Hiberno-English

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Hiberno-English is the form of the English language spoken in Ireland. Hiberno-English is also referred to as Irish English and occasionally, although inaccurately, as Anglo-Irish.

English as it is spoken in Ireland is the result of the Irish language and the interaction of the English and Scots varieties brought to Ireland during the Plantations of Ireland in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. The linguistic influence of the Irish language is most evident in Gaeltachtaí, areas where Irish is still spoken, as well as in areas where, before the complete adoption of English, Irish continued to be spoken for longer than in other areas.

The early English settlement of Ireland occurred around the same time as England's settlement of the Caribbean colonies, which partially accounts for phonological similarities shared by West Indian dialects and Hiberno-English.^{[citation needed]}

The standard spelling and grammar of Hiberno-English are largely the same as UK English. However, some unique characteristics exist, especially in the spoken language, owing to the influence of the Irish language on the pronunciation of Hiberno-English.

1 Pronunciation
2 Dublin English
3 Cork English
4 Grammar derived from Irish
5 Preservation of older English and Norman French usage
6 Turns of phrase
7 Lexicon
8 Notes
9 See also
10 External links

[edit] Pronunciation

Hiberno-English retains many phonemic differentiations which have merged in other English accents. Phonetic transcriptions are given using the International Phonetic Alphabet.

With some local exceptions (most notably Drogheda and some other eastern towns, whose accent is distinctly non-rhotic), 'r' is pronounced wherever it occurs in the word, making Irish English a generally rhotic dialect.
/t/ is rarely pronounced as a plosive where it does not occur word-initially; instead, it is pronounced as a fricative between [s] and [ʃ].
The distinction between w /w/ and wh /ʍ/, as in wine vs whine is preserved.
In some varieties, the merger of the vowels in father and bother in Southern Irish English; /fɑːðɚ/ and /bɑːðɚ/.
In some varieties, the dental fricatives /θ/ and /ð/ become dental stops [t̪ʰ] and [d̪] respectively, making thin and tin, and then and den, near-homophones, where the pair tin and den employs alveolar pronunciation (as in other varieties of English). In other varieties, this occurs only to /θ/ while /ð/ is left unchanged. Some dialects of Gaelic have a "slender" (palatalized) d as /ðʲ/ and this may transfer over to English pronunciation. In still others, both dental fricatives are present since slender dental stops are lenited to [θʲ] and [ðʲ].
The distinction between /ɔːɹ/ and /oʊɹ/ in horse and hoarse is preserved.
The distinction between [ɛɹ]-[ɪɹ]-[ʌɹ] in herd-bird-curd is preserved.
/l/ is never velarized as it can be in standard English.
Diphthongs in words like "boat" and cane are monopthongs: [boːt], and [keːn] respectively.
The /aɪ/ in "night" may be pronounced [ɔɪ].
Speakers make no distinction between the [ʌ] in putt and the [ʊ] in put, pronouncing both as the latter.
In some old-fashioned varieties, words spelled with ea and pronounced with [ iː] in RP are pronounced with [ eː], for example meat, beat.
In words like book where "oo" usually represents /ʊ/, speakers may use /uː/.

[edit] Dublin English

Dublin English differs greatly from other Irish dialects. This can be attributed to a greater British influence as well as the metropolitan nature of the city in general.

In inner-city Dublin accents, post-vocalic /t/ is often elided completely. Note that this is a different phenomenon from the glottal stop in London speech since it often disappears completely.
Diphthongs are generally preserved in Dublin, expressed as /ʌʊ/ and /ɛɪ/ (although there is certainly variation).
Some dialects in Dublin retain the "long a" from British Received Pronunciation, hence "can't" /kaːnt/ may differ slightly from "cant" /kant/.
Intonation is often much flatter than other Irish accents.
An accent unique to Dublin known as the Dublin 4 intonation (referring to the local postal district) is an urban/suburban, middle class feature that merges /ɑː/ and /ɔ/ before /ɹ/, pronouncing them as the former. Therefore, words such as 'car' as 'core' and 'far' as 'fore' are the same to such speakers.

