Scéalta (Stories)
This section is a collection of small bits of history, useful words, and general "tidbits" of information about Galway and Ireland!
Galway Hooker / History of the Irish Language & Ogham
Galway Hooker
The Galway Hooker (Irish: bád mór or húicéir) is a traditional sailing boat used in Galway Bay off the west coast of Ireland. The hooker was developed for the strong Atlantic seas. Its easily identified by its distinctive sail formation. It consists of a single mast with a main sail and two foresails. Traditionally, the boat is black (being coated in pitch) and the sails are a dark red-brown.
These boats and the craft in making them is passed from generation to generation. There is the festival, Cruinniú na mBád, held each year, usually in August. The hooker boats race across Galway Bay from Connemara to Kinvara on the Galway/Clare county boundary.
The Galway Hooker is the inspiration for the TERMIS EU 2010 logo.
History of Irish Language
Irish is a Celtic language, as is Scottish Gaelic, Manx Gaelic (Manx), Welsh, Breton and Cornish. There were other Celtic languages spoken on the European Mainland, but they died out around 1,500 years ago.
We cannot be certain when Irish first came to Ireland, but many scholars believe that it arrived over 2,500 years ago. It is certain that there were other languages spoken here before Irish but, by the start of the Christian era, Irish was spoken all over Ireland and was spreading through Scotland, the west coast of Britain and the Isle of Mann. The Romans called the Gaels Scotti and they eventually spread the Gaelic language throughout most of Scotland.
The oldest remains of Ancient Irish that we have are inscriptions on Ogham stones from the 5th and 6th centuries. Old Irish was first written in the Roman alphabet before the beginning of the 7th century which makes Irish the oldest written vernacular language north of the Alps.
To read the full history visit http://www.gaeilge.ie/language/default.asp?lang=en&catID=6
Useful Phrases
| Dia duit! | (gee-uh gwitch) | Hello |
| Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú? | (cane quee a will too) | How are you? |
| Tá mé go maith. | (tah may guh mah) | I'm fine |
| Go raibh maith agat | (guh rev mah uh-goot) | Thank you |
| Fáilte romhat | (fall-tcha row-ut) | You're welcome |
| Slán | (Slawn) | Goodbye |
Ogham Writing
Try and spell your name in Ogham writing!
Ogham Stones were originally used as territory boundary markers and later used as markers for burial sites. Many of the stones that survive have been translated to read the name of the person + the name of the father + the name of the tribe. The collection of Ogham letters was known as 'Beth Luis Nion' after the first three characters in the Ogham alphabet. Each letter was the name of a tree and a list of those trees is below as well as the ogham characters and their English equivalents.
List of these trees and plants:
Birch, Rowan, Alder, Willow, Ash, Hawthorn, Oak, Holly, Hazel, Apple, Vine, Ivy, Reed, Blackthorn, Elder, Fir, Gorse, Heathre, Poplar, Yew.
