Tomhas na Teanga

Sept/Oct 2007

Tá súil agam gur bhain sibh taitneamh as an samhradh. I hope that you enjoyed the summer. D’imigh sé go ró-thapa uainn, dar liom. It has passed too quickly, in my opinion. Is dócha go mbraithim go mbíonn sé níos giorra gach bliain. I guess I feel that it is shorter every year. Sin mar a bhíonn agus mé ag éirí níos sine. That’s how it is as I get older. Ach pé scéal, bhí samhradh maith agamsa. Whatever the case, I had a good summer.

Ar mo laethanta saoire, chuaigh mé go Pennsylvania. On my vacation, I went to PA. Thugamar cuairt ar Gettysburg arís, ach an uair seo, bhí i bhfad ní ba mhó eolais agam faoi mo shinsear a bhí sa chath sin, agus shiúlamar ar an bpáirc chéanna a raibh seisean, agus chonaiceamar na leachtanna cuimhneacháin dá reisimint agus dá bhriogáid. We visited G. again, but this time, I had a lot more information about my ancestor who was in that battle, and we walked on the same field where he was, and we saw the monuments to his regiment and to his brigade. Bhí sé faoin nginearáil Dan Sickles. He was under general D.S. Le déanaí, bhuail mé le duine dá shliocht, a thugann ‘Uncail Dan’ air, agus duine eile ag a bhfuil sinsear a bhí sa bhriogáid Excelsior leis. Recently, I met one of his descendants, who calls him ‘Uncle Dan,’ and another person whose ancestor was in the Excelsior brigade with him. Ar an turas seo, sheas mé ar an áit a chaill Sickles a chos. On this trip, I stood on the place where Sickles lost his leg. Shiúlamar le treoraí ón bpáirc a thug léacht dúinn faoi bhataire airtléire an 9ú Massachusetts agus a seasamh cróga ar an machaire céanna. We walked with a guide from the park who gave a lecture to us about the 9^th M. artillery battery and the brave stand they made on the same field. Dhreap mé go barr an leachta chuimhneacháin Pennsylvania, agus tá radharc breá ar fáil ón áit sin. I climbed to the top of the PA monument, and there is a great view to be had from that place. Tá ainm do gach saighdiúir a bhí sa chaith sna reisimintí ó Pennsylvania scríofa ar bhallaí an leachta seo. The name of every soldier who was in the battle in the regiments from PA is written on the walls of this monument. Tá leachtanna ann do gach reisimint a bhí ann, ón dá thaobh. There are monuments to every regiment that was there, from both sides. Ní raibh samhradh maith acusan in 1863. They didn’t have a good summer in 1863.

Luaigh mé an leabhar Anthracite Lads dhá mhí ó shin. I mentioned the book…two months ago. Mar a tharla, chuamar go dtí an limistéir sin mar a bhfuil na mianaigh ghuail. As it happened, we went to that region where the coal mines are. Bhí deis againn dul síos i gceann díobh. We had the opportunity to go down in one of them. Dar ndóigh, bhí na fir bhochta sin a cailleadh in Utah i gcúl ár gcinn. Of course, those poor men who were lost in Utah were in the back of our minds. Saol baolach a bhíonn ann. It’s (always) a dangerous life. Ach an mianach áirithe seo, tá sé ina dhíol spéise do thurasóirí ó 1962, agus tá sé slán go leor. But this particular mine, it’s been a tourist attraction since 1962, and it is plenty safe. An Pi oneer Coal Mine atá i gceist agam, in Ashland. I’m talking about the P…in…

Sa limistéir céanna, chonaiceamar rud an-ait, rud brónach, mar atá. In the same region, we saw a very strange thing, a sad thing, as it happens. Chuamar go Centralia. We went to C. Sa bhliain chéanna sin, 1962, tosaíodh tine i láithreán fuílligh, ach bhí an láithreán sin ar bharr féithe guail, agus dhóigh an tine an gual, freisin. In the same year 1962, a fire was started in a garbage dump, but that dump was on top of a vein of coal, and the fire burned the coal, too. Ní dhearnadh mórán, agus d’fhan an tine sin beo. Not much was done, and that fire stayed alive. D’éirigh íoslaigh na dtithe mórthimpeall air te. The basements of the houses all around it got hot. Bhí deatach ag teacht as an talamh. There was smoke coming from the ground. De réir a chéile, bhí ar na daoine imeacht ón mbaile, mar bhí sé baolach. Little by little, the people had to leave the town, as it was dangerous. Leagadh a dtithe, agus níl ann anois ach na sráideanna, agus cúpla teach ar le daoine nár imigh iad. The houses were knocked down, and there’s nothing there now except the streets, and a few houses which belong to people who didn’t leave. Agus tá an tine faoin talamh seo ag dó fós! And this underground fire is still burning! Is féidir deatach a fheiscint ag teacht ón talamh, agus tá an talamh te! It’s possible to see the smoke coming from the ground, and the ground is hot!

Áit shuimiúil eile a dtugamar cuairt uirthi ná Cuar an Chrú Chapaill, in Altoona. Another interesting place which we visited was the Horseshoe Curve, in A. Iontas innealtóireachta is ea é. It is an engineering wonder. Cuar mór sna sléibhte a dtaistealaíonn na traenacha air is ea é. It is a big curve in the mountains which trains travel on. Rinne timpeall 450 duine de shliocht na hÉireann é, agus críochnaíodh é in 1854. Around 450 Irishmen made it, and it was finished in 1854. Is í an áit is fearr í chun breathnú ar thraenacha dá bhfuil ann, dar liom. It is the best place to watch trains that there is, in my opinion.

Rinneamar rudaí eile suntasacha, agus tá súil agam go raibh deis agaibhse rud éigin as an ord a dhéanamh i rith an tsamhraidh seo, freisin. We did other interesting things, and I hope that you all had a chance to do something out of the ordinary during this summer, too.