Donegal, Northern Ireland and some new Irish slang

Before we tell you about our trip to the beautiful northern part of this island, here's a short quiz on some Irish terminology we have learned in recent months. Answers are at the bottom.

1. How would a local pronounce "Donegal"?
2. If you were invited to a "Hen Party", what would you be celebrating?
3. If someone said "stall the digger" to you, what would they mean?
4. What is a "flatlander"?
5. If someone told you they were going to a "Stag Do", where would they be going?
6. Use "You're very welcome" in a sentence (hint: it's not a response to "thank you".)
7. Use "yourself" in a sentence.
8. What is the common pronunciation of "three, thanks, and thing"?
9. What is the common pronunciation of "thyme" (the herb)?
10. If someone told you, as a waitress who had recently moved to Dublin from Cork told us, that she liked it here but missed the "crack", what on earth would she mean???

Now, a brief geo/political primer. County Donegal is in the northwestern-most corner of Ireland. It is one of the 26 counties that make up the Republic of Ireland, which is where we live. Northern Ireland is a different country, made up of 6 counties, and is part of the United Kingdom (with England, Wales and Scotland). In the Republic the currency is Euros; in Northern Ireland it is Pounds Sterling. In the Republic the highway signs show kilometers; in Northern Ireland it is miles. The capital of the Republic is Dublin; the capital of Northern Ireland is Belfast. And Northern Ireland is where "the Troubles" occurred in the later part of the last century - the conflict between Protestants and Catholics that us older folks remember being in the news throughout our teen and young adult years. Interestingly, when you cross from one country to the other on the highway, there is not only no gate or border guard, there is not even a sign telling you you have entered a new country.

Donegal is a sparsely populated, rugged and lovely area, like much of the rest of Ireland. Here's a couple photos of one of its best-known landmarks, the cliffs of Slieve League:

Northern Ireland was similar in many respects, but visiting Belfast was a different kind of experience. We spent one night there before traveling up to the northern tip of the island, to an area called the Antrim Coast. It was quite a contrast. In Belfast we took a Black Cab Tour of the conflict areas and heard a detailed history of the "troubles" from a former taxi driver who grew up on the Catholic side. The most striking aspect of the tour was learning how people were honored in one neighborhood who were involved in the murder of people in a different neighborhood just a couple miles away. While there is a formal truce, and no active violence still occurring, there is obvious tension and regular reports of protest marches and confrontations each summer during something called Marching Season. Here are some of the sights that particularly struck us:

A mural in a Protestant neighborhood of Belfast, honoring the local militia, the Ulster Defence Union.

The "Peace Wall" along Falls Road in Belfast, separating the Protestant and Catholic neighborhoods.

A mural in a Catholic neighborhood in Belfast honoring Bobby Sands, IRA member who died in prison in 1981 during the famous hunger strike.


Moving on to the north coast, we visited some of the most popular tourist destinations in the country. They were a bit crowded this time of year, but beautiful nonetheless.

The Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge. Yes, we walked across.

The Giant's Causeway, famous for its hexagonal basalt columns, formed by volcanic activity. (Please ignore the woman in blue who photo-bombed our selfie.)

More Giant's Causeway.

Dunluce Castle, near the town of Portrush.


It has been a very busy summer, and we have had the opportunity to see quite a bit of Ireland. County Kerry is next on the list, but we're not sure if we will get there this fall. In any case, we continue to try to squeeze every drop out of this experience. Hope to be able to show some of you around over the next year.


Quiz answers:

1. Dun-ee-GAL (and say the first two syllables fast).
2. A girlfriend's wedding; it's a bachelorette party.
3. Hold your horses/slow down, let me finish.
4. Someone who lives alone (since people who live alone usually live in a "flat")
5. To a bachelor party.
6. "Good morning. You are very welcome to our service this morning."
7. "I sent an email to yourself with those files attached."
8. Tree, Tanks, and Ting.
9. Thime (thyme is the only "th" word that we've consistently heard pronounced with the American "th" sound. Go figure.)
10. Actually it's spelled "craic", and there is no exact English equivalent. It's an Irish word meaning "fun, good times, laughter, hanging out with friends." English really needs a word like this.