



hEarraí Stottle
Used to refer to the strength of something, as in 'Tá sé chomh láidir le hEarraí Stottle.’ A misinterpretation of Aristotle. It was likely brought up by an islander who heard the term while off fighting in WWI.
Stopóg
A perilious area of submerged rocks beside the shore. A good place to set a lobster pot, as they tend to hide in an ábhach (lobster hole) in the Stopóg.
Sail
Sea-salvaged beams of timber that could be up to 30 feet long and 2 ft wide. Also a heavy stick or cudgel, which is where shillelagh (sail éille) comes from.
Bogadh Fharraige - Corraí Fharraige
A big swell. A rought sea
Clagfharraige
A rough sea close to shore, caused by waves hitting against the cliff and rebounding with increased force.
Gaoth Fút v. Gaoth Os Do Chionn
The wind between you and the cliff (pushing you away from the cliff) versus the wind being outside you (pushing you towards the cliff).
Lagar Taoide
When the tide starts to flow from ebb. It's the best time for putting out trams for rockfsh as that's when they feed.
Éisc Sallaithe
Salted fish, which involved a complex process of washing, drying, salting and then wrapping the fish in ferns.
Tús trá ag lán rabharta
The beginning of the ebb of a spring tide. Known as the most dangerous tide of all, especially if the wind was southerly and it ebbs from the north. The sea boils when the tide is against the wind.
Storannaí - starrtha
Large jagged rocks, prominences, or projecting objects. They can be sticking up beneath the ocean or on the shore. Also means tusks, kinks, or fits of fury.
Na Scoltanna
Naturally-carved sea pools on Inishmore. Their location kept secret from outsiders.
Corrúch
A long spit of land jutting out, like a hook,
Suaitiú
The sucking of the ocean at the shore during large tides of spring and autumn. Particularily noticable at night.
Mullán
Rounded rocks. Erratics, thought to have been hurled onto Inishmore by warring witches.
Brioscarnach
Broken up or knarled timber that was blown into coves or sheltered bays during storms.
Tolladóirí Cloch
Goose barnacles - the word translates as the tunnelers of stone, for their ability to extract nutrients from rocks by eroding them.
Gráinneachán
A type of coarse sand with a lot of shell mixed through it and small pebbly stones and some fine sand, Also pronounced as gainneamhachán.
Brachlainn
A wave that falls on itself. A large wave caused by a reef underneath it. The overfall of a breaker.
Cabharlach (Coirleach)
A jumble of loose seaweed when floating on the sea. The same word also means kelp thrown up on the shore in stroms.
Aicearra an Chait Tríd an Ghríosach
The cat's shortcut through the embers. A proverb about how the shortest way is not always the best, or quickest.
Creachaláin
A coral reef. Possibly onomatopoeic.
Ola an Liamháin
Basking shark oil. Who gathered it & what it was used for.
Fuaimeanna cois trá
The existence of otherworldly noises on the shore.
Saill a' Róin
Seal fat. It's uses and harvesting.
Focail Farraige & Sea Terms - Inis Mór, Co na Gaillimhe (Inishmore, Aran Islands)