Motherfoclóir

2018 has been a landmark year for women’s rights in both Ireland and New Zealand. At home, we have voted to repeal the 8th Amendment. Our Antipodean mates have acknowledged a different aspect of reproductive rights (specifically, working mothers not having their careers scuppered) when their Prime Minister, Jacinda Ardern, gave birth to a daughter – and the country didn’t grind to a halt. That little girl’s name- Neve* Te Aroha Ardern Gayford – is a nod to two traditions, Irish and Maori, and in today’s episode we take a look at the Maori language Te Reo. Darach and Clodagh are joined this week by Louth linguist Aoife Finn who is studying Te Reo as part of her PhD. She enlightens the gang on how Te Reo works with fifteen(ish) letters, how the battle for language rights has been fought down there compared to up here and the process for creating neologisms. We also uncover a massive conspiracy theory about Pinot Grigio. *Niamh spelled in Te Reo phonetics --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to the second Motherfoclóir Mailbag show! Listener feedback allows us to see how we’re doing, bring any clarifications to light and gives us ideas for new shows. You can email us at [email protected] if you want to get in touch, or even leave a review on iTunes. Correspondence has been flooding in from near and far in relation to recent episodes. Regular offenders Darach and Gearóidín are joined by neutral observers Antoin Beag and Aifric who consider topics ranging from pronunciation, taxation, the use of swearwords to the legacy of Daniel Cassidy much more. If your mail isn’t read out today, our next Mailbag will be out soon! --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Your ex – the one who doesn’t like you as much as you like them and knows it – sends a “you up?” text at 11.32pm. Should you not pick up the phone… or, instead of replying, why not practice your Irish on Duolingo instead? The popularity of Duolingo’s Irish course flies in the face of critics of the language and has been a huge encouragement to those involved in the promotion of Irish. How can we capitalise on this interest? In this week’s episode, Darach and Peadar are joined by Alan Maguire and Ellen Tannam from Headstuff’s Juvenalia Podcast. Alan and Ellen have agreed to give Duolingo’s Irish course a go and report back on what they’ve learnt. It’s a tale of cats on turtles, inappropriate koalas, owlsplaining, film references and more crabs than you can shake a stick at. There are chats about new words and gender identity in anthromorphic creatures too! You can (and should) check out Juvenalia here: https://www.headstuff.org/juvenalia/ --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week's episode is about Bród - no, not Miggledy Higgins's best dog (sorry Shadow!) but LGBTQ+ Pride, which is celebrated in Dublin from the 21st to the 30th of June. Ever since the 2015 marriage equality referendum and the ascension of Leo Varadkar to Taoiseach, LGBTQ+ inclusion has been central to how Ireland has presented itself to the world. However, this is an all-too-recent development and until 2018's publication of An Foclóir Aiteach (the Queer Dictionary) the vocabulary for many terms relating to queer experiences was not formally included in Irish. In today's episode, Darach and Gearóidín are joined by Antoin Beag and Aifric, who talk about their fiche bliain ag fás on an island that was struggling to come to terms with who it really was. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. You can check out the Foclóir Aiteach here: http://usi.ie/focloir-aiteach/ Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In the second episode from our live show at the International Literature Festival Dublin, Darach and Éimear are joined by the King of (Book) Clubs himself, Mr. Rick O'Shea. The Rick O'Shea Book Club (ROSBC) has over 17,000 members and has managed to maintain a cordial atmosphere and a low spoiler rate in an internet otherwise teeming with mean jerks. How does he do it? He tells us the secret, as well as answering questions from the audience (including Darach's Mam). You can find ROSBC on [Facebook](https://www.facebook.com/groups/therickosheabookclub/). --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

