Besties
An abbreviation for “best friends.”
Buggy
Another word for a stroller or pram.
Debs
Short for “Debutante Ball,” however more like a prom for those who have just graduated secondary school (high school.)
Fada
Pronounced “Fah-da.” The Irish language only has one diacritic mark/accent: the síneadh fada, or “long accent,” commonly referred to as a “fada.” A fada indicates that the vowel is to be pronounced long.
Fada’s can change the meaning of a word – for example, “céad” can mean first or the number 100. “Cead” means permission. Fada’s are commonly seen in traditional Irish names – like our Producing Director, Ciarán O’Reilly (Kier-awn), and other popular names such as Sinéad (shin-ayd), Gráinne (graw-inya), Oisín (Ush-een.)
GAA
Pronounced like the letters “G, A, A”, or occassionally referred to as “gaa,” rhyming with “baa.” An acronym for the Gaelic Athletic Association, which is an Irish amateur sporting and cultural organization, focused primarily on the promotion and preservation of indigenous Gaelic games and pastimes, such as gaelic football.
Junior Infants
The first year of primary school; kindergarten. In Ireland, the first year is known as Junior Infants (Kindergarten, children aged 4-5), the second year as Senior Infants (Kindergarten, children aged 5-6), the third year as 1st class (1st grade), the fourth as 2nd class (2nd grade), and so on.
Leaving Cert
Short for the Leaving Certificate; the official state examinations taken in the final year of secondary school. Students start their Leaving Cert curriculum in their fifth year of secondary school, taking six subjects minimum. Exams then take place in the June of their sixth year, after graduation.
Panto
Short for “pantomime,” a family-centric theatre production involving music, comedy, and pop culture references. Pantomimes regularly center around fairytales or children’s movies, such as Aladdin and Sleeping Beauty. Commonly produced through November – January for the Holidays.
Pennys
Known as Primark in the US/UK/EU. A fast-fashion, affordable retailer founded in Ireland.
Rollie
A hand-rolled cigarette.
Sixth year
The final year of secondary school.
Tayto
An extremely popular Irish brand of cheese-and-onion potato chips.