What Irish Proverbs Tell Us About Ourselves

Aidan Moran is Professor of Psychology at University College Dublin and Michael O'Connell is Senior Lecturer in Psychology at University College Dublin

"the authors conduct a thorough study of a selection of these old sayings ... a valuable collection of ancient Irish proverbs for anyone who is interested in them or the language." Books Ireland Nov 2006 "It is not often that one fully agrees with a publisher's blurb extolling the virtues of a book. But in this case I wholeheartedly endorse its description on the back cover: 'An insightful and scholarly survey of our oral heritage; the chapter on weather lore nudges our ancestral wisdom on such matters nicely into a comfortable psychological perspective.' Well, I would, wouldn't I? I wrote it." Irish Times March 2007 "This book is an essential tool for students of Irish society, folklore or proverbs." Newsletter of the Irish Fulbright Alumni Association Spring 2007 "All are prejudices are here. They are laid bare and gently teased out. The authors are good company in so far as they allow the proverbs to speak fro themselves while also interjecting easy learned commentary along the way ... a clean, clear production with an excellent index and references." The Irish Book Review Vol 2 No 3 Spring 2007 "'This is a darling book' ... it evokes memories of bygone times and contains enough material to enlighten, irritate and fuel endless debate." The Irish Psychologist July/August 2007 "Professor of Psychology Moran and Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology O'Connell combine their forces to examine the relationship between well-known Irish proverbs and the nature of the Irish national character. Food for many an argument here!" Ireland of the Welcomes July/August 2007 Proverbs provide unique insight into Irish psyche An essential tool for students of Irish society, folklore and proverbs, 'Timeless Wisdom: What Irish Proverbs Tell Us about Ourselves', is a unique exploration of the psychology of Irish proverbs or seanfhocail. Written by Aidan Moran, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Psychology Research Laboratory in the School of Psychology at UCD, and Dr Michael O'Connell, Senior Lecturer in Social Psychology at UCD, this scholarly work took over two years to research. One way we can use Irish proverbs to try and understand our collective psyche better is to compare them with those from other countriesA", says Professor Moran, and there certainly seems to be more about death and fatalism in our stock of proverbs in contrast to the self-help messages in the US, which tend to be very positive.A" Prof Moran says this might be explained by our past as feudal peasants. You worked the lands and paid rent to your landlord, so what was the point of working harder, when that would just mean you paid the landlord even more rent? This anti-self improvement mentality can be found in phrases like 'It's not what you know, it's who you know' - a kind of resignation that, no matter what you do, your destiny is pre-determined.A" Prof Moran and Dr O'Connell admit that they were surprised at the persistently negative attitude to women in Irish proverbs. I looked at proverbs from Italy, Poland, Russia, England and the misogyny definitely seemed to be stronger in Ireland than elsewhereA", says Dr O'Connell. One possible explanation for this is the powerlessness of males in Gaelic society until relatively recently. They rented, rather than owned land, and they had little say in the way society was run. There might have been a bit of 'frustration displacement' in which the anger they felt at their lot in life was taken out on women.A" As regards their relevance today, Dr O'Connell feels that people have less faith now in proverbs, probably because they have less need for them. Proverbs were used as a primary source of information, but this is not the case any more, mainly because there are so many other sources available to usA". Timeless Wisdom: What Irish Proverbs Tell Us About Ourselves is published by UCD Press. Link to UCD reviews here: http://www.ucd.ie/ucdtoday/dec06/dec06/Page%2011.pdf http://www.ucd.ie/expertiseatucd/researchshowcase/proverbs/ http://www.ucd.ie/research/newsevents/newsarchive/newsarchive2007/mainbody,114,en.html UCD Website www.ucd.ie The Irish have a way with words as we all know. The following is a sample of sayings and proverbs that have lasted for generations. They are taken from a book called Timeless Wisdom available at www.ucdpress.ieA" Click on this line for more details: http://www.irishcentral.com/roots/The-Irish-have-a-way-with-words-80757947.html 6 January 2010 IrishCentral.com

• Foreword by Tina Hickey; Psychology and the study of proverbs; Proverbs and Irish Society; Food and Drink; Weather lore: signs and proverbs; Money markets and land; Between two worlds: Irish proverbs about health, happiness and death; Love and marriage; poking fun and drawing comparisons: Triad proverbs; References; Index.