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Irish Slang

Posted in Around Ireland on November 25, 2019.



Ireland has a rich amount of slang, that is constantly changing. As a twenty-something year old Irish person, I thought I’d shed some light on our slang. I was born and raised in Dublin, so these are words I grew up using and still use now. It’s worth noting that slang varies across the island, so the majority of these words may not come across clearly outside of Dublin!

Craic: Probably the most iconic Irish phrase, “craic” comes from the Irish language, and could roughly be translated as “banter” though that still doesn’t capture it truly. It means more broadly lively conversation or action, that’s quite a lot of fun.

Session: A time spent drinking alcohol. It can also mean a trad music session too, but to be honest I’ve mostly only heard it used in relation to a long night of drinking.

Hack: If something is a “hack,” it’s tedious to do.

Grand: Unlike the British or American English meaning of “grand,” grand used in an Irish context doesn’t mean something luxurious and large – it just means “ok.” Rather ironically!

Unreal: Something that’s so good, it’s unreal.

Melt / melter: Someone who’s either annoying or incompetent, or both.

Lashing: It’s lashing means it’s raining, very very heavily. A commonly used word as all to often, it is lashing.

Happy out: Very content!

If you enjoyed this small selection of slang terms. We hope your visit to Ireland won’t be complete without visiting our store in Dublin City, at the Royal Hibernian Way. If you can’t make it here, don’t worry, you can order online through our website. We ship securely worldwide!

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