350
AN GAOḊAL
has made any considerable progress in
Irish. There is a vocabulary at the end
of each of the tales which explains the
difficult words and passages. The Ex¬
ploits of Toirḋealḃaċ Mac Stairn and
his Three Sons, with which the book
commences, is, perhaps, one of the long¬
est texts of any story in modern Irish
to be met with in manuscript. It was
originally written about 150 years ago,
the author of it being one Michael Co¬
myn, of the Co. Clare. At that period,
the Irish language was almost univer¬
sally spoken throughout Ireland in its
own inherent force and masterly style
This circumstance is evinced in nearly
every sentence of this peculiar and in¬
teresting romance. There are intersper¬
sed here and there through the story,
poems which could not be easily surpass¬
ed in pathos and appropriateness of ex¬
pression in any language. The En¬
chanted Palace of Eoċaiḋ Ḃig Ḋeirg is
another excellent tale in which Fionn
Mac Cuṁaill, the Irish giant, Connán
Maol, and the Tuatha de Denans, fig¬
ure prominently. In this, as in nearly
all the Fenian tales, Connán Maol
fares badly and Fionn Mac Cuṁail
maintains superiority over his oppon¬
ents. The Dialogue between St. Pat¬
rick and Oisín concerning Caṫ Suiriḋe
is a charming production, and is not,
perhaps, excelled by any other poem
of its class in the Irish language. It is
the only book devoted to Fenian Gael¬
ic literature copied from MSS. which
have been printed in Ireland for the
past thirty years, since the volumes of
the Ossianic Society were issued, al¬
though a vast number of such tales are
to be found in the thousands of manu¬
scripts which are mouldering on the
shelves of the libraries in Dublin. In
the introductory remarks, written in
Irish, is given a letter in Scotch Gaelic
from Lady Evelyn Stuart Murray,
daughter of the Duke of Athole, the
object being to show that the Gaelic is
patronized by the by the aristocracy of
Scotland though it has been despised
and discouraged in every possible way
by the cockney-mongrel West-Britons,
who are regarded as the aristocracy of
Ireland. It is to be hoped that the pub¬
lisher will meet with that encourage¬
ment which his energy and enterprise
deserve.
CAOINE NA GAOḊAILGE.
le Tomás Ua Grioṁṫa.
Fonn — An Droiġneán Donn.
Níḋ ḟeadar féin an fada ḃeiḋ mé
Gan craṫaḋ am láṁa,
Tá an t-aos ag teaċd fám' ḋéin,
Go pras gaċ lá
An ḟad ḟéadfad sgríoḃ ar aon ċor
Is binn 'sas breáġ
Ċuirḟead bréiṫre na teangan Ġaoḋ¬
ailge
Go dluiṫ am' ḋán.
Do léirġion a Ċlanna Ébeir
Is dona é ḃur sliġe,
Do léigaṁuir an Ġaoḋailge do
Sgaipe as an Ríoġaċt;
Tá na céadta de Ċloinn Ġaoiḋil-ġlais
D' ḟearaiḃ is de ṁnáiḃ —
A seunaḋ do ḃréiṫre, is ní náir
leo i ráḋ.
An uair léigim air Ḃrian gléaġal,
Mór tréan Boroiṁe —
Air a ṫréiġṫe, air a ṫréinne,
Air a neart 's air a ċlú —
Air na tréinn ḟir leag traoċda
Na Danair gan luiṫ.
Is maiṫ liom gur Gaoḋailge
Do laḃradar súd.
An uair ṫainiġ Naoṁ Pádruicc
Ó 'n Róiṁ anall,
Craoḃsgaoileaḋ ċreideaṁ Iosa
'S d'ár saoraḋ ó'n náṁaid;
Bo ḃlasda bríoġṁar do ṫeagasg daoine
Is bo cneasda moḋaṁuil —
A d-teanga aoiḃinn, sean Ġaoḋailge
Ḃain bárr do'n doṁan.
Céad slán ċum na mná mánla
Do ġráḋuig do ṡliġe,
Is ċum na sáir ḟear náir cáineaċ
A léiġean no n-dlíġe;