In this week's episode - recorded live at Smock Alley Theatre as part of the International Literature Festival Dublin - Darach and Éimear are joined by Terry O'Hagan, the man behind the Vox Hiberionacum blog. Terry's research combines history, archaeology and linguistics as he tackles misconceptions about early medieval Ireland. Celts, Druids, Ogham and snakes all get a sceptical interrogation and we even hear about fart jokes and hungover doodles from the 7th Century. You can see Terry's blog here: https://goo.gl/aUN1GN --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Irish for Wakanda Forever is "an Uácaind Abú!" The Irish language has enough problems to deal with without being co-opted by bigots. Earlier this year, for example, a protester against the Black Lives Matter movement in America wore a t-shirt bearing the slogan "gorm chonaí ábhar", a translation of Blue Lives Matter so bad it's hard to know where to even begin correcting it. Irish survives and thrives as a confident, modern language that welcomes all the people who want to speak it. In today's episode, the first of a number of live recordings, Motherfoclóir regular Ola Majekodunmi takes the hotseat and speaks to RTÉ presenter Zainab Boladale about being Gaelscoil graduates of Nigerian heritage, online and offline jerks and what Irish means to them. This episode was recorded live as part of Africa Day 2018 at Farmleigh House in Phoenix Park. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It's Referendum Day, and given the massive task of counting votes that is ahead of us, what better time to chat about the way counting works in Irish? It's all especially intriguing as the way we count people is different than the counting of mere objects and beasts. Peadar tells Darach about Irish dancing, the link in counting between uimhir a sé and the séimhiú and the mysteries of plural nouns in both languages. Also, Darach has an epiphany about 1980s children's telly. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's been a lot of talk about obstreperous women lately, so what better time to consider the fierce female characters of the Táin? In this week's episode, Éimear tells Darach about Cuchulainn's wife Emer (pronounced Ever in the old Irish) and Caitlín discusses how Medb has been represented over time. There's still time to buy tickets for the Motherfoclóir live show! http://ilfdublin.com/events/motherfocloir-live-podcast --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Host Darach and Motherfoclóir regular Siún share many obsessions, but the one they discuss on today's show is the writer Flann O'Brien… also known as Myles na gCopeleen… also known as Brian O'Nolan. As a displaced Northerner, O'Nolan was an outsider in the Irish language word in the Free State, belonging to neither the official Gaeltachts nor the bourgeois Dublin revivalists. This - as well as the restrictions placed on published writings by civil servants - contributed to a body of writing that is broadly hilarious and subtly subversive, darkly bitter and wildly imaginative. Darach and Siún consider his lasting appeal, how he was the 1930s equivalent of a Twitter superstar and how parts of his journalism predict today's world of social networks. You can check out Siún's fab as Gaeilge podcast Beo Ar Éigean at https://www.rte.ie/gaeilge/beo-ar-eigean/ --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The number 8 is full of mystery in the Irish language. There's the "hateful eight" letters that were added in the 20th century. There's a Eighth Amendment, which you may have heard of. And then there's Article 8 of Bunreacht na hÉireann. In this week's episode of Motherfoclóir, Gearóidín wants to clear up any confusion between Article 8 (the status of the Irish and English languages) and the 8th Amendment. They discuss shade in the constitution, the importance of not taking individual lines out of their broader context and consider the role of Ireland in steering English language use in the EU. Could Hiberno-English be the working language of Europe after Brexit? Ah, STOP. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

