Gaelic Proverbs: Estimates of Woman (1906)
Collected by the Gaelic Revival Association of Ottawa, Ontario
This collection of Irish proverbs was meticulously compiled by Edmund P. Stanton, the Gaelic Revival Association’s language instructor and vice-president, as well as chief clerk of Canada’s Postal Service. Found in one of the only surviving society papers, this treasury gives a glimpse into the language that was being taught and spoken in Ottawa at the time. Stanton believed these proverbs revealed the true character of the Irish mind, introducing his collection by writing:
“For the bulk of Irish or Gaelic proverbs it may safely be said that in felicity of expression, in terseness of phrase, in epigrammatic quality, in compactness of thought, and quick shrewd seizing of a situation with a corresponding readiness to express it, it is hard to beat them… [these proverbs] it is the duty of those imbued with the spirit of the Gaelic movement not only to cherish but to use.”
Estimates of Woman
Please note that some are outdated and may be offensive, but are presented here for historical consideration.
Frúir gan riail - bean, miúil, agus muc - Three without a rule - a woman, a mule, and a pig
Scata ban nó scata géanna - A flock of geese and a pair of women are the same
Más mian leat scéal do chur amach inis mar rún do mhnaoi é - If you like a thing well known, tell it to a woman
Bí do thoil féin agat mar tá ag na mnáibh - Have your own way, like the women
Do bhuairfeadh bean ar muic agus do bhuairfeadh muc ar aonach - A woman would bother a pig and a pig would bother a fair
Síleann gach máthair gur as a páiste féin éirigh an ghrian - A mother thinks ‘tis out of her own child the sun shines
Síoda buí ar Shiobhán agus preabáin ar a hathair - Yellow silk on Judy, and patches on her father
Adapted from prose into list format based on: Gaelic Revival Association of Ottawa. 1906. Ottawa University Review. Vol 8 no 9 (June).
For citation, please use: Gaelic Revival Association of Ottawa. 1906. “Gaelic Proverbs: Estimates of Woman.” Ó Dubhghaill, Dónall. 2024. Na Gaeil san Áit Ró-Fhuar. Gaeltacht an Oileáin Úir: www.gaeilge.ca
