Mum's the word in Cavan

Mother’s Day takes place this Sunday, March 27

Research carried out in the run up to Mother's Day, this Sunday, March 27, shows a wide range of variations for what Irish people call their Mothers, including that the majority of people in Cavan apparently call the matriarch of their family 'Mum'.

Commissioned by Beko celebrating the launch of the Woman’s Way and Beko Mum of the Year awards, the research carried out by iReach Insights (1,200 responses) found that 31% of adults call their mother ‘Mam’ when they’re speaking to her. 23% prefer ‘Mum’, 12% say ‘Mom’ and a further 12% use ‘Mammy’.

Interestingly, 4% of respondents claim to call their mothers by their first name.

Regional variances of this are apparent with Mam the most popular in Munster (38%), Connacht (31%), and Leinster (28%) while Mum is top in Ulster (53%).  Within Ulster, alternative options include Mammy (14%) and Ma (8%).

When quizzed as to what Mothers are best at, 39% claim being supportive and 20% answered accepting them no matter what while 16% say that getting told to cop themselves on is what she is best at.

Ahead of Mother’s Day, which takes place this Sunday it has been revealed that 2 in 5 (40%) of all adults are planning on seeing their mother in person to celebrate the occasion this year, a figure which is highest in Ulster at 48% and lowest in Connacht at 31%.

Only 17% of respondents have said they will send a card to mark the date while 11% have openly admitted there’s a chance they might forget the day.