Annotations to James Joyce's Ulysses/Cyclops/312
Annotations
editLamh Dearg Abu (Errata) The correct form is: Lámh Dhearg Abú.
Lámh Dhearg Abú (Irish) Red Hand to Victory.[1] The Red Hand of Ulster (Lámh Dhearg Uladh) has been a traditional symbol for the province of Ulster and its legendary figures since pagan times. Lámh Dhearg Abú was the war-cry of the O'Neills, who ruled large tracts of Ireland (including Ulster) since the 5th century.
The Red Hand was also depicted on the labels of bottles of Allsop's ale, so the phrase was also used as a drinking cry. See 314.33-35.
Raimeis (Errata) This should read: Ráiméis.
Ráiméis (Irish) Rubbish, Poppycock.[2] The Irish word ráiméis derives from the Norman-French Romance, referring to the far-fetched tales of Medieval literature. It became a household word for empty hypocritical talk or cant in the first decade of the 20th century thanks to its regular use by the journalist D. P. Moran in The Leader.