The Irish Words You Should Know: and how to use them every day

by Hector Ó hEochagáin

'The best book on the Irish language I have ever read – so funny, so soulful' Tommy Tiernan
The sunlight sparkling on the waves, or the merriness you feel after early pints of stout in the morning.
When you speak in Irish, every word is a tiny poem that reveals a new perspective. The Irish language is our inheritance. It lives underneath us in the soil, it blows through the leaves on trees and rises from the roots. Hector Ó hEochagáin is on a mission to help us reclaim that inheritance.
From beautiful and melodic words like LOINNIR and phrases like 'CÉN CHAOI A BHFUIL TÚ?' – the perfect greeting for when the postman stops by on a winter's morning; to 'GAFA' – a way to say you're so busy you don't even have time to go to the toilet; 'DAMANTA' – when you have an almighty headache or terrible hangover; and 'SIOCTHA' – when it's so cold the grass is crunchy under your feet, rediscover the fun and magic of Irish words you can use every day.
'The godfather of modern Irish brings new meaning, richness and relevance to our language' Paul Galvin

Genres: Irish Literature, Nonfiction, Ireland

404 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 19, 2024

Reviews

[Phelim Butler · Rating 3 out of 5]

Honestly kinda a tough read, really pushes stereotypically Irish “English” expressions that I couldn’t even understand or are just super cringe and no one would ever say, the Irish language expressions were mostly cute but the vibe was very a bit off with all these bizarre English sayings that we “Irish people” supposedly say…..

[Philip McGuinness · Rating 5 out of 5]

For what it is… this is a brilliant book. Definitely one I’ll be happily lending to as many people as I can. Looked forward to reading this every day. An ghaeilge abú!

[Liam Dunne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Dochreidte

[Rita · Rating 5 out of 5]

I give it a ten out of on my "pretentious airport reading" list. Someone came and talked with me when I was reading this at the Dublin airport. I was beyond thrilled!!! First time after years of pretentious airport reading, and probably last time I flew from Dublin airport after my sojourning.

[gráinne · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved every page. I was always one of those kids who hated irish - i thought learning it was useless, that it was a dead language - but I've changed my tune in recent years. We should use our mother tongue, even in passing everyday. This book is full of beautiful, colloquial irish and Ó hEochagáin is very clearly well travelled and well spoken. The little anecdotes make you want to make use of these phrases.

tír gan teanga, tír gan anam 💚💚

[Luke · Rating 1 out of 5]

Níor thaitin an leabhar seo liom ar chor ar bith. Ba léir nach rabh tuiscint ag Hector ar chúrsaí foghraíochta na Gaeilge nó ar Gaeilge Chonamara/Ráth Chairn. Níl sa leabhar seo ach personal anecdotes nach bhfuil dúil agam iontu. Foghlaimeoir Gaeilge atá ionam agus chan fhuil mé ag iarraidh autobiography a léamh nach bhfuil mórán baint aige le cúrsaí teanga ar chor ar bith.

[Adrian Cradock · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent read. Hector goes deep into the history of the Irish language to make it appealing to all. He shows us the importance of using the cúpla focal and using our language with pride. I would highly recommend this book.

[Sinead · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favourite book of 2025 so far. Beautiful words and great context given. Made me laugh out loud at times and invoked wonderful imagery at other times. Great book for dipping in and out of and is an easy read. Gave me a new appreciation and pride for Irish. Maith thú Hector!

[Katie deHaan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dochreidte! Brilliant! Delightful. Fun. Now I just need to go back, reread and try and remember them all so I too can slip ‘em into my speech. But even just reading about them here as Hector tells it is a joy

[Sean Cooney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good fun read with some craic and varying context, easy to pick up and scroll through a few pages.
Eire Abu, Slan go foillin…

[Máire · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thaitin sé thar cionn liom.