List of Irish county nicknames
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a list of nicknames for the the traditional counties of Ireland and their inhabitants. The nicknames are mainly used with reference to the county's representative team in gaelic games organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA). A few of the names are quite old and well-known; most are recent coinages mainly used by journalists.[1][2] Some refer specifically to the GAA county colours.
Many counties have multiple nicknames: for example,Mayo is often called the Heather county, the Maritime county or Mayo, God help us! while some counties have separate nicknames for the county and people: for example the county Wexford is often called the Model county,[3] and Wexford people are called "yellowbellies".[3] A few nicknames are shared: any Connacht county playing a team from elsewhere may be dubbed "the Westerners"; London GAA or New York GAA may be called "the Exiles"; Westmeath,[2][3] Fermanagh,[4] and Cavan[5] have each been called "the Lake county".
| County (GAA link) | Nickname | Origins and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Antrim (GAA) | the Glensmen[3][2] | From the Glens of Antrim[2] |
| Antrim (GAA) | the Saffrons[3] | From the county colours |
| Armagh (GAA) | the Orchard County[3][2] | The rich fruit growing country to the north-east of the city of Armagh is known as the "Orchard of Ireland".[2][6] (The local election district is called "The Orchard"[7]) |
| Armagh (GAA) | the Cathedral County[3][2] | The Primates of All Ireland's seats (both Anglican and Roman Catholic) are in the city of Armagh. [2] |
| Carlow (GAA) | the Dolmen County[3] | Brownshill Dolmen is near Carlow town[2] |
| Carlow (GAA) | the Barrowsiders[8] | River Barrow[2] |
| Carlow (GAA) | the Fighting Cocks[3] | Carlow was famous for cock fighting in the early nineteenth century.[9] "The Fighting Cocks" is also a crossroads on the N80 road[10] which names a district between Tullow and Nurney[11] and its GAA club.[12] |
| Carlow (GAA) | the Scallion Eaters[3] | In the early nineteenth century, most of the onions sold in Leinster were grown near Carlow town.[13] |
| Cavan (GAA) | the Breffni[3][2] | Mediaeval Kingdom of Breifne, centred on Cavan[2] |
| Cavan (GAA) | the Lake county[5] | Lakes include Loughs Gowna, Oughter, and Ramor |
| Clare (GAA) | the Banner County[3][2] | From the banners at monster meetings supporting Catholic Emancipation leader Daniel O'Connell's by-election campaign in the constituency of Clare in 1828.[1][2] |
| Cork (GAA) | the Rebel County[3] | Originally from Cork city's support for pretender Perkin Warbeck in 1495; reinforced by Cork's prominence in the Irish War of Independence (1919–21) and the Irish Civil War (1922–3).[14] |
| Cork (GAA) | the Leesiders[15] | River Lee |
| Cork (GAA) | the Donkey Aters (Eaters)[2] | Applied in particular to the vicinity of Skibbereen in West Cork, where people resorted to eating donkeys during the Great Famine[16] |
| Donegal (GAA) | the Hills[3] | The Derryveagh Mountains and Bluestack Mountains are called The Hills of Donegal in many folk songs |
| Donegal (GAA) | Tír Chonaill or Tyrconnell[3] | Mediaeval kingdom, often used in place of the official Dún na nGall as the Irish name for the county |
| Donegal (GAA) | the O'Donnell county[3][2] | Mediaeval lords[2] |
| Donegal (GAA) | the Herring Gutters[3][2] | The fishing industry is important, especially in Killybegs[2] |
| Donegal (GAA) | the Forgotten county[2] | Donegal is almost cut off from the rest of the Republic of Ireland by Northern Ireland[2] |
| Down (GAA) | the Mourne county[3] | Mourne Mountains |
