I have never seen a plaque like this before.
This plaque is on the R360 in Co. Galway, a bit south of Williamstown. As with many plaques, it gives an outline but does intrigue a bit as to the full story. Why did the Shally family leave? Was it their choice or were they compelled by the Land Commission; or a landlord; or even for reasons of work? Did they own the house? If so, was it sold or does it remain in the family? Why move to Tulsk in a neighbouring county? Because of the unusual message on the plaque, to me it definitely asks more questions than it answers. He cropped up when doing some web trawling regarding this sign in Strangress, Glenfarne in north Leitrim. Statoil bought out BP in 1992. It later bought Jet and subsequently sold on to Topaz in 2006 and rebranded in 2008.
This sign was 22 years out of date when I photographed in June 2014. It may not be a ghostsign in the strict interpretation of old painted sign but is definitely deserving of some ghostly classification. I hope it survives for another 22 years – at least.
It is not a phrase that I regularly use. As a confirmed agnostic, if that is not a contradiction of terms, saying ‘God to you’ is not something that sits comfortably. ‘Conas atá tú? , ‘How are you’, is my salutation of choice. ‘Dia duit’ is an expression that I definitely keep my ear open for in conversational Irish class, primarily to find out any other possible greetings. One of the notes this year was the pronunciation and spelling – there is the sound of a h (Dhuit) when spoken but it is spelled as ‘Duit’. This is confirmed in focloir.ie as well as my copy of Buntús Cainte. The ‘Irish Grammar Book’ by Nollaig MacCongáil states that ‘in speech this initial d is pronounced as if it were lenited’, as in ‘dhuit’. All this was fine and mentally filed away appropriately – and then the C.S.O. had to upset matters. Returning after the Easter weekend away, there were two postcards from the census enumerator, each with an extra ‘h’ – ‘Dia Dhuit’.
Pota-Focal does have ‘Dia dhuit’ as an alternative to ‘Dia duit’ citing examples from a few Irish-learning books. Online discussions indicate that ‘Dia duit’ is standard Irish but regional variations arise with different dialects. Once again, language proves that exceptions, differences and new versions are always possible. As to why the Central Statistics Office departed from standard Irish, I do not know.
![]() Last week, I spotted this angel on the façade of Boots Chemist on Grafton Street. It did intrigue as to how long it may have been there. I was not able to find any old photographs online. There were quite a few Instagram sites with similar photographs but the gem of knowledge was provided by Rua Ruth who educated me that the angel is only resident since 1990, pre-dating Boots, having been made around 1900 and kept an eye on Youghal for many years. The ‘To Do’ list has now got a note for old photographs of Youghal to try to find its original home. |
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