Spreading the Words

Spreading the Words

Spreading the Words is a series on the histories of Irish words from literature and everyday life written by Sharon Arbuthnot and Máire Ní Mhaonaigh and produced in association with the book A History of Ireland in 100 Words and the electronic Dictionary of the Irish Language (www.dil.ie).

Dúlra (The Elements, Nature)

Spreading the Words

Hear how the natural word is perceived by Irish writers in the past and pre ...

Podcast Nature Poetry Gaeilge

Clábar (Mud)

Spreading the Words

Irish clábar lies behind Hiberno-English clabber and ...

Podcast Gaeilge Language History

Gé (Goose)

Spreading the Words

The sure signs of winter included the sound of a barnacle goose.

Podcast Animals Gaeilge Language

Immram (Voyage)

Spreading the Words

The theme of immram, or voyage, is central to a number of poems by ...

Podcast Travel Gaeilge Poetry

Behind the Words

Spreading the Words

Máire Ní Mhaonaigh and Sharon Arbuthnot tell Professor Margaret Kelleher ab ...

Interview Gaeilge Writing Language

Gaoth (Wind)

Spreading the Words

From 'the Night of the Big Wind' to Flann O’Brien’s description o ...

Podcast Gaeilge Language History

Lus An Chromchinn (Daffodil)

Spreading the Words

Over the centuries, some beautiful and memorable names of flowers and plant ...

Podcast Gaeilge Language History

Grá (Love)

Spreading the Words

Read by Caroline Lennon. An insight into the eighteenth-century poem m ...

Podcast Gaeilge History Language

Leabharlann (Library)

Spreading the Words

Hear about how books were stored in medieval Irish libraries and about how ...

Podcast Gaeilge Language History

Amadán (Fool)

Spreading the Words

Unravelling the sinister history of amadán, the Modern Irish word for ‘fool ...

Podcast Gaeilge History Language

Craobh (Branch)

Spreading the Words

Find out why Douglas Hyde published verse under the pseudonym An Craoibhín ...

Podcast Gaeilge Language History

Crith Talún (Earthquake)

Spreading the Words

Medieval Irish chronicles and stories sometimes mention ‘the movement of th ...

Podcast History Gaeilge Language

Nollaig (Christmas)

Spreading the Words

Thoughts about recent Christmas lights and the long, dark winters of Christ ...

Reading Language History Gaeilge

Teaghlach (Household)

Spreading the Words

In medieval Ireland, the hearth was at the centre of the house, but what ki ...

Reading History Language Gaeilge

Cró (Enclosure)

Spreading the Words

From cró madra ‘a dog kennel’ to cró snáthaide ‘the eye of a needle’, this ...

Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Gorm (Blue)

Spreading the Words

Read by Deirdre Lewis. How colour is described is determined by cultur ...

Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Cuing (Yoke)

Spreading the Words

The Irish are fond of referring to an ‘ould yoke’, but how were words for ‘ ...

Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Gloss/Clós/Glas

Spreading the Words

Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin’s poem Gloss/Clós/Glas explores the sound and meanin ...

Podcast Language Gaeilge History

Ulcha (Beard)

Spreading the Words

Beards are status symbols in the world of early Irish literature. Such is t ...

Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Dinnsheanchas (A Literature of Place)

Spreading the Words

Real space without and imaginative space within: how the poetry of Nuala Ní ...

Podcast Poetry Gaeilge History

Fás aon oíche (Mushroom)

Spreading the Words

Ireland has a great biodiversity of fungi but how have the Irish referred t ...

Podcast Gaeilge Nature History

Coll (Hazel tree)

Spreading the Words

Hazel trees have greatly benefited the people of Ireland since medieval tim ...

Podcast Nature History Gaeilge

Damhán alla (Spider)

Spreading the Words

The Irish term for a spider has long been a source of puzzlement.

Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Tarbh (Bull)

Spreading the Words

In early Ireland, many activities were not permitted on a Sunday; but you c ...

Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Cleas (Trick or Feat)

Spreading the Words

The early Irish hero Cú Chulainn was accomplished in an array of feats incl ...

Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Duileasg (Dulse)

Spreading the Words

In his poetry, Seamus Heaney referred often to ‘dulse’, but how does this e ...

Podcast Gaeilge Language History

Bog (Soft)

Spreading the Words

Some shared insights into the relationship between the Irish adjective bog ...

Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Snámh (Swimming)

Spreading the Words

Hear about traditions of wild swimming and the dangers of swimming on a ful ...

Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Smugairle Róin (Jellyfish)

Spreading the Words

A look into the history of the Irish phrase smugairle róin, which is widely ...

Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Maighdean Mhara (Mermaid)

Spreading the Words

This episode explores the concept of fish-women and other sea-creatures men ...

Podcast Language History Gaeilge

Dulra (Nature)

Spreading the Words

Learn about the word dulra or ‘nature’ and its etymology steeped ...

Podcast Gaeilge Language Nature