This week Darach is in London on Motherfoclóir business and is broadcasting from the British Library at Kings Cross rather than the HeadStuff studios. This setting is appropriate as this week's topic is An Vicipéid, the Irish language portion of Wikipedia. Darach is joined by Dr. Claire Murray, a chemist by day and lover of the world's free online encyclopedia. As well as giving an overview of her own work, Claire tells Darach about the standards Wikipedia expects and enforces and they encourage listeners to try updating Vicipéid topics close to their own hearts. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Are we all just characters in a Roddy Doyle Facebook status?" Dublin City's official motto is Obedientia Civium Urbis Felicitas - obedient citizens, happy city. But do they obey because they're happy or are they happy because they obey? It's a suitably elliptical sentence for a city defined by its murky relationships with obedience and happiness. In this week's episode, Peadar and Darach consider Dublin's happily disobedient use of language. In particular they consider certain articles of Dublin slang with a view to whether they come from Irish or not. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Today's episode is a game of two halves. In part one Darach chats to Jody Coogan about certain articles of Hiberno-English slang (specifically, Munster slang) and they discuss whether they have an Irish origin or not. Such slang words enter the language when spoken English and Irish collide. Speaking of spoken Irish… in part two, Darach is visited by Ola, Clodagh and Gearóidín and they discuss the Irish Leaving Cert Oral exam and go through the irregular verbs (Bí, Feic, Téigh, Déan, Faigh, Abair, Tar, Ith, Tabhair, Beir, Clois). If you have a story about your Irish Oral Exam, email it to [email protected] and we'll share the best ones! --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Languages are like ogres; they have layers". Éimear Duffy knows a thing or two about Ireland and Irish in the rare aul' times (specifically the 7th to 9th century). In this week's episode, she tells Darach and Gearóidín about widespread misconceptions of early Irish society, honour prices of different statuses of people, the random sequence of recorded events in the annals and even how to retrofit modern words into earlier forms of Irish. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Teresa Lynn is a computational linguist who specialises in technology and Irish language. She visits Darach, Gearóidín and Ola on today's episode to defend machine translation from all the misguided criticism it's been getting. She also talks about how systems like Bing and Google Translate work, emergency translation and the phenomenon of code switching. You can find out more about her work here: http://www.computing.dcu.ie/~tlynn/ --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It has been said that bookshops are the afterlife for good trees and the sound of turning pages is a kind of prayer to them. Belfast bookworm Caitlín Nic Íomhair is the manager of An Siopa Leabhar on Harcourt Street, Dublin’s finest specialist Irish language bookshop. Just like another famous Harcourt Street institution, the walls of An Siopa Leabhar stand witness to tales of heartbreak and debauchery… but unlike Coppers, they usually have page numbers on them here. She tells Darach and Éimear all about it in this week’s episode, in which she also finds time to give a whistle stop tour of Ulster Irish and rhapsodise over underrated poet Biddy Jenkinson. If you can’t make it to Harcourt Street, you can find An Siopa Leabhar online at [www.cnagsiopa.com](www.cnagsiopa.com) --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

There's going to be a lot of talk about Bunreacht na hÉireann in the coming weeks, a document where the subtle differences between wording in English and in Irish can make a big difference. In today's episode, Gearóidín and Darach look at the constitution in general but the 8th Amendment in particular, putting its origins in context and outlining the relevant Irish terminology. Although there is no swearing in today's episode, the subject matter necessarily leads the discussion into adult themes which some listeners might find upsetting. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Ireland has been producing some remarkable YA fiction in recent years, much of which has addressed received notions of Irishness implicitly and explicitly. This is a valuable exercise in the context of Ireland and the Irish language being used as tropes in YA and fantasy literature abroad. In this week's episode, Irish Book Award winner Darach Ó Séaghdha interviews Irish Book Award winner Dave Rudden (ably assisted by future Irish Book Award winner Ola Majekodunmi). They chat about the writing process, first sentences and translate some of the key terms in Dave's books. You can find out more about Dave at www.daverudden.com - his new book, "The Endless King", is out shortly. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As languages don't match each other exactly, linguists and psychologists have debated if specific grammatical features shape the thought patterns of separate language communities differently. Are Germans better listeners than Greeks because they are politely waiting for the verb at the end of the sentence? Are they more punctual because their half six really means half five? This concept pops up in Irish most frequently when we translate the English words "yes" and "no", words which have a powerful place in Hiberno-English literature and politics. In today's episode, Darach talks to Peadar, Gearóidín and Motherfoclóir newbie Caitlín about this concept and its broader impact. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Buddha teaches that "when words are true and kind, they can change our world". Today's special guest, Sineád Burke, exemplified this spirit when she decided to get an entry included for "little person" in the Irish language to supersede the unsuitable existing terms. She tells Darach, Éimear and Gearóidín all about the process in this episode as they discuss attitudes to language, ability, disability and who gets to decide what "normal" is. You can find out more about the work of Little People of Ireland at [lpi.ie](http://www.lpi.ie) and more about Sineád at [minniemelange.com](http://minniemelange.com) --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"An sgéal fada ní hé is fearr" - the longest tale is not the best. As Valentine's Day approaches, the Motherfoclóir gang turn their thoughts to the wealth of love poetry written in the Irish language. Darach, Éimear and Peadar take turns reading poems (and their English translations) from "Filíocht Ghrá Na Gaeilge", which covers a thousand years of Irish love poetry. It covers the whole spectrum of the human heart. While the gang don't swear, there are adult themes in the episode. You can buy the poetry collection referenced this week at: www.cnagsiopa.com or www.coislife.ie --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The beating heart of this podcast is its wonderful lucht leanúna - the loyal listeners. We're always keen to know how you think we're getting on, and in today's episode Darach, Éimear, Peadar and Gearóidín read out and discuss some of the correspondence we've received. Will your letter be in there? --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

