Taig

Taig (also Teague, Teg and Teig) is a derogatory term for a Catholic.

Rarely heard outside Ireland, Scotland and Minnesota, "taig" is the most vitriolic slur word in use against Catholics and has been used by some loyalists in Northern Ireland in slogans such as "If guns are made for shooting, then skulls are made to crack. You’ve never seen a better Taig than one with a bullet in his back" [ [http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/taig/ "In Belfast, Joblessness And a Poisonous Mood" by Bernard Wienraub
"New York Times", 2 June 1971] ] and "Don’t be vague, kill a Taig". [ [http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/taig/ "On Belfast’s Walls, Hatred Rules" by Paul Majendie
"Sydney Morning Herald", 29 November 1986] ]

Etymology

The term is a synecdoche derived from the given name "Tadhg". The Irish phrase "Tadhg an dá thaobh" (Tadhg/Timmy of both sides) predates the derogatory use of the term and is similar to the contemporary expressions "average Joe" and "man on the street". [http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/taig/ Double Tongued Dictionary] ]

Connotations

Unlike "Paddy", another derogatory synecdoche for an Irish person, "Taig" usually implies Irish nationalistic sympathies. It has also been used to describe Irish Catholics perceived as a threat to law and order for whatever the reason. In sectarian atmospheres, the term has become generalized to include all Roman Catholics.

Also, whereas "paddy" is often used in a jocular context or incorporated into mournful pro-Irish sentiment (i.e. the songs "Poor Paddy On The Railway" and "Paddy's Lament"), the term "Taig" remains a slur in almost every context.

"Teague" has been reclaimed by some Irish nationalists as an ironic self-identifier in the same fashion that other terms of disparagement have been adopted by certain people they describe. In contemporary sources, the difference in spelling between "taig" and "teague" often indicates a difference in connotation akin to the difference between "nigger" and "nigga".

History

The use of the term as an insult may originate in the 17th century plantations of Ireland. Early written accounts coincide with the Williamite War.

In the late 1680s, the term appears in the satirical Williamite ballad "Lilliburlero" which includes the line "Ho brother Taig hast thou heard the decree?" In 1698, John Dunton wrote a mocking account of Ireland titled "Teague Land - or A Ramble with the Wild Irish". Thereafter the derogatory use of the term was frequent.

Also from this era is record of this word being used as a self-identifier by rebellious Irish Catholics. An Irish language Jacobite poem composed in the 1690s includes the following:

"You Popish ", "ni leomhaid a labhairt sinn"
"acht" "Cromwellian dog" "is focal faire againn"
"no "cia sud thall" go teann gan eagla"
"Mise Tadhg" geadh teinn an t-agallamh" ["Cead buidhe re Dia" ("A hundred victories with God") by Diarmuid Mac Cairthaigh]

Translation:

"You Popish rogue" is not spoken,
but "Cromwellian dog" is our watchword,
"Who goes there" does not provoke fear,
"I am Tadhg" is the answer given

Although the term has rarely been used in the New World, a notable example of such use was when John Adams defended the British Army soldiers responsible for the Boston Massacre by explaining they were acting in self defence against:

"a motley rabble of saucy boys, negros and molattoes, Irish Teagues and outlandish jack tarrs" [ [http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trr046.html The Murder of Crispus Attucks] ]

ee also

* Fenian
* Early Modern Ireland 1536-1691

References

External links

* [http://www.doubletongued.org/index.php/dictionary/taig/ Dictionary definition of "Taig"]