Pod Beag

Ba cheart go mbeadh a fhios agam ar rudaí bunúsacha tar éis scoile, ach ní raibh. Is dócha, nach raibh mé ag éisteacht. For example I didn't quite understand many of the things that "ag" can mean. Ag means "at" and can be used like at in English It is also used like "-ing" at the end of a word in English It can mean to have something

I didn't know that there was no words for Yes or No in Irish. "But wait", you might be saying to yourself. "Yes there is! Sure isn't 'Sea yes. Or is it Tá? Maybe we have two words for yes?"  

In this episode we will learn about sloinne or the Irish surname. Ó (Ua) - descendant of Uí (Bean Uí) - wife of descendant of Ní (Iníon Uí) - daughter of descendant of   Mac - Son of Nic (Iníon Mhic) - daughter of the son of Mhic (Bean Mhic) - wife of the son of

Ba cheart go mbeadh a fhios agam ar rudaí bunúsacha tar éis scoile, ach ní raibh. San eachtra seo I will talk about the Irish equivalent of the English word "a".

Bíonn mo bhean chéile míshásta liom mar úsáidim "wan" in ionad "one" as Béarla. But where does that unusual pronunciation of one come from? It got me thinking what other words do we use that may come from Irish? So I did some research and here are some words that we use regularly that may, or just as likely may not, have come from Irish.

Everybody knows Slán means goodbye. Ach cad is brí le "Slán" i ndáiríre? Slán means healthy, well, good, safe, perfect, intact and, quite aptly for these times can even mean, immunity. 

We are all, currently, stuck within our 5km, being reintroduced to the places near us. This episode covers words commonly used in Irish place names. Two great resources are the book "That Place We Call Home" by John Creedon and Logainm.ie Some common words used in place names include Knock - cnoc - Hill Bally - baile - homestead Lis - lios - ringfort Moore - mór - big Beg - beag - small Lough - loch - lake Carrig - carraig - rock Clon - cluain - meadow Derry - doire - oak grove Glen - gleann - valley Drom - hill / ridge Kill - cill - church Sliav - sliabh - mountain Don - dún - fort Rat - rath - fort Bel - beal - mouth/opening Ath - átha - ford Clough - cloch - stone Ma - maigh - plain Clon - cluain - meadow Tra - trá - beach

Conas atá tú? When visiting the Gaeltacht, or speaking to a proficient speaker, it's best to greet them in a natural way. In this episode we will be using a map to see how to correctly greet someone in different Gaeltacht areas. https://twitter.com/coistenabhfocal/status/549283529818116096