| Dublin (GAA) | the Dubs | clipped form of "Dubliners" |
| Dublin (GAA) | the Liffeysiders[3] | River Liffey |
| Dublin (GAA) | the Jackeens[3] | Pejorative term for Dubliners; contrasted with culchies |
| Dublin (GAA) | The Jacks[17][18][19] | Reclaimed version of Jackeen |
| Dublin (GAA) | the Metropolitans | Dublin city is the metropolis, i.e. the capital city |
| Dublin (GAA) | the Pale | The Pale was the region around Dublin subject to English control in the 14th and 15th centuries |
| Fermanagh (GAA) | the Maguire county[3][2] | Mediaeval lords (cf. Baron Maguire from the 17th Century)[2] |
| Fermanagh (GAA) | the Lakeland county;[3][2] the Lake county[4][20] | Lough Erne dominates the topography[2] |
| Fermanagh (GAA) | the Erne county;[2] the Ernesiders[21] | River Erne and Lough Erne[2] |
| Galway (GAA) | the Tribesmen[3][2] | Galway city is "the city of the tribes", those being fourteen historically prominent families |
| Galway (GAA) | the Herring Chokers[2] | The fishing industry[2] |
| Kerry (GAA) | the Kingdom[3] | John Philpot Curran supposedly said the magistrates of Kerry were "a law unto themselves, a kingdom apart."[1] |
| Kildare (GAA) | the Short Grass county[3][2] | The open pastureland of the Curragh. Attested from at least 1913.[22] |
| Kildare (GAA) | the Lilywhites[3][2] | From the county colours[2] |
| Kildare (GAA) | the Thoroughbred county[3][2] | Centre for breeding and training of racehorses |
| Kilkenny (GAA) | the Cats[3] | Kilkenny cats are proverbially tenacious fighters |
| Kilkenny (GAA) | the Marble county[3][2] | Kilkenny city was "the Marble City" because of nearby marble quarrying,[1] featured in its buildings and pavements.[2] |
| Kilkenny (GAA) | the Noresiders[3] | River Nore |
| Laois (GAA) | the O'Moore county[3] | Mediaeval lords (cf. Rory O'Moore in the 17th Century) |
| Leitrim (GAA) | "Lovely Leitrim" | From "Lovely Leitrim", a 1966 Number One single for Larry Cunningham. |
| Leitrim (GAA) | the Ridge county[3][2] | The method of growing potatoes in ridges separated by ditches was especially common in Leitrim.[2] Leitrim town's name is from Irish Liath Druim, "grey ridge"; Carrick-on-Shannon is Cora Droma Ruisc - "the weir of the marshy ridge" |
| Leitrim (GAA) | the Wild Rose county[3][2] | The Wild Rose of Lough Gill, an 1883 historical romance by Patrick G. Smyth set largely in North Leitrim.[1] Wild roses grow profusely in northwest Leitrim.[2] |
| Leitrim (GAA) | the O'Rourke county[3] | Mediaeval lords of western Breifne |
| Limerick (GAA) | the Shannonsiders[3] | River Shannon |
| Limerick (GAA) | the Treaty county [3] | Limerick city is "the Treaty city" after the Treaty of Limerick in 1691 |
| Londonderry (GAA) | the Maiden City[3] | Applied to the city of Derry rather than the county; from its withstanding of the Siege of Derry (1688–9); popularised by an Orange poem by Charlotte Elizabeth Tonna.[1] |
| Londonderry (GAA) | the Oak-leaf county[3][2] | From the leaf on the county coat of arms; Derry is an anglicisation of Irish language Doire "oak-grove".[2] |
| Longford (GAA) | the Slashers[3] | Longford Slashers is a GAA club in Longford town. "Slasher" in the sense "man of valour" comes from Myles 'the Slasher' O'Reilly, killed defending the bridge of Finnea in 1644.[23][1] "Slasher" became a pejorative for Longford people, notably former Taoiseach Albert Reynolds, with a sense akin to culchie. Still more recently it has been reclaimed by the locals. |
| Louth (GAA) | the Wee county[3] | the smallest county in Ireland |
| Mayo (GAA) | "the Green above the Red"[3] | From the county colours (green shoulders, red breast); themselves inspired by "The Green Above The Red", a rebel song to the tune of "Irish Molly O" with lyrics by Thomas Osborne Davis:[24] Full often when our fathers saw the Red above the Green, |
