6
AN GAOḊAL.
aṁrus ort naċ h-é tá 'n sompla in do
ṗóca agad," ars an buaċaill.
Ċuir an dlíġeadóir a láṁ in a ṗóca
agus ṫarraing sé 'maċ an sompla, d'
ḟeuċ air, ċraiṫ a ċeann, d'íoċ an buaċ¬
aill, ag ráḋ, "Béiḋ mise suas leat, a
ógánaiġ."
[Tá an buaċaill 'na ċoṁnuiḋe in Eo¬
ḃraċ Nuaḋ anois, agus innseoċaiḋ sé
'san nGaoḋal seo ċugainn an biorrán
suaraċ noċ do rinne an dliġeadóir
air, F. G.]
This song is taken down from the recitation of
Grace Ward, a native of Glenties, co. Donegal.
J. J. Lyons.
Mrs Moy, Jno.
TÁ GRÁḊ AGAM AIR ṀÁIRE.
Tá gráḋ agam air Ṁáire le fada,
fada 'riaḃ,
'S níor léig a' náire daṁ ḃeiṫ tráċt
air go d-tiġ anois le bliaḋain;
A ċúl na ḃ-fáinniḋe, is tú 's áille 'ná
'n ġealaċ 's 'ná 'n ġrian,
'S naċ truaġ an bás a ḃí air láiṁ liom
's mé ḃeiṫ beo do ḋiaġ.
Ċonnairc mise ṫusa 's tú suaraċ go
leor,
Anns a' ċisteanaiġ aig m' aṫair faoi
lionn-duḃ 's faoi ḃrón;
Tráṫ ḃí mo ċulaiḋ ṡíoda orm agus mo
lásaiḋe buiḋe óir,
M' uaill, uaill! naċ truaiġ mé aig im¬
eaċt 's gan luaċ a' ṗéire bróg.
A annsaċt, cia'r buḋ annsa leat fear
eile ḃeiṫ agad 'ná mé,
Agus gur tú'n planda a d-tug mé geall
diṫ ar ṫoiseaċ a' t-sluaiġ;
Má ṫug mé gráḋ duit gan aṁrus mar
ḃí mé óg gan ċéill,
Teanga na raḃ sa g-ceann údaiḋ a
ṁolfaḋ duit aċ mé.
Teaċt an Earraiġ ceannóġad talaṁ 's
déanfad fóiris ḃeag daṁ féin,
'S beiḋ na cóṁarsanaiḋe da ṁolaḋ
daṁ gur maiṫ a rinne mise é;
Ní'l orm aċ dearcaḋ fríd ṁná an do¬
ṁain 's beiḋ mo reaṁain agam ḟéin,
'S ní h-é 'n cruṫ a ġníḋeas maraga aċ
fáġail amaċ a méin.
Tá daoine ḋá ṡíor-ráḋ liom go raċ¬
faiḋ mise 'nonn,
'S deir daoine eile aca naċ ḃ-ḟáġ¬
aim bád go bráṫ ná long;
Aċt dá m-beiḋinn-se go d-tigeaḋ an dí¬
le orm agus an ġaoṫ dul bun os cionn
A Ṁáire ḋílis nár ḃuḋ aoiḃinn dam
aċt gráḋ mo ċroiḋe ḃeiṫ liom.
No century since Henry II. landed in Ireland
has produced so many eminent Irish scholars as
the present century. We have O'Donovan, O'Cur¬
ry, MacHale, O’Sullivan and Bourke, now gone to
rest, and the number of our living Irish scholars
is innumerable. And purer Gaelic than that of the
Imitation of Christ, Moore's Melodies and the Bulk
Ineffabillis was never published. This casts no
reflection on our old Irish writers because general
knowledge has expanded to an extraordinary de¬
gree since their time; and, moreover, the Irish did
not cease to be written and spoken. Nay, one per
cent, of the people of Mayo did not understand
English when Archbishop MacHale was born 100
years' ago, So that the Gaelic race has not
produced more eminent Irish scholars than those
named above, with scores of others who are today
amongst us. And, why not? What, then, is the
object of their defamers? And who and what are
the said defamers? It is to confuse and disorgan¬
ize the Gaelic movement. But the Gaelic move¬
ment is now beyond their power to injure it. The
wonder is that they did not get lots of money to
start a Gaelic journal ostensibly in the interest of
the language but really to disorganize it, as they
did with the Clann na Gael Society !
They tramp the country today with that ob¬
ject in view — seeking to injure THE GAEL, only
for the editor of which there would be no Gaelic
movement. But The Gael is beyond their power,
thanks to the superior discerning faculty of the
genuine Gael.
P. W. Portland, Or. O’Reilly is our standard
dictionary. O'Donovan’s. Bourke's and Joyce's
are our standard grammars, and our standard Ir¬
ish writers are MacHale, O’Sullivan and Bourke.
Bedel’s Bible is no more of an authority in Gae¬
lic than king James's is in English literature; it
was got up for other than literary purposes.
2nd. Why not an Irishman having no know¬
ledge of English being an Irish scholar the same
as the German and the Frenchman? There was
no English language five hundred years' ago yet
there were Irish scholars.
Nearly all English men and a considerable num¬
ber of Irishmen believe that whatever measure of
civilization the Irish people possess has been the
result of the English connection. This is of in¬
calculable injury to Ireland, because the Irish¬
man thinking so is timid, and the Englishman will
say, “We civilised these noisy h-Irish, and what
more do they want.” Hence the necessity of cir¬
culating such literature as the Extracts from Spal¬
ding in last issue — That issue of the Gael is worth
$5 of any Irishman's money; preserve it.
