Ireland (Lonely Planet, 9th Edition) - Fionn Davenport [640]
DAYS & MONTHS
Monday Dé Luaín day loon
Tuesday Dé Máirt day maart
Wednesday Dé Ceádaoin day kaydeen
Thursday Déardaoin daredeen
Friday Dé hAoine day heeneh
Saturday Dé Sathairn day sahern
Sunday Dé Domhnaigh day downick
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NUMBERS
1 haon hayin
2 dó doe
3 trí tree
4 ceathaír kahirr
5 cúig koo·ig
6 sé shay
7 seacht shocked
8 hocht hukt
9 naoi nay
10 deich jeh
11 haon déag hayin jague
12 dó dhéag doe yague
20 fiche feekhe
Also available from Lonely Planet:
Irish Language & Culture phrasebook
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Glossary
12 July – the day the Orange Order marches to celebrate Protestant King William III’s victory over the Catholic King James II at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690
An Óige – literally ‘the Youth’; Republic of Ireland Youth Hostel Association
An Taisce – National Trust for the Republic of Ireland
Anglo-Norman – Norman, English and Welsh peoples who invaded Ireland in the 12th century
Apprentice Boys – Loyalist organisation founded in 1814 to commemorate the Great Siege of Derry in August every year
ard – literally ‘high’; Irish place name
Ascendancy – refers to the Protestant aristocracy descended from the Anglo-Normans and those who were installed here during the Plantation
bailey – outer wall of a castle
bawn – area surrounded by walls outside the main castle, acting as a defence and as a place to keep cattle in times of trouble
beehive hut – see clochán
Black & Tans – British recruits to the Royal Irish Constabulary shortly after WWI, noted for their brutality
Blarney Stone – sacred stone perched on top of Blarney Castle; bending over backwards to kiss the stone is said to bestow the gift of gab
bodhrán – hand-held goatskin drum
Bord Na Móna – the Irish turf board, charged with harvesting peat for use in power plants
boreen – small lane or roadway
Bronze Age – earliest metal-using period, around 2500 BC to 300 BC in Ireland; after the Stone Age and before the Iron Age
B-Specials – Northern Irish auxiliary police force, disbanded in 1971
bullaun – stone with a depression, probably used as a mortar for grinding medicine or food, often found at monastic sites
CAC IRA – Continuity Army Council of the IRA, a breakaway group
caher – circular area enclosed by stone walls
cairn – mound of stones heaped over a prehistoric grave
cashel – stone-walled ring fort; see also ráth
céilidh – session of traditional music and dancing; also called ‘ceili’
Celtic Tiger – nickname of the Irish economy during the growth years from 1990 to about 2002
Celts – Iron Age warrior tribes that arrived in Ireland around 300 BC and controlled the country for 1000 years
ceol – music
cha – slang term for tea, as in a ‘cup of cha’
chancel – eastern end of a church, where the altar is situated, reserved for the clergy and choir
chipper – slang term for fish ‘n’ chips fast-food restaurant
cill – literally ‘church’; Irish place name; also known as ‘kill’
cillín – literally ‘little cell’; a hermitage, or sometimes a small, isolated burial ground for unbaptised children and other ‘undesirables’
Claddagh ring – ring worn in much of Connaught since the mid-18th century, with a crowned heart nestling between two hands; if the heart points towards the hand then the wearer is partnered or married, if towards the fingertip he or she is looking for a mate
clochán – circular stone building, shaped like an old- fashioned beehive, from the early Christian period
Connaught – one of the four ancient provinces of Ireland, made up of Counties Galway, Leitrim, Mayo, Roscommon and Sligo; sometimes spelled ‘Connacht’; see also Leinster, Munster and Ulster
Continuity IRA – anti-Agreement splinter Republican group, opposed to any deal not based on a united Ireland
craic – conversation, gossip, fun, good times; also known as ‘crack’
crannóg – artificial island made in a lake to provide habitation in a good defensive position
crios – multicoloured woven woollen belt traditionally worn in the Aran Islands
cú – dog
culchie