Irisleabhar na Gaedhilge/Imleabhar 5/Uimhir 11/Séadhna

by Peadar Ua Laoghaire

[ 163 ]

SEAḊNA

(Ar leanaṁain)

	[ 165 ] TRANSLATION—(Continued).
[ 163 ]Peg. Dé ḃeaṫa-sa,[n 1] a Ċáit!	[ 165 ]Peg. Welcome, Kate!
[ 163 ]Cáit. Go mairir-se, a Ṗeg! Ní deirim ná[d 1] go ḃfuil[n 2] tosaċ agam anoċt.	[ 165 ]Kate. That you may live, Peg. I don't say but I have first place to-night.
[ 163 ]Peg. Ambasa, tá, tosaċ agat orṫa go léir aċt ar[d 2] Ṡíle ḃig.	[ 165 ]Peg. Indeed you have first of them all, except of little Sheila.
[ 163 ]Cáit. Cionnus[d 3] d’ḟéadfainn tosaċ a ḃeiṫ agam ar Ṡíle ⁊ í annso i gcoṁnuiḋe agat?	[ 165 ]Kate. How could I have first of Sheila, and she always here with you?
[ 163 ]Síle. Beiḋ tosaċ ar gaċ aon-ne’[d 4] anois aici ó tá mac óg agá deirḃṡiúr.	[ 165 ]Sheila. She will have first place of everyone now, as her sister has a young son.
[ 163 ]Peg. Éist, a ṫoice. Cionnus tá Nell, a Ċáit?	[ 165 ]Peg. Whist! you hussy. How is Nell, Kate?
[ 163 ]Cáit. Tá sí go hana-ṁaiṫ,[d 5] a Ṗeg, ⁊ tá an leanḃ go maiṫ leis, ⁊ ó go deiṁin ⁊ go dearḃṫa, a Ṗeg, isé an leanḃ is deise ⁊ is gleoiḋte ⁊ is gile a ċonnairciḋis[d 6] riaṁ ad’ ṡúiliḃ cinn é, ⁊ is mise a ṁáṫair.	[ 165 ]Kate. She is very well, Peg, and the child is well, also; and, eh! indeed, and most certainly, Peg, he is the nicest, and the most exquisite, and the fairest child you ever saw with the eyes of your head, and I am his mother.
[ 163 ]Peg. Tusa! Ċeapas gur ḃ’ í Nell a ṁáṫair.	[ 165 ]Peg. You! I was under the impression that Nell was his mother.
[ 163 ]Cáit. Airiú cnoc air mar sgeul! dár ndóiċ isí leis. Aċt is mise a ḃaist é.	[ 165 ]Kate. Yerra, a mountain on it for a story! Sure, so she is; but it was I that baptized him.
[ 164 ]Peg. Aililliú! a Ċáit an[n 3] ċroiḋe istiġ, cad baḋ gáḋ sain ⁊ gan é ag dul ċum báis? Naċ raiḃ an sagart ann?	[ 165 ]Peg. Allilloo! Kate of my heart within, what was the necessity for that, and he not going to death? Was not the priest there?
[ 164 ]Cáit. Aċt, go ḃfeuċaiḋ Dia orainn! Cad é sin agam dá ráḋ? Dar ndóiċ, níḋ naċ iongnaḋ, isé an sagart a ḃaist é, ⁊ mise a ṡeasaiṁ[d 7] ċum baistiḋ leis, mé féin ⁊ Séamus. Aċt cad a ċuir ad’ċeann é ḃeiṫ ag dul ċum báis, a Ṗeg. Ní’l aon ċoṁarṫaiḋe[d 8] báis air. Dia ḋá ḃeannaċaḋ! Ná bíoḋ a eagla ort.	[ 165 ]Kate. Ach! May God look on us! What is that I am saying? Sure, a thing not a wonder (of course), it was the priest that baptized him; but it was I that stood to him for the baptizing, myself and James. But what put it into your head he to be going to death? There are no signs of death on him, God bless him! Never you fear.
[ 164 ]Peg. ’Sdó’. Duḃraiḋis[d 6] ar dtúis[d 9] gur ṫu[d 10] a ṁáṫair, ⁊ annsain[d 11] gur ṫu a ḃaist é, ⁊ deir an Teagasg Críosdaiḋe ná[d 12] féadfaḋ aon-ne’ aċt an sagart é ḃaisteaḋ, muna mbeiḋeaḋ sé ag dul ċum bais ⁊ gan sagart ann.	[ 165 ]Peg. Why, you said at first that you were his mother, and then that you baptised him; and the catechism says that no person could baptise him but the priest, unless he was going to death. and no priest there.
[ 164 ]Síle. Ní deirim ná gurab[n 2] aṁlaiḋ mar tá an sgeul ag Cáit an aimsir seo, ná feadair[d 13] cos léi cad ḋéanfaiḋ láṁ léi.	[ 165 ]Sheila. I don't say but that it is how the story is with Kate these times, a foot of her’s does not know what a hand of her’s will do.
