404
AN GAODHAL
Mr, Finian Lynch of Kilmakerin N. School, Co
Kerry, requested us to ask Capt. Norris to give
his own translation of a certain part of his poem,
which appeared in the June No. of the Gael. We
sent the query to the gallant Captain, and here¬
with is his response (the incident shows how close¬
ly the Gael is being read and studied) ;—
No. 40 Water St. N Y, Aug. 12. '94.
Dear Mr. Logan,
I received your note and also the request of Mr
Finian Lynch asking for a translation of the 4th
stanza of my little poem
"Breathnúghadh air Stáid Láithreach na
h-Éireann.
which appeared in the June No. of the Gael (“To
settle a dispute or difference of opinion”). I give
the stanza mentioned here, viz;
Ní gádh dam a rádh libh a cháirde mo
croídhse,
A maoin a's a m-breághthach ní'l sáimhe
gan saoirse ;—
'Gus m-fadtuirse chráidhte, is náireach
le maoidheamh é,
Gur gamairleach, tláthlag tá stáide ár
n-daoine :
Is ró fhuras a mealla 'sis deacair a g¬
crádh,
A's ní thigeann aon cealg 'nna measg
le míodhágh:
A mhic Naomhtha na bh-flaithios, fuair
peanaid 'san pháis,
Tabhair fuasgailt gan taise 'r ár n-
aicme iomruagtha;
'S cuir toir air 'na Gallaibh as tír ghlas
na Fódhla.
Glossary.
maoin, n. m. worldly substance, goods,
riches, means, goodness.
fadtuirse, n. f. long-weariness, sad¬
ness, fatigue, grief.
gamairleach, adj. foolish, silly, etc.
tláthlag, adj. weakspirited, timerous,
pusillanimous.
mealladh, v. deceiving, to deceive, to
degrade.
stád, n. m. state or condition.
cealg, n. f. treachery, deceit, malice,
spite, hypocricy.
peanaid, n. f. pain, punishment.
fuaisgailt, n. f. redemption, etc.
taise, n. m, weakness,
aicme, n. m. a tribe a sect of people.
iomruagtha, v. extirpated, defeated,
invaded, persecuted.
fódhla, n. f. one of the most ancient
names of Ireland.
The following may not be a very literal transla¬
tion of the above stanza, but it is really the mean¬
ing of it, viz.
I need not explain, O my dearest of people,
Neither beauty nor means can give ease void of
freedom,
And I'm wholly ashamed, that long weary and
feeble,
And foolishly weak and forbearing we see them,
They are easily hoodwinked, not hard to be plea¬
sed ;
They seek not revenge by deceit when they're
teased ;
Oh! Heavenly son, with whom God (the Father)
was well pleased,
Enlighten and strengthen our poor tortured na¬
tion,
And banish the English to hell and damnation.
You know that all the above is true of the Irish
people. Their most inveterate enemy can make
a flattering speech to them and, forgetting
their past sufferings, they'll throw up their hats
for him as they have for that deceiving scoundrel,
slippery Gladstone. Oh! Mr Lynch, if our peo¬
ple would only study their beautiful, national,
language, there is nothing that could unite them
and nationalize them like it. But alas ! they are
crying to be as much like other people, all the
time, that it appears that they think it a disgrace
to be like themselves at all. How can they ex¬
pect to be free? They are, in song and in story,
as long as I can remember, expecting France of
Spain or Austria to come and free them, as a
child who has no confidence in his own strength.
I do not mean to say that poor Ireland is any
match for England, though every man in Ireland
was armed with a rifle and amunition ; nor would
I advise any fight in Ireland, for she would be a
sufferer, though she should whip ber powerful e¬
nemy. But I would carry fire and brimstone and
all the plagues of Egypt into London, Manchester,
and Liverpool, and into all the other large towns
and cities of John Bull, until he would cry like
old Pharo, “Take the da—d Irish away. We'll
never have anything to do with them again." I
ask you for God's sake and for the sake of the
nationality of Ireland and of its people, at home
and abroad, to encourage the study of the Irish
langunge. We have it in historical and chrono¬
logical tables of persons who never like our race,
that twenty-five millions of the American people
are Irish and Irish descent, Nearly half the white
population of the whole country, Of that num¬
