Was anyone listening to Michael O'Leary on RTE Radio One this morning (Saturday 28 November)? Michael O'Leary, as most Irish-based people will know, is the very gung-ho boss of Ryanair, the leading European low-fares airline. Michael believes that just about everyone involved in the government of Ireland is either a fool or a knave or possibly both, and looses no opportunity to say so.

Anyway, warming to this theme on the radio this morning, Michael spoke contemptuously about the "fawlawns" of bureaucracy or "fawnlawns" of cretinous officials he had to deal with. I can't remember the exact context.

Now, "fawnlawn" sounds as if it's an Irish word, possibly spelt in Irish as 'fánlán". I can't see anything like it in Ó Dónaill's FGB. Has any one come across it or is it a word that Michael just made up in the heat of the moment?

Perhaps he meant to say 'failings' and the mangled vowels of Clongowes (or Gonzaga) did the rest.Or maybe it is a composite,like 'maneen' or 'halfóg'?

The phrase was "and all the other fawn lawns that go on"

I think he was talking about fawning on a big investor. It was the context of things governments would do for somebody investing big money.