[ 164 ]Cáit. Fágaim le huḋaċt, a Ṡíle, go ḃfuil an ceart agat. Ní ḟeadair[d 13] cos liom cad do ḋeanfaiḋ láṁ liom, ⁊ ní ḟeadar[d 13] féin cad do ḋeanfaiḋ cos ná láṁ liom. Dá ḃfeicfeá é, a Ṡíle, ḃeiḋeaḋ árd-ċion agat air. Tá oiread-sain ceana agamsa air gur dóiġ liom go n-íosfaḋ é!	[ 165 ]Kate. I leave by will, Sheila, that you have the right; a foot of mine does not know what a hand of mine will do, and I do not myself know what a foot or a hand of mine will do. If you were to see him, Sheila, you would be very fond of him. I have so much fondness for him that I think I’ll eat him!
[ 164 ]Gob. Aililliú, a Cáit! cad é sin agat dá ráḋ? Níor ṁaiṫ liom go mbeiḋeaḋ puinn ceana agat orm-sa, má’s mar sin ḋéanfá liom é.	[ 165 ]Gob. Allilloo! Kate, what is that you are saying? I should not wish that you would have much fondness for me, if that is the way you would do it with me.
[ 164 ]Peg. Dé ḃeaṫa-sa, a Ġobnuit! An ḃfeacaiḋis Nóra ag teaċt?	[ 165 ]Peg. Welcome, Gobnet! Have you seen Nora coming?
[ 164 ]Gob. Tá sí ċuġat an dorus isteaċ.[n 4] Ḃí sí ag bagairt orm-sa fanṁuint léi, aċt ḃí eagla orm go gcaillfinn aon ċuid de’n sgeul san[d 11] Ṡeaḋna.	[ 165 ]Gob. She is “to you” in the door. She was beckoning to me to wait for her; but I was afraid that I should lose some portion of that story of Seadhna.
[ 164 ]Nóra. Feuċ anois, a Ġobnuit! Níor ḃ’ḟiú ḋuit gan fanṁuint liom.	[ 165 ]Nora. See, now, Gobnet, it was not worth your while but to wait for me.
[ 164 ]Peg. Dé ḃeaṫa, a Nóra! Ní gearánta[n 5] ḋuit. Ní raḃais i ḃfad ’n-a diaiḋ.[d 14] ’Seaḋ anois, a ċailíniḋe, druidíḋ aníos annso i gcoṁġar na teineaḋ. Tá an tráṫnóna buille beag glas ann féin. Sin é! B’ ḟéidir anois go ḃfuilimíd go seasgair.	[ 165 ]Peg. Welcome, Nora! It is not to be complained of for you; you have not been far behind her. Come, now, girls, move up here into the neighbourhood of the [ 166 ]fire. The evening is a degree cold in itself. There! Perhaps now we are rather snug.
[ 164 ]Gob. Feuċ gur maiṫ a ṡocruiġeann[d 15] Síle í féin i n-aice Ċáit, ⁊ gan eagla uirṫi go bpriocfaiḋe í!	[ 166 ]Gob. See how well Sheila settles herself near Kate, and no dread upon her that she would be pinched.
[ 164 ]Síle. Cogar, a Ċáit! Cad í an ainm[d 16] atá air?	[ 166 ]Sheila. Whisper, Kate! What is the name that is on him?
[ 164 ]Cáit. Tá Eumonn.	[ 166 ]Kate. It is Edmund.
[ 164 ]Peg. Agus Eumonn, a aṫair. Sid é Eumonn Óg. Eumonn Óg Ua Flainn—is breaġ an ainm í,[d 16] a Ċáit. Molaim ṫu!	[ 166 ]Peg. And his father is Edmund. Young Edmund Edmund óg O’Flynn! It is a fine name, Kate. I congratulate you!
[ 164 ]Nóra. Agus Molaim-se Séaḋna, a Ṗeg, mar fuair sé an sparán ⁊ cead tarang as. Aċt cionnus do sgar sé leis an réice? Nó ar sgar sé i n-aon ċor leis?	[ 166 ]Nora. And I congratulate Seadhna, Peg, because he got the purse, and leave to draw out of it. But how did he part with the rake? Or, did he part with him at all?
[ 164 ]Síle. Is baoġalaċ nár sgar sé ar ḟoġnaṁ[n 6] leis.	[ 166 ]Sheila. It is to be feared that he did not part well with him.
