46
AN GAOḊAL
cuireaḋ amaċ ó n-a ḋíḋean boċt féin
é? Ní ḋeárnaḋ sé aon ċoir aċ an
ċoir a rinne Naoṁ Peadar anuair a
cuireaḋ ċum báis é — sé sin le ráḋ, go
raḃ sé 'na Ċaitiliceaċ. Faoi & le ord¬
uġaḋ h-Anraoi ṁíoḟortúntaiġ sgrios¬
aḋ sé ċeud mainisdir, leis an méid eile
a doiġṫeaḋ & a milleaḋ. Tá fós go
dti an lá indiu iomad de ḃur g-cilliḃ
i seilḃ na b-Protestún; go áiriġe i m-
Bláṫ-Cliaṫ & i n-Gailliṁ.
An dara sgiúrsa a rinne, ḃí sé mar
léiġean-scrios. Ḃí sé mar ṫoṁas ag
an dliġe sgiúrsaċ sin, daoine na h-Éir¬
eann a ċongḃáil in ainḃḟios le aṁas¬
aiḃ a ḋeunaḋ ḋíoḃ gan léiġean gan foġ¬
luim, ionnas naċ m-beiḋeaḋ fios acu
ar ċáil no cliú a sinnsear — go m-beiḋ¬
eaḋ siad mar spailpíniḋe faoi ḋroċ¬
ṁeas go deo os coṁair an t-Sácsan¬
aiġ míoṫrócairiġ.
Do réir an dliġe sin sgriosaḋ na
coláisdiḋe & na sgoilteaċa; ċuireadar
fiaḋaċ ar gaċ máiġistir scoile, mar
rinne siad leis an sagart, & dá mbeiḋ¬
eaḋ fear no bean ar biṫ Caitiliceaċ
ciontaċ anaġaiḋ an dliġe sin, le múna
páisde ar biṫ, fir no mná, no fós dá
m-beiḋeaḋ sé ag múnaḋ neaċ ar biṫ,
Caitiliceaċ no Proestúnaċ, is cuma
cia ṡé féin, óg no sean, air réir an
dliġe ṁalluiġṫe bí an te sin cionntaċ
ins an g-coir tíre a d-tugṫar feall¬
ċoir air. Faoi 'n dliġe ceudna sin
níor ḃ'ḟéidir páisde fir no mná i ċur¬
ṫair sáile le foġluim no léiġean d'ḟáġ¬
ail i d-tír na Fraince no 'san Spáin,
no i d-tír ar biṫ eile An t-aṫair no
an ṁáṫair, no caraid ar biṫ eile, a
ṫiúḃarfaḋ congnaḋ do'n b-páisde foġ¬
luim d'ḟáġail 'san m-baile no i d-tír ar
biṫ, is cuma cia 'n tír í, ḃí siad go h-
uile cionntaċ ins an dliġe sgiúrsaċ
sin, feallċoir, a ċuir diaḃalóiriḋe Sac¬
sanaċa ar bun anaġaiḋ foġlumṫa na
ṫ-Éireann. Faoi 'n sgiúrsa sin ḃí cúṁ¬
aċt ag gaċ rópaire Protestúnaċ a
ráḋ leis an Éireannaċ a ḃí cionntaċ
b' ḟéidir ins an ḃ-feallċoir ar ar laḃ¬
ras ṡuas: "tá capall agad-sa, naċ ḃ-
fuil, a Ṗeadair Ui Ḃriain? atċ má tá
others that were burned and destroyed.
There is yet to this day immense num¬
ber of your churches in the possession
of Protestants ; particularly in Dublin
and Galway.
The second scourge enacted was
the destruction of learning. It was
the object of this despoiling law
to keep the lrish in ignorance —
to make boors of them,* without edu¬
cation or knowledge, in order that
they would have no means to acquire
any information of the fame and re¬
nown of their forefathers; that they
would be as serfs for ever under the
scorn and contempt of the unmerciful
Saxon.
According to that law the colleges
and schools were destroyed; the school
master was hunted, as was the priest,
and if any Catholic man or woman
were guilty of transgressing that law,
in teaching any child, male or female,
or yet if they were teaching any one,
Catholic or protestant, no matter who
it be young or old, according to this
accursed alien law that person would
be guilty of the national crime called
treason-felony. Under that same law
a child, male or female, could not be
sent over the sea to France or Spain
or to any other country to receive in¬
struction or knowledge. The father or
mother or any other friend who would
help or assist the child to receive
instruction at home or in any country
no matter what country it should be,
they were all guilty of that scourging
law — treason-felony, which the devilry
of Englishmen enacted against Irish
education. Under that scourge every
unscrupulous Protestant was empower¬
ed to say to the Irishman who was,
perhaps, guilty of the treason-felony
of which I have spoken above: You
have a horse, Peter O'Brien ? but if
you have that horse does not belong
to you henceforth."
"For what reason ?"
"Because you are guilty of treason-