| Mayo (GAA) | the Heather county[3][2] | Heather is common in western Mayo.[2] |
| Mayo (GAA) | the Maritime county[3] | The long Atlantic coastline.[2] |
| Mayo (GAA) | "Mayo, God help us!"[25] | Mayo was the county worst affected by the Great Famine.[26] |
| Meath (GAA) | the Royal county[3] | The Hill of Tara, seat of the legendary High Kings of Ireland, is in Meath |
| Monaghan (GAA) | the Farney[3][2] | Mediaeval kingdom of south Monaghan, later a barony[2] |
| Monaghan (GAA) | the Drumlin county[3][2] | Drumlin fields dominate the local topography[2] |
| Offaly (GAA) | the Faithful county[3] | possibly because the county is strong in both hurling and gaelic football; the nickname appears to date from the early 1980s, when it won All-Ireland titles in both codes.[1] The motto on the current coat of arms is Esto Fidelis "Be You Faithful"[27] |
| Offaly (GAA) | the Biffos | acronym for "big ignorant fucker from Offaly"[28] |
| Roscommon (GAA) | the Rossies[3] | |
| Roscommon (GAA) | the Sheepstealers[3] | A common cause of transportation to Australia, the crime was common in Roscommon as it was easy to cross the River Shannon to raid Westmeath and Longford.[2] |
| Sligo (GAA) | the Yeats county[3][2] | Childhood and spiritual home of William Butler Yeats[2] |
| Sligo (GAA) | the Herring Pickers[3][2] | The fishing industry[2] |
| Sligo (GAA) | the Zebras[3] | From the county colours (black-and-white) |
| Sligo (GAA) | the Magpies[3] | From the county colours (black-and-white) |
| Tipperary (GAA) | the Premier county[3][2] | Attributed to Thomas Davis, also credited with the related maxim, "Where Tipperary leads, Ireland follows". Another suggested origin is the prosperous farmland of the Golden Vale.[1] |
| Tipperary (GAA) | the Stone Throwers[2] | Tipperary agitators were unusually militant during the Land War of the 1870–90s.[29] Stone Throwers Park in Tipperary Hill, Syracuse, New York commemorates an incident in the 1930s when a group of Irish Americans threw stones to prevent an upside-down traffic light being set with the "red above the green".[30] |
| Tipperary (GAA) | Tipp | Clipping of Tipperary. The local radio station is Tipp FM.[31] The Féile Festival, held in Semple Stadium in Thurles in the 1990s, was branded "the trip to Tipp".[32] |
| Tyrone (GAA) | the O'Neill county[3][2] | Mediaeval lords[2] |
| Tyrone (GAA) | the Red Hand county[3][2] | the Red Hand of Ulster on the county's GAA crest, also on the arms of the O'Neills[1][2] |
| Tyrone (GAA) | "Tyrone among the bushes"[2] | From a poem by Strabane poet William Collins, who took part in the Fenian raids into Canada: "O God be with the good old times when I was twenty-one |
| Waterford (GAA) | The Déise[3][2] | Mediaeval kingdom of the Déisi[2] |
| Waterford (GAA) | the Suirsiders[3] | River Suir |
| Waterford (GAA) | the Crystal county[3][2] | Waterford Crystal[2] |
| Westmeath (GAA) | the Lake county[3][2] | Site of many lakes, including Loughs Derravaragh, Ennell, Lene, Owel and Ree. [2] |
| Wexford (GAA) | the Model county[3][2] | from its progressive farming methods and model farms[1][2] |
| Wexford (GAA) | the Yellowbellies[3] | Said to have been first applied to a Wexford hurling team raised by Sir Caesar Colclough, which won a challenge match in Cornwall in the reign of William III of England while wearing yellow sashes in tribute to William as Prince of Orange.[33] The county colours (yellow with purple shoulders) reflect this pre-existing nickname. |
| Wexford (GAA) | the Slaneysiders[8] | River Slaney |
