Seanfhocal of the Month

Translation: Broken Irish is better than clever English.

Meaning and Background: This proverb is a powerful statement about linguistic pride, particularly in the context of Ireland’s cultural and historical struggle to preserve the Irish language (Gaeilge).

It means that even if your Irish isn’t perfect - even if it’s broken, hesitant or filled with mistakes - it’s still more valuable, more meaningful and more admirable than speaking perfect English.

Why? Because you’re choosing to use and honour your native language, and that’s worth more than fluency in a language that historically replaced it.

When it’s used:

• To encourage learners of Irish not to be afraid of making mistakes

• In schools, classrooms, Irish Leaving Cert Essays (I know this well!) and Gaeltacht regions

• On posters, merch and language revival campaigns

• As a reminder that effort and intention in speaking Irish matter more than grammatical perfection.

Importance to GaelMade:

This seanfhocal is always one of the first ones that comes back to me when I think of growing up in Ireland and sitting in my Irish classes in Secondary School. I didn’t quite appreciate the importance of this seanfhocal or my heritage until much later in life. Still, this particular phrase is what sparked the idea for GaelMade and speaks directly to the brand’s ethos: promoting Irish through everyday life, one word at a time, and embracing imperfect but proud Gaeilge.