TO BE SITTING here writing the introduction to my second book about Irish is surreal. It’s mad to think that I’m about to share more brilliant and enriching Irish words and phrases with you, and I’m so very proud that this language adventure continues.

The reaction to and love for The Irish Words You Should Know has been incredible. It was amazing to hear the words that caught people’s attention, like gafa (busy), scaití (sometimes) and ar bís (buzzing), but nothing could compare to the love you all had for loinnir. Someone got in touch to tell me they had christened their new boat in the Claddagh Loinnir, and I was sent photos of the word being tattooed on readers’ skin. Dochreidte! (Unreal!)

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I think loinnir caught on because it does that thing the Irish language does so beautifully. It’s a word straight from nature – the glistening of the sun on the waves – that has been recycled to mean something social: the merry feeling you get after early pints.

I have more words like that for you in this book, ones like fonn, which means to be in the mood for something (fonn ort), but also to be able to pick up and play a tune (an bhfuil fonn agat?) – because the........

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