we may also encounter “bPádraig.”  Of course, there are also nicknames, like Páidín, Páid, Padhra…

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10 Ways to Describe “Seamróga” (Shamrocks) in Irish Posted by on Mar 8, 2014

(le Róislín) As we approach Lá Fhéile Pádraig (aka “Lá ‘le Pádraig” and “St. Patrick’s Day”), our thoughts naturally turn to “seamróga” (shamrocks).  How many ways can we think of to describe them?  We’ll try for at least ten in this blog.  Maybe some readers will have some more suggestions. A key thing to remember…

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Béigil: Uaine nó Glas? (Which Type of ‘Green’ for Bagels?) Posted by on Mar 27, 2013

(le Róislín) I figured there would be a lot more online references to “green beer” than to “green bagels” and, iontas na n-iontas, that was the correct assumption.   When you search for the terms in Irish (beoir ghlas, beoir uaine, béigil ghlasa, béigil uaine), the numbers for both drop dramatically. Not that there are that…

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Póit, Poit, Poitín, Póitín, Pótaire, Potaire, or, Mind Your “Síntí Fada” Posted by on Mar 17, 2012

(le Róislín) Continuing with the topic of tippling and toping for Lá Fhéile Pádraig, here’s another interesting assortment of timely tidbits of vocabulary.  Four of the words in the title actually have to do with drinking (really three and a variation), and two have nothing to do with drinking, but are simply here as a…

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Deir an Dúmheidic (Black Medick): “Ba mhaith liomsa a bheith i m’iomaitheoir freisin!” Posted by on Mar 13, 2012

(le Róislín) In the last blog (blogs.transparent.com/irish/an-tseamrog-the-shamrock/), I noted that there were at least eight contenders for the title of “shamrock,” including seamsóg (wood-sorrel) and various types of seamair (clover).  The blog I cited (www.naturalistsalmanac.com/0317stpat.html) mentioned there being eight possibilities, but only elaborated on six (five types of clover and the wood-sorrel).  So what are the other…

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Súgach go Deargmheisce: From “Tipsy” to “Dead-drunk” in Irish Posted by on Mar 7, 2012

(le Róislín) From “súgach” to “ar deargmheisce,” the Irish language has numerous ways to indicate stages of intoxication.  This is, once again, just the tip of the vocabulary iceberg, but one has to start somewhere!  Here are some phrases to help get you ready for Lá Fhéile Pádraig (aka Lá ‘Éile Pádraig aka St. Patrick’s…

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