[edit] Cork English

Cork English usually differs largely from other accents in Ireland. The Cork accent, particularly in Cork City, is often described as sing-song, as the speaker seems to go from high to low while speaking depending on tone and mood. The Vikings, Elizabethans, and Normans have all left an indelible echo on the habits and common speech of the people of Cork. Cork city accents also differ depending on which side of the River Lee the speaker lives on. Characteristics include:

Cork people are liable to add the word "like" to the end of sentences for emphasis, as in "I don't know him at all, like".
Slang and sarcasm can be identified by the high pitched tone used, particularly the "double positive" which unlike its mathematical equivalent indicates a negative, "right, yeah" or "ya will, yeah", clearly indicates "no" and "you won't" respectively.
In the common vernacular, men and women still tend to be addressed as "boy" and "girl" as in "c'mere Boy" [bai] or "jayzus girl, you're lookin' lovely"
Some vowel sounds are often altered. /e/ raises to [ɪ] ("well" becomes "will").

[edit] Grammar derived from Irish

The syntax of the Irish language is quite different from that of English. Various aspects of Irish syntax have influenced Hiberno-English, though it should be noted that many of these idiosyncrasies are disappearing in urban areas and among the younger population.

Irish lacks words which directly translate as "yes" or "no", and instead repeats the verb in a question, possibly negated, to answer. People in Ireland have a tendency to repeat the verb, positively or negatively, instead of using "yes" or "no".

"Are you coming home soon?" "I am."
"Is your mobile charged?" "It isn't."

(However, quite a number of people in Ireland, especially younger people, exclusively use the words yes and no, as elsewhere in the English-speaking world.)

It is common for Irish English-speakers in north Leinster and Ulster to use the word "aye" as a weak form of "yes" (somewhat akin to "yeah" or the use of "sure" in American English). (Middle English ai, from Old Norse ei; also aiw- in Indo-European roots.)

"It's getting late, is it?" "Aye, it is." or " It is, aye."
"Is that okay with you?" "Aye."

The Irish equivalent of the verb "to be"^[1] has two present tenses, one (the present tense proper) for cases which are generally true or are true at the time of speaking and the other (the habitual present) for repeated actions. Thus, 'you are [now, or generally]' is tá tú, but 'you are [repeatedly]' is bíonn tú. Both forms are used with the verbal noun (equivalent to the English present participle) to create compound tenses.

Some Irish speakers of English, especially in rural areas, especially Mayo/Sligo, use the verb "to be" in English similarly to how they would in Irish, using a "does be/do be" (or "bees", although less frequently) construction to indicate this latter continuous present:

"He does be working every day."
"They do be talking on their mobiles a lot."
"They bees doing a lot of work at school." (rare)
"It's him I do be thinking of."

Irish has no pluperfect tense: instead, "after" is added to the present continuous (a verb ending in "-ing"). The idiom for "I had done X when I did Y" is "I was after doing X when I did Y", modelled on the Irish usage of the compound prepositions i ndiaidh, tar éis, and in éis: bhí mé tar éis/i ndiaidh/in éis X a dhéanamh, nuair a rinne mé Y. This can most commonly be heard used by Dubliners.

"Why did you hit him?" "He was after insulting me."

A similar construction is seen with the 'hot news perfect', used to express extreme excitement at something which has happened recently:

"Jayzus, I'm after hitting him with the car!"
"Would ya look at yer one — she's after losing five stone in five weeks!"

Less explosively, using what might be termed the 'warm news perfect', the Irish perfect can indicate a recent action of less stellar importance, strongly resembling the German spoken perfect in structure:

"I have the car fixed." Tá an gluaisteán deasaithe agam.
"I have my breakfast eaten." Tá an bricfeasta ite agam.

Mirroring the Irish language and almost every other European language, the plural 'you' is distinguished from the singular, normally by use of the otherwise archaic English word 'ye' [ji]; the word 'yous' (sometimes written as 'youse') also occurs, but primarily only in Dublin and across Ulster:

"Did ye/youse all go to see it?"

This is because Irish has separate forms for the second person singular (tú) and the second person plural (sibh).

Also, in some areas in Leinster, and also north Connacht and parts of Ulster, the hybrid word 'ye-s', pronounced 'yis', may be used. The pronunciation does differ however, with that of the northwestern being [jiːz] and the Leinster pronunciation being [jɪz].

"Are yis not finished yet?"

In rural areas, the reflexive version of pronouns is often used for emphasis or to refer indirectly to a particular person, etc., according to context:

"Was it all of ye or just yourself?"
"'Tis herself that's coming now." Is í féin atá ag teacht anois.

- where 'herself' might, for example, be the boss or the woman of the house. Use of 'herself' or 'himself' in this way often indicates that the speaker attributes some degree of arrogance or selfishness to the person in question. Note also the indirectness of this construction relative to, for example, 'She's coming now' and the use of "'Tis" rather than the more standard contraction "It's".

