I am writing a story (as stated in other posts) of a character who was raised in South Boston knowing only Irish until she was ten.

She arrives in the Grand Central Terminal in New York and reacts to the immense size and scope of the building.

She wouldn't say Oh my God, but maybe

What a grand sight

or

I can't believe my eyes

Can someone help with either a translation or a good colloquialism in Irish?

thanks

SEAN TRACI

Possibly "A Mhaighdeán!" or something along those lines.

You might want to re-examine your premise, though...it's not a very believable scenario. I'm having a hard time believing that anyone could grow up anywhere in Boston and not be exposed to English until he or she was 10. Even if the parents spoke only Irish to her, what about school? Shops? Neighbors? TV? Even kids growing up in the Gaeltacht and going to Irish medium schools are exposed to English younger than that.

Redwolf

Hi Sean,

I do have to agree with Redwolf when it comes to the premise of your book. I certainly don't know the entire background of it (what year it takes place, how long the family has lived in the US, etc.), but it is unlikely that a child could live 10 years in South Boston without speaking English. There are certainly plenty of Irish speakers there (MA has the highest percentage of Irish speakers of all the US states), but I'm not sure how a child could not learn English. She would be exposed to neighbors, go to school (she would need to know English even if she's homeschooled), and being Irish Catholic (I'm assuming she's Catholic since it's South Boston), going to Mass would most likely be very important (she definitely would have already had her First Holy Communion by the age of 10 and those classes would certainly be in English). But again, I don't know the whole story so that makes it a little more difficult to give a solid answer.

I live in a highly Irish American area so I can tell you what the people around here generally say in disbelief:

"Jesus, Mary, and Joseph" is probably the most popular
"God in Heaven" is pretty popular
"Saints above" is also pretty popular

From the Irish speakers, I've heard:
"Brigid, Pádraig agus Columcille" (three saint names)
"Ochón a Righ" which I'm told means "Alas, oh King" (King meaning the Lord)

Anyway, best wishes with your book. I started on here as a writer looking for some help too, and the people on here have been a great help.

Christy

Dear Red Wolf and Christy

thank you for the comments, truly. The setting is the early 1900 to 1920. Sorry I did not make that clear. It was a time when poor immigrants lived in tenement neighborhoods. Often these neighborhoods were immersive in the culture and language that was prominent. School was not something attended by those who could not speak the language. It was not a requirement of the poor.

Thank you for your help.

SEAN TRACI

Christy

thanks for the quotes, I had to laugh at the first

Brigid, Pádraig agus Columcille" (three saint names)

as my kids are Bridget, Padraig and Colm.

SEAN