Focal an Lae: Smidirín

Friday, 9 October 2026

Smidirín (smid-er-EEN) is the Irish for a small fragment.

The plural smidiríní went into English as smithereens, which is where anything blown to bits still ends up. The ín on the end is the Irish way of making a word small.

Other days

Uaigneas, the day before · Ciúnas, the day after

A new Irish word every morning, 386 of them in the round, with the feast days of the Irish year keeping their own. Today’s word. More in the phrases, the names and the place names.