It is also common to end sentences with 'no?' or 'yeah?'

"He's not coming today, no?" Níl sé ag teacht inniu, nach bhfuil?
"The bank's closed now, yeah?" Tá an banc dúnta anois, an bhfuil?

Though because of the particularly insubstantive yes and no in Irish, (the nach bhfuil? and an bhfuil? being the interrogative positive and negative of the verb 'to be') the above may also find expression as

"He's not coming today, sure he isn't?" Níl sé ag teacht inniú, nach bhfuil?
"The bank's closed now, isn't it?" Tá an banc dúnta anois, nach bhfuil?

This isn't limited only to the verb 'to be': it's also used with 'to have' when used as an auxiliary; and, with other verbs, the verb 'to do' is used. This is most commonly used for intensification.

This is strong stuff, so it is.
We won the game, so we did.
She's a right lash, so she is.

There are some language forms that stem from the fact that there is no verb 'to have' in Irish. Instead, possession is indicated in Irish by using the preposition 'at,' (in Irish, ag.). To be more precise, Irish uses a prepositional pronoun that combines ag "at" and me "me" to create agam. In English, the verb "to have" is used, along with a "with me" or "on me" that derives from Tá ....agam. This gives rise to the frequent

The book, I have it with me.
Do you have the book? I have it with me.
Have you change for the bus on you?
I have my phone on me, if you want to use it.

Somebody who can speak a language 'has' a language, in which Hiberno-English has borrowed the grammatical form used in Irish.

She doesn't have Irish. Níl Gaeilge aici. literally 'There is no Irish at her'.

When describing something, rural Hiberno-English speakers may use the term 'in it' where 'there' would usually be used. This is due to the Irish word ann (pronounced "oun") fulfilling both meanings.

Is it yourself that's in it? An tú féin atá ann?

Another idiom is this thing or that thing described as 'this man here' or 'that man there', which also features in Newfoundland English in Canada.

This man here. An fear seo. (cf. the related anseo = here)
That man there. An fear sin. (cf. the related ansin = there)

The reported clause is also often preserved in its direct form, for example 'John asked me to buy a loaf of bread' becomes 'John asked me would I buy a loaf of bread'.

Irish English also always uses the "light l" sound, and the naming of the letter 'h' as 'haitch' is standard. A is often pronounce "Ah" and Z as "Ezed".

Bring and take: Irish use of these words differs from that of English, because it follows the Gaelic grammar for beir and tóg. English usage is determined by direction; Irish usage is determined by person. So, in English, one takes "from here to there", and brings it "to here from there". But, in Irish, a person takes only when accepting a transfer of possession of the object from someone else — and a person brings at all other times, irrespective of direction (to or from). Thus someone might say "Don't forget to bring your umbrella with you when you go" or, to a child, "Hold my hand: I don't want someone to take you."

[edit] Preservation of older English and Norman French usage

In old-fashioned usage, "it is" can be freely abbreviated "'tis", even as a standalone sentence. This also allows the double contraction "'tisn't", for "it is not".

The word "ye", "yis" or "yous", otherwise archaic, is still used in place of "you" for the second-person plural. "Ye'r" "Yisser" or "Yousser" are the possessive forms, e.g. "What's ye'r weather like over in France this time o' the year?"

The verb "mitch" is common in Ireland, indicating being truant from school. This word appears in Shakespeare, but is seldom heard these days in British English, although pockets of usage persist in some areas (notably South Wales, Devon, and Cornwall).

Another usage familiar from Shakespeare is the inclusion of the second person pronoun after the imperative form of a verb, as in "Wife, go you to her ere you go to bed" (Romeo and Juliet, Act III, Scene IV). This is still common in Ulster: "Get youse your homework done or you're no goin' out!" In Munster, you will still hear children being told "Up to bed, let ye" [lɛˈtʃi]

In some parts of Ireland, in particular the eastern seaboard, when someone is telling tall tales he is said to be "blowing" or "bilowen" out of him/her, which is likely to be a preservation of the Middle English "bilowen" or "bi-lyen", as seen in Piers Plowman (by William Langland ): "2.22 - And bilowen hire to lordes þat lawes han to kepe."

"Gassin", "gorsoon" or "gossoon" is a common descriptor in rural areas for a child, and derives from the word "garçon" (meaning "boy") as used by 12th century Norman settlers (via "gársúin" in Irish).

