Get on Yer Irish – St. Patrick’s Day Primer 101

This Saturday, people all over the world will become “Irish for a day.”  Many will celebrate the day at one bar or another eating corned beef and cabbage and drinking green beer. Visions of leprechauns will dance in their heads, but very few will know exactly why we celebrate the day at all.

Well, here you have it...a brief class in St. Patrick’s Day 101.

Here’s what you need to know: St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. The day commemorates his death, not his birth and last but not least, there never were snakes in Ireland. That concludes the dry, informational portion of our program, now ... on with the fun ( or CRAIC as you are about to learn).

LET’S SPEAK IRISH!!

Still, If you’re going to be Irish for a day, you might as well know a bit about the language..so I thought I’d teach you a “bit o’ the Oirish”.

1. Craic -- It’s pronounced “Crack.”  It means “fun”..."We always have great craic on St. Paddy’s Day.”

2. The Black Stuff -- Guinness.  Real beer is black.  It’s also known as “a meal in a glass.”

3.  Gansey-Load -- A lot. “We’ll have a gansey-load of craic this weekend!” That's a gansey-load, not a "Guernsey" load !

4. Hooley -- A celebration, a party. “Me folks are in Cork for the weekend, come over for a hooley!”

5. Ceilidh -- Don’t let the spelling throw you. It’s pronounced 'K-lay' ... basically it means a jam session. When Irish musicians get together at a 'hooley' and have a 'ceilidh,' you’re in for some great 'craic!'”

6.  Jar -- A pint of beer or stout.  “After a dozen jars of the black stuff, ya get a bit dizzy”

7.  Banjaxed -- Broken- “I must have had a great bit of craic last night. Got up this morning and me car was banjaxed."

8.  Oirish -- The language American’s think sounds like Irish people speaking “Irish”
“Top o’d de mornin’ to ye. D’ye know I’d be likin’ to find a leprechaun”.

9.  Ossified -- Totally inebriated- “It only takes a couple of pints of the “black stuff” to get a yank ossified.”

10.  Culchie -- Basically, this would be the Irish version of a hick. “What do you call a culchie in a limo? The deceased.”

There you go. Enough of the “Oirish” to get you through St. Patrick’s Day.