6
AN GAODHAL.
amhrus ort nach h-é tá 'n sompla in do
phóca agad," ars an buachaill.
Chuir an dlígheadóir a lámh in a phóca
agus tharraing sé 'mach an sompla, d'
fheuch air, chraith a cheann, d'íoch an buach¬
aill, ag rádh, "Béidh mise suas leat, a
ógánaigh."
[Tá an buachaill 'na chomhnuidhe in Eo¬
bhrach Nuadh anois, agus innseochaidh sé
'san nGaodhal seo chugainn an biorrán
suarach noch do rinne an dligheadóir
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 GRÁDH AGAM AIR MHÁIRE.
Tá grádh agam air Mháire le fada,
fada 'riabh,
'S níor léig a' náire damh bheith trácht
air go d-tigh anois le bliadhain;
A chúl na bh-fáinnidhe, is tú 's áille 'ná
'n ghealach 's 'ná 'n ghrian,
'S nach truagh an bás a bhí air láimh liom
's mé bheith beo do dhiagh.
Chonnairc mise thusa 's tú suarach go
leor,
Anns a' chisteanaigh aig m' athair faoi
lionn-dubh 's faoi bhrón;
Tráth bhí mo chulaidh shíoda orm agus mo
lásaidhe buidhe óir,
M' uaill, uaill! nach truaigh mé aig im¬
eacht 's gan luach a' phéire bróg.
A annsacht, cia'r budh annsa leat fear
eile bheith agad 'ná mé,
Agus gur tú'n planda a d-tug mé geall
dith ar thoiseach a' t-sluaigh;
Má thug mé grádh duit gan amhrus mar
bhí mé óg gan chéill,
Teanga na rabh sa g-ceann údaidh a
mholfadh duit ach mé.
Teacht an Earraigh ceannóghad talamh 's
déanfad fóiris bheag damh féin,
'S beidh na cómharsanaidhe da mholadh
damh gur maith a rinne mise é;
Ní'l orm ach dearcadh fríd mhná an do¬
mhain 's beidh mo reamhain agam fhéin,
'S ní h-é 'n cruth a ghnídheas maraga ach
fághail amach a méin.
Tá daoine dhá shíor-rádh liom go rach¬
faidh mise 'nonn,
'S deir daoine eile aca nach bh-fhágh¬
aim bád go bráth ná long;
Acht dá m-beidhinn-se go d-tigeadh an dí¬
le orm agus an ghaoth dul bun os cionn
A Mháire dhílis nár bhudh aoibhinn dam
acht grádh mo chroidhe bheith 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.
