Word.ws English Dictionary

Eirean

Eirean adjective: of the state called Eire or the Republic of Ireland, as distinct from the island of Ireland.

Adjective

Eirean (not comparable)

  1. (UK, obsolete, proscribed) Of the state called Eire or the Republic of Ireland, as distinct from the island of Ireland.
    • Clause 1 of this Bill enables the Parliament of Northern Ireland to make legislative provisions for hydro-electric, drainage, water and other schemes to be operated on both sides of the border in conjunction with the Eirean authorities.1947 June 13, George Oliver "NORTHERN IRELAND BILL" Hansard HC Deb vol 438 c1468
    • Since Eire was a neutral country the Air Force could not place its own rescue-launches on her coasts, but the life-boats in Eire were part of the single life-boat fleet of the British Isles, and the Institution was able, with the consent of the Eirean Government, to do what the Air Ministry asked...1957, “Lifeboats and Lifesaving”, in Encyclopaedia Britannica, volume 14, page 26

Noun

Eirean (plural Eireans)

  1. (UK, obsolete, proscribed, rare) A citizen of Eire.
    • Adjectives become missiles when used by an Eirean. The word “elegant,” for instance, is used by Mr. O'Casey as if it were a synonym for unmentionable crimes. It is applied to every non-Eirean he mentions.1945 November 30, St. John Ervine, letter to The Spectator
    • As things are, Ulstermen are being kept more successfully in Ulster than Eireans are being kept in Eire.1956 July 21, “Was Ulster Right?”, in The Economist, page 215
    Synonyms:
    Eirish

Examples of Eirean in a sentence

  • 1982 December 16, "NORTHERN IRELAND RESIDENTS AND EIREAN PASSPORTS" Hansard HL Deb vol 437 c834WA
  • At the outset I must make it plain that I have no objection to the principle of the Anglo-Eirean Free Trade Agreement.1967 November 30, James Hamilton [later Duke of Abercorn] "NORTHERN IRELAND (MEAT INDUSTRY)" Hansard HC Deb vol 755 c797
  • Northern Ireland (Irish) Catholics thought themselves like Eireans (proper Irish).1996, Robert McLiam Wilson, Eureka Street, Arcade, published 1997, →ISBN, page 163:

Synonyms of Eirean

Forms of Eirean

Adjective
alternative formEireann
Noun
pluralEireans

Origin of Eirean

From Eire + -an. "Éire" is the official Irish-language name of the state under its 1937 Constitution. In the United Kingdom "Eire" was used in English, officially until 1949 and unofficially for decades longer. The adjective "Eirean" was invented accordingly. See names of the Irish state.

Questions about Eirean

What does Eirean mean?
Eirean means of the state called Eire or the Republic of Ireland, as distinct from the island of Ireland.
How do you use Eirean in a sentence?
1982 December 16, "NORTHERN IRELAND RESIDENTS AND EIREAN PASSPORTS" Hansard HL Deb vol 437 c834WA
What part of speech is Eirean?
Eirean can be an adjective or a noun.

Words near Eirean in the dictionary

  1. EIP
  2. EIPH
  3. eir
  4. Eire
  5. Eireaboos
  6. Eirean
  7. Eireann
  8. Eireans
  9. Eireboo
  10. Eireboos
  11. eirenarch

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: Eirean (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Cite this entry: “Eirean.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/eirean. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.