[ 164 ]Peg. Níor sgar sé leis go dtángadar araon go tiġ[d 14] Seaḋna. Is ar éigin do ḃí aġaiḋ taḃarṫa aco ar an mbaile, ’nuair ċonnairc[d 17] Seaḋna arís an leanḃ ⁊ an ḃríc aráin fé n’osguil aige, ⁊ ḃí sé sa’ driuċ[n 7] i n-a ḃfeacaiḋ[d 18] sé ar dtúis é. D’ḟéaċ sé ar Ṡeaḋna go buiḋeaċ, ⁊ annsain do sgeinn sé as a raḋairc. Ba ġairid ḋóiḃ i n-a ḋiaiḋ sin go ḃfeacaiḋ[d 18] Seaḋna an ḃean ċosnoċtuiġṫe, ⁊ d’ḟéaċ sise leis[d 19] air go buiḋeaċ, ⁊ d’osguil a láṁ ḋeas i gcaoi go ḃfeacaiḋ[d 18] sé an sgilling annsúd ar ċroiḋe a deárnann, ⁊ annsain do sgeinn sí as a raḋairc, feiḃ[n 8] mar ḋein[d 20] an leanḃ.	[ 166 ]Peg. He did not part with him until they reached Seadhna’s house. They had hardly turned their faces towards home when Seadhna saw again the child, and he having the loaf of bread under his arm, and he was in the form in which he saw him at first. He looked at Seadhna in a very thankful manner, and then vanished out of his sight. It was a short time for them after that until Seadhna saw the barefooted woman, and she also looked at him most thankfully, and she opened her right hand in such a way that he saw the shilling there on the heart of her palm; and then she flew out of his sight in the same way as the child did.
[ 164 ]Fé[d 21] ċeann tamaill eile, do ċonnairc[d 17] Seaḋna ag siuḃal ar an mbóṫar, roimis[d 22] amaċ, an duine boċt gur[d 23] ṫug sé an ċéad sgilling do. Ḃí drom[d 24] an duine ḃoiċt leis, aċt mar sin féin, d’aiṫin sé go maiṫ é.	[ 166 ]At the end of another while Seadhna saw, walking on the read out before him, the poor man that he gave the first shilling to him. The back of the poor man was towards him; but, even so, he knew him well.
[ 164 ]“Ní ḟeadar,”[d 13] arsa Seaḋna i n-a aigneaḋ féin, “ar ċoimeád sé an sgilling a ṫugas do, feiḃ mar ċoimeád an leanḃ an ḃríc.”	[ 166 ]“I don't know,” said Seadhna in his own mind, “has he kept the shilling I gave him, just as the woman kept hers, and as the child kept the loaf.”
[ 164 ]Ní túisge ḃí an méid sin maċtnaiṁ déanta aige, ’ná d’iompuiġ an duine boċt ar a ṡáil, ⁊ ṫuġ a aġaiḋ[d 14] orṫa. Do ḃí ḋá ḋeoir ṁóra ag teaċt anuas ó n-a ḋá ṡúil. Do ṡín sé amaċ a ḋá láíṁ ⁊ iad ar leaṫaḋ, i dtreo go ḃfuair Seaḋna radarc ar a ḋá ḋeánainn ⁊ ḃíodar araon folaṁ. ’Nuair [ 165 ]ċonnairc[d 17] Seaḋna sain, ṫug sé strac-ḟeuċaint[n 9] ar an ḃfear nduḃ, aċt má ṫug, níor ċuir-san aon tsuim ann. Níor leig sé air go ḃfeacaiḋ sé an duine boċt. ’Nuair d’ḟeuċ Seaḋna ṫar n-ais,[d 25] ḃí an duine boċt imṫiġṫe.	[ 166 ]No sooner had he that much reflection made than the poor man turned on his heel and gave his face on them. There were two large tears coming down from his two eyes. He stretched out his two hands (and they) wide open, so that Seadhna got a view of his two palms, and they were both empty. When Seadhna saw that, he gave a side-look at the black man; but, if he did, he (the black man) did not take any notice of him. He did not let on to him that he saw the poor man. When Seadhna looked back again the poor man was gone.
