Lets learn the Irish names of five types of beautiful flower that grow wild in the fields and forests of Ireland! 1. Daisy First up is daisy. The Irish for daisy is nóinín /noh-in-een/. The ox-eye daisy is known as nóinín mór /noh-in-een moor/ (‘big daisy’). Another well-known member of the daisy faimily is the sunflower. In Irish …
Let’s learn how to say the expression no pain, no gain in Irish. The term for proverb in Irish is seanfhocal /shan-uk-ull/, and we have two of these that roughly correspond to the meaning of the saying no pain, no gain in English. Each of them contains just four words, and each of them rhymes! The first of …
Lets learn how to say grandson and granddaughter in Irish. The Irish for grandson is garmhac. In Munster it is pronounced /gorr-vok/, while in Connaught and Ulster it is pronounced /gorr-wok/ . The Irish for granddaughter is gariníon /gorr-in-ee-un/. Let’s say ‘this is my grandaughter’: Seo í mo ghariníon /shuh hee muh ghorr-in-ee-un/. And ‘this is …
Lets learn the Irish names of five of the native trees that were so dear to the inhabitants of Ireland in times past: ash, hazel, oak, rowan and willow. First up is ash. The Irish for ash tree is crann fuinseoige /krau-wun fwin-show-ig-eh/ Next comes hazel. The irish for hazel tree is crann coill /krau-wun kwil/ Tree number …
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Lets learn how to say sunrise and sunset in Irish! As you may know, the Irish for sun is grian. When we place the definite article an (the) before this word we get an ghrian. Now, when we use an ghrian in the Irish term for sunrise, it changes to its genitive form. This is …
Let’s learn the chorus and first two verses of the famous Irish song Mo Ghile Mear. The modern form of the song was composed in the early 1970s by Dónal Ó Liatháin using a traditional air collected in Cúil Aodha, County Cork, and lyrics selected from Irish language poems of the 18th century Cork poet Seán “Clárach” Mac …
Let’s learn how to pronounce a famous Irish historical motto. This phrase is often used by promoters of the Irish language to this very day. The phrase is Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam /cheer gon chon-ga, cheer gon on-um/, which means “A country without a language is a country without a soul.” Tír /cheer/ …
Let’s learn how to say nativity scene in Irish and also the names for figurines commonly found in a nativity scene. The Irish for nativity scene, or a crib as it’s also known as, is mainséar /mawn-shayr/. Another term for it is beithilín /beh-hel-een/ which comes from Beithil /Beh-hel/, the Irish for Bethlehem. A figurine …
Let’s learn how to say winter and some winter-related vocabulary. Winter in Irish is geimhreadh (Connacht: /geev-ra/ Munster: /gee-ra/ Ulster: /gev-roo/). It’s often referred to as an geimhreadh /on gev-ra/, literally “the winter”. It’s winter in Irish is tá an geimhreadh ann /taw an gev-ra awn/. Winter weather is aimsir gheimhridh /am-shir ghiv-ree/ .Aimsir /am-shir/ …
Let’s learn some fitness vocabulary. Here are some words you may use when speaking of your home fitness exercises or when going to the gym. Here are two ways to say workout in Irish: babhta traenála /bow-ta tray-naw-la/ and dreas traenála /drass tray-naw-la/. Push-up/press-up – brú aníos /broo ah-nee-us/ He did twenty push-ups. – Rinné …
