ok -- which came first, the sicín or the circeoil?

I've heard this circeoil word twice, although I've been in hundreds if not thousands of conversations where chicken and hen related words are plentiful. BOTH times I heard the 'circeoil' word were instances where baby beginner students were trying at my urging to use their newly learned irish in real life situations. Like newly hatched baby chicks clearly wobbly and struggling to speak, they sucessfully managed to say 'is maith liom sicín' and 'ba mhaith liom píog sicín', only to be corrected for not saying circeoil. Both of these two smiling and surely well meaning individuals nearby felt the need to explain to these new students that they were really eating circeoil or that they really should have ordered a poultry pie instead of a chicken pie. When I questioned the first cireoil word instance I got a huge response from the funniest dubliner in the world about how we yanks really don't know what a hen really is. But I got no satisfactory answer on the use of the word circeoil. But for this second circeoil episode I queried -- cad a dhéantar leis na coiligh go léir mura bhfuil muid ach ag ithe circeoil? I understand the circeoil word though, and that maybe the pie request brought up a frightening image of four and twenty peeps baked in a pie, but why oh why can't people see how important it is not to trample on beginners who are trying to speak?

It gave me an opportunity to explain to my students -- who jumped to say, oh, that was a dialect thing right? --
that there are words for muc and muiceoil, bó and mairteoil, sicín agus circeoil, uain agus uaineoil just as english has poultry, beef and pork words that mean the meat and not the animal. I explained to them that in my experience I had only ever heard circeoil once previously, though and it was perfectly acceptable to use sicín. I suggested they continue using sicín and if they were corrected for circeoil to smile and slowly back away from the speaker, because they were not yet ready to converse with someone who corrects for circeoil. Please somebody tell me I was right to do so!

Mar chomhtharlú, tháinig mé ar shean cóip de Foinse (16 Eanáir 2000)inniu agus san alt cócaireachta ag Brian Ó Domhnaill tá cur sios ar conas is féidir 'Sicín Bordelaise' a dhéanamh. Céim 6: "Leag an sicín ar an phláta, maisigh le spúnóg nó dhó den anlann breá croíúil seo. Tá sé maith le mairteoil nó muiceoil fosta."

Níl aon gantannas Gaeilge ag Ó Domhnaill ach níl an focal 'circeoil' le feiceáil san alt ar chor ar bith.

'Feoil sicín' a deirim i gcás na feola ach 'eireog' a deirim leis an sicín féin. Níor airigh mé 'circeoil', cé go dtuigfinn é, ach spreagann an cheist seo mé le 'eireoil' a cheapadh ar an dul céanna le 'circeoil' srl!

-... why oh why can't people see how important it is not to trample on beginners who are trying to speak?

Maidir le galar an cheartaithe, is dócha go gcaithfear an t-eachtrannach a ghabhfas i mbun fhoghlaim na Gaeilge a chur ar an airdeall faoin ngalar Éireannach seo. Sin, nó déanfar dochar dó.
Thairis sin, is iomaí ceartú a tharla sna cúinsí sin, an duine a fuair scolaíocht an leathmhurdar machine (atá linn le trí ghlúin anuas) a mheas gurbh fhéidir leis a bheith ag ceartú an eachtrannaigh foghlaimeora.
Is minic contráilte lucht na scolaíochta sin.

Níor chuala fhéin an focal ach oiread. Feoil sicín a bheadh agamsa freisin.

Maidir le galar an cheartaithe - an cheart ag Seosamh mar is iondúil!