Cahirdaniel N. S., Co. Kerry, Ireland.
March 30th. 1892.
Editor An Gaodhal.
Dear Sir. — You might consider it worth your
while to publish the following stanzas relative to
the adventures or rather misadventures of an itine¬
rant hedge teacher and poet, who died about fifty
years ago. He was a native of, and lived nearly all
his life in the neighbourhood of Derrynane where
he was a great favourite of the Liberator's. On one
occasion he made up his mind to go to Port Magee
in the vicinity of Valentia Island to teach a school,
and put all his clothes, books, wearing apparel, etc
on board a vessel in Derrynane harbour to be taken
to Port Magee, he himself having decided to travel
by land and meet the boat in the latter place. As
narrated in the poem, the vessel was wrecked on a
rock, and to his great grief and consternation the
poet's valuables were lost. To add to his misfor¬
tune the clothes which he wore were burned in a
house in which he lodged on the way, and he had
to remain in bed until clothes were provided for
him.
He was the last of the hedge-teachers of this place
and his school is still pointed out — a large cave un¬
der a rock — with the word "school" lodged in the
rock. He had no settled abode, but went about
with his pupils, being tendered everywhere a
Céad míle fáilte.
He wrote a great many songs, some of which
are preserved by the peasantry. Daniel O'Connell
(the Liberator) sent him to school to Dublin. He
got the fever there, and composed one of his best
songs when he recovered, he wrote a Lament over
his dog which 'died,' and several on the liberator.
Yours respectfully,
JAMES FENTON,
LE TOMAS RUAḊ O'SÚILLIOḂÁIN.
Go cuan Ḃéil-Innse a casaḋ mé,
Cois Fóilín aoiḃinn Dairḃre, b
Mar a seóltar Fleet na fairge
Ṫar ṡáile i g-céin.
i b-PórtMagee do stadas seal
Faoi ṫuairim íntinn maiṫeasa,
Ċum do ḃeiṫ sealad eattora
Mar ṁáiġistir léiġeainn.
Is geárr gur ċuallaḋ an eaċtraḋ
'Ge cáċ, mo leun!
Gur i m-Bórdóinín c do ċailleaḋ, ṫeas
An t-áṫrac treun
Do ṗreab mo ċroíḋe le h-aṫtuirse
D'ṫaoḃ long an tigeasaiġ d calma.
A's go m-b'ḟeárr do'n tir í ṡeasaṁ seal
Do ráib e an t-séin.
a, Valentia. b, parish of Kilcrohane
in which is Cahirdaniel
c, The owner of the vessel, Patrick
Trant.
d. An abbrev, of rabáire.
Mo ċiac! mo cuṁa! a's m'aṫtuirse!
M'iasma duḃ ag ainnise
As mé síorruiḋe deunaṁ mairgne a
A'm' ċás boċt féin.
Mo ċuid eudaiġ cuṁdaiġ' sgaipiġṫe
Ḃí deunta cúmṫa, ceapuiġṫe,
A's do ṫriall ṫar ṫríuc b ó Ṡacsana
Mar ḃláṫ faoi' m' ḋéin.
iad a ḃeiṫ imṫiġṫe 'san ḃ-fairge
Air ḃárr an sgéil.
'Gus h-uille aca 'san lasair c
A's mé go tláṫ am' neul.
Buḋ truaiġ le cáċ air maidin mé
Go buaiḋearṫa, cásṁar, ceasnuiġṫe
'S gurb é an fuaċt do ċráig am' ḃallaiḃ
mé
Gan snáṫ d ó'n spéir.
Ní h-é sin do ċealaiġ mé
Na do ċráiġ mé 'rís am' aigne
Aċt nuair do ċíḋinn féinfuadar, fear¬
ṫainne
Gaċ lá faoi'n spéir
Neart gaoiṫe d-tuaiġ a's anfaiḋ e
'Gus síon ro-ṁór gan eug air biṫ
Teinte, luaṫaḋ, lasair,
Agus sgáil na g-caor. f
Do ċróm an uain air ṡneaċta ċur
Le gála treun
Air feaḋ dosaon g uair gan aṁarca
Le fáġail air an rae
Na daoṫanna h cruaḋa, pannaidiġe
Do líon ro ṁór do'n ġalar mé
Sd'ḟág suim i gan suan air leabaiġ me
Go tláṫ i b-péin
Dá siuḃalfainn Éire a's Albain
An Ḟrainc, an Spáin, a's Sagsana,
Agus fós arís dá n-abrainn
Gaċ áit faoi'n rae,
a, lamentation, gen. sin. of mairg.
b, ṫar ṫríuc means over a great dis¬
tance.
c, this refers to his clothes being burn¬
ed at Rínn-iarṫaḋ when asleep, on
his way to Port Magee.
d, covering.
e, pron. as if written annuiġṫe.
f, fume of the thunderbolt.
g, dozen; h, such is the phonic spell¬
ing [singular deoig] used in sense of
colic; i, a space of time,
