Origin
Erin go Bragh is an anglicisation of the Irish phrase Éirinn go Brách (pronounced ), in which Éirinn is the dative of Éire (meaning "Ireland"). In standard modern Irish the phrase is Éire go Brách (pronounced ). It is probable that the English version was taken from what was a "dative" context, such as Go bhfanad in Éirinn go brách ("May I stay in Ireland for ever") or Go bhfillead go hÉirinn go brách ("May I go back to Ireland for ever").
Alternatively, given that in a few local dialects (particularly in Waterford Irish and South Connacht Irish) Éirinn has replaced Éire as the ordinary name for Ireland, it could be that the phrase was taken from a speaker of such a dialect. This replacement of the nominative by the dative is common among Irish feminine and some masculine nouns of the second and fifth declensions, and is most widespread in the two dialect areas mentioned. The word brách is an adjective/nominal which is equivalent to "for ever", "eternal", "always", "still", and conveys the global semantics of "unchanging"—such as in the phrases Fan go brách ("Just wait - don't move - be patient and wait a bit more") or fuair sé an litir agus as go brách leis go dtí an sagart chun í a thaispeáint dó ("he got the letter and without waiting off with him to the priest to show him it").
A phrase confused with Erin go Bragh is Érin go Breá. This is actually Éire go breá ("Ireland is (doing) fine/great/excellent").
Read more about this topic: Erin Go Bragh
Famous quotes containing the word origin:
“All good poetry is the spontaneous overflow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity.”
—William Wordsworth (1770–1850)
“Good resolutions are useless attempts to interfere with scientific laws. Their origin is pure vanity. Their result is absolutely nil. They give us, now and then, some of those luxurious sterile emotions that have a certain charm for the weak.... They are simply cheques that men draw on a bank where they have no account.”
—Oscar Wilde (1854–1900)
“The origin of storms is not in clouds,
our lightning strikes when the earth rises,
spillways free authentic power:
dead John Brown’s body walking from a tunnel
to break the armored and concluded mind.”
—Muriel Rukeyser (1913–1980)