Lá ‘le
Pádraig sona daoibh! Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of
you! It would be sona duit, if to one
person: Lá ‘le (short for fhéile –
féile is feast (pronounced: fayluh)) Pádraig sona duit (pr: law luh Pawric
sunna ghit(ch)) ‘Sona daoibh’ is
pronounced ‘sunna gheefv.’ You could
also say ‘Beannachtaí na Féile ort (singular) / oraibh (plural) – which is good
for all kinds of occasions, as it means ‘Blessings of the feast on (to)
you(s).’ It is pronounced ‘Bannaxtee
nuh Fayluh ort / orriv.
B’as an
mBreatain é, Naomh Pádraig; ‘P-Ceilteach’ ab ea é. Is ‘Q-Ceiltigh’ sinne.
D’fhoghlaim sé ár dteanga, agus bhí sí aige ní b’fhearr ná a chuid
Laidine – agus sagart a bhí ann! Bhí
seiseann ina sclábhaí, agus bhlas sé an teanga dá ainneoin. Ansin, tháinig sé ar ais dá thoil féin (agus
de thoil Dia, dar ndóigh). An bhfuil
cosúlacht ann idir Naomh Pádraig agus na daoine a fhoghlaimíonn Gaeilge ar
scoil in aghaidh a dtola, agus Naomh Pádraig ina sclábhaí? Tháinig sé ar ais nuair a bhí deis aige. Rinne sé toil Dé. Cad ‘tá i ndán duitse?
Christianity
is the greatest treasure in Ireland, a land rich in cultural treasures. It is sad that these treasures are often
neglected and under-appreciated. One of
the greatest gifts we can give to Ireland ( and to ourselves, and to the honor
of our ancestors) is to actively appreciate and preserve all that is great in
our heritage. First, our faith, brought
to us, and sent forth throughout the world by Irish – and mostly Irish speaking
– priests, monks, sisters and lay people.
It would be hard to rank the other treasures of our culture after
this. But I suggest that high, and
perhaps highest, in the list, should be the language of our people. Like our faith, our language is a fragile,
easily lost, and too often neglected treasure.
And like our faith, buíochas le Dia (thank God), if it is lost, it can
still be recovered (so long as it is alive in the world). Gan teanga, gan anam – without a language,
without a soul. And to be fair, like
our faith, it is easier to talk about it than to put it into practice.
If you
loved German, Italian, or Polish culture, would you not at least try to learn a
little of the language? Whatever you
would know of the culture in English, would only be a shadow of the reality. Because of the unfortunate colonial history
of Ireland, out of financial need, most were forced to turn their backs on the
Gaelic tongue – to deny their very nature, and begin anew. But deep inside each one of us, there is a
part that was made to think and speak in Irish. I encourage you to get in touch with your inner Gael.
I am very
pleased to see more and more Irish phrases being used in newspapers, on
banners, plaques, and advertisements. I
would like to offer a word of caution and constructive criticism. Although you will be understood most of the
time without them, the síntí fada (what look like accents) over the vowels are
very important. They determine the
sound of the vowels, and are part of the spelling. It may seem fussy, but you wouldn’t want to see a commemorative
plaque that said “the grate hunger,” and so, be sure to write “an gorta mór”
when you write it in Irish. If you want
to use an Irish phrase, and have no one to check it for you, you can usually
check it on the internet (although there are lots of mistakes there too – some
of them mine!). Our Division 2 in
Babylon NY has established a library, and we have Irish dictionaries available
there. Maybe your division has one
also. You can check individual words,
and phrase which are given as examples, in the dictionary. I caution strongly against trying to
translate without a firm foundation in the language. You can come up with unintelligible things like “may the road
rise up to meet you,” which comes from “go n-éirigh an bóthar leat” [guh nie-ree
un boe-her lat], literally “may the road rise up with you,” but it means “may
your journey go well,” or “may you succeed on your journey,” or “have a nice
trip.” (N.B. – leat = one person, libh
[liv] = more than one person.)
An bhfuil
Gaeilge agat? Ar mhaith leat ábhar
léitheoireachta – saor in aisce? Tá
ábhar gan chuimse ar fáil ar an idirlíon, mar a deirimse i gcónaí. Ach más fearr leat nuachtán, is féidir leat
ceann deas a fháil ar chostas an phoist amháin! Foilsítear “Saol” gach mí, i mBaile Átha Cliath. Tá costas 30 Euro air in aghaidh na bliana,
má tá cóip amháin uait. Tá rátaí níos
fearr ann má tá níos mó cóipeanna uait.
Scríobh chucu ag 7 Cearnóg Mhuirfean, Baile Átha Cliath 2, nó ag
saol@eircom.net ar an idirlíon. Bíonn
leathanach do na foghlaimeoirí ann gach mí, freisin.
Tá
nuachtáin eile ann, agus tá suíomheanna acu ar an idirlíon. Nuachtán as Béal Féirste é ‘Lá,’
http://www.nuacht.com/, agus thosaigh
siad mar nuachtán laethuil le déanaí.
Tá ‘Foinse’ ann, freisin, http://www.foinse.ie/nuacht.asp, agus tugann
siad ‘Príomnuachtán Náisiúnata na Gaeilge’ orthu féin. Agus tá iris míosúil ar an idirlíon ag www.beo.ie.
Tá cláracha ó
Raidió na Gaeltachta ag http://www.rnag.ie/gaeilge/index.html, más fearr leat
sin.
Agus ná déan
dearmad ar an suíomh atá againn ag www.scoilgaeilge.org. Scríobh Uachtarán McGinley agus Mike
McCormack faoi fhláithiúlacht na nGael, agus is fíor dóibh. Is sampla de seo an obair a dhéantar saor in
aisce ag Scoil Ghaeilge Ghearóid Tóibín, agus ag daoine eile a mhúineann
Gaeilge as an ngrá amháin. Tá mórán
daoine ar an idirlíon a sholathraíonn eolas agus cabhair do gach uile duine atá
ag iarraidh ar an teanga a fhoghlaim. Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na
daoine. Bail ó Dhia oraibh go léir, a
Óglaigh na Gaeilge!