[ 165 ]Ṫiomáineadar leo. Níor laḃair aon-ne’ aco focal. Fé[d 21] ḋeireaḋ ḃíodar ag deunaṁ ar an dtiġ.[d 14] Ḃuail duine de na coṁarsanaiḃ úmpa[d 26] ⁊ ḃeannuiġ[d 14] do Ṡeaḋna. “Dia ’s Muire duit, a Ṡeaḋna,” ar seisean. “Naċ luaṫ sa’ lá atáir tagaiġṫe a ḃail ó’n sráid, ⁊ tu ad aonar leis!” “Ní raiḃ puinn[d 27] le deunaṁ agam,” ar seisean, ⁊ ṫug sé strac-ḟeuċaint eile ar an ḃfear nduḃ. Níor ċuir an fear duḃ aon tsuim ann, ⁊ annsain do ṫuig Seaḋna ná feacaiḋ[d 18] an ċoṁarsa é.	[ 166 ]They drove on: none of them spoke a word. At last they were making towards the house. One of the neighbours met them, and saluted Seadhna: “God and Mary with you, Seadhna,” said he, “how early in the day you are come home, and alone too.” “I had not much to do,” said the other, and he gave another side-look at the black man. The black man did not take any notice of him, and then Seadhna understood that the neighbour did not see him.
[ 165 ]Ċuadar isteaċ. Ḃí an ċaṫaoir annsúd i n-aice an tínteáin ⁊ gan cor curṫa ḋi ó ḟág Seaḋna í ar maidin. Ḃí an ṁealḃóg annsúd ar croċaḋ, ar an ndul gcéadna ar a ḃfeacaiḋ[d 18] sé ar maidin í, ’nuair ḃain sé an dorm déiḋeanaċ mine aisti. D’ḟeuċ an fear duḃ orṫa, ar an gcaṫaoir ⁊ ar an mealḃóig. Annsain d’ḟeuċ sé ar Ṡeaḋna. “Aistiriġ[d 14] í sin,” ar seisean.	[ 166 ]They went into the house. The chair was there near the fireplace, and not a stir put out of it since Seadhna had left it in the morning. The malvogue was there, hanging in the same position in which he had seen it in the morning when he took the last fistful of meal out of it. The black man looked at them, at the chair and at the malvogue. Then he looked at Seadhna: “Remove that,” said he.
[ 165 ]Ċuaiḋ Seaḋna anonn ⁊ ċuir sé a láṁ ar ḋrom[d 24] na caṫaoireaċ. “Ó!” ar seisean. “Tá sí ceangailte!” “Ċuir sé an dá láiṁ uirṫi. Ṫeip air filleaḋ ná feacaḋ a ḃaint aisti. “Aililliú!” ar seisean. “Tá sí ċoṁ daingean ⁊ tá an ċos insa’ tuairgín!”[n 10] “Aistiriġ[d 14] an ṁealḃóg,” ars’ an fear duḃ. Ċuaiḋ sé suas ⁊ ḃuail sé láṁ ar an mealḃóig. Ḃí sí ċoṁ ceangailte de ṫaoḃ an falla ⁊ eiḋeaḋ an ċloċ ar an lic oiḋir.	[ 166 ]Seadhna went over and put his hand on the back of the chair. “Oh!” said he, “it is clung!” He put the other hand on it. It failed him to take a turn or a bend out of it. “Allilloo,” said he, “it is as firm as the leg in the uairgin.” “Remove the malvogue,” said the black man. He went up and put his hand on the malvogue. It was as clung to the side of the wall as the stone would be on the ice.
[ 165 ]Do stad Seaḋna ⁊ ċrom sé a ċeann. “’Seaḋ,” ar seisean. “Táim réiḋ anois munab ionann a’s riaṁ.[n 11] Ní ḟeadar[d 13] an tsaoġal ná an doṁan le ċéile cad tá le deunaṁ agam. Ní ḟeadar[d 13] ó Ċúig Árdaiḃ na Naoi ḃFionn[n 12] cad do ḋeanfad. Dá ḟeaḃas aireaċas a ḋeunfad uirṫi, tiucfaiḋ[d 14] duine éigin dem’ lom deirig aiṁḋeona, ⁊ suiḋfiḋ sé innti, ⁊ beiḋ[d 14] an dúṫáiġ[d 14] ’n-a cogaḋ ḋearg im’ṫímċeall! Mairḃeoċar ar lic mo ṫinteáin féin mé gan truaġ gan taise!——B’ḟéidir, a ḋuine uasail, go ḃféadfá-sa an easgaine ḃaint díoḃ?”	[ 166 ]Seadhna paused and bent his head. “There!” said he, “I am done for, now if ever. I don't know in the world, nor in all creation, what I am to do I don't know from the Five Heights of the Nine Hosts what I shall do! No matter how good the care I take of it, some person will come, and, in spite of my most extreme efforts, sit in it, and the world will be in red war around me! I shall be slain on the flag of my own fireplace, without pity, without compassion! Perhaps, sir, you would be able to take the malediction off them?”
[ 165 ] (leanfar de seo.)	[ 166 ] (To be continued).