A sliced loaf of bread is still called in many parts of the country "sliced pan" deriving from the French word for bread "pain" while in the Beara Peninsula, a long shirt is called by older folk a "shemmy shirt" from the French "chemise".

'Pismires', meaning 'ants', is still used in parts of Cavan and Leitrim, see also in Shakespeare and deriving ultimately from the French 'pismire'.

For influence from Scotland see Ulster Scots.

[edit] Turns of phrase

Amn't is used as an abbreviation of "am not", by analogy with "isn't" and "aren't". This can be used as a tag question ("I'm making a mistake, amn't I?"), or as an alternative to "I'm not" ("I amn't joking"), and the double negative is also used ("I'm not late, amn't I not?"). This construction occurs identically in Scots English

Arra is used also. Arra tends to be used after something bad has happened, when someone is looking on the bright side ("Arra, we'll go next week", "Arra, 'tis not the end of the world"). Arra comes from the Irish word "dhera" (pronounced "yerra"). As a result, the words yerra and erra are also used in different parts of the country.

Come here to me now or Come here and I'll tell ya something is used to mean "Listen to this" or "I have something to tell you" and can be used as "Come here and tell me". The phrase "Tell me this", short for "Tell me this and tell me no more", is also common. These phrases tend to imply a secretiveness or revelatory importance to the upcoming bit of information.

Various insults have been transferred directly from Irish and have a very mild meaning in English: e.g. Lúdramán, Amadán, pleidhce, rogue, eejit (idiot), all (loosely) meaning "fool" or "messer" (messer is also a Hiberno-Irish turn of phrase). "Langer" is a variant used especially in Cork but has began to spread through the rest of the country.

Also more prevalent in Cork is a profligation of colourful emphasis-words; in general any turn of phrase associated with a superlative action is used to mean very, and are often calculated to express these in a negative light and therefore often unpleasant by implication - "he's a howling/ thundering/ rampaging/ galloping/ screeching langer, so he is." The practice is widespread in the rest of Hiberno-English but such a feature of Corkonian speech that it is now commonly lampooned when imitating the accent.

Reduplication is not an especially common feature of Irish; nevertheless in rendering Irish phrases into English it is occasionally used:

ar bith corresponds to English at all, so the stronger ar chor ar bith gives rise to the form at all at all
- I've no money at all at all.
ar eagla go... (lit. on fear that) means in case .... The variant ar eagla na heagla, (lit on fear of fear) implies the circumstances are more unlikely. The corresponding Hiberno-English phrases are to be sure and to be sure to be sure. In this context, these are not, as might be thought, disjuncts meaning 'certainly'; they could better be translated in case and just in case. Nowadays normally spoken with conscious levity.
- I brought some cash in case I saw a bargain, and my credit card 'to be sure to be sure'.

So is often used for emphasis ("I can speak Irish, so I can"), or it may be tacked on to the end of a sentence to indicate agreement, where "then" would often be used in standard English ("Bye so", "Let's go so", "That's fine so", "We'll do that so"). The word is also used to contradict a negative statement ("You're not pushing hard enough" - "I am so!"). The practice of indicating emphasis with so and including reduplicating the sentence's subject pronoun and auxiliary verb (is, are, have, has, can, &c.) such as in the initial example, is particularly prevalent in more northern dialects such as those of Sligo, Mayo, Cavan, Monaghan and other neighbouring counties.

Sure is often used as a tag word, emphasising the obviousness of the statement. Can be used as "to be sure", the famous Irish stereotype phrase. (But note that the other stereotype of "Sure and ..." is not actually used in Ireland.) Or "Sure, I can just go on Wednesday", "I will not, to be sure." "Sure Jayzus" is often used as a very mild expletive to express dismay.

Will is often used where standard English would use "shall" ("Will I make us a cup of tea?"). The standard-English distinction between "shall" (for first-person simple future, and second- and third-person emphatic future) and "will" (second- and third-person simple future, first-person emphatic future) does not exist in Hiberno-English, with "will" generally used in all cases.

Casual conversation in many parts of Ireland includes a variety of colourful turns of phrase. Some examples:

Yer man (your man) and Yer wan (your one) are used in referring to an individual known by the party being addressed, but not being referred to by name. The phrases are an unusual sort of half-translation of a parallel Irish-language phrase, "mo dhuine" (literally 'my person'). The nearest equivalents in colloquial English usage would be "whatsisname" and "whatsername". Note also "wan" for female person may be a direct usage of the Irish 'bean' (woman). In Newfoundland the same form exists as 'buddy,' who is a generic nameless person. They use the word not always in the sense of 'my friend' but more in the sense of 'what's his name'. 'I went inside to ask for directions and buddy said to go left at the lights'.

a soft day: referring to a rainy day with that particular soft drizzle, and an overcast sky, but yet relatively bright. This is a translation of the Irish "lá bog".

