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Irish place names are really poetic. Some of the translations are kind of pointless, I see them and think that they should just be in their original Irish: e.g. Oola instead of Úlla in Tipperary, or Glenrua instead of Gleann Rua in Waterford. There are lots of those kinds of examples, all Rathmores, Clonards, and Ballybegs around the country could just be as Gaeilge. We would learn Irish orthography and pronunciation if we used place names more (like Cobh for example, that doesn’t cause stress to anyone) or how we all know how to pronounce Úna, Niamh, Seán, etc. Go raibh mile maith agat. Sláinte
Petey Max agreed very few places have the Irish name translated to English properly. Blackrock, Foxrock, Salthill, Monkstown and Sandycove come to mind.
Sharing an interesting etymology. Dobhareach is a calque of Ancient Greek ιπποπόταμος (hippopotamus), hippo means horse, and potamus means river. And Greek word hippos actually cognates with Irish “each”, and also cognates with Latin equus, and Old English eoh. Irish dobhar cognates with English deep,
I want to share 2 curious things: - In Spain there is a river named Duero. Its origin is the same as the word Dobhar - The word "each" comes from proto-celtic and proto-italic "ekwos" so it shares origin with "equid" in English or "équido" in Spanish, meaning "horse" and also other animals of the same family
Irish word "airgead" comes from Proto-Celtic "argantom" and French word "argent" comes from Latín "argentum". They share a common Indo-European origin. In Spanish the old name of silver was "argento" (currently "plata") and an old Castilian coinage was "arienzo" (currently the generic word for money is "dinero"), coming both of them from this origin.
Well, I first discovered your videos when preparing my driving test, and now I discover this other facet when attempting to deepen my Irish knowledge. I have to say, kudos for such an eclectic provision of information.
It's enjoyable to hear you pronouncing the Irish names of these places. It creates quite a different, deeper, feeling to hear them as gaeilge. I lived in Gaoth Dobhair for a while and it is also windy, but I really learned something new today about what it actually means. There's nothing like arriving in Gaoth Dobhair and looking out over the sea, so special every time.
Dobhair is dwr in Welsh, very similar. Note that in Wales, Anglizised names have been removed from a couple of place names, Eryri and Yr Wyddfa, are now called by their Welsh names, not Snowdonia and Snowdon.
Iascaigh in the Uladh dialect has the same pronunciation as the anglicised version, thankfully. Which I reckon to be the reason it's called Easky instead of Easkig in english
Sir I wish you would do a video on the origins of the word shillellagh. All the Irish speaking lexicographers I’ve read (including Dineen) say it comes from sail-éille and English speaking sources say it comes from the place name for the village of Shillelagh which comes from Síol Éalaigh. I’d really like to hear what you think.
Regarding “Iascaigh”, note the River Exe in Devon England. The River Exe is said to also be of etymological “Celtic” origin and said to also mean “abundant in fish”. So can be “Irish language-ised” as “An Iascaigh / Abhainn na hIascaigh”. Note also however how the name of this Devon River in its Anglicised form is etymologically “Q-Celtic” and not “P-Celtic”. I find this very interesting. I do reckon much of Western Britain once spoke a form of “Q-Celtic” before moving to “P-Celtic”. Remember also that extensive research and general agreement amongst linguists is that the original “Proto-Celtic” form was a primitive form of “Q-Celtic”. Also named after the River Exe in Devon are the town / cites of Exmouth and Exeter. These too can be “Irish language-used” as “Béal an Iascaigh” and “Cathair an Iascaigh“. Exeter in Welsh is “Caer wysg”, meaning “Fort / City of the Fish”. However the Welsh “P” is dropped for the placename as the Welsh for fish is “Pysgod”.
I've just found your excellent channel and think it's wonderful! Have you done a vid on how th, mh, bh etc are pronounced? If you have already, my apologies and I will go look for it.
Dia duit. Thank you for your awesome content! i was wondering if i could ask a question... I found this quote by Daniel O'Connell: 'My sympathy with distress is not confined within the narrow bounds of my own green island. No-it extends itself to every corner of the earth. My heart walks abroad, and wherever the miserable are to be succored, or the slave to be set free, there my spirit is at home, and I delight to dwell.' how would you translate the expression 'my heart walks abroad'? i figure that mo chroi would be in there, and i can ask google translate... but i would rather have an educated opinion. go raibh maith agat!
Go raibh maith agat! I have been learning more history, and Daniel O Connell’s role in the transatlantic conversation regarding slavery is quite inspirational! Alongside his many other efforts, of course.