[ 166 ]

NOTES.

[It is as well to mention here that Seaḋna may be pronounced Sheina, with the same vowel-sounds as in the word “final.”]

[ 167 ]

Ní deirim ná go ḃfuil, I don’t say but there is, I think there is.

1. ​ Dé ḃeaṫa-sa, also Dé do ḃeaṫa, Dé ad’ ḃeaṫa, “you are welcome;” Dé ’n-a ḃeaṫa, “he is welcome;” De ’n-a beaṫa, “she is welcome;” nára’ Dé do ḃeaṫa, “never welcome you;” nára Dé ’n-a beaṫa, “never welcome her;” Dé ’n-a mbeaṫa, “they are welcome;” De ḃeaṫa grásda Dé. The full meaning is, “may all the good results of this kind visit of yours go into your life.” Literally, “may there be in your life off it!” Dé, off it, ad ḃeaṫa, in your life. [This may be a correct interpretation of this formula, so grammatically obscure. What goes to strengthen it is, that the usual way of expressing “result, consequence,” in older Irish is by means of de with the verb ḃeiṫ.

   Is truaġ a ní nartá de
   ’N-ar ndaltánaiḃ Sgáṫaiġe.
   Sad is the result for us,
   Us, the foster-sons of Sgáthach.
   

   Coṁrac Fir Ḋiaḋ.

   (nartá, no-ar-tá, which is for us; ar, infixed pronoun 2 plur., in Middle Irish). Lit, “Sad is the thing that is for us from it, in our foster-sons of S.”

   Fil ar an nemdénam de
   Maíle méiṫe moċléiṫe.
   There results, for not holding it (the Fair),
   Baldness, corpulence, gray hairs in youth.

