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The Irish For... Some spooky Irish words to get you in the mood for Samhain

Darach Ó Séaghdha talks us through the meaning of some spooky words like Cendail, a collective noun for the heads of one’s decapitated enemies.

This the latest dispatch from our columnist Darach Ó Séaghdha, author of the award-winning and bestselling Motherfoclóir. Every Sunday morning, Darach will be regaling (re-Gaeling?) us with insights on what the Irish language says about Ireland, our society, our past and our present. Enjoy.  

EMILY DICKINSON ONCE remarked that November is the Norway of the year, a line that loses none of its beauty even when we disagree as to what she meant by it. As a resident of Dublin, my view is that she was alluding to the Norwegian invention of dynamite, given the constant bangers that punctuate the evenings of the eleventh month.

In Irish, November is a month whose name reminds us the day that precedes it – Oíche Shamhna. Some naysayers will tell you that Hallowe’en is too commercial and tacky, but the popularity of the spooky holiday has proven to be the last line of defence against Christmas ads and songs that seem to start earlier and earlier every year – not to mention giving us all some brief respite from the inevitable think-pieces about poppy-wearing.

We need Hallowe’en – it’s sexier than Valentine’s Day, less anticlimactic than New Years, cheaper than Christmas and more Irish than St Patrick’s Day.

So before you go bobbing for apples on Wednesday, why not bob for some spooky Irish words to get you in the mood for Samhain?

Oidhe: Spellcheck, like alcohol, makes a fine servant but a cruel master. If you are typing oíche (meaning night) be careful you don’t type oidhe instead – it means the act of slaying.

Taibhseoir: A noun without a direct equivalent in English, this means a person who tells ghost stories. It is derived from taibhse, a phantom.

Síofra: Now a popular name for girls, a síofra was a changeling – a spooky doppelgänger child left in the place of a child stolen by the fairies. Such a child would look almost identical to the one taken. Speaking of almost identical, síofra an anagram of sioráf, which is the Irish for a giraffe.

Sí: The root of síofra is the word sí, meaning the fairy folk. However, the English word “fairy” and the image of gossamer-winged Victorian children it evokes really isn’t a fair translation of the meaning of the Irish word. Consider that the banshee (bean-sí) was a screaming herald of death and the fear, even today, of messing with the fairy fort. The sí were terrifying and often referred to as na huaisle (the gentry) or na daoine maithe (the good people) to avoid provoking them.

Bean Ultach: While bean sí is a fairy woman/banshee, Bean Ultach (literally, Ulster woman) is one of the names in Irish for a witch.

Bibsach: This very obscure Middle Irish word means to kill (or put someone to death) twice. Academics have pointed out that while this word is recorded in some dictionaries, examples of it used in non-reference texts have been harder to come by. One can only assume that whatever hapless person had those texts was killed twice.

Cendail: Not to be confused with the name Kendall or anyone who bears it, this is another discontinued word, a collective noun for the heads of one’s decapitated enemies.

Púca: A púca is a supernatural creature, such as a ghost or a goblin. Is púca the origin of the English word spooky? Absolutely not- spook comes from Dutch. Is there a link between it and the Japanese word Pokemon? Even more unlikely. Why do so many distinct, separate cultures have such similar-sounding words for mischievous supernatural creatures? Ask the one standing behind you.

Boo!

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    Mute Aurelio Na Fodhla
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    Jun 30th 2022, 6:55 AM

    It’s like a repeat of a bad dream I had…

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    Mute Handsome McWonderful
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    Jun 30th 2022, 9:01 AM

    @Aurelio Na Fodhla: Leo will be quoting movies again. Zoom parties will be had. Tony will get the band back together. Curves will be flattened and sourdough baked.

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    Mute Anna Carr
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    Jun 30th 2022, 8:01 AM

    Will it ever go away? I’m so over it. No one’s even listening to advice anymore, it’s just us all sort of winging it. I’m going for jab no. 4. How many others are? Just curious.

