The Feckin' Book of Irish Stuff

The feckin’ book of Irish Stuff: Céilís, Claddagh Rings, Leprechauns and other aul’ Blarney.

Colin Murphy & Donal O’Dea

The Aran Sweater The Aran Sweater is internationally renowned as the symbol of two things: The Aran Islands and tourists with wojus fashion sense. It was said that the original hand-knitted patterns in the wool were so unique that in the event of

This is ironic, really, as no Irish person nowadays would be seen dead wearing one.

The basket-stitch in the sweaters represents

hopeful catch, and today the catch comes in the form of unwary visitors to our shores who are charmed into parting with a gansey-load of money for their bit of genuine Aran Island heritage, which was most likely made by a machine in Indonesia.

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B&B The B&B sign is part of the Irish landscape, as familiar to Irish people the world over as the sight of burnt-out cars in beauty spots and crisp packets in hedges.

The origins of the B&B name go back to the days of sexual repression in Ireland (5000BC – AD1990), when these country homes became a refuge for courting couples eager for privacy where they could indulge in some illicit shenanigans far from the prying eyes of parents or priests.

This is where the term B&B sprang from, which every Irish person over thirty knows means ‘Bed & Bonk’.

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Begorrah Begorrah is an expression of surprise or shock used only by stereotypical Irish characters in American movies. The chances of actually hearing it from a real Irish person are as

in Ireland with a clear conscience. Apparently it originated in the mid-nineteenth century and derives from ‘by God’. Say ‘by God’ when you’re gee-eyed drunk, and it will probably sound like ‘begggorrrrrahhhh’. In Hollywood, however, especially up until recent years, every Irish person used the word in every sentence. A typical scene would go something like this: Irish Stereotype 1:

O’Shaughnessey, faith and begorrah.’ Irish Stereotype 2:

So anyway, begorrah and bejapers, why,

sainted wife Maureen with an axe?’

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The Blarney Stone Kissing the Blarney Stone supposedly bestows ‘the gift of the gab’, or eloquence in speech.

Stroll down any Irish street on a Friday night and simply listen to the pearls of oratory

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! " $ % ‘Ah I’m rat-arsed, I am.’ & % '

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