Gur

Gur cake was an invention of Dublin bakers early in the 20th century -- a way to use up day-old bread or cake and still make some money from it. It quickly became available all over Ireland, and can still be found in some big-city bakeries.

The cake's name is involved with numerous words borrowed from other languages. Gur is an Indian word for molasses, which may have been involved in some versions of the cake (as every baker developed his or her own recipe). But the more direct descent of the name comes from an old Irish slang word for street urchins, "gurriers" (which may have been borrowed from the French guerrier or [street] warrior). To "go on the gur" was to mitch off / play hookey / cut class / ditch school: and gur cake may well have gotten its name from being a favorite cheap snack for a kid out on the street for the day. It was always the cheapest thing in the bakery, usually a penny a slice (and indeed its modern or more upmarket name is "fruit slice".