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    Mute The Ghost of Dublin
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    Jun 30th 2022, 8:24 AM

    @Anna Carr: I have had four jabs, was following mask protocols, and as far as I know I’ve never had Covid.

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    Mute Anna Carr
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    Jun 30th 2022, 9:28 AM

    @The Ghost of Dublin: I’ve done the same but I got covid…. Very mild…. Still going for number 4 though

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    Mute Michael McGrath
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    Jun 30th 2022, 2:06 PM

    @Anna Carr: Are you not starting to question the fact that you need 4 injections of the one “vaccine” in little over 12 months and still got covid anyway. If your healthy the likelyhood is you would only have got a mild dose of covid in any case. This putting down to only getting a mild dose of covid because your vaccinated is ridiculous when the vast majority of cases are mild anyway vaccinated or not(this is not having a go at you personally it’s the narrative that’s being put out constantly in the media) . Now if you are in anyway immunocompromised I stand corrected and apologise.

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    Mute Fiona Fitzgerald
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    Jun 30th 2022, 4:00 PM

    @Michael McGrath: I’d still say that anything we do to reduce exposure is healthy. I’ve heard several people who were runners before and can barely get around the house now. The less viral load the better.

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    Mute Michael McGrath
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    Jun 30th 2022, 4:41 PM

    @Fiona Fitzgerald: So your in agreement that we continue taking injections every three months can’t see it happening tbh and the infrastructure just isn’t there to do it, it’s not even really there to do it every twelve months. Since the EUCDC is saying its not worth a jot against the new strains what’s the point

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    Mute Brendan Odonnell
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    Jun 30th 2022, 9:02 AM

    Really annoyed as my daughter had to ring the Coombe maternity hospital after contacting Covid to find out that pregnant women with covid are at risk of blood clots and need to be put on blood thinners as a precaution. Why is this not mentioned anywhere ????

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    Mute Anna Carr
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    Jun 30th 2022, 9:30 AM

    @Brendan Odonnell: wow I had no idea of this. I hope everything goes well for your daughter and impending grandchild.

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    Mute Brendan Odonnell
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    Jun 30th 2022, 11:54 AM

    @Anna Carr: thanks and please God all goes well for them both. It affects those under 26 weeks and so mad that she had to ring after a neighbour mentioned it to her in passing. Thanks once again

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    Mute Kayleigh Furlong-Folan
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    Jun 30th 2022, 12:12 PM

    @Brendan Odonnell: Not sure if this is possibly just isolated to your daughter or the coombe now maybe have introduced this. I caught covid at 7weeks, and I was under the Coombe and did ask about blood thinners and they said no. They will monitor more closely towards the end however! I hope she keeps well!!

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    Mute Maeve O'Sullivan
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    Jun 30th 2022, 10:48 AM

    I’m sorry I barely got past the first line … “as we head into the summer months” …. It’s nearly July and not even a hint of summer yet!

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    Mute Damien Leen
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    Jun 30th 2022, 7:59 AM

    Seriously…bloody isolate then go from there.

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    Mute Dave Barrett
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    Jun 30th 2022, 8:38 AM

    @Damien Leen: Just drive on. No more than a bad cold now. Rate of rising prices, petrol and mortgages no one will be able to afford stay home from work.

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    Mute lelookcoco
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    Jun 30th 2022, 8:40 AM

    @Dave Barrett: A bad cold for some but not all. And why even put up with a bad cold of it can be avoided

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    Mute Thomas O' Donnell
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    Jun 30th 2022, 9:14 PM

    @Dave Barrett: When did a bad cold ever lead to such high absenteeism in summer months?

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    Mute Stanley Marsh
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    Jun 30th 2022, 1:25 PM

    Given that we are now literally at the height of ‘summer’ where are all those who claimed Covid was purely a seasonal virus?

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