| Wexford (GAA) | the Strawberry Pickers[2] | Due to its relatively warm dry climate, it grows more strawberries than most of Ireland.[2] |
| Wicklow (GAA) | the Garden of Ireland;[2] the Garden county[3] | Possibly from the planted estates of Big Houses such as Powerscourt House;[1] or from the county's scenery;[34] or serving as a garden for the adjacent city of Dublin. Formerly "the garden of Ireland" has been applied to: the Blackwater valley between Mallow and Fermoy;[35] Carlow town;[36][37] Killough Hill near Cashel;[38] eastern County Westmeath;[39] and the province of Ulster.[40] |
| Wicklow (GAA) | the Goat Suckers[2][41] | feral goats roam the Wicklow Mountains [2] |
[edit] GAA counties
While not part of the the traditional counties of Ireland oversea's GAA boards are included in this list due to the close ties a lot of county nickname have with gaelic games
| County | Nickname | Origins and notes |
|---|---|---|
| Hertfordshire GAA | Herts | Clipping of Hertfordshire [42] |
| London GAA | the men from the county Hell[3] | Boys from the County Hell, 1984 song by the Pogues |
| London GAA | the Exiles | Recruited from Irish emigrants "exiled" in Britain. The nickname is also used for New York GAA and London Irish rugby union club. |
| New York GAA | the Exiles | Recruited from Irish emigrants "exiled" in New York. The nickname is also used for London GAA. |
[edit] References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l McMahon, Seán; Jo O'Donoghue (2004). Brewer's Dictionary of Irish Phrase & Fable. Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 0-304-36334-0.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl bm bn bo bp bq br bs bt bu bv Hughes, Martin; Gerry Coughlan (March 2007). "Regional variations: County nicknames", Irish Language and Culture. Lonely Planet, pp.195–202. ISBN 1740595777.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad ae af ag ah ai aj ak al am an ao ap aq ar as at au av aw ax ay az ba bb bc bd be bf bg bh bi bj bk bl Corry, Eoghan (2005). The GAA book of lists. Dublin: Hodder Headline Ireland, pp.182–3. ISBN 0-340-89695-7.
- ^ a b Minutes of the meeting of the Policy and Resources Committee. Fermanagh District Council (February 23 2005). Retrieved on 2008-02-27. “The Committee also considered a letter from Westmeath County Council which expressed a desire to develop links between County Westmeath and County Fermanagh, highlighting similarities including the status as a ‘Lake County’ [...]”
- ^ a b Davenport, Fionn; Charlotte Beech, Tom Downs, Des Hannigan (2006). "Directory: Activities: Fishing", Ireland. Lonely Planet, p.677. “Cavan, 'the Lake County', is a favourite with hardcore fishermen.”
- ^ County Armagh. Northern Ireland Tourist Board. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
- ^ Northern Ireland Local Elections 2001: ARMAGH / The Orchard. bbc.co.uk. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
- ^ a b "GAA: Battling Barrowsiders are pipped by Slaneysiders", Carlow Nationalist, 2003-04-10. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
- ^ Wilde, William Robert W. (1852). "III: Reminiscences of the West", Ireland: Her Wit, Peculiarities and Popular Superstitions, p.87. “Carlow was also celebrated for cock-fighting. About forty years ago, the following attractive notice might be seen in a cutler's window in London—"Carlow spurs sold here."”
- ^ S.I. No. 164/1977 — Local Government (Roads and Motorways) Act, 1974 (Declaration of National Roads) Order, 1977. (1977-06-01). Retrieved on 2008-02-26. “N 80 [...] Fighting Cocks' Cross Roads [...]”
- ^ Rathoe Village Draft Local Area Plan (PDF) p.13. Carlow County Council. “the Tullow to Fenagh and Nurney via the Fighting Cocks area running east to west.”
