Jackeen

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Jackeen is a mildly pejorative term for someone from Dublin, Ireland. The word has been defined as A drunken, dissolute fellow by Webster in 1913.[1]

An incorrect but common suggested origin of the word comes from John Bull, the personification of England. Due to its proximity and long historical ties to Britain, Irish people outside of the Pale mistakenly thought that Dubliners wanted to be English. John Bull became Jack Bull and, using the Irish suffix -ín meaning small, Jack became Jackeen. Therefore, Jackeen literally means Little Jack or "minibrit".

Another source of the term stems from Dublin's close ties to Britain in the late 18th and early 19th century. During the visit of Queen Victoria to Dublin in 1900, the Union Flag or "Union Jack" was flown by enthusiastic Dubliners leading to native Dubliners being known as Jackeens by much of the Irish population.

It was also thought that the term 'Jackeen' applied to those who hung the Union flag on or off their property during the Easter rising. This they hoped would save them from the British shelling during the British assault on the city during the Easter rising of 1916.

Today, Jackeen is often used to describe Dublin GAA players and supporters.[2][3] The term has also been shortened to "Jack" or the plural "Jacks" by Dublin fans as a way to refer to themselves.[4][5]

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Define jackeen. Retrieved on 2007-03-29.
  2. ^ The Jacks are back. Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
  3. ^ Reeling in the years. Retrieved on 2007-01-25.
  4. ^ Worthwhile Stereotypes, Templates and Routines?
  5. ^ Dublin Slang Dictionary and Phrase-book