Fecking is a mild abusive equivalent in force to "bleeding" or "darned". It is not a parallel of the English word "fucking", despite their similarity, and is generally less offensive. "Feck" is the corresponding expletive. The noun "fecker" is slightly stronger but not vulgar. These terms were lately introduced to Britain by Father Ted. (Mrs. Doyle refers to "feck" as "the f-word" and "fuck" as "the bad f-word" in one episode.) In old Dubliner slang, "to feck' is also slang for "to steal", as in the phrase, "We went to the orchard and fecked some apples." It can also mean "to throw", especially if something is being thrown where it shouldn't, as in "We fecked his schoolbag into the river." However, fuck is also used in this context and the two should not be confused. "To Feck Off" is used as a substitute for the verb "to go", either implying "go quickly" - "We fecked off home before it got any worse" - or to go away after a disappointment - "we fecked off to the pub after losing the match".

Yoke is typically used in place of the word "thing", for instance, "gimme that yoke there." It's more commonly used with tools or other objects needed to accomplish some sort of manual task; a book or an apple, for example, are not very likely to be referred to as a "yoke." Like "thing," it's more frequently used to refer to objects for which the actual name is cumbersome to say or more difficult to call to mind. It's also used as an insult: "you're some yoke".

Now is often used at the end of sentences or phrases as a semantically empty word, completing an utterance without contributing any apparent meaning. Examples include "Bye now" (= "goodbye"), "There you go now" (= when giving someone something), "Ah now!" (= expressing dismay), "Hold on now" (= "wait a minute"), "Now then" as a mild attention-getter, etc. This usage is universal among English dialects, but occurs more frequently in Hiberno-English.

To is often omitted from sentences where it would exist in British English. For example, "I am not allowed go out tonight", instead of "I am not allowed to go out tonight".

The devil is used in Irish as an expletive, eg. Cén áit sa diabhal a bhfuil sé? "Where the devil is he?" (the Irish version is literally "What place in the devil is he?"). This has been translated into Irish as a mild expletive, used in the song "Whiskey in the Jar" in the line "But the devil take the women, for they never can be easy". Diabhal is also used for negation in Irish, and this usage might be carried over to Hiberno-English: diabhal fear "devil a man", for "not a soul".

There are many terms for having consumed a drop too much drink, many are used elsewhere, but the Irish tendency is to attempt to find the most descriptive adjective yet on each occasion. Some examples: "twisted", "full"(common in Ulster), "loaded", "blocked"(common in Ulster), "scuttered", "stocious/stotious", "baloobas" (common in Cavan), "locked", "langered", "mouldy" (pron. mowldy as in "fowl"), "polluted", "flootered", "plastered", "bolloxed", "well out of it", "wankered", "fucked", "fuckered", "ossified", "binned", "rat-arsed" (common in Dublin),"plastered", "gee-eyed", "demented"(common in Cork),"buckled", "steaming", "messy", "sloppy", "cabbaged"(Used in urban areas of Donegal), "wasted", "paralytic", "full as a boot", "full up", "legless", "hammered" , "blootered", "squooshed", "banjoed", "bingoed", "mangled", "ruined", "half-tore", "oiled", "jarred" (not too drunk, "I'm not drunk, I'm just a bit jarred!"), "in the horrors"(common in Waterford), "pissed", "trolleyed", "sloshed", "rote". "Pissed" "Steamed" (Common in Mayo) (Phrases in italics are more "colourful")

Some turns of phrase are more localised and their meaning may not be widespread throughout the country, while others are more transient and fall out of use after a number of years.

