Irish Slang – Lovely Hurling

Begorrah! Top of the morning!

Yes, two phrases you may have heard on Darby O’Gill and the Little People but that you will never actually hear spoken in Ireland. Most people have heard the Irish speak, but there are a lot of little things about their slang and turns of phrase that are often misunderstood by visitors.

Irish slang is definitely the thing that tickled our ears the most when we first moved here and that frequently tends to confuse our stateside guests. Below is the eighteenth in a series I’m publishing of some common Irish slang that used to confuse us when we first arrived.

Lovely Hurling – “All is well.” This is actually the second half of an old phrase, “Plain sailing, lovely hurling.”

This phrase is used a lot here in the midlands when someone is satisfied with something. When inquiring as to whether something has been done, and having been told that it has been, a common reply would be, “lovely hurling.”

“Is everything ready for the wedding?”

“Yes indeed.”

“Lovely hurling.”

If you found this post helpful, be sure to check out the rest of our series of Irish Slang.