AN GAODHAL.
677
Taig * Gaodlac O’Sullivan another Munster poet
throughout his pious miscellany, as for example
in his hymn on the Resurrection page 69 he writes
the cond. of mair, "live" or "exist"
mhairfeadh. In the same work page 65
is given a beautiful hymn from the collection of
Pierce Fitzgerald's poems in the 3rd
stanza of which the conditional of
feach is written dh-feachfadh. Fitzgerald
was a native of Youghal, Co. Cork, and died in
1722. Father O’Sullivan, another Cork man, in
his admirable translation of the Imitation of Christ,
always makes the 3rd sing. cond. of
monosyllabic verbs in fadh or feadh.
Father Fitzgerald, some time ago, P. P. of Bal¬
lingarry, Co. Tipperary, in his beautiful (Irish) dis¬
course on the Passion of our Lord, published by
Fowler, Dublin, 1861, of which I have a copy,
writes the conditional of almost all
his verbs in fadh or feadh, for example
he writes "ionnas go g-cuirfeadh" &c.,
and the same author seems to prefer
the use of fadh even where ochadh acc¬
ording to rule ‡ might be used, as for example page
15 paragarph 6, he writes "ionnas go
d-taispeanfadh sé † &c. I could contin¬
ue for the length of a day quoting Munster au¬
thors in support of the rules I have given but
I think I have quoted a sufficient number to show
that fadh and not ochadh is the correct
termination of the 3rd sing. cond. of monosyllabic
verbs. In your next paragraph you say that I
have introduced, without propriety, the future
tense, and moreover misquoted Canon Bourke's
grammar in its regard. I have certainly mention¬
ed the future tense in connection with the conditi¬
onal, because it is upon the termination of the fut¬
ure tense that the termination of the conditional
depends; if the future terminates in
faidh or fidh, then will
the conditional terminate in fadh or
feadh; for the same reason, verbs mak¬
ing their future in ochadh will invariably
make the conditional in the same termination, and
hence it is, that most Irish grammarians in giving
the rules for the formation of the moods and tenses
say that “the conditional is formed from the future,
by" &c., (see Canon Bourke page 82, and Dr. O'¬
Donovan page 197,)
I deny that I have, either intentionally or by
oversight misquoted Canon Bourke's grammar. I
have here before me my letter in the October Gael
and also Canon Bourke's Grammar I have said
in my letter, “he (Canon Bourke) says in page 82,
that verbs of the second conjugation form their fu¬
ture and conditional in ochadh." § These
are my words. Let us compare them with the
rule given by Canon Boruke in his grammar page
82. "For the future ochthad or ochad is
annexed (to the root), &c., &c., as from
labhair speak, we have labharochthad and
labharochad" &c. adding in note page 80
that * ochad being the most genarally
used form, is to be preferred to ochthad.
Canon Bourke does not say a word in his rule a¬
bout the future being formed in ochthaidh,
though he forms the 3rd sing of the future in con¬
jugating the verb grádhuigh, with that
termination. § Ochthaidh, however, is sub¬
stantially the same as ochthadh or ochadh,
the letter, i being merely introduced by him for the
sake of euphony. Dr. O’Donovan is, at least, Can¬
on Bourke's equal as a grammarian, and he forms
the 3rd sing. of the future and cond. alike in
ochadh. How, then let me ask, could I
have misquoted Canon Bourke's grammar ‡ when I
gave the identical words given by the Canon him¬
self in his rule for the formation of the future tense?
We have societies for the preservation of the I¬
rish language both at home and abroad, and pres¬
ervation means not only to keep it from dying out,
but also to restore it as far as in our power lies to
its original sweetness and purity. A change of
inflection might suit and be even commendable for
English and other modern compounds to which re¬
volutions and the rise and fall of Empires and
Kingdoms have given birth ; but for the beloved
language of the historic Gaels — a language which
was ancient before Homer sang the fall of Troy —
a language in which the illustrious King Tigher¬
nagh cultivated more than 1100 before Christ — a
language in which the arts and sciences of ancient
Ireland were cultivated in the university of Tara
[ * It is said that he was illiterate and employed
an amanuensis
I This is not the conditional
† Very poor authority then
§ Yes, and you misquoted him ; he
says the 'future' makes ochad and the
cond.' ochainn, 1st, per, of course, p.
128, Coll. I. Gram. issues of '56 & 79.
[ * But that is the first person and is foreign to
the matter under discussion In fact you have got
things terribly mixed up or you are quoting from a
spurious representation of the College Irish Gram¬
mar the verb is fully conjugated in the paradigm
and leaves no room for cavil And the GAEL, as
long as we control it, will not permit any one to
be misrepresented We have two issues of the (56
and 79) College Grammar before us and in neither
of which can we find the alleged inconsistencies,
but on the contrary, consider it the most perfect
Irish grammar yet written because it calls attention
to the fact that the more numerous class of verbs
has heretofore been made the exception instead of
the Rule And we shall further say that our posi¬
tion relating to the 3rd conditional does not arise
from our want of khowing the grammar rules pres¬
cribed in its regard, but because the rules are op¬
posed to majority rule and therefore to custom, a
fact which all grammarians admit
§ By no means, the first is the future indicative
while the second is the imperfect conditional
2nd, we do not consider O'Donovan to be the e¬
qual of Canon Bourke because the Rev Canon has
lived in a more enlightened age — an age in which
the ordinary mechanic is better informed than the
monarch of a century ago
‡ By stating that the Rev author gives the same
rule for the formation of the future and condition¬
al which is not the case
