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This the latest dispatch from our columnist Darach Ó Séaghdha, author of the award-winning and bestselling Motherfoclóir. Every Sunday morning, Darach will be regaling (re-Gaeling?) us with insights on what the Irish language says about Ireland, our society, our past and our present. Enjoy.
WORDS, LIKE THE people who say them, like to travel, and carry with them stories of where they have been. One such recent arrival on these shores is hygge, the Danish art of living in simple, cosy comfort. While the sound of this word is teasingly similar to the name of our current president, the facts of the matter are that the surname Higgins has a different Norse origin: Ó hUigínn comes from uigingeach, an Irish word for Viking.
Medieval Ireland had a fair bit of interaction (if that’s not too kind a word) with Scandinavian kingdoms. Did this interaction result in a plethora of interesting words? Reader, I thought you’d never ask.
Lochlannach: This is the Irish for a Viking or a Norseman. If you want to be more specific, a Dubh-Lochlannach (dark-haired Viking) is a Dane and a Fionn-Lochlannach (fair-haired Viking) is a Norwegian. Dark-haired foreigners are responsible for the introduction of one of Ireland’s most populous surnames: Doyle (dubh-gall).
Long: The Vikings arrived in Ireland by boat and their loanwords are representative of the work they did. Long (a ship), abúr (the hole for an oar to go through) and ancaire (anchor) are all examples of this.
Danartha: This adjective listed in O’Reilly’s 19th-century dictionary gives three possible English translations: “Danish, foreign, cruel”. If this seems a bit excessive, remember that Ireland declared war against Denmark in 1666 and this decision was only repealed in 2015.
Ispín: Certain Norse words entered the English and Irish languages at the same time (bád for a boat, from bát), and these could be mistaken by the untrained eye as borrowed from béarla. Others bear little relation to the English equivalent, such as the Irish for sausage – íspen in the old Norse. The humble ispín is a delight when fried or grilled, but some Norsemen preferred to boil it in a thin, pale broth that they called kadall.
Ól: Not all soundalikes represent etymological links. Öl – the Swedish/Danish/Norwegian word for beer – sounds tantalisingly like the Irish verb to drink. Could they be connected?
Pingin: As a maritime, trading people, the Vikings added many words pertaining to seafaring and commerce to Irish, such as the word for a penny. Other such borrowings include margadh (a market, from markadhr), punt (a pound of something) and tráill (a slave).
Melkorka: Speaking of slaves, the medieval Icelanders weren’t above stealing Irish women and children from our shores and bringing them back to their chilly northern lair. One such Irishwoman was Melkorka, virtually unknown in her homeland but a major character in the Icelandic saga Landnámabók.
Gotach: This adjective means indistinct of speech, lisping or stammering. This is derived from an earlier Irish word for unintelligible foreign language, specifically the language of the goths.
Luchter: We typically associate the Vikings with the elegant metropolises of Ireland’s east coast, but this Donegal Irish word for a handful is understood to come from the Norse lagthr, meaning a handful of wool.
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Gilmore will be lucky to make it as leader to next years EU and local elections. He’ll certainly be gone after those results. One of the biggest political mistakes made by Gilmore was not backing Shortall in her dispute with Reilly.
The vultures are circling Gilmore, you’re a dead man walking as Lab leader.
Do you not see what’s coming Niall;
we have been treated to the possibility of Fine Gael and Fianna Fail, and last sunday the suggestion of Sinn Fein and Fine Gael , they are preparing a fall on the sword for Labour , a big walkout , and then a “In the national interest ” let’s “save Ireland one of the other two coming in to put “manners on big bad Enda !
Anything but an election before they have a “neutral budget ” in 2014 , a “we have turned the corner” budget in 2015 and finally a “Giveaway” budget in 2016. ; Anything but a general election , anything but that , the polls suggest there is too much support for independents at the moment ; Independents won’t be whipped and that which can’t be whipped is no good to the “bond (slavery) market”.
Gilmore is a traitor to the labour party.
And the people who voted labour #SellOut
Eamonn, go foreign for the rest of your life. Preferably Easter Island. Take Brian Cowen with you.
Labour is a traitor to the working class
labour are traitors to the irish people
I listened to the interview at the time, I think he has spent so much time out of the country he really has no idea what’s happening at home.
He knows exactly what is happening. He is one of the architects of it. A quote from the interview: “Yes we will do what is necessary to get our public finances in in good order,” the Táiniste said. What he forgot to add was ‘regardless of the cost’
Feel free to go anytime Eamon ; Syria is looking for a Good foreign Minister ; tuck the ould Nobel Prize under your arm and off you go, they’ll be delighted to see a man of such eloquence, integrity, charm , honesty and downright good guy genes; not to mention such vast experience on the international STAGE coming to their rescue;
Here’s a slogan ;
“Burn the jihadists” ..or “Not a chemical weapon more” ,or indeed “It’s Assad’s way not Washington’s way” .
Go on now; toddle off !
Not only will Labour be wiped out in locals and Europeans but also GE 2015/16
Morgan Kelly wrote in 2011 that the recent GE was mundane and predictable but the 2016 one would be anything but.
FF will not recover sufficiently by 2016 to have any chance of even being a junior coalition partner.
Labour are a spent force and will have between 0 and 7 TDs
SF are still too toxic for FG
None of the newly formed parties seem to be making sufficient inroads to make them a credible force.
All in all, FG must be surveying the destruction of the political landscape and grinning like Cheshire cats. Contemplating the holy grail – a FG majority government.
This will definitely not happen, although FG will still be the largest of the established parties and will form the next govt.
The question is, with whom?
The group nobody seems to count as possible coalition partners are the Technical Group of Independents.
In the 2016 GE independents will get a lot more first preference votes than ever and a lot more transfers too as people become increasingly polarized for one party or disallusioned with all of them. Many will take the first or second seat. If each constituency elected just one independent or new party candidate we’d have 40 in that group. 50+ is not beyond the bounds of possibility. If they achieve that and can unite, the next Taoiseach will be an independent TD.
I think Morgan was correct. The 2016 election will be anything but mundane and predictable
I think Morgan Kelly has only made one incorrect prediction.
After the 2016 election the only option for Government without SF will be for a Grand Coalition of FG & FF.
I don’t see FF and FF getting sufficient numbers to form a grand coalition. Even if they joined right now they’d have just 5 over a majority. I don’t see FF picking up many seats. I do see FG losing quite a few
Freudian slip. *FG and FF
Make the most of it now gilmore! The countdown is on for you to be gone, hopefully for good. One less leech, unfortunately still entitled to a massive pension.
Married to the state trough.
I’d say most Labour members are glad to have him out of the country so they dont have to put up with his bullying whenever they voice an opinion.
I wonder if he will squeeze in a trip to Peru before he gets pushed off the gravy train ?
Is he dying his hair? It looks wile yellow in thon photographical.
Like a ripe cornfield bowing before a gentle breeze :-)
Dont trust a word from this trolls mouth.
Listened to O Rourke,fair play to him..gave him a harder time than P.K…dissapointed he didnt grill him on his wifes appointment,and the ongoing salary breaches for advisers etc.!
Could I suggest he move to become head of the Dole queue?
Oh hold on that won’t work; he’s qualified for his Ministerial Pension.
He is not wedded to Foreign Affairs. Let us hpe that he is divorced from Dail Eireann after the next election.
his next move is the dole and the sooner the better
He’s not wedded to reality either it seems
Well piss off Gilmore and give someone else the job ….ur useless .. You sold your soul..
have your say