   Modern, “tá ar a neiṁ-ḋéanaṁ de maoile, méiṫe moċ-léiṫe,” the punishment threatened for the Leinster kings, who neglected to hold the great triennial games at Wexford. Atá de, fil de, occur in hundreds of passages in Mid. Irish, expressing consequence. Hence, nára dé ad ḃeaṫa might mean ná raiḃ ad’ ḃeaṫa de, “may your fife have no (good) result from it!” &c.

   On the other hand, the salutation, Dia do ḃeaṫa! a Ṁuire, is used to translate “Ave Maria,” not only in recent publications, but in the words of such masters of Irish as Gernon (author of Parrṫas an Anma), Aodh Buidhe Mac Cuirtin and Donlevy. In Connaught, the salutation, both in the prayer and in ordinary speech is ’Sé do ḃeaṫa, ’sé ḃur mbeaṫa, &c., showing that whether the word Dia, Dé, is corrupted into sé or is avoided through reverence, at all events the popular instinct of the meaning is clearly different from what Father O’Leary understands by it. Moreover, in Connaught Irish and in older written Irish, so far as I have observed, the vowel in de, “off it,” is short. In Connaught, de, di, are short, and dó, “to him,” is long. In Munster generally dé, dí, long, do, short.]

2. ​
3. ​ Note the article instead of the pronoun mo.
4. ​ Nouns can be used adverbially to express direction, distance, time, &c. Car ġaḃais ċugainn? An bóṫar anoir. “In what direction have you come to us? The road from the east.” No preposition is understood in the Irish. [Tá sé míle uainn, he is a mile from us; ḃí sé i gCorcaiġ lá, he was in Cork one day; ṫáining sé Dia Luain, he came on Monday.]
5. ​ Ní gearánta ḋuit, “it is not to be complained of for you,” “you have not done badly.” [This form, the participle of necessity, survives to some extent in Munster: ní tógṫa orm, “it is not to be raised on me,” “I am not to blame.” See beiṫte, vocab., Three Shafts.]
6. ​ Ar foġnaṁ, “well,” “doing well,” differs slightly from go maiṫ, and implies progress towards good.
7. ​ Driuċ, “shape, aspect” [evidently a form of dreaċ].
8. ​ Feiḃ, “just as” [a very ancient word in this sense].
9. ​ Strac-ḟeuċaint, “a drag-look,” in which the eyes are strained sideways.
10. ​ Tuairgín, a kind of mallet made of a round block of wood, one end being thinned off to form the handle (cos), which accordingly cannot be pulled out or loosened.
11. ​ Táim réiḋ, “it is all over with me.” Munab ionann a’s riaṁ, “if not the same as ever before.” “I may have escaped before, but now there is no escape.” Munab ionann a’s, a common locution. Eiteoċar mise, munab ionann a’s fear na caoraḋ beirḃṫe, “I shall be refused,—a thing that will not happen to the man with the boiled mutton.”
12. ​ Perhaps the heights of Heaven and the nine choirs of angels are meant.

Peadar Ua Laoġaire

[Some notes on dialect in above:

