Delighted to be invited to join Dr Pat McKay, previously of the Northern Ireland Place-name Project, in a podcast for 'The Place Where Your Face is Known'. We talked about the various 'wonder-tales' and origin-legends which are associated with Lough Neagh, in the north of Ireland. So, listen via the link below to hear about loughs turning to blood, wood turning to stone and women turning to fish ...

https://www.buzzsprout.com/1055731/8257176?fbclid=IwAR3zi4zdSTLiBhv149wEIqJ-EtSmesdJWHDJaE6sQxpi3cR5TJz6yzpj2uk

We're looking forward to 'Craic and Shenanigans' tonight, our online event for Cambridge Festival.

For the day that's in it, we've made a short video on Irish and Hiberno-English words for fools ... from EEGIT to AMADÁN, watch now 👇 and see you later!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wp1C8GT27Tk

Still thinking of submitting a paper for the Irish Conference of Medievalists? The call has been extended until 30 April and abstracts need to be only c. 100 words:

http://www.irishmedievalists.com/call-for-papers/

Does English 'smithereens' really come from Irish?

We had a quick look at the evidence in the second of our videos for this month's Cambridge Festival:

https://youtu.be/JZcB44zMG1A

Q What do Charlotte Brontë and Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill have in common? A They have both engaged with the concept of CAOINEADH 'keening'

Máire Ní Mhaonaigh explores the interactions between the Irish and English words in the first of our videos for Cambridge Festival:

https://youtu.be/kRsrxwhz1GA

Interested in craic & shenanigans?

For this year's Cambridge Festival, we'll be looking at Irish words borrowed into English ... and a few false friends!

As well as a series of videos, we have an event for chat, questions, suggestions and more:

Thursday, 1 April
7pm (Irish time)
Free but you'll need to register for a Zoom link ↘️

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/craic-and-shenanigans-in-search-of-english-words-borrowed-from-irish-tickets-136843174619↘

For St Patrick's Day, last week, we contributed some words and images to an online event hosted from Spain by El Arpa. You can see the material we provided and enjoy the rest of 'Fadó, Fadó: A celebration of Irishness' on YouTube now:

https://youtu.be/sbX2vTlRQhU

To celebrate and mark the end of our 'Spreading the Words' series for Radio MoLI, Professor Margaret Kelleher joined us for a short interview exploring the inspiration behind the series, the importance of hearing words from the present and past, and what we have learned along the way. Available now through the link below:

https://moli.ie/radio/series/spreading-the-words/behind-the-words/

Excited to celebrate Patrick’s Day Spanish-style by contributing to 'Fadó, Fadó: A Celebration of Irishness' organised by El Arpa Media. Tune into YouTube (link below) on 17 March, at 7pm (Irish time), to see more of our words and images illustrating medieval Ireland’s links with Spain ☘️💃

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6BNX3XfeInpwsA2WpNSmCg

No shamrocks but a unique look at the relationship between the Irish and snakes in our Patrick's Day event hosted by the Institute of Irish Studies, Liverpool ☘️

Wednesday, 17 March
6-7pm
Free, on Zoom
All very welcome - just register for a link:

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/patricks-words-and-worlds-a-st-patricks-day-event-registration-99354953340

Conas tán sibh a chairde!
For any of you thinking of trying a bit of Irish during Seachtain na Gaeilge le Energia (1st - 17th March) here are a few really helpful resources that we use all the time.

TEANGLANN:
An amazing website and phone app, you will the find the answer to many questions about grammar, meanings or word uses here, as well as recorded pronunciations from the different dialects.
Android:
https://play.google.com/store/search?q=teanglann&c=apps&hl=en_US&gl=US
PC:
https://www.teanglann.ie/ga/

SWIFTKEY:
Microsoft SwiftKey is a decent spellchecker for your phone, but the reason we put it here is the excellent Irish spellchecker that you can install for free (just select Irish as one of the languages). An Fada! An Urú! An Séimhiú! Tá gach rud an éasca.

eDIL:
If you want a more serious historical look at the language, including Old and Middle Irish, the Dictionary of the Irish Language is the place to look.
http://ow.ly/EioO50DWzHc

FOCLÓIR:
Foclóir is a more modern dictionary than Teanglann's and contains modern popular and technical words, as well as being easier to search for phrases.
http://ow.ly/Nqak50DWzHd

There are loads more, but these will get ye started!
Bainigí taitneamh as, agus bígí ag labhairt í! 🤘

#corrmhona #corrmhonaband #seachtainnagaeilge #SnaG21 #gaeilge #irish #irishlanguage #teanglann #edil #focloir #microsoftswiftkey

We have a beautiful bunch of flower-names for our very last episode for Radio MoLI 🥀

From daffodils (LUS AN CHROMCHINN 'the plant of the bent head') to Our Lady's Bedstraw (BALADH CNEISI CON CULAINN 'the smell of Cú Chulainn’s skin') and beyond.

