'Rhianna'

irishtimes.com

Not pictured: rocket science

Favourite Irish Proverbs

In Ireland, perhaps the most hated subject among those of school-going age is the Irish language, a guttural Celtic tongue spoken by Queen Elizabeth II, Barack Obama, and, most famously, a red-haired Meath man named Hector. On Irish-language TV channel TG4, films such as the Harry Potter series are broadcast as Gaeilge, as is foul-mouthed American animated series South Park (see here for an example -- the Irish begins around twenty seconds in).  Anyway, below are a few of the examples of old Irish sayings  that I remember from my school days. (Annotated.)

An rud nach leigheasann im ná uisce beatha níl aon leigheas air.
What butter or whiskey does not cure cannot be cured.

Yes, this is what they teach in Irish schools.

Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin.
There is no fireside like your own fireside.

If you say this while clicking your heels together, you are instantly transported to the verdant hills of Kerry. Unfortunately, it only works with magic shoes, and Michael Flatley owns the only pair.

The snow that never came...

The following is a story I wrote for DIT News, the newspaper at my college. Because the paper's date of publication was put back a few times, this was actually finished over a week before the paper actually came out, and I spent the intervening period hoping that it wouldn't snow and render my story useless.

Getting to college this winter may be easier than before due to a concerted drive by the council and Dublin’s public transport systems to avert the travel chaos which brought the city to a standstill last year.

Dublin City Council has stockpiled over 4,000 tonnes of salt in preparation for the expected freeze this Christmas.

However, these provisions may yet prove unnecessary after an uncharacteristically warm November.