Eire Abu—(Irish) Ireland to Victory.
went to the altar every first Friday—took communion on the first Friday of every month.
Skerries . . . Howth . . . Greystones—seaside resorts near Dublin. “Eveline” included a reference to Howth.
Irish Revival—a movement, begun in the 1880s, that supported Irish culture in general, as well as a revival of Irish Gaelic as the country’s national tongue. The Irish Revival will be the subject of a confrontation between Gabriel Conroy and a colleague in “The Dead.”
to take advantage of her daughter’s name—Ireland is sometimes personified as a woman named Kathleen ni Houlihan.
pro-cathedral—a temporary substitute for a cathedral.
charmeuse—a smooth fabric of silk; like satin in appearance but softer and having less body.
Brown Thomas’s—a Dublin fabric shop.
the house was filled with paper—the theater was occupied for the most part by patrons admitted at no charge.
puff—an advertisement, review, or the like, as of a book, containing undue or exaggerated praise.
the dear knows—lord knows.
Maritana—a Irish light opera.
Feis Ceoil—a yearly festival of traditional Irish music.
the Freeman man—a reporter for the daily newspaper The Freeman’s Journal.
Mrs. Pat Campbell—Mrs. Patrick Campbell (1865–1940); a famous actress of the day.
“Killarney”—a popular song by Michael William Balfe, composer of the opera The Bohemian Girl mentioned in “Eveline” and alluded to in “Clay.”
fol-the-diddle-I-do—a nonsense phrase.
