DFW Gaelic League

The Most Consecrated Spot in Ireland: The Fight to Save Tara

by Emily Kathleen Villamar-Robbins

If you’re familiar with ancient Irish history and legend, you’ve heard of the Hill of Tara, in County Meath. If you’ve lived in or spent much time in Ireland, you have probably been there. This past January, I visited Tara for the first time — and I can honestly say it is the most amazing place I have ever been. The number of counties visible from the summit depends on who you ask, but standing there among the mounds and the trenches, it certainly feels as though you can see half of Ireland. To the east is nearby Skryne, where King Cormac was said to have been banished after losing his eye. Between Skryne and Tara lies the legendary Gabhra Valley, significant in its own right in ancient Irish texts and mythology. The view over the valley is truly breathtaking.

Unless things change, that view will soon be very different. As I write this, a huge floodlit motorway, the M3, is being built through the middle of the Gabhra Valley, irreparably damaging dozens of archaeological sites and permanently dividing the ancient landscape.

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March 08 2008 | Gaeltalk Newsletter | No Comments »

2008 North Texas Irish Festival Wrapup

Well it’s Monday morning following a fantastic Irish Fest.

First of all, many, many thanks to everyone that came out to help out in the booth; Marcella, Ted, Seán, Séamus, Jeff, Jay and everyone from class that came by to check on us and visit.

Extra special thanks to the Cór Gaeilge Texais, who sent folks interested in Irish across the aisle (and likewise we sent folks interested in Scottish Gaelic across to them). It was a great collaboration to promote the languages we all love, and get the information to the folks that were interested. Also, the Cór’s booth won the Best Cultural Booth Award from the Festival for the 2nd year running! Comhghairdeas!

The “after action report” follows:

1. We handed out 100 flyers on Saturday (and ran out) and 50 more on Sunday (and ran out) and got almost 100 sign-ups, not to mention talking about Irish, Ireland, and the classes and the group to lots and lots of folks.
2. The 2008 NTIF set a new record for attendance (somewhere around 50,000) so we got to see some of that in booth traffic.
3. There was quite a bit of interest in language classes in the Forth Worth area, and some for North Dallas.
4. We had several youths (teens) come up that were learning, or trying to learn Irish from the internet. They were using various resources, including YouTube. Maybe we should record our classes? Jeff could be the next Internet phenomenon… “numa numa” as Gaeilge?
5. We’ll be working on some “booth bling” for next year, mainly a nice sign. On Friday we had no sign and folks just walked by, on Saturday we went by Kinkos-FedEx and just printed out a simple black-and-white one with “Irish Language Education” printed on it, and it made a huge difference.
6. More flyers next year!

March 03 2008 | Gaeltalk Newsletter | No Comments »

YouTube Irish Lessons

A group out in California was nice enough to record several hours worth of Irish Language instruction and post both the footage as well as the study materials up on the internet. You can find that material in an easy to reference way on our forums! Follow the link to see for yourself.

YouTube Irish Lessons

Here’s an example:

January 09 2008 | Gaeltalk Newsletter | No Comments »

Rudaí Spéisiula Ar Line

If you’d like to practice reading in Irish, improve your vocabulary, or just keep up with events in the worldwide Irish speaking community, there are several sites on the Internet where you can find interesting and well written material. Listed below are a few of the top sites, along with samples of articles available:

An Doras (bilingual) – Sponsored by Na Gaeil (an Irish language group in Chicago), this ‘American journal of Gaelic culture’ was originally published in print. Now available only online, the goal is to provide articles on folklore, the arts, current events, and the Irish language. Here is an excerpt from an article entitled ‘Dátheangachas in Oileán Iathghlas Eile Dé’ by Eóin Mac Con Uladh:

Seo chugaibh scéal faoi oileán iathghlas taithneamhach a chuireann cumha agus croí trom ar a chlanna más gá dóibh imeacht thar lear. Cé gur breá álainn an tír í, tá sí bocht agus ní féidir léi postanna go leor a sholáthar dá muintir ar fad.