- ^ Rathoe Village Draft Local Area Plan, p.9 "The Fighting Cocks GAA club and field are located c.2km west of the village"
- ^ "An Irishman's Diary", The Irish Times, 1934-06-01, p. 4. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
- ^ Murphy, John A. (1993). "Anatomy and Essence", in Patrick O'Hagan & Cornelius G. Buttimer: Cork History & Society. Dublin: Geography Publications, p.13. ISBN 0-906602-22-X.
- ^ Cummiskey, Gavin. "O'Flynn's late point leaves Leesiders on top", The Irish Times, October 2 2006.
- ^ O'Keeffe, Jim (07 October 1992). "Private Members' Business. — Overseas Development Aid: Motion.", Dáil Éireann Parliamentary Debates — Volume 423. Dublin: Government of Ireland, pp.458–9. Retrieved on 2008-02-25. “The people of Skibbereen are known as the “donkey eaters” because in the last century the town of Skibbereen suffered more than any other part of the country from the Famine. It is still a folk memory there.”
- ^ Rouse, Paul (2006-06-01). "The Jacks are back" (PDF). Village.
- ^ Devine, Liam. "The Jacks are back", Roscommon Herald, 2005-07-20. Retrieved on 2008-05-06.
- ^ Bolger, Richard (1995-05-23). Dubliners who have made it into my hall of fame and why.. Retrieved on 2008-05-06. “Kevin Heffernan [...] Destined to immortality in the chant:
"The Jacks are back, The Jacks are back,
Let the railway end go barmy,
Hill 16, Has never seen,
The likes of Heffos army.” - ^ Down beat Fermanagh in game of attrition. Radio Telefís Éireann (2005-06-18). Retrieved on 2008-02-27. “Colum Bradley looked very sharp for the Lake County.”
- ^ "Football: DIVISION 1 A - FERMANAGH The Ernesiders", Sunday Mirror, 2006-02-05. Retrieved on 2007-02-23.
- ^ Fanning, Peter (1913-10-30). "Recollections" (PDF). The New Age 13 (No.27): p.795. “Arrah sweet Kildare, I love your grass [...] This gross reflection on the “short-grass county” [etc.]”
- ^ Taaffe, Frank. "Eye on the Past - No. 420", Kildare Nationalist, 2000-10-20. Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
- ^ Davis, Thomas Osborne (1845). "The Green above the Red", The Spirit of the Nation: Ballads and Songs by the Writers of "The Nation". Dublin: James Duffy, pp.264-5.
- ^ Böll, Heinrich [1957] (1998). "Ch.4: Mayo — God help us", Irish Journal [Irisches Tagebuch], translated by Leila Vennewitz, Northwestern University Press, p.25. ISBN 0810160625. “Now the Irish have a strange custom: whenever the name of County Mayo is spoken (whether in praise, blame or noncommittally), as soon as the mere word Mayo is spoken, the Irish add: "God help us!"”
- ^ Ó Gráda, Cormac (1999). Black '47 and Beyond: The Great Irish Famine in History, Economy, and Memory. Princeton University Press, pp.28,92. ISBN 0691015503.
- ^ Offaly Historical and Archaeological Society (2007-01-09). Offaly -- Úi Failghe (The Faithful County Coat of Arms). Retrieved on 2008-02-23.
- ^ 90/04 Dr. T. O'Neill; RTÉ Radio 1, 'Morning Ireland', unfair reference made about Offaly people, impartiality & slander; Rejected (MS Word). Broadcasting Complaints Commission of Ireland (October 2004). Retrieved on 2008-02-26. “This word [sc. 'Biffo'] is widely understood to stand for 'Big Ignorant Fucker from Offaly'.”
- ^ Sheehy-Skeffington, Hanna (July 1912). "The Women's Movement — Ireland". Irish Review: pp.225–7. “in Land League times 'Tipperary stone-throwers' became proverbial” cited in Ward, Margaret (1997). "Nationalism, Pacifism, Internationalism: Louie Bennett, Hanna Sheehy-Skeffington, and the Problems of "Defining Feminism"", in Anthony Bradley, Maryann Gialanella Valiulis: Gender and Sexuality in Modern Ireland. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, p.64. ISBN 1558491317.
