Irish sayings with a modern twist - Meet Tigeen Bawn

Image: Tigeen Bawn

Have you heard of Tigeen Bawn in Co Limerick? The small and upcoming company creates modern slogans and catchphrases to share with Irish people at home and abroad through YouTube and Facebook. We spoke to its creator to find out more. Here's what she had to say.

The idea came about because I really felt that the Irish sense of humour, wit and sentiment is so much more than ‘Póg mo thóin’ or a leprechaun exposing his rear-end. 

I tried to capture our simple, snappy wit and put it together with a pride in being Irish. There is a great energy worldwide about being Irish right now and thanks to modern technology there is an explosion of Irishness and connection through social media, blogs, Skype, emails, YouTube and events like The Gathering and St Patrick’s Day parades. 

My slogans fit in there somewhere – helping people across the globe to identify with their Irishness.

I get inspiration for new phrases whenever I listen to people having ‘the banter’.  Irish people are incredibly witty – go into any house, pub or shop in Ireland and you’ll hear animated conversation and people having the ‘craic’.

I have travelled to 19 countries and lived in Australia for a year so I can identify with being Irish and away from Ireland. The things that surprise you are how much you miss brown bread, strong tea and floury spuds. You notice how musical the Irish accent is when you hear it on a crowded bus and you really wish they would invent a ‘beam-me-up-Scottie’ machine so that you could visit your loved ones for a weekend.

To make my slogans more available to others, in a practical way, I have gone down two roads.

The first is to make them available on clothing, merchandise, stationary etc. through an online shop. I thought how nice it would be if someone was sitting in an apartment in Dubai drinking from a mug that says ‘If You Can’t be Irish at Home, Be Irish Abroad’ or to send a baby-gro to my recently emigrated friends on the birth of their baby with the caption ‘Born with Green Blood’ written across the chest.