Ach tá tír mhór chumasach i gcóngaracht di agus tá fhios ag na hoileánaigh ó aos óg go bhfuil “an long i ndán dóibh,” go gcaithfidh siad dul ar imirce go cathracha móra ar an mórthír le go gcónóidís i dtionóntáin phlódaithe agus go n-oibreoidis ar thuarastal shuarach feasta. Is mar sin an bheatha don fhormhór acu, ach téann an corrdhuine ar ollscoil agus faigheann sé post galánta thall nó abhus agus deireann sé nach bhfuil sa scéal thuas ach stereotype — níl nithe chomh dona agus mar a bhíodh.

* this post has been edited, the other three links originally provided back in 2000 no longer function *

August 01 2000 | Gaeltalk Newsletter | No Comments »

An Irish Blessing

by Mary Kiernan-Tighe

My husband Barry and I had the pleasure to participate as a host family with Project Children last summer. We hosted a beautiful 11-year-old girl named Nakela, from Derry, for six weeks. Our nieces, Kelly and Grace, visited from New York to be part of the fun.

It is not the adventures of the Fort Worth Zoo, Fossil Rim, Six Flags, Hurricane Harbor, Dallas World Aquarium, or meeting our friends from various backgrounds that I am going to tell about. What I think may be of interest to the Conradh are the conversations Nakela and I had about the Irish language.

A few days after her arrival, I was playing a Clannad CD and they were singing a song in Irish. Nakela asked me in all sincerity “are they singing in Spanish?” I, in amazement and amusement, let her know they were singing in Irish.

Another conversation began in the car one day about Spanish, as Nakela had heard some people speaking Spanish. I mentioned to Nakela that a lot of people in Texas speak Spanish. Again in all sincerity, Nakela remarked that “English is such a perfect language. Why can’t all people in the world just speak English?” This led to a discussion about culture, identity, language, and soul. I also mentioned that Irish used to be spoken throughout Ireland. Nakela seemed to take an interest.

During Nakela’s stay, one of her mother’s phone calls was to tell Nakela she needed to pick two languages to learn in her fall semester. She proudly told me after she got off the phone that she chose Irish as one of her languages. I gave her one of our newsletters to “show and tell” her Irish language teacher. So somebody may be hearing from an Irish teacher from Derry.

Although I have not told of all our adventures, I will mention that it was truly an Irish Blessing to have Nakela in our home.

August 01 2000 | Gaeltalk Newsletter | No Comments »

Surfing the Web

Raidió na Gaeltachta - Live Online!! All Irish language radio now available on the Internet. RealAudio required. http://www.rte.ie/rnag/

Altanna Gaelic-L Do Foghlaimeoirí - For the serious student, here are some articles suitable for beginners (they contain either a dictionary or a translation).

August 01 2000 | Gaeltalk Newsletter | No Comments »

Is fearr Gaeilge briste ná Béarla cliste!

Even broken Gaelic is better than clever English

Would you like to see your name in print? We would love to see more articles from y’all out there; such as how you got interested in Gaelic (through Irish music or your family, etc.)

August 01 2000 | Gaeltalk Newsletter | No Comments »

An Leabharlampa / The Booklamp

by Séamas Hickey

Na Rosa go Brách is ainm do bhailiúchán gearr-scéalta faoin shaol agus nósanna Ghaeltacht Thír Chonaill thart fá deireadh an 19u haois. Rugadh an t-údar Mánas Mac Cumhaill (le ainm pinn Fionn Mac Cumhaill, ar ndóigh) sna Rossa i 1885. Ina dhiaidh cuairt beag go Meiriceá mar lúthcleasaí agus mar dornalaí, d’fhill sé go hÉirinn agus é gníomhach I ngluaiseacht na Gaeilge agus i gCogadh na Saoirse. Foilsíodh “Na Rosa go Brách” a chéaduair i 1939. Tháinig ár rogha as an chéad chaibidil:

Aimsir An Drochshaoil

Eadar an dá ghaoth, Gaoth Dobhair agus Gaoth Beara, atá na Rosa. Ceantar anróiteach, iargúlta é nach raibh a oiread agus bealach mór amnáin féin ann arbh fhiú bealach mór a thabhairt air roimh bhliain an drochshaoil.

