Blatherskite, loudmouth, has turned up all over the place, and my thanks to Padraig O Snodaigh, a Carlowman, to Tom Casey from Limerick, to Dan Meskill from Cork and to Mary Blake from Kildare for pointing out that the word is not confined to the northern half of the country.
Mary O'Sullivan from Limerick city wrote to remind me that, although I gave the origin of blather, I said ne'er a word about the second element, skite; so here goes.
The great dictionaries agree that the word has a Norse origin. The dialect skilte has a variety of meanings. It is an abusive word for an unreliable person, a sleeveen; a conceited person; an emptyheaded clown; a whiskey; a sudden shower that passes quickly as it arrives; a short visit; a hurried journey; a binge.
As a verb it means to empty the bowels; to smack; to lose one's footing by slipping suddenly; to skim a stone; to squirt liquid.
Now as to origin, there is the Old Norse skita, which corresponds with the Old English scitan, which gives shite; there is also the Old Norse ek skyt, (I) shoot.
Many's the good word my old friend Tom Carr has sent me: words heard during his long life at sea, drifting in and out of every fishing port between Yarmouth and Killybegs. The old-timers on the Scots and English boats called stars starms, he says; he wonders why.
Yes, starms and sterns are seen all over Scotland and England's north country. "There's a heaven aboon us a', and a bonny moon and sterns in in", wrote Scott in The Heart of Midlothian. The word is not confined to fishermen.
Sheepmen have given the name starna to a ewe having a white spot on its brow; and, like the seamen, they talk of starnless nights and starny nights, and of starn light. The "n" in starn is influenced by Old Norse, stjarna. Star has its origin in Old English steorra.
Anne is a Co Monaghan woman; that's all she'll allow me to say about her, that, and that she makes cheese. Her mother called cottage cheese crud cheese; she wonders why.
Crudde is a Middle English form of curd. The word is still common in northern England and in Scotland.
Would Madge Anderson from Dublin and Anne Kent from somewhere near Naas please contact me. I've lost your addresses.