Culchie

In Hiberno-English and Ulster-Scots, culchie is a term sometimes used to describe a person from rural Ireland. In Dublin it is often used to describe someone from outside the Dublin Region including all commuter towns like Maynooth. Certain border towns such as Bray and Balbriggan "scrape into" the "Dublin" category. As in Belfast the term does not refer to anyone from inside the Greater Belfast area but rather from outside Belfast city. It usually has a pejorative meaning, but is also reclaimed by some proud of their rural origin.

Possible derivations

The term is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as "one who lives in, or comes from, a rural area; a (simple) countryman (or woman), a provincial, a rustic". It is sometimes said to be a word derived from the remote town of Kiltimagh, County Mayo. A further explanation is that the word derives from the word agriculture, highlighting the industrial/agricultural divide between rural and urban populations.

Another potential derivation is an Irish term "cúl an tí", meaning 'the back of the house'. It was, and still is to a certain extent, common practice in rural areas to enter a neighbour's house through the back door rather than the front, which was used for more formal visits. Thus the term 'cúl an tí' or 'culchie' was applied to these people. Also, many city dwellers from Dublin tenements had to work as servants. The servants were not permitted to enter the house from the front but had to use the back door or servants entrance. It became common practice in Dublin to use the term in a derogatory manner. Over time as the numbers of servants dwindled away the term was still kept in everyday use.