Madam, - Further to the word "craic", discussed recently in the Letters Page, I believe it is an Anglicised form of the Irish word "creach", meaning booty, plunder or cattle-raiding.
Apparently this activity was carried on so frequently in ancient Ireland it became synonymous with a kind of popular sport or a day's outing. In effect, "craic" never belonged to the English language, nor would our neighbours in those days, namely Picts and Anglo-Saxons, ever have indulged in such unseemly behaviour. - Yours, etc.,
VERA HUGHES, Cartronkeel House, Moate, Co Westmeath.