"Éist means listen, péist is a worm, éistphéist is an earworm". Just like Alan Rickman's character in Die Hard, Darach rhapsodises over the benefits of a classical education in today's episode. The genitive case is the grammatical device in languages that applies to possession… and as possession is nine tenths of the law, it gets our attention today. In the lucid company Gearóidín and Peadar, Darach examines the séimhiú- when it is and isn't used and what to watch out for. Did all the Cockney dropped aitches fall off words and land in Irish? What is the dentals rule? Why do female surnames have a séimhiú but not male surnames? Are their regional issues? All will be revealed. It's just a little h. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Irish for a chat-up line is 'briathra meala'. An innocent bystander might be forgiven for thinking that there are two Carl Kinsellas: one, the articulate and outspoken writer with joe.ie… and the other, the High King of Irish pun gags on Twitter. Carl joins Darach and Éimear in the studio in this week's episode and talks about the cheesy bilingual chat-up lines that have made him an internet star. They also discuss the perils of the tinder age and going viral (and give out about various species of birds). --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“By fifth and sixth year, you’re dreaming in Irish”. It’s a little Coláiste Íosagáin reunion on Motherfoclóir this week as Darach is outnumbered by two past pupils: regular contributor Ola Majekodunmi and special guest Ailbhe Malone, who is Lifestyle Editor at Buzzfeed UK (after stints with NME, Nylon, Heat, the Irish Independent and many others). Ailbhe tells us about moving from an English language primary school to an Irish language secondary school, shares her stories about getting a foot in the door in music journalism and chats about the perils and delights of having an Irish name at home and abroad. She also talks about times when her journalism has led her to write about her own life experiences. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Although it is regularly cited as the reason some people dislike Irish, Peig has been off the school curriculum for so long that we have adult Irish speakers wandering the streets and hills who were born after its removal. One such adult is the effortlessly cool catóg Clodagh McGinley, who you’ll remember from recent episodes. She tells Darach about the differences between studying Irish at school and at university, moving from the world of sraith pics to the wonders of Cúirt an Mheán Oíche. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

So here we are, at the end of another year, the 2017th year… can you believe there have already be 2017 years on this planet? Amazing really. Anyway, what we have compiled here is the best of The HeadStuff Podcast Network 2017, short clips from a range of our shows. If something piques your fancy, […] La entrada Best of The HeadStuff Podcast Network 2017 se publicó primero en Headstuff. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Nollaig shona to all our listeners! In today’s very special yuletide special, Gearóidín tells the gang about Christmas in Finland, Peadar gets excited about wrens, Darach dwells on the practicalities of decorating with a toddler and Clodagh reminisces over Sylvanian Families. Please consider supporting one of the charities listed in today’s podcast. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

