Athbhliain
faoi mhaise daoibh go léir! Dúluachair
an gheimhridh atá ann, am a bhímid ag smaoineamh is ag pleanáil, is ag déanamh
rún (diongbháilteachta).
Happy new
year everyone! It’s the dead of Winter,
a time when we are thinking and planning and making resolutions.
Did you
make it one of your New Year’s resolutions to learn some Irish? It’s not too late – it’s never too
late! You can get learning books and
bilingual books at the web sites listed in the next paragraph.
Má tá an
Ghaeilge agat cheana féin, déan rún chun leabhar Gaeilge a léamh. Mura bhfuil ceann agat, téigh go dtí
http://www.cuplafocal.ie/ or http://www.litriocht.com or http://www.oideas-gael.com/siopa/ agus
roghnaigh ceann deas mar bhronntanas duit féin! Tá mórán leabhar de gach cineál ar fáil, idir shean agus nua.
Since this
is a time for new beginnings, I’d like to call your attention to an exciting
“new beginning” going on in Ireland, that is, the phenomenon of the
gaelscoileanna. Scoil [skull] means
school (plural scoileanna [skullanna]).
These are schools where children are learning entirely through the
medium of the Irish language. And they
are cropping up all over the country.
They are not a government project, but are springing up due to private
effort, and are in great demand. Some
have websites, and there is a charitable organization based in Dublin which is
working to support these schools. It’s
website is http://www.iol.ie/gaelscoileanna/, and they have links to several of
the individual schools’ sites. If you
look for ‘gaelscoil’ using a search engine like http://www.google.com/intl/ga/, you should get over 3,000
hits! These schools are both in the
Republic and in the six counties.
Parents are choosing to send their children to re-acquire the language
of their people. They will also know
English, and probably French, too!
Another new
beginning is a new website, http://www.craiceailte.com. It’s
an all Irish site with a lot that will appeal to young people. There is a chat room where you can converse
real-time in Irish. I recently had a
nice time with a fellow in Indiana and two young fellows in Gaoth Dobhair
(Donnegal), all conversing together at the same time (though hours apart on our
respective clocks). Irish is
flourishing on the internet.
There’s
more good news you may have heard about.
It is expected that the latest census in the six counties will show that
the number of Irish speakers has doubled in the last ten years. How do you like them apples?!
As I’ve
mentioned before, Irish is chock full of old wisdom, in the form of
proverbs. Here are a few to remember
when you start learning:
Tús maith,
leath na hoibre (toos mah, la (like in at) nuh hib-ruh) – A good start is half
the work.
De réir a
chéile a thógtar na caisleáin (duh rare a kayluh uh hoge-tar nuh cash lawn) –
roughly, Rome wasn’t built in a day, literally, castles are built a little at a
time.
I try and
make this column have a little something for everyone, and I know it gets a
little helter-skelter. I don’t want to
leave anyone out! I’ve heard from a
number of you now, and I’m glad your reading!
Remember, you can contact me at JamusN@aol.com on the internet, or just
write to me at ....
Ní maith
liom Sinéad Ó Connor de ghnáth, mar is duine caitliceach mé, dar ndóigh, agus
is ró-mhinic go mbíonn sí ina hoinseach aimhleasach. Ach rinne sí albam nua, Sean-Nós
Nua, agus casann sí cúpla amhrán as Gaeilge air! Tá a fhois agaibh, is dóigh liom, go ndearnadh cúpla albam, Éist (1999) agus Éist Arís (2001) cúpla bliain ó shin, ar a ghabh ceoilteoirí
‘pop-cheoil’ amhráin traidisiúnta as Gaeilge, agus bhí an-ghnaoi ag na daoine
orthu siúd. Níl aon náire ar
amhránaithe Gaeilge a labhairt. Bíonn
Gaeilge ar an raidió agus an teilifís in Éirinn (RTÉ), agus tá éileamh uirthi. Agus bíonn Gaeilge ar an raidió in
Nua-Eabhrac (an clár ‘Míle Fáilte’ ar WFUV – ar fáil ar an idirlíon ag http://www.wfuv.org/), agus amhráin Ghaeilge ar chláracha
go leor eile ar fud na tíre seo. Nach
deas an rud é seo? Má tá fonn ort, is
féidir leat do chuid Gaeilge a úsáid gach lá den tseachtain. Déanaimse é. Cá bhfuil tusa?
Seo anois dán beag a scríobh mé don chéad uair i Nollaig 1999, don Athbhliain 2000. D’ath-chóraigh mé é, agus sílim go bhfuil sé oiriúnach fós.
Deirtear gur thosaigh an saol
Na mílte mílliún bliain ó shin.
Deirtear gur rinneadh an Domhan,
Na síolta talún, is Dia á gcinneadh.
Deirtear gur rugadh an Briathar,
na réaltaí ciúine ag feitheamh sa chruinne.
Deirtear gur thug sé a mhaoin dúinn,
Dhá mhíle bliain, fós ag
dul chun chinn.
Dúradh 'go dtaga do ríocht' ansin,
Agus sin mar a deirimidne.
Go ndeirtear i gcónaí é,
Gach aon bhliain.