- ^ Driscoll, Matthew J. (2007-03-14). Mayor's Proclamations: Stone Throwers Park Day (PDF). City of Syracuse. Retrieved on 2008-02-26.
- ^ TippFm.com: County Tipperary's Radio Station. Retrieved on 2008-03-06.
- ^ Quigley, Maeve. "We Had To Lay A Ghost To Rest If The Four Of Us Were To Release Any", Sunday Mirror, 1999-06-20. Retrieved on 2008-03-06. "[...] the band stole the show at major open air festivals including a number of Feile Trip To Tipp festivals in Thurles."
- ^ Hall, Samuel Carter; Anna Maria Hall (1846). "Wexford", Ireland: its scenery, character, &c.. London: Jeremiah Howe, Vol II, p.151, footnote.
- ^ Coyne, J. Stirling; N.P. Willis, etc. (c.1841). "Vol. I, Chap. VII", The Scenery and Antiquities of Ireland. “The county of Wicklow has justly been termed "The Garden of Ireland," for nowhere else is to be found assembled such a variety of natural beauties, heightened and improved by the hand of art.”
- ^ Croker, Thomas Crofton (1824). "VII: The River Blackwater", Researches in the South of Ireland: Illustrative of the Scenery, Architectural Remains, and the Manners and Superstitions of the Peasantry. London: John Murray, p.130. “[...] the Blackwater between Mallow and Fermoy, a tract dignified by the name of the garden of Ireland [...]”
- ^ Brewer, Ebenezer Cobham (1898). "Garden", Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. Philadelphia: bartleby.com. ISBN 1-58734-094-1. “Garden of Ireland Carlow”
- ^ Somerville, Alexander (1852). "Letters from Ireland during the Famine of 1847: No III: Kilkenny, 27th January", The Whistler at the Plough ... with Letters from Ireland. Manchester: James Ainsworth, p.443. “The country around this town [sc. Carlow] is called the garden of Ireland: it well deserves the name. There are about 500 acres of onions and parsnips grown annually [...]”
- ^ Croker, Thomas Crofton (1828). "Scath-A-Legaune", Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland, 2nd ed., London: John Murray, p.258. “From the Cashel road the hill of Killough is pointed out to the traveller as Gardeen a Herin, the garden of Ireland, in consequence of a belief that it is a national natural botanic establishment, and that every plant which grows in Ireland is to be found upon it.”
- ^ Lewis, Samuel (1837). "Westmeath (County of)", A Topographical Dictionary of Ireland. London: S. Lewis & Co.. Retrieved on 2008-02-26. “Throughout the eastern part of the county the soil is a heavy loam from seven to twelve inches (305 mm) deep, resting on a yellow till: the land here is chiefly under pasture and feeds the fattest bullocks; from its great fertility it has been called the "garden of Ireland;"”
- ^ The Earl of Derby, speaking in the House of Lords in opposition to the Irish Church Disestablishment Act 1869; quoted in Saintsbury, George (1892). The Earl of Derby, ed. Stuart J. Reid, The Prime Ministers of Queen Victoria, New York: Harper & Brothers, p.192. “These are the men who, united by you to settle in Ireland, converted Ulster from a barren waste into a thriving province; and who, by their energy, their industry, and their steady conduct, have made the province of Ulster not merely the 'garden of Ireland' but the most gratifying and wonderful contrast to those parts of Ireland in which the Protestant religion does not prevail.”
- ^ "Gearing up for the championship: Dublin/Wicklow men", Wicklow People, 2008-03-27. Retrieved on 2008-05-19. "I knew a man once who used to say the Dublin would win nothing without a Wicklow man on the team, a bit of an exaggeration perhaps but if you look through the record books you will find quite a few 'goat-suckers' on Dublin teams in the past."
- ^ Hertfordshire County Board official site. Retrieved on 2008-05-07.
