{"id":21,"date":"2009-04-18T00:52:22","date_gmt":"2009-04-18T04:52:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/?p=21"},"modified":"2015-02-27T16:52:44","modified_gmt":"2015-02-27T16:52:44","slug":"the-many-meanings-of-%e2%80%9coireachtas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/irish\/the-many-meanings-of-%e2%80%9coireachtas\/","title":{"rendered":"The Many Meanings of \u201cOireachtas”"},"content":{"rendered":"
\u00a0(le\u00a0R\u00f3isl\u00edn)<\/strong><\/div>\n

For the week of April 5 to 12, 2009, many Philadelphians probably saw more samples of the Irish language in the media than ever before in the city\u2019s history.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 This year, Philadelphia hosted the first Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne<\/strong> (World Irish Dance Championship) to be held outside Ireland or the U.K.\u00a0 Over 6000 dancers attended, most accompanied by family members, bringing about 20,000 visitors to the city.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0 In addition to highlighting the name of the event in Irish, the organizing body, An Coimisi\u00fan le Rinc\u00ed Gaelacha <\/strong>(www.clrg.ie) uses numerous Irish terms, even when its members are speaking English.\u00a0 Key among these are \u201cfeiseanna<\/strong>,\u201d (basically \u201cfestival\u201d but CLRG uses it for “regional competitions”), ADCRG<\/strong> (Ard Diploma Choimisi\u00fain le Rinc\u00ed Gaelacha<\/span><\/strong>, with \u201card<\/strong>\u201d meaning \u201chigh\u201d) <\/span>and TCRG<\/strong> (Teagasc\u00f3ir Choimisi\u00fain le Rinc\u00ed Gaelacha<\/strong>, a Coimisi\u00fan<\/strong>-certified teacher).<\/p>\n

\n

\u00a0 The original meaning of \u201coireachtas<\/strong>\u201d isn\u2019t exactly \u201cchampionship,\u201d though; that would generally be \u201ccraobh<\/strong>\u201d (literally, a branch).\u00a0 An \u201coireachtas<\/strong>\u201d is a gathering (business or cultural), or a deliberative assembly.\u00a0 A related word is \u201doireacht<\/strong>,\u201d which historically meant an assembly of freemen or members of a tribe, gathered for deliberation; it could also mean a gathering or assembly in the general sense.\u00a0 <\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u201cOireachtas<\/strong>\u201d isn\u2019t generally used now for everyday meetings.\u00a0 Those could be \u201ccruinni\u00fa<\/strong>,\u201d (meeting, gathering) or a \u201ction\u00f3l<\/strong>\u201d (gathering, assembly, typically a large group of people, not just the handful that could constitute a \u201ccruinni\u00fa<\/strong>\u201d).<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 \u201cOireachtas\u201d <\/span><\/strong>is also the name of the legislature or national parliament of Poblacht na h\u00c9ireann<\/strong> (the Republic of Ireland) which has two houses, D\u00e1il, \u00a0<\/strong>and Seanad.\u00a0 <\/strong>There was also a predecessor, the Oireachtas<\/strong> in Saorst\u00e1t \u00c9ireann<\/strong> (the Irish Free State, 1922-37.).\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

\u00a0 Yet another use of the word is \u201cOireachtas na Gaeilge,\u201d <\/strong>a literary and cultural festival celebrating the Irish language and held in Ireland since the 1890s.\u00a0 It is similar to two other Celtic events: in Wales, the Eisteddfod<\/em>, which in revival dates to 1792, and in Scotland, Am M\u00f2d N\u00e0iseanta R\u00ecoghail<\/em>, <\/strong>run by <\/span>An Comunn G\u00e0idhealach, which dates to 1891.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0 Finally, if you know anyone with the surname Geraghty, Gerrity, Gearty, or Gerty, they probably had a distant ancestor who was an \u201coireachtach<\/strong>\u201d (advisor, assembly-man).\u00a0 From \u201coireachtach<\/strong>\u201d to \u201cGerty,\u201d you might well ask!\u00a0 Consider the possessive form, Mag Oireachtaigh<\/strong> (sometimes Mac Oireachtaigh<\/strong>), meaning \u201cson of the advisor or assembly-man.\u201d\u00a0 The final \u201cch\u201d has been softened to a vowel sound (-aigh, like \u201cee\u201d) since we\u2019re saying \u201cof the advisor,\u201d not just \u201cadvisor.\u201d\u00a0 The \u201cch\u201d in the middle of the word may get softened or silenced when anglicized.\u00a0 And often the full \u201cmac<\/strong>\u201d or \u201cmag<\/strong>\u201d sound (for \u201cson\u201d) gets shortened to just a \u201cc\u201d or \u201cg\u201d before vowels (as in \u201cKeown\u201d from \u201cMag Eoin<\/strong>\u201d).\u00a0 This results in names like Geraghty (with a silent \u201cgh\u201d) or Gerty. <\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Bhur mblag\u00e1la\u00ed – R\u00f3isl\u00edn <\/span><\/strong><\/cite><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\ufffd<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0(le\u00a0R\u00f3isl\u00edn) For the week of April 5 to 12, 2009, many Philadelphians probably saw more samples of the Irish language in the media than ever before in the city\u2019s history.\u00a0 Why?\u00a0 This year, Philadelphia hosted the first Oireachtas Rince na Cruinne (World Irish Dance Championship) to be held outside Ireland or the U.K.\u00a0 Over 6000…<\/p>\n

Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":""},"categories":[3898],"tags":[3902,3911,3913,3914,3916,3917,3918,1859,3982,3987,4060,4108,4164,4173,4174,4175,4176,4177,4178,4192,4193,4209,4210,4224,4225,4226,4227,4228,4344,4345,4434,31,4620,4704,4721,4722,4750,4817,4838,4859,4891,4895,4896,4898,4899,4935,4936,5060,5073,5076,2110,2111,5116,5117,5161,5162,1065,5177,5178,5183,5185,5206,2150,5255,5259,5285,5299,5300,5302,5338,5348,5355,5356,5357,5358,5381,5451,5477,5522,1101,5665,5678,390377,5789,5861,5874,5878,5910,5968,5969,6042,6049,2299,6091,6098,6188,6223,6226,6332,6333,6350,6351,6352,6353,6354,6355,6371,6372,6397,6440,6442,6484,6485,3351,6512,6525,6591,6592,6599,6604,6605,6606,6607,6608,6690,6719,6721,6724,6737,6799,6800,6801,6813,6814,6881,6892,6893,6894,6912,2543,6980,7029,7032,7034,7096,7126,2593,7212,7720,7246,7278,7281,3056,7283,7644,7646,7721],"class_list":["post-21","post","type-post","status-publish","hentry","category-irish-language","tag-aigh","tag-3911","tag-1890s","tag-3914","tag-3916","tag-1922-37","tag-3918","tag-1859","tag-adcrg","tag-advisor","tag-am-mod","tag-an-coimisiun-le-rinci-gaelacha","tag-ancestor","tag-anglicisation","tag-anglicise","tag-anglicised","tag-anglicization","tag-anglicize","tag-anglicized","tag-april-12","tag-april-5-to-12","tag-ard","tag-ard-diploma-choimisiuin-le-rinci-gaelacha","tag-assembly","tag-assembly-of-freemen","tag-assembly-of-members-of-a-tribe","tag-assembly-man","tag-assembly-men","tag-bhfeis","tag-bhfeiseanna","tag-branch","tag-business","tag-celtic","tag-clrg","tag-coimisiun","tag-coimisiun-certified","tag-competition","tag-craobh","tag-cruinniu","tag-cultural","tag-dail","tag-damhsa","tag-damhsaigh","tag-dancer","tag-dancers","tag-deliberation","tag-deliberative","tag-eire","tag-eirinn","tag-eisteddfod","tag-event","tag-events","tag-everyday","tag-everyday-meetings","tag-feis","tag-feiseanna","tag-festival","tag-fheis","tag-fheiseanna","tag-filideilfia","tag-final-ch","tag-flatley","tag-free","tag-free-state","tag-freemen","tag-gaeilge","tag-gaelach","tag-gaelacha","tag-gaelic","tag-gathering","tag-gearty","tag-geraghty","tag-gerrithy","tag-gerrity","tag-gerty","tag-glasgow","tag-group","tag-handful","tag-high","tag-house","tag-ireland","tag-irish-free-state","tag-irish-language","tag-keown","tag-legislature","tag-lenited","tag-lenition","tag-literary-and-cultural-festival","tag-mag-eoin","tag-mag-oireachtaigh","tag-mckeown","tag-meaning","tag-meeting","tag-michael-flatley","tag-middle-of-the-word","tag-na-gaeilge","tag-national","tag-national-parliament","tag-of-the-advisor","tag-of-the-assembly-man","tag-oireacht","tag-oireachtach","tag-oireachtaigh","tag-oireachtas","tag-oireachtas-na-gaeilge","tag-oireachtas-rince-na-cruinne","tag-original","tag-original-meaning","tag-parliament","tag-philadelphia","tag-philadelphians","tag-poblacht","tag-poblacht-na-heireann","tag-possessive","tag-possessive-form","tag-predecessor","tag-regional","tag-regional-competitions","tag-revival","tag-rince","tag-rinci","tag-rinnce","tag-rinnci","tag-rioghail","tag-saorstat-eireann","tag-scotland","tag-scots","tag-scottish","tag-seanad","tag-short","tag-shorten","tag-shortened","tag-silenced","tag-silent-gh","tag-softened","tag-son","tag-son-of-the-advisor","tag-son-of-the-assembly-man","tag-special-guest","tag-state","tag-surname","tag-tcrg","tag-teacher","tag-teagascoir-choimisiuin-le-rinci-gaelacha","tag-the-republic-of-ireland","tag-tionol","tag-tribe","tag-two-houses","tag-u-k","tag-united-kingdom","tag-vowel","tag-vowel-sound","tag-vowels","tag-wales","tag-world-irish-dance-championship","tag-worlds","tag-www-clrg-ie"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t