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Billy Briggs Memorial Scholarship Luncheon

Contributions of the Irish to the English Language 
by Kevin Carlin

 Beyond the Pale, meaning to be outside the bounds of propriety or good taste.  The phrase "beyond the pale" dates back to the 14th century, when the part of Ireland that was under English rule was delineated by a boundary made of such stakes or fences, and known as the English Pale. To travel outside of that boundary, beyond the pale, was to leave behind all the rules and institutions of English society, which the English modestly considered synonymous with civilization itself. Within the confines of the Pale the leading gentry and merchants lived lives not too different from that of their counterparts in England---except that they lived under the constant fear of attack from the Gaelic Irish.

The Pale boundary essentially consisted of a fortified ditch and rampart built around parts of the medieval counties of Louth, Meath, Dublin and Kildare, actually leaving half of Meath, most of Kildare, and south west Dublin on the other side. The northern frontier of the pale was marked by the De Verdon fortress of Castle Roche, whilst the southern border roughly corresponds to the present day M50 motorway in Dublin.  The barrier ditch  was raised some ten or twelve feet from the ground, with a hedge of thorn on the outer side. It was constructed, not so much to keep out the Irish, as to form an obstacle in their way in their raids on the cattle of the settlers, and thus give time for a rescue.

Donnybrook - an inordinately wild fight or contentious dispute; a brawl or a free-for-all.