The hero of the 1800's who helped Catholics get rights denied to them by the British, but unfortunately he wasn't the greatest fan of the Irish language
Lough Neagh meaning meaning "Eachaidh's lake" it is named after a prince of Munster who eloped with his stepmother using a horse and was forewarned where it would stop doom with befall. It stopped, and pissed. A well sprang from the ground and they capped it. One night after festivities they forgot and they all drowned. Ardboe from ard bo meaning the High cow. A magical cow came out of lough neagh and mixed it’s milk with the cement people were using to make a Celtic cross and then disappeared. It’s why it’s stood so long, it’s one of irelands oldest and tallest Celtic crosses
@@LearnIrish The origins of Lough Neagh are part of Irish Mythology. In the Irish mythical tale Cath Maige Tuired ("the Battle of Moytura"), Lough Neagh is called one of the 12 chief loughs of Ireland. The origin of the lake and its name is explained in an Irish tale that was written down in the Middle Ages, but is likely pre-Christian. According to the tale, the lake is named after Echaid, who was the son of Mairid (Mairidh), a king of Munster. Echaid falls in love with his stepmother, a young woman named Ébliu (Ébhlinne). They try to elope, accompanied by many of their retainers, but someone kills their horses. In some versions, the horses are killed by Midir (Midhir), which may be another name for Ébliu's husband Mairid. Óengus (Aonghus) then appears and gives them an enormous horse that can carry all their belongings. Óengus warns that they must not let the horse rest or it will be their doom. However, after reaching Ulster the horse stops and urinates, and a spring rises from the spot. Echaid decides to build a house there and covers the spring with a capstone to stop it overflowing. One night, the capstone is not replaced and the spring overflows, drowning Echaid and most of his family, and creating Loch n-Echach (Loch nEachach: the lake of Eochaidh or Eachaidh).
I once had a book by P W Joyce, "Irish Place Names Explained" . Utterly fascinating, so much so that I gave it to an unionist friend who was astounded at how many of our staunch loyalist areas in the North are actually old Gaelic in origin............Shankill, (Sean Cill) Ballymena, (Baile meanách) Enniskillen, (Inis Caithleann) Tandragee (Thóin do Gaoth) and of course, Belfast itself (Beal Feirste)...............unfortunately, the book is now out of print, so I haven't been able to replace it, but if it can be got, it's a valuable resource for anyone interested in Irish place names. My own townland is Knocknanarney, in Co Down (Cnoc na nAirne, the hill of the sloes..........and even today, the uncultivated slopes are covered in blackthorns.
Very interesting, I must look into getting a copy of that book, thank you for sharing. Place-names hold so much interesting information about our past and if certain Unionist bigots could just park their insecurity they might see that.
@@LearnIrish No truer word spoken, a chara,, but the unionist politicians in the North cannot accept or embrace anything which smacks of our Irish culture, because to do so would-as they see it-diminish or endanger their unionism. That attitude is less prevalent amongst less politically motivated individuals, who can accept that embracing our language, music and culture doesn't diminish anything.......and there is a thriving Irish speaking community recently established by unionists in (largely unionist) East Belfast, drawing support from all sections of the community, although there is a certain amount of hostility from some quarters. A version of P W Joyce's book is available as an e-book on Amazon Kindle, -"The origin and history of Irish names of places"-but it has been poorly digitized with frequent errors in spellings. It is readable, however, and I understand it may be freely available elsewhere on the Internet.Keep up the good work. Beidh linn ar lá.
question: why are there like NO solid resources to learn Irish? every book i've found has reviews like "missing key grammar rules" or "not enough detail". I can only find bits and phrases. There's no "Here is the alphabet, here's how you pronounce the letters, and here's the grammatical rules" resource anywhere
The irish name for Clonmel in County Tipperary is Cluain Meala. This means honey meadow. Anyone who has ever been to Clonmel especially in the summer months will be familiar with the rolling grasslands with abundant wild flowers and bees that surround the town. Rugadh mé i gCluain Meala fadó agus d'fhás mé ansin. Tá mé i mo chónaí thar lear le beagnach tríocha bhliana anois. Is aoibhinn liom an áit fós agus nuair a bheith mé ag tiomáint thosaím ag brionglóideach faoi an gleann idir sliabh na mban agus an tSúir. Bhí a lán beach ann agus a lán páistí ag bhreith ar na beacha le phrócaí subh. Sin a raibh ár spraoi sa laethanta saoire sa samhradh idir 1970 agus 1984, ag bhreith na bheacha agus ag imirt peil. Tá mo chroí ann fós.
Dobhar for river or water is similar to Welsh, dŵr, and old Welsh, dwfr (which is where the English port, Dover, gets its name). In Welsh orthography, f = v, remember of and off in English.
There is a suburb of Glasgow called Kirkantulloch. It was where William Wallace was born. Now I know what it means... The Church of the Little Hill.. BTW, my friend's Dad was from Kirkantulloch, his surname was Wishart, and it was Bishop Wishart that betrayed William Wallace to the English, after paying for him to be accommodated in a "house of ill repute" for the night...
So much history in Scottish Gàidhlig place-names as well, and Scottish independence has been held back by traitors as well. No different to here but what goes around comes around.
The Scots originally came from Ireland, about 1500 years ago, and Gaidhlig is actually closer to what the Irish language would have been, from what I understand. The Highland Gaelteachd protected the Scots from invasions by the Vikings, the Normans and the English for many hundreds of years longer than elsewhere, and so the language remained more pure to its original form. I find I can understand Irish speakers from Ulster, Donegal, Derry etc much easier than I can understand the dialects to the South. The further South you go, the more "altered" the language becomes, to my ears. But the Gaelige dialects of the North are not that much different to Gaidhlig, close enough to where I can sing the songs and understand them.
