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This is a sign from a pub. I would expect it to read “Irish truth” or “true Irish”. Why is “Irish true” used?

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2 Answers

up vote 4 down vote accepted

This is an advertising slogan, not a considered argument, so it could be simply that 'Irish true' rhymes with 'Irish Dew'.

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Good point. It's probably a combination of both. Effective advertising will hook different viewers different ways. – mac389 Nov 10 '12 at 17:38
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Part of the answer is that it's an advertising campaign trying to brand a product as distinctively Irish. Ireland is historically noted for good whiskey.

I think they mean authentic from an Irish viewpoint or quintessentially Irish just as a leprechaun is Irish true but a Viking isn't.

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I suspect that the agency which came up with this campaign may have been trying to achieve a less clichéd and more striking slogan than "True Irish" by exploiting Erse syntax, which ordinarily puts the adjective after the noun. – StoneyB Nov 10 '12 at 15:55
@StoneyB Very interesting. I don't know anything about Erse. Do you have a link to further information? Google keeps thinking that I'm misspelling erase. – mac389 Nov 10 '12 at 16:18
"Erse" is sort of pretentious on my part; I use it to make clear I'm talking about Irish Gaelic rather than Irish English. Google "Irish language" and you will find all you want. – StoneyB Nov 10 '12 at 16:22
It's years since I've seen anybody refer to Erse. All reliable modern sources call the language Irish. – Colin Fine Nov 11 '12 at 0:15

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