I mbliain an drochshaoil d’imigh drochbhláth ar gach seort sna Roas. Ach sa bheag, ba ar phréataí agus min choirce a bhiodh bunadh na háite beo. Ach tháining an aicíd bhubh ar na préataí agus níor líon gráinnín an choirce mar ba chóir. Nuair a bhí na préataí bainte agus an coirce meilte ní raibh trian féin na bpréataí nó na mine coirce acu ba ghnách a bheith acu. Tháinig an geimhreadh orthu go luath agus mhair sé go Féil’ Pádraig. Roimhe nó ina dhiaidh n’ior mhoithigh siad geimhreadh chomh tíoránta lies. Eadar a bheith ag sioc, ag cascairt, ag siabadh shneachta agus ag doirteadh fearthanna, ní raibh an ach lá ag gabháil chun olcais ar an lá eile. Bhí an fharraige ina craos amháin, gan an sioc in ann a buaidh a fháil, agus í ag éirí ar an talamh . . . de dhóigh gur mhinic a shíl cuid de na daoine go raibh an domhan mór ag réabadh, agus go raibh deireadh an tsaoil ann.

D’fhág na caoirigh taobhanna na gcnoc agus na talta arda chomh luath agus a tháinig an sneachta orthu, agus chuaigh siad ar lorg foscaidh. Ach níor fhág an treas ceann acu clúid an fhoscaidh ní ba mhó. Tháinig an sneachta. Shocraigh an ghaoth. Bhí bratógaí chomh leathan le croí do bhoise ag titim ar dhroim a chéile. Luigh na bratógaí san áit ar thit siad go dtí go raibh doimhne glún fir de shneachta ar an talamh. Ghéaraigh an ghaoth. Bhí an sneachta ag titim i rith an ama, ach go raibh sé mion tirim anois. Thoisigh an plúchadh agus an siabadh. Níorbh fhada go raibh ráthannaí sneachta ar thaobh na gaoithe de na claíocha; agus níorbh fhada ina dhiaidh sin go raibh na clúdaíocha agus na hailteannaí cothrom leis an chuid eile den talamh.

In English

The Rosses Forever is the name of a collection of short stories or vignettes dealing with the life and customs of the people of the Donegal Gaeltacht around the turn of the last century. The author Mánas Mac Cumhaill (who wrote, inevitably, under the pen name Fionn Mac Cumhaill) was born in the Rosses in 1885. After a stint in America as an athlete and boxer, he returned to participate in the Irish language movement and the War of Independence. He was the author of a number of works. “Na Rosa go Brách” was first published in 1939. Our selection is from the opening chapter:

Famine Times

Between the two “gaoths”, Gaoth Dobhair and Gaoth Beara, are the Rosses. An isolated, severe place that did not even have a highway worthy of the name before the year of the Famine.

In the year of the Famine, all sorts of blights came upon the Rosses. But for a little while, it was on the potatoes and oatmeal which kept the inhabitants alive. But the black blight attacked the potatoes, and not a single grain of oats was as it should have been. When the potatoes were gathered and the oats harvested, there was scarcely a third of the usual amount of potatoes and oats. The winter arrived early and stayed until St. Patrick’s Day. Neither before nor since had they experienced such an oppressive winter. Between the freezing, the thawing, the blizzards, and the pouring rain, each day was more horrid than the previous one. The sea was extremely abusive, rising up on the land since it couldn’t freeze . . . in such a way that some of the people thought that the whole earth was shattering, and that the end of the world was come.

The sheep left the hillsides and high hillocks as soon as the snow arrived, and they went in search of shelter. But scarcely a third of them ever left their little nook of shelter. The snow came down. The wind subsided. The snowflakes were as broad as the width of your palm falling down together. The flakes lay where they fell until the snow was knee-deep on the ground. The wind picked up. The snow continued to fall, but now it was a dry powdery snow. It began to snow heavily and turn into a blizzard. It was not long before there were snowdrifts blown up along the hedges, and not long after that, in the sheltered places and ravines as much as anywhere else.

August 01 2000 | Gaeltalk Newsletter | No Comments »

Tír gan Teanga, Tír gan Anam!

A land without a language is a land without a soul

Have you got any questions about Irish Gaelic? Just drop us a line with your questions, comments or observations either to our mailing address or via our web contact form, select “Gaeltalk” as the subject.

August 01 2000 | Gaeltalk Newsletter | No Comments »