Gorse? What's gorse?

I notice a tendency in recent reports of fires in Killarney National Park to refer to them as gorse fires?

When did this word appear in Ireland? I remember it from Enid Blyton books, but never remember it being used here. The word used in this part of the country was always "furze".

Yes, it's real first world problems stuff. But I just would prefer our furze, briars and sallies to gorse, brambles and copses.

The Backwards Man

Whins.

HamsterFace

Were always gorse or whins in Mayo. I love lighting them

lakesider

Deleted User wrote: »

I notice a tendency in recent reports of fires in Killarney National Park to refer to them as gorse fires?

When did this word appear in Ireland? I remember it from Enid Blyton books, but never remember it being used here. The word used in this part of the country was always "furze".

Yes, it's real first world problems stuff. But I just would prefer our furze, briars and sallies to gorse, brambles and copses.

"furze"..whats "furze"..its whins!

Generic Dreadhead

There are so many better places this could have been posted.
I mean it's still nonsense, but at least it could have been nonsense elsewhere

ThisRegard

They've been referred to as gorse fires a long long time before the recent ones in Kerry.

5starpool

I've always referred to them as gorse as well, never heard the term furze before.

Kingp35

I've always called them gorse fires and whenever there's a fire on Dalkey/Killiney Hill it's always called a gorse fire. Never heard of "furze" or "whins" before!

catallus

Ulex Galli, is what we called it in my house.

The Backwards Man

5starpool wrote: »

I've always referred to them as gorse as well, never heard the term furze before.

I've heard a few folk call them furze, they usually wear spectacles and pour sherry from a decanter though.

It just struck me as the creeping anglicisation where we have words that suffice.

But if others says gorse was used in their part of the country, fair enough.

I'll renew my objection when thickets, brambles and copses are destroyed.

alchemist33

They're whins.


And they're often in a field with buachallans.

The Peanut

Just a geographical thing I'd imagine; I'd know it as gorse. (Tipp/Waterford/Cork).

_Brian

Whins up here in Cavan too.

Emsloe

Never heard of any of these terms before. AH is such an education!

The Backwards Man

alchemist33 wrote: »

They're whins.


And they're often in a field with buachallans.

Benweeds

_Brian

alchemist33 wrote: »

They're whins.


And they're often in a field with buachallans.

Buachallans ??
Don't ya mean Ragworth !

I have noticed fraughans being described as blueberries but that might be because there so many blueberries in the supermarket nowadays.

I think local name for various things are disappearing everywhere we are becoming more global.

5starpool

alchemist33 wrote: »

They're whins.


And they're often in a field with buachallans.

Both those terms are familiar to me from my youth. You based in the north west?

libelula

It's what people here in Connaught call a gay horse.

FunLover18

Furze fires sounds too silly to be taken seriously and whins fires sounds like a family owned business that sells fireplaces.

Lucena

In Offaly (in my neck of the woods anyway) we called it furze.

gramar

If Brian O'Donnells' house was called Furze hill instead of Gorse hill he wouldn't be long about leaving it.

FunLover18

Lucena wrote: »

In Offaly (in my neck of the woods anyway) we called it furze.

What would you know so, they don't grow in woods :P

alchemist33

The Backwards Man wrote: »

Benweeds

We used that for some other weed whose other name I don't know

_Brian wrote: »

Buachallans ??
Don't ya mean Ragworth !

Only when spending an evening at the Botanical Club, before departing to the theatre.

5starpool wrote: »

Both those terms are familiar to me from my youth. You based in the north west?

Yup, grew up in Sligo

ThisRegard

mariaalice wrote: »

I have noticed fraughans being described as blueberries but that might be because there so many blueberries in the supermarket nowadays.

I think local name for various things are disappearing everywhere we are becoming more global.

Fraughans are bilberries though.

AnonoBoy

I thought Gorse was a word for a house you were allowed stay in for ever and ever despite not actually owning it any more.

The Backwards Man

alchemist33 wrote: »

We used that for some other weed whose other name I don't know

I'm not sure what a buachallan is, but ragwort is benweed here in North Donegal

5starpool

alchemist33 wrote: »

Yup, grew up in Sligo

Snap.

fatknacker

It's pussywillows and crapweeds, you bunch of weirdos. For the whin.

fizzypish

Down my way.
Gorse == mountain heather, grows about shin height
Furze == Small tree like bastard that produces yellow flowers and is spiny. Absolute bastard to clear if you give it a few years to take hold.

Both can grow up the mountain.

RobertKK

Furze, gorse, whin, are all Ulex europaeus.

sbsquarepants

Never heard of furze or whins, gorse it is!

fatknacker

sbsquarepants wrote: »

Never heard of furze or whins, gorse it is!

Of gorse it is!

josip

Furze

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Stephen%27s_Day

The wren, the wren, the king of all birds,
St. Stephen's Day was caught in the furze,
Although he was little his honour was great,
Jump up me lads and give us a treat.

Fratton Fred

[Deleted User] wrote: »

It just struck me as the creeping anglicisation where we have words that suffice.

Furze is used in England as well, although gorse is more common.

catallus

Well what's fen then?

Guy:Incognito

Is it not something to do with big houses in Killiney?:)

FunLover18

RobertKK wrote:

Furze, gorse, whin, are all Ulex europaeus.

Yeh but ulex europaeus fires sounds completely daft!!

topper75

ThisRegard wrote: »

Fraughans are bilberries though.

Our bilberries and the N. American blueberries are cousins.
Not sure how a smallish blueberry or fat bilberry could be distinguished to be honest.

For the record, Limerick/Clare has gorse and sallies. I've heard briars and brambles referred to here.

ThisRegard

catallus wrote: »

Well what's fen then?

The number after 9 for someone with a lisp.

catallus

Bilberries are sloes, right?

ThisRegard

topper75 wrote: »

Not sure how a smallish blueberry or fat bilberry could be distinguished to be honest.

Either do I in fairness. I only know they're different because it came up in a conversation some time ago and I never knew what a fraughen was, someone said they were blueberries but a google resolved that argument quick enough.

Rubberchikken

gorse , here in cork. furze too, maybe. never heard the term 'whins'. learn something new everyday:)

The Backwards Man

catallus wrote: »

Well what's fen then?

Called slunks around here, fen is type of bogland, it's not a plant.

Alun

catallus wrote: »

Bilberries are sloes, right?

Absolutely not, not even remotely. Sloes are the fruit of the blackthorn tree.

catallus

catallus wrote: »

Bilberries are sloes, right?

No sloes grown on trees, fraughen are small blue/ black berries that grown on poor mountain soil they grow on a shrub near the ground.

Sloes are the ancestor of Damsons.

catallus

Well I've walked on fen but I've never seen me a bilberry.

biko

In Galway we say gorse, never heard them called anything else.

The Backwards Man

Is a fraughen not a cranberry? We don't have them up here, only heard of them.

ThisRegard

catallus wrote: »

Well I've walked on fen but I've never seen me a bilberry.

End of July, start of August is harvesting time for them, there's even a specific Sunday set by, Fraughan Sunday naturally enough, last week in July.

There's a place named after them in Wickow, Fraughan Rock Glen, just off Lugnaquilla.