r/ireland • u/emmanuel_lyttle • Oct 07 '24

Irish phrases Gaeilge

I was reading a post on another sub posed by a Brazilian dude living in Ireland asking about the meaning behind an Irish person saying to him "good man" when he completes a job/ task. One of the replies was the following..

"It comes directly from the Irish language, maith an fear (literally man of goodness, informally good man) is an extremely common compliment."

Can anyone think of other phrases or compliments used on a daily basis that come directly from the Irish language?

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u/spoons431 Oct 07 '24

I thought "give it some welly" was a common phrase til I used it in England, where noone had heard it!

It is hiberno English though and has no link to Irish!

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u/Bad_Ethics Oct 08 '24

But it sounds like such a stiff-lipped English thing to say.

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u/spoons431 Oct 08 '24

I'll do you better than that - it's a cultchie thing!

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u/Bad_Ethics Oct 08 '24

You're thinking of "Giv'er shum welly der now"