Irish Culture lesson # 1

In case you might have wondered, "Éireann go Brách" means "Ireland Forever" or "Ireland until the Judgement Day", depending on your perspective.

Originally, when I started this blog, I had written "Erin go Bragh" - which is the Anglecized version of the Gaelic saying. So, in honor of all the Irish friends I am about to make, I thought I should put the Gaelic version on my blog instead. :)

The first time I went to Ireland, back in 1995, I bought this cool t-shirt at a little gift shop in downtown Killarney (again, that's Anglecized - the city's name is really Cill Airne).

The t-shirt was black and it had a grouping of Irish instruments on the front and the words "Sin Sceal Eile" underneath the image. I asked the guy who sold it to me what the words meant. He said "That's Another Story" and I said, "Well, I've got time." Haha....kidding. Seriously though, that's what the words mean. I guess it's something people say sometimes when they get off on a tangent while telling a story. The Irish are known for being good storytellers, so I'd guess this could happen pretty often if you run into a person who uses Gaelic much in their every day life.

The shop guy went on to ask me how old I was. He looked to be around 23 or so. I said, "17". He said, "How long have you been 17?" (That's a joke for my fellow Twilight fans....) Again, seriously, his real response was, "Well, you should come out tonight. We'll have a good bit of crack."

I think my eyes widened to the size of silver dollars. Was this bloke offering me drugs?

He laughed at me, told this crazy American girl to relax, and finally explained that it just means to have fun.

I still passed on the offer. I was only 17 after all!

So, here's a recap of today's lesson:

• Éireann go Brách - pronounced "erin go bragh" (gutteral "gh") / Ireland Forever!!!
• Cill Airne - pronounced "Killarney" / the cool Irish city I'll be staying in or near
• Sin Sceal Eile - pronounced "shan scale aylee" / That's Another Story
• Good Bit of Crack - to have a good time or have fun
• Bloke - a common Irish/Scottish/English way of saying "Guy" or "Dude"

I cannot wait to learn loads of interesting facts about Irish culture! Be prepared for many lessons / postings down the road.

Love,
Katy