AN GAOḊAL.
159
"AN GAOḊAL,
Iris-Leaḃar Míosaṁuil
Le Cuṁdaċ agus le Saorṫúġaḋ
na Gaeḋilge;
agus le cur air aġaiḋ Féin-Riaġla Ċin-
iḋ an Éireannaiġ."
The foregoing is a literal copy of a writing sent
to us by Mr. T. O'N. Russell immediately after
issuing the first No., with the expressed de-
sire that we would adopt it as our title page : he
intending it as a translation of the English title
then employed. For many reasons we did not
choose to adopt Mr. Russell’s translation, and he
seemed very much annoyed when we did not do
so, and ever since he has not ceased, at the ex-
pense of ordinary courtesy and every manly prin-
ciple, to try to injure the Gael because of this
fancied slight. To show Mr. Russell’s animus to¬
wards the Gael we shall particularize the words
in the title which he says now are “bad Irish,"
and we request the reader to look at the above
where the same words are used by himself !
Luckily, this evidence of his veracity and of his
worthlessness as an authority has been preserved
"Leaḃar-aiṫris" is the first word to
which he objects. He says that the second part
of the compound should assume the genitive
form; if so why did he not put the second part of
his compound, "leaḃar,” in that form ?
"An Teanga Ġaeḋilge" is the next
phrase to which he objects, because, he says, the
word “teanga” is a feminine noun, and
requires the feminine article; but O'
Reilly by O'Donovan says that teang-
an is a Masculine noun! then, which
authority are we going to prefer; Mr.
Russell, who did not know a word of
Irish six years ago, or O'Reilly and O'Donovan,
our only standard authority?
The next word to which he objects is
"riaġla," although he has it in the same
form! Now, we cannot from O'Reilly
give "leaḃaraiṫris, because we formu-
lated it ourself from leaḃar, a book,
and aiṫris, report, naration, &c, but we
shall give similar words, which guid¬
ed us in its formulation, namely —
leaḃaragan, a library; leaḃaraifrionn,
a missal; leaḃarclár, a pasteboard;
leaḃardearg, a rubric; leaḃarlann, li¬
brary; leaḃarsailm, a psaltery; and
we have the famed "Leaḃarbreac;"
and none of these compounds assume
the genitive fom!
The grand rule governing the Gen-
itive Case in Irish is. — The "latter” of
“two” nouns coming together, when
the objects of which they are names
are diffierent, is governed by the for-
mer in the genitive case, as; Mac Dé,
God's Son. Leaḃaraiṫris is not two
words; it is only one noun, and when
in the genitive conforms to the rule,
not otherwise : as, falaċ an leaḃaraiṫ-
riste, the cover of the journal.
The matter is that some people have the“gen-
itive” so much on the brain that they put near-
ly all their nouns in it. None can write a lang-
uage as correctly as he who speaks it provided he
knows its grammar.
Critics may raise seemingly formidable and
plausible objections to the unthinking because
they go by “grammar rules." If a language
could be learned by a parrot-like knowledge of its
grammar every one could be a linguist. What of
the idioms and the exceptions in which all lang-
uages abound? Why, it is more difficult to learn
the idioms of a language than it is to learn its
grammar: What authority but that of custom
is there for saying that “I not will go to town"
is not as correct as “I will not go to town," allow-
for the exceptions to the rule governing the pos-
ition of the negative? Well, we see a more bar-
barous construction of Irish by those who would
presume to dictate the idiom of a language which
was as foreign to them six years ago as the Chi-
nese.
In the endeavor to throw a mystery about the
Irish language we see it asserted that it is easier
to write English correctly without a grammatical
knowledge of it than it is to write Irish. That is
not so ; the reverse is the fact: because the Irish
is a purer language and less liable to be cor-
rupted than the mongrel English. Therefore the
assertion is insulting to common intelligence.
THE DUBLIN SOCIETIES.
We produce herewith the transactions of the
Dublin socities. Both seem to be working ener-
getically in pushing the Language Movement.
At a recent meeting of the Council of the Gaelic
Union a motion was adopted, that each member
subscribing ten shillings a year should be entitled
to receive a free copy of the Union’s Journal.
Then any one paying ten shillings a year is enti-
tled to a Membership and a free copy of the
journal. We have also received an address from
the Parent society to the Irish people at home and
abroad. We give the address, with the names of
the provisional Directorate to carry out the Con-
gress recommendation of publishing an Irish Lan-
guage journal. The capital is put at $2,500 in
5,000 shares of ten shillings each, (about two dol-
lars and a half) Two shillings and sixpence to be
paid per share on application. Same amount on
allotment, the balance when called on. It seems
that the amount of subscription to both papers is
the same, viz. ten shillings. The address of the
