On St. Patrick’s Day, everyone is Irish! Happy St. Patrick’s Day to our many IENA participants from Ireland! March 17th, or Paddy’s Day, was originally observed to celebrate the patron saint of Ireland, St. Patrick. Now, it has evolved into a fun-filled day with parades, festivals, and the celebration of Irish culture around the world!
I lived in Ireland for three years and was lucky enough to celebrate three Paddy’s Days in Dublin. One of my favorite things that I learned about Ireland during my time there is the slang- it’s technically English, but should be a language of its own! I wanted to share some of my favorite Irish slang, so you can put it to good use today if you’re celebrating!
“What’s the craic/ what’s the story?” translates to- “What’s going on, what’s up?”
“Taking the piss” means to tease or make fun of (in a light-hearted way!)
“Gas” translates to funny/ amusing
“Gaff” means house
“Howiya?” means “Hey, how are you?” (but when pronounced with a thick, Dublin accent!)
“Deadly” translates to brilliant!
And when you put it all together- “Howiya? What’s the story? Any craic on Paddy’s Day? I heard Aoife has a free gaff, and then everyone is up for town later to see the parade- it should be deadly! I was taking the piss out of her earlier about her Paddy’s Day outfit, it was gas! But sure, it’s grand!”
Happy Paddy’s day, everyone- I hope it’s great craic! 🙂
Sláinte!