660
AN GAODHAL
An dream na bh-fuil tart,
Ampladh 'gus airc,
Le sgannra na sgart dá sgóladh;
A n-diagh shaídhbhreas an t-saoighil,
An cladhaire dubh feíll,
'Sna n-daíll iteadh ag íota dhóighte:
Casaigídhe, mo chás.
Ar Phárrthas na ngrás,
Tá 'n peaca 'gus an bás go gnódhthach:
Lá an anfadh san bhaoghuil,
Damanta na dhaol,
Beig an t-anam bocht ná deunfa fóghmhar
(glan,
Na Séasars ba theann,
A spéirling na lann,
Dá thréineacht a g-campuidhe g-cómhrach;
'S laochas le fónn,
Na Féinne 'san dómhan,
Féach ná raibh íonta acht ceó beag:
Tá 'n saoghal-so dár n-dalladh,
Tá 'n saoghal-so dár mealladh.
An saoghal-so dár sgalladh ag sgeónaibh;
Séanam a n-am,
A chlaon-bhearta cam,
'S' lá 'n t-sléibh is sinn an chlann chómpór¬
[dach.
A bhanntracht an t-séin,
Thug annsacht bhur g-cléibh,
Do Prionnsa na Naomh 'sdá Mháthair:
'Sdo leanas go séimh,
Dúthrachtach a méinn,
A sómpladh go léir sa ráidhte :
Ná stadaigídhe go tláth,
Lasaigídhe le grádh,
Preabaigídhe lé gárdas naomhtha;
'Sgur gairid díbh an lá,
'Na m-béidh banaltra na ngrás,
Bhúr nglaca 'steach a n-árus réaltach.
It may be well to state for the infor¬
mation of those who are not sufficient¬
ly advanced in their Gaelic studies to thoroughly
understand the foregoing Gaelic matter that the
author of the poem is, Tadhg Gaodhalach.
We publish this poem, taken at random, because
a certain party has said that
"He would be a friend to the Irish lan¬
guage who would buy up all such Gae¬
lic compositions and throw them into
the fire."
It is a hundred years since these poems were wri¬
tten and good Irish scholars quote them to-day as
an authority. The poem is sublimely beautiful,
and does not contain half dozen words that are not
plain to the Gaelic reader of any province. The
party to whom we refer is doing an incalculable
amount of injury to the Gaelic cause among those
who have only a slight knowledge of the language
by his shameless, senseless criticism on all the au¬
thors of Gaelic composition who have written du¬
ring the last hundred years. This seems to be his
hobby-horse, and if those who desire the success of
the Gaelic movement act patriotically and sensibly
they will permit him to ride his hobby-horse and
stick to it. He never did nor never will write a
good Irish as TADHG GAODHALACH.
We then beseech of those who desire the spread¬
ing of the language to throw a wet blanket on all
such mischievous egotists.
This party also said that he sat down on the Gael
because it printed bad Irish. It is true that the
Gael prints good and bad Irish ; and persons wrote
bad Irish in it five years' ago who are excellent I¬
rish scholars to-day. The child must creep before
he walks. This party never wrote as good Irish
as An Leachta wrote in the Gael of last
month. And the Tuam News (a keen Gaelic critic)
copied (with the insertion of one inverted comma)
the Gael’s Christmas Greeting of twelve months
ago in its issue of December 24. last past.
This man can do the Gael no harm. It is only a¬
mong the ignorant that such men get a footing. If
he were paid by England he could not wrk
more strenuously in her interest. But the readers
of the Gael are too intelligent to be bossed.
The reason why T. O'N. Russell "sat down” on
the Gael is this. — He sent us a translation of the
Gael's title page, as follows. —
"An Gaodhal, Iris-leabhar Míosamhuil
le Cumhdach agus le Saorthúghadh na
Gaedhilge; agus le chur air aghaidh Féin-
Riaghla Chinidh an Éireannaigh,"
and when we did not adopt it he got into the sulks.
What a cheek? We shall leave it to the reader
whether the above or that on the title page is the
better translation, remembering that the word
Gaedhilge is only an adjective, qualify¬
ing the substantive teanga, a second¬
ary" name for speech. Béarla, and not
teanga, is the primary and proper
meaning of the term language, and so
the ancient Irish used it, as; Béarla-
Feine, the Fenian Language. Béarla
and teangan are of the masculine gen¬
der, according to O'Reilly. If we wrote either
an Béarla Gaedhilge or an Teangan
Gaedhilge, and they are equally proper,
Mr. Russell should change his tactics ;
but it made no matter what way it was shaped he
would condemn it since we did not adopt his mode
of coustruction. Germans who insist that mans
and womans are the proper plurals for man and
woman have firmer ground for argument than T.
O'N. Russell.
Let every reader try to get another.
