AN GAOḊAL.
901
Donovan, and O'Curry have used it in the same i¬
dentical manner. John Fleming and all the natu¬
ral writers and speakers of the language to-day
use it, and yet the parties to whom we refer in the
course of a scandalous article on the Editor of the
Gaelic Journal in the Irish-American and Chicago
Citizen say that no respectable man is on his side
But where is the respectable authority that is not
on his side? If The Four Masters, O'Donovan,
O'Curry, Archbishop McHale, Canon Bourke etc.
be not respectable, we ask, Who are?
The parties to whom we refer would have stud¬
ents learn that
ċum fear do ḃualaḋ
teans, To strike MEN, and that
ċum fir do ḃualaḋ
means, To strike a MAN, thus changing the sin¬
gular to the plural, etc. and, strangest of all, there
are some so-called Irishmen (ignorant, of course,
though a little more, perhaps, some of them) who
advise that it would be better to employ chum be¬
re the genitive case only so as to please the par¬
ty and thus put a stop to his blackguardism. No,
no. He had the same grounds for attacking the
leaders of the Irish language cause that the WOLF
had for attacking the LAMB — Just the same.
His primary object was, as he boasted, to kill
THE GAEL, but when he saw that the authors a¬
bove named supported THE GAEL’s construction
he attacked them in the vain effort to attain his
end — the disorganization of the Gaelic movement.
But THE GAEL will live when he is in his grave.
Much has been said in relation to classical scho¬
larship and its bearing on the Irish language. It
has nothing to do with the Irish language because
Irish is a living language and already formulated
Does the ordinary reader comprehend what is
meant by, A classical scholar? It means simply a
person who writes languages according to rule but
yet may have no knowledge of their idiomatic con¬
struction. For instance, a person knowing Eng¬
lish classically only would write, “I not will go,"
whereas the natural speaker would say, “I will
not go," yet the former is as classically correct as
the latter, though idiomatically incorrect.
We regret to see a considerable number of our
young students follow the ludicrous example of
the party referred to in turning the passive into
the perfect participle, etc. whenever they chance
to place chum before it. In such cases the student
should see if any other simple preposition, such as
go, do, le, etc, could be employed instead of chum,
end if it could, chum in such instance is a simple
preposition and cannot govern the genitive case.
We would remind those students that the Irish
is a living language, as much so as the German
or the French, and that it is governed by gramm¬
ar rules and living usages and that it cannot be
changed to suit the caprice, or otherwise, of quibb¬
lers.
SLIAḂ NA m-BAN.
(Le Risteard de h-Enebre.)
is iomḋa fear leiġeanta a's croḃaire
maorḋa
Tógaḋ in Éirinn anois le seal,
Le córdaiḋiḃ caola buaint lúṫ a ngeug
díḃ,
No i ndinnsiún ḋaora, go deiṁin, fá
ġlas;
Ḃíḋeaḋ gárda air taoḃ díḃ na ḃ-fáġ¬
faiḋe sméid orṫa
Ċum a gcúis a ṗlé ḋóiḃ arís ṫar lear
Agus taḃarfaḋ saor iad ó ḋiaḃailiḃ
gan buiḋċeas
I n-am a t-saoṫair air Sliaḃ-na-mBan
'Sé an Ros a ḃreoiġ mé a's ċlaoiḋ ro-
ṁór mé
A's a liaċt fear óg ḃí claoiḋte, lag,
Ḃí na páisdiḋe óga 'na smuil go dóiġte,
A's an ṁeud a d'ḟan beo díḃ i lúb
claoi nó sgairt;
Geallaim dóiḃ súd gníoṁ feolṁar (?)
Go m-beiḋmídne 'na g-coṁair dóiḃ le
píce no sleaḋ,
A's go g-cuirfimíd na yeomen ag múin
'na m-brógaiḃ,
Sin cuntas cóir díḃ air Sliaḃ-na-
m-Bán.
Gorta léir air an dream le ċéile
Nár d'ḟan le féirm a's le h-oiḋċe
raist,
Go m-beiḋeaḋ dúiṫċiḋe Ḋéise a's iar¬
ṫar Éireann
A's iad go léir le faoḃar ag teaċt;
Ḃeiḋeaḋ ar g-camṫaiḋe deunta le fór¬
saiḋiḃ treuna
Ḃeiḋeaḋ congnaṁ Dé againn a's an
t-saoġail air fad,
Mar a m-beiḋeaḋ gur ḋíol aon ṁéir¬
leaċ de ṁuintir Néil sinn
Do buaḋfaiḋ an sway linn air Sliaḃ
na m-Ban.
Is óil liom féineaċ buille an lae sin,
Ḋoil air Ġaoḋal boċt a's na ceudta
ċreaċ,
A's tá na méirliġ a deunaḋ game dinn
Dá ráḋ naċ aon rud leo "pice" no
sleaḋ,
Níor ṫainic ar major o d-tús an lae
ċugainn,
Ní raḃamar féineaċ i g-cóir no g-
ceart,
Aċt mar a ṡeudfaiḋe aoḋaire le bó