1. ​ ná go ḃfuil (Munster) = naċ ḃfuil.
2. ​ The writer says that this word is pronounced air, with r slender, in Munster. Some competent observers state that in Connaught the vowel-sound is as in air, but the r is broad, and that there is a clear distinction between the sound of ar, “on,” and air, “on him, on it.” J. H. Molloy, in his Irish grammar, represents the Connaught pronunciation by or.
3. ​ Cionnus, pronounced connus. It is wrong to suppose that this word represents cia an nós or cia nós. It is formed of ca, “what,” and ionnus, “manner, way,” now obsolete, except in the locution ionnus go, “so that.”
4. ​ gaċ aon-ne’, for gaċ aon-neaċ, gaċ aon duine.
5. ​ ana-ṁaiṫ; the prefixes an, “very,” sean, “old,” and some others, take a euphonic a after them in Munster.
6. ​ Chonnairciḋis; for Chonnaircis, Chonnarcais, Chonnacais. This lengthening of is into iḋis is common in Munster—an ḃfeacaiḋis for an ḃfacais, “have you seen?” Chualaiḋis for Chualais, “you heard;” ṫánagaiḋis or ṫánaiḋis for ṫán(a)gais, “you came.”
7. ​ Seasaiṁ is used as a root instead of seas—Seasaiṁ suas for seas suas, “stand up!”
8. ​ Aon, meaning “any,” can precede a plural.
9. ​ Ar dtúis for ar dtús.
10. ​ Tu often with short u in Munster.
11. ​ After a broad letter, sin becomes sain, san, in Munster.
12. ​ Ná without eclipsis for naċ, which eclipses in present-day Irish.
13. ​ This old verb is now confined to Munster usage, and generally is used negatively or interrogatively: ní ḟeadar, n’ḟeadar, “I do not know;” ní ḟeadraiḋis (see note f), “you know not;” an ḃfeadraiḋis “do you know?” ní ḟeadair sé, “he does not know;” ná feadair sé, “that he does not know,” or “does he not know?” ní ḟeadramair, -aḃair, -adar, “we, you, they, do not know.”
14. ​ Diaiḋ; In Munster iḋ, iġ are usually pronounced ig, as tiġ, “house,” pronounced tig. There are some exceptions, where ḋ and ġ are silent, as aṁlaiḋ, “how, thus,” and the ending of 2 plur, imperative, druidíḋ, “draw ye near!” In North Connaught the y-sound of final ḋ and ġ slender is often clearly heard at the end of a word, just as at the beginning: ’n-a ḋiaiḋ, “na yeeă-y.” This is, perhaps, the most correct sound; it is certainly the most consistent.
15. ​ ṡocruiġeann: in Munster the relative forms of present and future, ṡocruiġeas, ṡocróċas, are nearly obsolete. In Connaught, the s is added to the ordinary present, ṡocruiġeanns.
16. ​ ainm is here feminine: properly cad é an t-ainm atá air?
17. ​ Chonnairc: the forms without r, ċonnac or conncas, ċonnacais, ċonnaic, &c., though boycotted in grammars, are in common use, and are quite correct.
18. ​ feacaiḋ for faca. This form, and not ċonnairc or ċonnaic, is the right one after ní, naċ, an, go, &c., yet is strangely omitted from some grammars.
19. ​ Leis, often with a before it, a leis, is used in Munster in the sense, “too, also.” In South Connaught, freisin (Old Irish, fris-sin, “in addition to that”) is used in the same way.
20. ​ do ḋein, do ḋin is used for do rinne, níor ḋin for ní ḋearna.
21. ​ Munster fé, faoi; Connaught, faoi, fó; Ulster, fá, “under.” The classical forms are fo and fa.
22. ​ Roimis for roiṁe, “before him.”
23. ​ Gur, go, in this (Munster) usage must on no account be identified with English “that.” It represents an older locution, ag a, ag ar, “at which,” as in the sentence, an fear ag a ḃfuair a ṁac bás, “the man whose son died.” the man with whom his son died,” there being no Irish word for the possessive relative, “whose.” In Munster ag a became ’go; in Connaught and Ulster it became ’a,—an fear go ḃfuair, an fear a ḃfuair, &c. This locution became ultimately extended to many expressions in which the original ag a might seem out of place, as an duine gur (ag a) ṫug sé an sgilling do, “the person (with regard to) whom he gave the shilling to (him).”
24. ​ drom for druim.
25. ​ tar n-ais for tar ais; in Clare, dul ar n-aġaiḋ for ar aġaiḋ.
26. ​ Umpa: in Connaught, ḃuail duine fúm, “a person met me.” Fá has supplanted um in a number of usages, as tráċt fá níḋ for um níḋ, “about something,” fá Nodlaig for um Nodlaig, “about Xmas.”
27. ​ Puinn (Munster), “anything of consequence, much” (in negative phrases). Probably from French point.

Learners ought to mark well all dialectical differences, as these, though usually trifling, are often an obstacle to learning the language orally. The chief characteristics of Munster Irish are largely exemplified above.]

---