“Chomh ramhar le rón – as chubby as a seal” In Germany, BMW (Bayerische Motoren Werke) is pronounced BMV. In Latin, Vs are pronounced as Ws. Humans have been switching these sounds with each other for some time. While neither V nor W are in the traditional 18 letter alphabet, W is so verboten that it is often replaced with a V in some loanwords – tvúit for tweet being a famous example. In Irish, the letters B and M –when combined with a h – can make a V sound (Siobhán, Niamh) or a W (abhaile, ramhar) sound. What should learners watch out for when pronouncing these letter combinations? Darach talks to Gearóidín and Peadar about it all in today’s episode. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As the author of five YA novels and the presenter of HeadStuff’s Sweet Valley High podcast “Double Love”, Anna Carey knows a thing or two about teen drama. In this week’s episode, she joins Darach and Éimear to share her memories of being a cinnire (a camp counsellor at Irish college) during the 1990s. They discuss how mix tapes and graffiti were the ancestors of today’s social networking, the translation of pop song lyrics to Irish, narcs, céilís and slang as Gaeilge. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Language and music are strange bedfellows. A huge factor in our continental cousins’ proficiency in English comes from their consumption of English-language pop culture, especially pop music. However, while English speakers frequently enjoy music in other languages (Sigur Rós, Clannad, that Despacito song), the sung language can be taken merely as another instrument rather than as a piece of meaningful writing. This week Darach is joined by Fergal Moloney and MC Muipéad from critically acclaimed Irish language music collective IMLÉ. They chat about the creative process, lyrics, nicknames, crisps and much more. You can get IMLÉ’s album at https://gaellinn.bandcamp.com --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Mayo mirthmaker Clare Cullen, better known as Clisare, is the Queen of Irish YouTube. With a staying power not typical in the viral age, she has been delighting her thousands of loyal followers since 2012 with videos such as Stuff Irish Girls Say, the Irish Bucket List and Irish vs. British makeup. She has also produced some cracking Irish language content and tells Darach and Clodagh all about it in this week’s episode. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

One of the most recent Irish words to enter common parlance is Aisling – a sensible girl from outside Dublin with an aversion to notions. While the origin of other words based on names are lost in the mists of time, we can trace this one to a popular Facebook group, Oh My God What A Complete Aisling. The creators of this group, Emer McLysaght and Sarah Breen, have written a book of the same name and were kind enough to pop into HeadStuff to chat to Darach and Éimear about it. They also discuss hotel breakfasts, Christmas Mass, the Irish roots of the name Aisling and her hometown, Ballygobbard… and the positives of social media. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

After a ten episode absence, Louth Legend Siún Ní Dhuinn is back at her Motherfoclóir desk in HeadStuff studios. She tells Darach and Clodagh all about As An Nua (her bilingual feminist fashion blog) and Beo Ar Éigean – BAE for short – her fab RTÉ Irish language podcast. There’s laughs, chats, poetry and the occasional burn. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

As former British colonies with lots of green on their flags, where St. Patrick is the patron saint and where Guinness is hugely popular, Nigeria and Ireland are countries with plenty in common. In this week’s episode, Ola Majekodunmi talks to Darach and Gearóidín about being a Gaeilgeoir of Nigerian heritage, her favourite words in Irish and Yoruba and much more. You can catch Ola’s show, Seinnliosta an tSathairn on Raidió Na Life every Saturday from 4-5pm. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It’s the spookiest night of the year, so what better time to share some eerie Irish words? Darach, Ola, Gearóidín and Peadar discuss the ancient roots of Samhain, the mysteries of brack and monkey nuts… and discuss regional traditions on this, the Motherfoclóir Spooky Halloween Special! If you’re listening with the smallies, be aware that there’s a few cuss words in today’s episode. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