[edit] Lexicon

Hiberno-English vocabulary is largely the same as British English, though there are variances, especially with reference to certain goods, services and institutions. Examples that would come into everyday conversation include:

Amadán - fool (derived from Irish)
To banjax something is to break it, ruin it, or render it incapable of use. As in "My mobile's been banjaxed since I dropped it in the toilet."
Beor - A woman. See feen. Alternate spellings: bjeor, beour, byoor, byore. Etymology: b'ōr'[1] (Shelta).
Bold describes someone (usually a child) who is impudent, naughty or badly behaved. The British English meaning, "brave", is rarely encountered.
Cat - bad, terrible. Common in Ulster. Sometimes "catmalogeon". Found particularly in Sligo, but sometimes used elsewhere.
Chiseler - Dublin dialect for a child.
College, more like American English than British English, would usually be referring to any sort of third-level education, be it college, university or Institute of Technology. This is because the Leaving Certificate Examinations (the rough equivalent of A-levels or NVQs in the United Kingdom) are taken in secondary school in the Republic of Ireland, so there is no intermediary college like sixth-form colleges in the U.K. (The probable origin of this usage that until 1989 higher education—even from universities—was provided from colleges and not directly from a university.)
Coolaboola is an Irish word which is getting a slight revival amongst younger people in Ireland. It's general usage is as an affirmation similar to O.K.
Couple often means "a few", somewhere between two and (?) four or five - whereas in British and American English it is more likely to mean precisely two. Adopted into the Irish language as cúpla, which also means 'a few'.
Crack or craic is a good time, good company, good atmosphere and conversation. If you are enjoying yourself, it is good craic.[2] Possibly from the Gaelic craiceann meaning skin, used as a metaphor for sex. ^{[citation needed]} The word may also be used to refer to events, news, or gossip, as in the phrases what's the craic?, how's the craic? and any craic.
Cub - means a young child
Culchie - means from the countryside (derogatory).
Cupán (tae) - a cup (of tea) (derived from Irish).
Cute can mean shrewd or clever, particularly in the business sense, as in "cute hoor".
D4 refers to the Southside middle classes of Dublin - referring to an affluent postal code - used derogatively.
Da Dublin and Ulster slang for father, as in "Me da doesn't do too well at the horses!"
Deadly Of the highest quality, as in "My new car has everything. It is deadly." This phrase must go back many years as it is the root of the New York Irish gang name "The Dead Rabbits" from the film and historically accurate original 1920s book Gangs of New York
Delph meaning Dishware, occasionally meaning artificial teeth. From the name of the original source of supply, Delft in the Netherlands. See Delftware.
Dingen means 'very good', e.g. the film (fillum) was dingen. From the Gaelic 'daingean' meaning solid, secure etc.
Dinner can often still mean the meal eaten in the middle of the day, especially in rural Ireland.
Doss, meaning bed, or to be lazy or avoiding work, can be extended to dosser, meaning someone who avoids work.
Dozy, Dublin adjective applied to anything annoying - e.g. "Dozy git!".
D'oul Collective / affectionate term, literally 'the old', as in 'd'oul silage', d'oul motor'.
Drout(h) - meaning drought/thirst for alcohol. 'There's an awful/fierce droot on me.' This is similar and probably related to Scots "Drouthy".
ESB (Electricity Supply Board), being the only national electricity supplier in the Republic of Ireland, is regularly used in reference to this type of service. Whereas in other countries one would use the term "mains supply" or "power supply" when referring to the electricity supply that comes to their house/business, in Ireland a lot of people would say "ESB supply".
Evening starts rather earlier in the day in Ireland than it does in British English. Any time after midday is likely to be described as the "evening", whereas in Britain the evening does not start until about 1700 hrs.
Feck is a slang term that can mean "throw", "steal" or "go away" ("Feck off!"). Made famous overseas by Father Jack Hackett in Father Ted. FCUK took legal action against the producers of a 'FCEK' t-shirt n 2004[3].
Feen - A man. Its meaning is somewhat akin of the American Dude and the London Geezer. Etymology: fīn[4] (Shelta).
Fierce, used as a stronger intensifier than 'very'; e.g., "This is fierce bad weather we're having", it can also be used as the only description, "The weather's fierce at the moment" which could mean very good or very bad and is up for interpretation.
Flag can mean the conventional Flag; it can also be a Flagstone.
Footpath is used in Ireland where "pavement" is in British English and "sidewalk" in American English.
Gammy - bad, broken, crooked, unstable, improbably lucky. Etymology: Shelta g'ami[5] "bad, sick, crooked"; possibly ultimately from the Irish cam "crooked".
