Welcome back after the break, and what’s this? New characters?! Surely not!
It was about time to flesh out the population of Ballinafil a bit more, and so I’d like you all to meet two characters I have been wanting to add since I started the re-draw: Garda Rachel and Garda Finn.
It’s at this point that I probably need to explain a certain little quirk that makes Ireland somewhat unique in the English-speaking world.
Gardai on patrol
In Ireland, we do not have a “Police Force”. Instead we have “An Garda Siochana”, which literally translates to “Guardians of the Peace”.
Following independence from the UK, this was one of a couple of “Gaelige-ifications” of official language that actually gain usage from most Irish people, even when the speaker is using English. When Ireland was still part of the UK (pre 1921), we did have a Metropolitan Police which looked and felt like any other British police force. Following independence, all Police in Ireland were then restyled in uniforms that were mostly just pallet-swaps of the original revolutionary army uniform, and named “Gardai”.
Interestingly, when an Irish person refers to the Police they will modify the word (in Irish) according to if they are singular or plural. You may have one “Garda”, or multiple “Gardai”. When referred to as an entire force you will often hear a person mention “The Gardai”.
Sometimes this does get turned to English, with some speakers referring to them as “The Guards”.
Furthermore, “Garda” has two other uses. The singular form is placed on a Garda Officer to indicate that they are “A Garda”. The same applies to the cars, which are also known as “Garda Cars” (one example drawn above).
Lastly, “Garda” is also the basic rank of a member of the force until promoted further. So, if for example Ashling had join the Gardai, she would be “Garda Ashling Connolly”. If you are uncertain of a Garda’s rank, it is often considered acceptable to simply refer to them as “Garda (Name)”, since technically that is still true.
So there you are, a strange twist on English that you won’t find in many other places (maybe Wales).
It’s quiet. Too quiet. ENTER ASHLING! Wakey, wakey, Garda Rachel. I’m sure that dent in the roof will buff right out. 😈
@Rawr: Naw, can’t be Welsh. Not enough “Y’s”. 😛
Um, Ashling? You…missed…the ground…
Talk about starting off on the wrong foot!
@Azreal: T’cha. That roof should be fine, no problem 😀
Regarding the Welsh:
Hmm….”Heddlu”…that’s a little more sane than I imagined 😀 But yes, Welsh has a tonne of “Y”s all over the place, and really long names for stuff 🙂
@Delta: She might have missed the ground, but she did manage to land a target that would give her the most legal trouble! Score!! 1 million points to Gryffindor 😀
Well, if Ashling thought it was bad trying to explain to her Mom why she was out of touch wandering in the mountains for an entire day, just wait until she has to explain how she managed to get a speeding ticket before she even got her driving license.
Poor timid little Ashling is gonna have a hard time with this one lol. To bad Aoife is back at the school I feel like she could Handel this… Who am I kidding they both would end up in jail ha ha
@Kessy: Well…she’s been flying about so maybe this will just screw up her chances at getting a Pilot’s License 😀
@Howard: I’m pretty sure Aoife being there would just make things a whole lot worse…..(which is why it it eventually happen in this comic)
Pretty sure Ashling doesn’t have to worry about any jail time here. One quick leap and she’ll be off over the trees leaving the Garda with nothing but, perhaps, a glimpse of the unexplainable. “Honestly Sáirsint Murphy, it was a flying schoolgirl.” Ooooh, thus begins the side story of Garda Rachel’s neverending quest to find that flying girl, prove her existence, and bring her to Justice!
@Azrael yea but somehow I doubt she will do that. She is still learning her powers and having a cop scream at you probably not great for concentration!
@Azreal: Oooo I should have thought of that…alas I think I’m saving that for the Reporter we saw a while ago. But not to worry, Garda Rachel & Garda Finn are going to have some “interesting times” ahead because of Ashling & Co, and this is just the beginning 😀
@Howard: Spooking Ashling may also have very bad results. She can barely control the fire spell and might accidentally use something like that in a panic :O