Beautifully read by Margaret Kelleher, who has been a tremendous support throughout. Available now through the link below:

https://moli.ie/radio/series/spreading-the-words/lus-an-chromchinn/

On Wednesday (10/03/21), I'll be talking about the 2019 update to eDIL and its relevance for Scottish Gaelic.

As well as looking at words for Picts and cursing, and words which disappeared for a thousand years, I'll be asking whether SHUPERSTITION properly belongs in an Irish/Gaelic dictionary!

All very welcome; for a Zoom, go to:

https://www.facebook.com/events/769955890608482/

Our final #SpreadingTheWords word is Lus an chromchinn (daffodil). Read by the wonderful Margaret Kelleher! Stay tuned next week for a very special episode to mark the launch of series as a whole 🎉 https://moli.ie/radio/series/spreading-the-words/lus-an-chromchinn/ eDIL The Royal Irish Academy

As part of the new Cambridge Festival, we have a series of short videos and an event:

'Craic and Shenanigans in Search of English Words Borrowed from Irish'
1 April, 7pm
Free, online

Does 'buddy' come from Irish 'bodaigh'?
Why are some people so irate about 'craic'?

Please join us for some April Fools' chat!

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/craic-and-shenanigans-in-search-of-english-words-borrowed-from-irish-tickets-136843174619

We couldn't let Patrick's Day pass without some new content from the 'History of Ireland in 100 Words' project.

So, on Wednesday, 17 March, at 7pm (GMT), we'll be presenting 'Patrick's Words and Worlds'. An hour of talks, chat and (hopefully) a few laughs. Hosted by the Institute of Irish Studies, Liverpool, but online, free and open to all.

To join us, just register below for a Zoom link:
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/patricks-words-and-worlds-a-st-patricks-day-event-registration-99354953340

Today's #SpreadingTheWords word is 'Gaoth'. From the Night of the Big Wind to Flann O’Brien’s description of wind-watching, learn how the wind has shaped Irish life and literature. Go to https://moli.ie/radio/series/spreading-the-words/gaoth/ to listen to the full episode. eDIL The Royal Irish Academy

We have voice actress Caroline Lennon, best known as the voice of Siobhan Hathaway on BBC Radio 4's The Archers, bringing a little bit of GRÁ 'love' to week’s episode for Radio MoLI! 💖

https://moli.ie/radio/series/spreading-the-words/gra/

This week's #SpreadingtheWords word is Grá 💕 Get an insight into the eighteenth-century poem made famous again by Doireann Ní Ghríofa’s A Ghost in the Throat. Read by Caroline Lennon. Click the link to hear the full episode!
https://moli.ie/radio/series/spreading-the-words/gra/
eDIL The Royal Irish Academy

🌊 From the Foyle: Places, Peoples and the Past

The podcast, guide and maps for our event for the Northern Ireland Science Festival are now available for you to listen to and download. Intended to accompany a stroll along Benone Beach on the north coast of Ireland but also works for socially distanced journeys of the mind...

https://nisciencefestival.com/e21444-from-the-foyle-places-peoples-and-the-past-

Our word this week for #SpreadingTheWords is Leabharlann (read by Charles Dillon). Hear about how books were stored in medieval Irish libraries and about how we know of the existence of such places. To listen, just go to https://moli.ie/radio/series/spreading-the-words/leabharlann/ eDIL The Royal Irish Academy

A rare treat!

Máire Ní Mhaonaigh reads her own history of AMADÁN, and exposes the sinister women and professional entertainers who contributed to the Modern Irish word for 'fool'.

This week's episode as our series for Radio MoLI draws close to the end 💚

https://moli.ie/radio/series/spreading-the-words/amadan/