Gansey, from the Irish geansaí, (English dialect for Guernsey jersey) refers to a jersey or jumper (sweater in American English). This term is also used, although rarely, in parts of Northern England.
Gas - adjective meaning 'hilarious'. For example, "He's a gas man, isn't he?"
Grand is frequently used as a response to refer to a person or thing as being alright, for instance, "I'm grand" or "That's grand", and is often used to express the quantity of a thousand, as in British English "two grand". It's also used as a response that means "no thank you" when offered another drink for example: "No, I'm grand, thanks".
Gobshite refers to a fool, someone who talks nonsense, or sometimes someone who is gullible.
Go with Used in the West means to french kisss a person. Past tense is "Went with"
Gombeen originally referred to a usurer (from the Irish gaimbín, diminutive of "lump"), but now refers to any underhand or corrupt activity.
Guards refers to the Garda Síochana, the Republic's police force, the equivalent in Irish Gardaí being used more formally, usually in the media. The singular Garda is widely used, the female equivalent, Bangharda less so. The word "police" generally refers to police in other countries, while the American "cops" is rarely used.
Gurrier means a young boy up to no good, usually used by the working classes from the Dublin area.
Handy has more meanings in Hiberno-Irish than just "useful": it usually also means "great", "terrific". It is also used to describe a person's skill at a particular task; "Paul is pretty handy with a golf club" meaning "Paul is a good golfer".
Head-the-ball Dublin. A nutcase. From 'Hae'ball king of the beggars', a famous character in Dublin c.1760.
Hiace (as in Toyota Hiace) is used by many to refer to any light commercial van, much like "Transit" or "Transit van" (as in Ford Transit) in the UK. For a period in the 1980's it was common in some areas to refer to Hiace vans as "Knacker Wagons" because of their popularity with the travelling community. (See Knacker.)
Hoor - meaning whore. 'She's an awful wee hoor so she is!' Also means "rogue" or "scoundrel" (as in "cute hoor") - often affectionately rather than pejoratively. Possibly from hougher, a hamstringer.^{[citation needed]}
Howsa Goin Used as a greeting in the West of Ireland.
Jackeen - A derogatory countryman's name for a Dubliner. From the small British union flags ('union jacks')waved by thousands for royal visits up to 1910.
Jacks : toilet, usually in a pub or similar. As in "mind my handbag while I go to the jacks". From 16th century English "Jakes". (mind means "look after") the words Bog and Loo are also used.
Janey Mac! is an exclamation of amazement or frustration in Dublin. It comes from an old children's rhyme: "Janey Mac, me shirt is black, what'll I do for Sunday?/Go to bed, cover your head and don't get up til Monday!"
Jaykers - A euphemism for Jesus; used as expression of amazement.
Jaysis - See Jaykers. Often used in the sentence 'Sweet Be-Jaysis'. Common in rural areas.
Jeep, much like "Hiace", is used by many to refer to any sort of off road vehicle, be it a small 4x4 like a Suzuki Jimny or large SUV like a long wheelbase Mitsubishi Pajero. This comes from US military usage of the term, while, oddly enough, actual Chrysler Jeeps were never officially sold in Ireland until the 1990s, and the word was just as common before then.
Johnny - a condom.
Kittle the English word kettle is often pronounced more like the Irish citeal.
Knacker Derived from the Gaelic 'eachaire' meaning a horse handler, is has become a derogatory term used to refer to members of the Traveller community, who have a proud equine heritige. It comes from the common practice of gathering and buying detrius to either sell on as scrap or recycle into new devices. It is also used to refer to Skangers who are particularly anti-social, mainly in Dublin. Outside Dublin, men who remove animal carcasses to feed foxhounds are still called knackers, with no derogatory sense.
Knacker snowball - a snowball with a stone inside.
Lack Waterford slang for girlfriend, similar to the use of "Mot" in Dublin.
Loodar/Ludar - a fool; comes from an abbreviation and anglicisation of the Gaelic Lúdramán.
Lug - An Ear. This expression is also found in the North of England and is probably of Norse origin.
Ma - Ulster and Dublin term for Mother, short for Mam in Dublin.
May Feiner - Meaning a Selfish Person, From the Irish Mé Fein meaning 'Me Myself'.
Messages means groceries or errands. She's gone to the shop to get the messages. I had a few messages to do in town.
Minerals means soft drinks.
Mouth like a Malahide cod - Dublin slang for someone who talks a lot.
Mot: In Dublin, 'my girlfriend' would be 'me mot'. As the 't' is pronounced as a glottal stop, this sounds as if it might be related to the Irish maith for 'good' (maybe via cailín maith, 'good girl') but is actually a preservation of an English word (mainly for 'harlot') with possible French, Dutch, and Romany origins. The English gypsy word for 'woman' is 'mort'.
