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Loisce búaile is mainly used in South Ulster and North Connacht but particularly in counties Fermanagh, Cavan and Monaghan. The origins of the word are uncertain. Losc is an old Irish word for lameness in cattle and an Irish law text consisting of legal material copied in the 15th and 16th centuries specifies that a cow being put up for sale should not be lame or losc (Kelly, 1997). The modern Irish word Loisc means Scald and those familiar with the appearance of an acute case of foul-in-the-foot will understand why our ancestors described the lesion as a burn or scald. The name Loisce búaile also links the disease with the practice of booleying, (from the Irish Búaile). This ancient agricultural practice, also known as transhumance, involved moving cattle to upland or mountain grazing areas known as 'booleys' during the summer months to allow conservation of grass for winter feeding (Lucas, 1989). It also allowed farmers to keep a larger number of stock by taking advantage of mountain pasture. Booleying survived at Sliabh Mór on Achill Island, County Mayo until the late 1940's (Ó Moghráin, 1943). However, transhumance was not only practised in Ireland. Remnants of the tradition of driving cattle to the Alpenweiden during the summer still exist in Switzerland and the practice has existed in the Middle East since the early Christian period. Interdigital necrobacillosis is a disease which is particularly associated with cattle grazing wet fields during the summer months (Radostits et al., 1994). Given what we know of its epidemiology, the summer booley would have been an ideal environment for outbreaks of this disease The other Irish language terms for interdigital necrobacillosis
are ladhar righneach and truisle. Both these originate
from the south Munster area, particularly south county Tipperary and
county Waterford. Ladhar righneach translates descriptively
as 'stiff, swollen claw' while truisle probably stems from
the Irish word meaning 'trip' reflecting the lameness associated with
the disease (Dáithí Ó hÓgáin, personal communication). The Irish language
versions for a disease tell us something of its history, in the way
that it has survived in folk memory. Loisce búaile is a good
example of this, as booleying is a practice that dates back to the
early days of Gaelic civilisation In Ireland. |
Loisce búaile refers to the common bacterial cause of bovine lameness,
interdigital necrobacillosis. At present, there are many synonyms
for this disease in Ireland. Three stem from the Old and Middle English,
Scald, Foul and Foul-in-the Foot and three, loisce
búaile, ladhar righneach and truisle from the Irish
Language.
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