Blogtrotter

Bláthannaí, Duine & Gaeilge

Déarfaidh mé rudaí teangeolaíochtaí agus luibheolaíochtái agus daongrafachtaí go beag fúthu. Tá sé litir ar Na h-Amanna Éireannach le Phaedra Keogh go fhoilseoidh ann inniu. (Féic síos, le do thoil.) Smaoineamh mé faoi an hábhar seo céanna freisin go minic. Aontaig mé féin léisan. Scríobh Keogh as drochbhláth an theanga ina scoileanna go leor ina hÉirinn.

Mar sin féin, tá mé ag iarraidh a usáid Gaeilge beagán agam. Cruinníonn mé leis obair ar an idirlíon go rianta. Go hiondúil, d'fhoghlaim mé féin amháin. Nílim ábalta cuimhne a choinneáil go líofacht. Déanann mé dearmad leis gach focal eile!

Ar ndóigh, caitheann mé ag léamh fiche noimoid ar an maidin nuair imíonn mé ar an mbus. Chríochnaigh agallamh Bheo leis Deas Mac an Easpaig le Caiomhe Ní Laighin inné. Bhí maith liom. Thosaigh mé air dó a trí nó a ceithre de sheachtainí. Léigh mé mír gach lá. Léifoidh mé rud céann aríst. Léann mé trí huaire air, ar an laghad.

Shíleann mé faoi Ghaeilge fós. Fuair mé leis eolas faoi bláthanna léana ar mo intinn go luath! Tá Keogh i gcónaí ina Áth na Fuinseoige. Chuir mé cuairt anseo. Tá sé gaírdíní go halainn ansin. Chaith mé ag dul ar fad ag fáil an radharc seosan lasmuigh cá bhfuil mé i gcónaí. Thiomaint mé an iarnóin seosan triu ar bruchbhaileannaí Ghallchnó agus Coibhina Thiar. Tháinig mé an bóthar difriul. Bhí bóthar motair ag dúnta. Ní raibh sé ag oscailte. Chónaic mé an mullach na sleibhte leis capín shneamh. Rug mé ar feiceáil go beag ar mustard scéine ar an cnoc in aice leis an bóthar, ach níl sé go leor. Cén fath?

Maireann duine ar imeall anois. B'fhéidir, bhí siad ag tagtha le Oileáin Fhilpeaneacha go pairceannaí sin i gcluasa ansin. Feiceann tú an straid leis an ainm: "Leann na Mainile." Tógann siad teachtaí milte. Cailleann cluainte. Thiteann crannaí. Úlloird bás a fháil. Tá sean-scéal ina gCathair na nÁingeal agus fobhaileannaí ar feadh an treimse go bhfuil i gconai anseo. Beidh scéal amháin. Chuala mé siadsan riamh ó shin nuair bhí mé óg.

Flowers, People & Irish

I'll talk about things linguistic and botanic and demographic a bit. Here's a letter to the Irish Times from Phaedra Keogh published today there. (Look below, please.) I think about this same matter often as well. I myself agree with herself. Keogh writes concerning the language's ruination in many Irish schools.

Nevertheless, I am attempting to use my little Irish. I gather my work on the Net regularly. Usually, I learned by myself. I'm not able to keep a memory for fluency. I make a mistake with every other word!

Of course, I spend twenty minutes reading in the morning when I go off on the bus. I finished an interview in "Beo" with Des Bishop by Caiomhe Ní Laighin yesterday. I liked it. I started it three or four weeks ago. I have read a bit each day. I would read something again. I read it three times, at least.

I thought about Irish also. I found information about wildflowers in my mind earlier! Keogh lives in Ashford. I visited there. It has many beautiful gardens. You must go a distance where I live to see this view outdoors. I drove this afternoon through the suburbs of Walnut and West Covina. I came a different road. The motorway was closed. It wasn't open. I saw on the summit of the mountains a little cap of snow. I caught a little look at wild mustard on the hill near the road, but there was not much. What happened?

People live in the outskirts now. They came there perhaps to these fields on the fringes from the Philippines. You see a street with the name: "Manila Way." They built thousands of houses. Meadows are lost. Trees fall. Orchards die. This is an old story in Los Angeles and the suburbs during the period that I have been dwelling here. The story will be the same. I have heard it ever since when I was young.

'Wretched' level of Irish in schools
Madam, - How amusing it is that it takes a man from Flushing, New York (Des Bishop) to arouse even a bit of interest for our young people in the Irish language?

How typical is it that the RTÉ programme aired last Thursday (In the Name of the Fada) ends with Bishop - alias Mac an Easpaigh - trying to get explanations as to the inexplicable lack of spoken Irish in our schools, with the Minister for Education waffling on about change. And the conversation about Irish was in English!

How frustrating is it that we have been carrying on with this charade for the past 50years and more and that my son who, 38 years after me is in fifth year, cannot string one sentence together in a language that he has been learning for 13 years?

Could we please come to our senses and either confine the poor, even wretched, teaching of this beautiful language to gaelscoileanna or teach it so that people can actually speak it? If it took Bishop only one year to get there, why do we not have one or two years in primary school where everything is taught through Irish? - Yours, etc,

Phaedra Keogh, Killiskey Cross, Ashford, Co Wicklow.

Irish Times, 2008-04-25

Iómhá /Image: Label of a Lemon Crate/Lipéad chliathbhosca liomoid, 1920. "Mountain View, Covina"