Nohjis - Twisted version of odious. Often used with the word 'fierce. 'The craic last night was nohjis fierce'. Common in Cavan.
Oul' fella/man and oul' wan/lass(y) are used to describe one's father or mother respectively.
Oxter means Armpit He had a book under his oxter. (sounds similar to the Dutch Oksel (oxel))
Pack is often used to refer to quite small packets, as in a "pack of crisps".
Plain as in a 'pint of plain', a standard pint of stout beer.
Press is almost invariably used instead of Cupboard. The hot press is the airing cupboard.
Ratchet, used mostly in Cork and Kerry, refers to a thing. See "yoke"
Rubber means an eraser (not a condom!) (Note to American readers: this is standard British English too)
Runners or tackies, or in the north gutties, refers to "trainers" (British English) or "sneakers" (American English).
Scallion is almost always used instead of Spring Onion (British English) or Green Onion (American English). However, since the proliferation of British supermarkets such as Tesco Ireland, some people have also started to use the term Spring Onion.
Scoop is used to describe an alcoholic beverage i.e. "Going for a few scoops". It is rarely, if ever, used in the singular (for example "I left my scoop on the table" is not a phrase that would ever be used). Also used is the word Jars (giving rise to the expression to be intoxicated jarred). Both terms usually describe pints.
Sham - a young man or boy. This word has come to be used as an exlamation by the Irish skanger community, for example "Aw Sham!" or "That is some sham!". Etymology apparently from Shelta šam.[6]
Skanger is an Irish chav. Most commonly used in and around Dublin. The word scumbag is commonly used elsewhere.
Keeping sketch describes keeping a lookout for teachers, gardaí, parents etc. "Sketch!" is shouted if someone is coming. The term may derive from the Irish sceith meaning "to inform on".
To slag (someone) off means to have craic at their expense, i.e. make them the butt of jokes. A slagging match is when people exchange (sometimes more derogatory) banter. Unrelated to the more common english language usage of slag as a synonym of "slut".
Sláinte is an Irish word meaning "health". It is an abbreviation of the term sláinte mhaith which means "good health". Either version is used as a toast, similar to "cheers", when drinking.
Smashing means "great" or "brilliant". It is often claimed that this comes from the Irish phrase "Is maith é sin" (that's great), but this is probably a folk etymology.
Sound describes a person who is kind, thoughtful, and generally a good friend to have. also an exclamation, equivalent to 'excellent!'.
Sweet cake often used among older, but not very common among younger generations, a literal translation from Irish of cáca milis meaning "cake" or "pastry".
Tayto (an Irish brand of potato crisps — US "chips") has become synonymous with any sort of crisps, regardless of brand. Although the term itself is singular - Tayto - the word is pluralised in use (as in "Go to the shop and get me a bag of Taytos.") In Dublin, especially in working class areas, the alternative crips is commonly used (as in "Get us a packet o' crips will ye?" — or even "a package o' crips")
Tin means "can", especially for processed foods. Give us a tin of beans. "Can" is usually reserved for soft drinks or beer/cider, but a "tin of lemonade" is frequently used.
Tinker is a now derogatory term referring to the Travelling community, although it is not as offensive as "knacker". As with "knacker", it comes from a trade the travelling community once practised, namely tin smithing.
Topper, pointer, parer, paro are often used to refer to a "pencil sharpener".
Unreal Used in Mayo to mean something is in the extreme for example "It was unreal bad". It can also be used to mean a person is paticularily attractive.
Wan - an individual, particularly a female individual. This is a corruption of the word one under influence of the Gaelic word bean, meaning woman.
Wean an abbreviated form of the Scots wee ane, is used to refer to a child, but almost exclusively in Ulster and north Leinster.
Wee - small, as in Scottish English. Most common in Connacht and Ulster.
Well Used as a welcome in the South East, mainly in Waterford, and also in Ulster as a welcome instead of hello. Used sporadically in Mayo. Welcoming a male is usually done "Wellboy" and a female is "Wellgirl"
Whisht - Meaning 'be quiet'. 'Hauld (Hold) your whisht' is a common phrase in rural Cavan, and is slowly going out of use in the rest of Ulster. It comes from the Irish word "Éist" (listen), which when said repeatedly becomes "Whisht". It could of course simply be of English or Scots origin.[7][8].
Yoke - an unnamed thing. Used commonly. See Ratchet.

[edit] Notes

^ The English verb "to be" can be represented in Irish, depending on grammatical circumstances, either by the verb bí or by the copula is, a defective verb; it is the former which is at issue here. The distinction between the verb bí and the copula is explained in full on the Irish syntax article.