AN GAODHAL.
957
the article, and that the sound of é be¬
came so short that the softer sound of
a was substituted. This expletive use
of the pronoun is common in Irish, as;
deirid na fir, said they the men.
In reading the story for a very in¬
telligent Irish speaker, he checked us
when we read, "ar" Diarmuid. "No"
said he, "arsa Diarmuid." We agree
with him because all speakers use it
before a consonant the same as before
a vowel The é or a of sa was dropt
before the a of the article — it is not
dropt before a name with a vowel ini¬
tial, as; arsa Éamonn.
LESSONS IN GAELIC.
THE GAELIC ALPHABET.
Irish.
Roman.
Sound.
Irish.
Roman.
Sound.
a
a
aw
m
m
emm
b
b
bay
n
n
enn
c
c
kay
o
o
oh
d
d
dhay
p
p
pay
e
e
ay
r
r
arr
f
f
eff
s
s
ess
g
g
gay
t
t
thay
i
i
ee
u
u
oo
l
l
ell
THIRD LESSON. — Continued
Translation of Exercise 1.
1. tá an bal tinn. 2. an cat agus
an broc. 3. tá an bos clé tinn. 4. tá
an tír bán. 5. tá an cló dubh. 6 tá
an tonn gorm 7. tá an cat donn. 8
tá an mac óg. 9. tá an lá fada. 10.
tá an tor árd. 11. tá an im úr. 12
tá an bord árd. 13. tá an corn crom
Translation, Part 2.
1. Cia rabh tú anois an uair so de
an lá? 2. bhí mé siúbhal síos an bóthar
caint le Pádhraic mar tá an lá breágh
agus an bóthar tirm. 3. cad dubhairt
Pádraic leat? 4 dubhairt sé go rabh
an lá breágh agus an feur fada agus
glas. 5. tá blas olc air an im so, ta¬
bhair im úr dam. 6. abair le Máire
deoch bhainne agus greim arán agus im
do thabhairt do Sheághan le ithe, mar tá
ucras air. 7. feuch Máire, Seághan a¬
gus Phádraic siúbhal síos an bóthar, ab¬
air leo fanamhaint linn.
We omitted to give the meaning of
the word "where” in the last Gael; it
is in the present vocabulary.
In the next issue we shall give the
leading rules of Gaelic syntax.
Mar, chomh or cho. Though these two
words mean 'as' in one of their sever¬
al meanings yet they are quite differ¬
ent in their application, a fact which
we omitted to mention in connection
with this exercise in last Gael.
cho, as, is a comparative and cannot
be used in Irish instead of mar, be¬
cause, a copulative, conjunction. In
English 'as' is a conjunction when it
can be used instead of because, in all
other cases it is a comparative adverb,
and we think that, in Irish, it is most¬
ly a comparative adverb, as; tá Seá¬
gan 'cho' h-árd le Pádraic, John is 'as'
tall as Patrick.
Hence, mar tá an lá breágh and not
cho tá an lá breágh is the proper form
in the instance under review, and in
all instances where 'as' is used for the
copulative conjunction 'because',
LESSON IV.
Leaguers, you are now at a very
trying, critical point. Persevere until
you get over these ruts and then the
road will be clear before you. Rem¬
ember that the good things of this
world are not obtained without a little
exertion you have opened the mine;
the gold is in view, and a few more
picks of the the mental ax will place
it in your possession, and then you will
bless the day and the instruments
through which you became members
of the Gaelic League.
The Gaelic League has a treasure
which gold cannot buy. The million¬
aire dies and, after a few years, is for¬
gotten, your names shall live in his¬
tory as the preservators of the life of
the Celtic Nation till the end of time.
