Tree Dogs, Banshee Fingers and Other Irish Words for Nature

by Manchán Magan, Steve Doogan (Illustrator)

'In Irish there are so many great rain words and magic words and highly specific natural words (such as the material put on the hooves of donkeys to stop them slipping in ice), or words to communicate with animals, or evocative plant words, or the gorgeous words for different amounts of light in the sky, or words that hint at different ways of seeing colour, or twilight words . ' Manchán Magan is fascinated by words, particularly Irish words, with all of their complex meanings and associations and their connections to the natural world. Having enjoyed huge success with his bestselling book Thirty-Two Words for Field, Manchán now brings his infectious wonder and enthusiasm for the Irish language to a younger audience, offering delightful translations and explanations of animal, bird, fish, insect and nature words. When you see the world through Irish, you see the world differently. Get ready to share the magic with this delightful book for readers of all ages.

Genres: Irish Literature, Nonfiction, Ireland, Folklore, Nature, Indigenous, Animals

96 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2021

About the author

Manchán Magan was a writer, traveller and television presenter. He grew up in Donnybrook, Dublin 4 and was the great-grandnephew of Mícheál Seosamh Ó Rathaille (aka: The O'Rahilly) He has made over 30 travel documentaries focusing on issues of world culture and globalization, 12 of them packaged under the Global Nomad series with his brother Ruán Magan. He presented No Béarla, a documentary series about traveling around Ireland speaking only Irish. He wrote a travel column for the Irish Times and his show The Big Adventure, on RTÉ Radio One explored adventure holidays. He has written two books in Irish, 'Baba-ji agus TnaG' (Coiscéim 2005) and 'Manchán ar Seachrán' (Coiscéím 1998), and his English travel books include ‘Angels & Rabies: a journey through the Americas’ (Brandon, 2006), ‘Manchán’s Travels: a journey through India’ (Brandon, 2007) and ‘Truck Fever: a journey through Africa’ (Brandon, 2008).



http://irishmedia.blogspot.com/2007/1...

Irish Times profile, 2007 by Róisín Ingle.

Reviews

[Michael Fuller · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since this one had no goofy theories and was just vocab, I enjoyed it a lot more.

[Syntaxx · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy this author illustrator pairing. I really liked the selection of vocabulary presented here, I found it very interesting. Recommend if you’re interested in indigenous languages or Irish.

[Paddy Reddy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thaitin an leabhar seo liom, ardjab leis na pictiúir!

[Rachel Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bought it as a gift for someone but I loved it so much I kept it.

[Carolyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautifully illustrated book of the Irish words for Irish flora, fauna, fungi, and natural phenomena like waves, dawn and different kinds of wind (so many kinds!). The book gives a fascinating glimpse into how nature was an integral part of life in Ireland. Many of the words for animals are descriptive and have a sense of humour to them. For example, a grebe (type of water bird with huge, ungainly feet) is a "clumsy footed one of the waves," a spider is a "crazy little ox," a jellyfish is "seal snot!" Other names are evocative and beautiful, such as "woodland flame" for a goldfinch, or "son of the earth" for wolf. The book also has sayings and humorous insults related to nature - one is the word for unripe potato also means "useless person." Great book for anyone interested in the Irish language or an indigenous language's descriptions of nature.

[Brendan Behan, MFA · Rating 5 out of 5]

The illustrations and text are beautifully assembled. This is a wonderful, light read that provides brief explanations for each of the Irish words that are presented and also shows quite a number of relationships between words and their various uses and permutations. This text, like Magan's other works, is grounded in the ecological wisdom embedded in an Ghaeilge (Irish) and provides beautiful windowlets into the richness of the language. The pages are primarily taken up by the illustrations, which are wonderfully executed and have a clear aesthetic cohesiveness. The effect of this is that the book presents like a picture book for advanced readers more than it does a language text (which it also is). A pronunciation guide is also provided, which I found helpful since I am still learning how to read Irish.

[Minna Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely adored this book. Although it is not actually a story I loved exploring the illustrations, words and definitions in these pages.
The foreword raises the often overlooked point of how the evolution of languages and detachment from our surroundings means that often words for very specific (and in the past, influential) parts of nature are forgotten. Where we could previously use one word to describe something, we are now using 2 or 3 less specific ones.
It is beautifully illustrated and the specific selection of words really inspired me to not only open my eyes to the outdoors again, but open my ears to the intricacies of language too.

[Mise · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arguably the best coffee table book I've ever bought.

Visually speaking, the artwork in his book is beautiful. The selection of interesting words and their relation to Ireland, its people, and the etymology of the Irish language is superb.

A great book that can easily be opened up and looked at in convenient bites.

[Samara O'Gorman · Rating 5 out of 5]

When you look at the world through Irish language, mythology and folklore, you see more than just our world- you see the world that we share with the nature around us. A beautiful collection by Doogan & Magan, I learnt so much about Irish flora, fauna and critters. This was a precursor for my next read by Magan titled ‘32 words for field’.

[Victoria Wilson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. It amazes me how well the Irish language directly translates into the English word it’s describing. Illustrations are gorgeous. I love how there’s so many different irish variations of different words in nature.

[Isi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is definitely up there among favourites. Not only is it beautiful visually with its black and white illustrations, it is also inspiring and a beautiful window into lost Irish and how the world was seen.

[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Manchán Magan continues to make Irish accessible and spread the rich history this language has to nature and island culture. Each page is expertly crafted and the flora and fauna are paired with precision and meaning.

[Loz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is beautiful. An absolute pleasure to dip in and out of.

[Raven · Rating 5 out of 5]

Molaim an leabhar seo chuig gach duine Gaeilge a fhoghlaimíonn, agus duine a chroí istigh sa dúlra. Is aoibhinn liom na léaráidí álainn.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great stuff.

[Caroline · Rating 4 out of 5]

Basically a kids version of 32 words for field, with a focus on nature

[Brian Gormley · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.7 out of 5. A nice read, brilliantly illustrated. Some great descriptions and very informative to learn the Meaning of the Irish names. For example the Irish name for Pochard is a “wide-bottomed duck” - some brilliant stuff here!