Taig

Taig, and formerly also Teague, are anglicisations of the Irish-language male given name Tadhg, used as ethnic slurs for a stage Irishman. Taig in the context of the Troubles in Northern Ireland is used by Protestant loyalists to refer to Catholic nationalists. Although several Protestant families have, and still, carry the name Teague.

Tadhg was once so common as an Irish name that it became synonymous with the typical person, with phrases like s Tadhg an mhargaidh ("Tadhg of the market") akin to "the man on the Clapham omnibus" or "average Joe". In the late 1680s the satirical Williamite ballad Lillibullero includes the line: "Ho brother Taig hast thou heard the decree?" Conversely, the Irish-language name is used defiantly in a Jacobite poem written in the 1690s: "Who goes there" does not provoke fear / "I am Tadhg" is the answer given.[1] In 1698, John Dunton wrote a mocking account of Ireland, titled Teague Land – or A Ramble with the Wild Irish.

KAT (Kill All Taigs) and Ulster Defence Association graffiti in the loyalist Fountain area of Derry

Although the term has rarely been used in North America, a notable example of such use was when John Adams successfully defended the British Army soldiers responsible for the 1770 Boston Massacre by pleading to the jury that the soldiers were acting in self-defence against:

... most probably a motley rabble of saucy boys, negros and molattoes, Irish Teagues and outlandish jack tarrs. —And why we should scruple to call such a set of people a mob, I can't conceive, unless the name is too respectable for them:[2]

In the context of segregation in Northern Ireland and sectarianism in Glasgow, the term "Taig" is used as a derogatory term for a Roman Catholic, used by Northern Irish Protestants and Ulster loyalists.[3][4] In this sense it is used in a similar way to the word Fenian, but is more ethnic in terms of abuse against people of Gaelic descent than "Fenian", which more commonly signifies Irish republican. Extremist loyalists have also used in graffiti slogans such as "Kill All Taigs" (KAT) and "All Taigs Are Targets".[4] Conversely, sectarian Irish Catholics sometimes use the derogatory term "hun" to refer to Protestants as well as Ulster Loyalists and the sectarian slogan "Kill All Huns" (KAH) can sometimes be found in graffiti.[5]