National anthems – and the manner in which people observe them – are controversial (linguistically and politically) most of the time, but especially so in 2017\. Amhrán na bhFiann is the Irish National Anthem and the world’s best-known Irish language text, even though it was originally written in English. In this week’s episode, Darach chats with Peadar, Gearóidín and Ola about the history of this absolute banger and compare it to the anthems of other countries. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Regular listeners will be acquainted with team Motherfoclóir member Gearóidín McEvoy by now – ex-translator, constitution buff, Lawyers for Choice volunteer, minority language rights champion, Scandi-phile, Laois woman. What you may not know is that Gearóidín is one of the thousands of Irish people with dyslexia. In this episode, she tells Darach all about dyslexia and Irish, school-life and how Irish was the first language that didn’t try to trick her. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Neal Ó Riain is the boy across the road who your Mam compares you to. He literally has a PhD in Astrophysics, a fine job in London and – of course – fluent Irish. However, Neal is sweeter than his native Carlow’s sugar refineries, and gave the world @antainbot (The best bot on Twitter) and Aireamhan, a coding language based on Irish. He tells Darach and Gearóidín all about it on today’s episode, and they chat about language issues in science too. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Pop-Up Gaeltacht is PUG for short. The Irish for a pug is smutmhadra. The Irish for smut is salachar, which is an anagram of “ah rascal”. Darach goes down a wormhole with Peadar Ó Caomhánaigh, one half of the duo behind Pop-Up Gaeltacht. They discuss safe spaces, Gaeltacht bangers, getting the wear, euphonic phonemes and the global pug phenomenon. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The letter A (and her saucy sister, Á) are the subject of today’s episode, a pronunciation masterclass with Darach, Peadar, Éimear and Ola . We’ll be meeting cats, boats, cakes, bad weather, terrible puns and showing you where a fada makes all the difference. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The Irish for Passport is pas, which can also mean an episode in time or a fit (of rage or madness, for example). This week Darach is joined by journalist Naomi O’Leary, who has written extensively about EU matters and co-presents “The Irish Passport” podcast. They chat about Ireland and Europe, the politics of language, national identity after Brexit and the joys of multilingualism. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The power of words touches all our lives, never more urgently than when those words form laws. In the first of an ongoing series, Darach talks to Eimear (Brehon Badass) and Gearóidín (Constitution Connoisseur) about how differently an area of law is treated in old and modern Ireland. Is it all progress? * * * Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Surnames, a relatively recent invention, are done differently from language to language. In Irish, conventions exist to include gender and marital status identifiers in female surnames, but choices are still available. Darach talks (but mostly listens) to Siún, Éimear and Gearóidín about how this quirk of the language and how it dovetails with attitudes to Irish names – and women’s names – in general. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The computers are coming after our jobs – are translators next? It’s a piece of technology straight out of science fiction – a website tool that translates text between any two of a range of languages (many of them less widely spoken than Irish). However, Google Translate is the bane of many Irish teachers’ lives. In this episode, Darach chats to Gearóidín, Peadar and Siún about the do’s and don’ts of using this feature. --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The People Vs. The Letter V The traditional Irish alphabet had 18 letters, but in the 20th century, there was a gradual thawing of attitudes to the other eight, such as V. However, a very vocal vanguard view V as a villainous visitor to the vernacular vocabulary. In this episode, Darach is joined by Gearóidín, Peadar and Siún and they discuss the controversial letter. It’s a tale of political intrigue (and quacking ducks). --- Contact the show at https://twitter.com/motherfocloir or email us at [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Behind the wall of grammar homework lies the amazing world of the Irish language, and Darach (that @theirishfor guy) wants to take you there. With a crack team of the internet’s soundest Irish speakers, Darach will explore topics like differences between the Irish and English versions of the Constitution, silent letters, Gaeilge and technology, how new words get added to the dictionary and which old words have fallen out. It’s an all slammer, no grammar half hour. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices