Review : 'Labhrann Laighnigh'

'Labhrann Laighnigh'

Téacsanna agus Cainteanna ó shean-Chúige Laighean

Daithí Ó hÓgáin

Coiscéim

€10


(A review of this book in Irish is available here)

Can I be candid with the reader at the start, just so we are on the same wave-length, I love this wee book, I think it is great and very very interesting.

The book has a particular focus on the Irish of Kilkenny, for the simple reason that Irish survived longer in that County than in any other part of 'Old' Leinster. 


There are phrase lists, folklore etc. from Kilkenny, the same kind of material is simply not available for the other counties unfortunately. 


There is material from all of the counties of Old Leinster (i.e Leinster without the province  of Meath, Louth and Longfort).


Not all of the material comes from modern Irish and / or 'caint na ndaoine'. 


Much of it is modernised materials from Old Irish through to Classical Irish.

An tOllamh Daithí Ó hÓgain, nach maireann

There are at least snippets of examples of modern Irish from most of the other counties however. 


As a specialist in Oriel Irish I was particularly fascinated in the Dublin material, it is clear that the linguistic border or Oriel / Ulster extended into Dublin, a remarkable fact given that traditionally the Irish of Munster has been favoured in the capital. 


There are some 'Connacht' type features revealed (for example, final -amh pronounced as 'a' and even some 'Munsterisms'. Could it have been the case that in the past the Liffey acted as a dialect border? 


However, as I stated previously, most of the modern Irish material is from Kilkenny and it is a very useful addition to the corpus of Kilkenny Irish, much of it published for the first time. Much of that material comes from Pádraig Paor of Gleann Mór.


Kilkenny Irish was most certainly one of the more exotic Irish dialects, 'mixing' many features which we associate with quite far flung areas today.

This is definitely a popular book rather than an academic tomb. 


As there author states (my translation) : 


"It is not my intention to write an academic book here ... the aim is to provide reading material in the native Irish of their own province for Irish speakers who leave in Leinster today"


I, given a natural inclination to the study of dialect, have perhaps focused my attentions on the dialect material in the book but there should be no doubt that this is some very good 'high' literature to be found in the work.


Despite the author's stated intention, one cannot help thinking that his untimely death robbed Daithí Ó hÓgáin to do something more academic, more substantial on the subject, but that should not be taken as a fault, for I in fact associate no fault with the work.


It does give the impression of being 'notes' from time to time, but that is not to say that then have not been polished, just not as developed as they could have been and as I suspect the author may have wished.


In conclusion, I would advocate the view, that if you are an Irish speaker from Leinster and haven't purchased this book you have to ask yourself why!


This is a gem of a book. I return to it often.


Go raibh maith agat a Ollaimh Uí Ógáin, ar dheis Dé go raibh d'anam.

Reference - 'Amhail Fuaim Chogair Bhig'

This book, 'Amhail Fuaim Chogair Bhig' should be of interest to those interested in Kilkenny Irish though I confess to have had a mere glance at it.


Here is the description from litriocht.com.


"Séamas Ó Scoireadh (c.1790-1828) agus a chuid teangeolais is ábhair don leabhar so. Bunús agus feidhm na teangan go ginearálta, agus nádúir na Gaeilge go sonrach, ba spéis leis an gCainneach san. Dhein Ó Scoireadh staidéar ar an ngramadach uilechoiteann agus ar chaint a linne féin; de réir a chéile, d’fhéach sé le caighdeán teangan a leagan amach a mbeadh an Ghaeilge fé stiúir prionsabal fealsúnta; ba mhian leis go mbeadh an caighdeán san ina uirlis chumarsáide a d’fhóinfeadh do réimsí éagsúla an tsaoil, mar an creideamh, an pholaitíocht agus an litríocht.

Séamas Ó Scoireadh (c.1790-1828) and his study of Irish linguistics, and the origin and role of the language generally. Ó Scoireadh studied the universal grammar and the way people spoke in his own time. He laid out a language standard where Irish would come under a philosophical principle. He wanted that principle to be a communication tool suitable for various fields like religion politics and literature.

Séamas Ó Scoireadh seems to be an interesting charachter, here is his bio on ainm.ie.


The book in written by Barra O Cearnaigh who wrote it originally as an award winning phd.

Some Kilkenny features

* From what I have seen so far, in South Kilkenny at least, 'tá' is always lenited to 'Thá', just like in an Rinn.


* 'Bhfuil' is always pronounced as if spelt 'buil'.


* And 'níl' is pronounced as 'nín'.


All quite 'exotic' but not probably very noticalbe in speech.


(Thá na notaí seo as Béarla mar is é an chúis leis an suíomh beag seo ná spéis sa Ghaeilg a spreagadh - bheadh saineolaithe ar an eolas faoi rudaí mar seo.)

Basic Phrases of Kilkenny Irish - How are you?

(Spelling modified to follow dialect as closely as possible)


Cunas a thá tú? - How are you?


'Dé cor a thá tu? - How are you?


or


Dé cor a buil tu? - How are you?

An interesting feature of Kilkenny Irish

In Kilkenny Irish, a slender r, i.e /r'/ in Lárchanúint na Gaeilge was pronounced ʒ (Click to hear it!).


Ocasionally however it was pronounced as a slender s! (Click to hear)


A similar sound is to be found today in the Irish of Ceathrú Thaidhg in Mayo.

A most important reference.

Probably one of the most important works in Kilkenny Irish is Cín Lae Amhlaoibh.

.

This is the full reference.

de Bhaldraithe, Tomás: Cín Lae Amhlaoibh. Leabhair Thaighde. an 18ú hImleabhar. An Clóchomhar Teoranta, Baile Átha Cliath 1970/1973/1976

It has been translated into English.

Amhlaoibh Ó Súilleabháin (1979) The Diary of an Irish Countryman 1827-1835, translated and edited by Tomás de Bhaldraithe.

This is the information from the book itself ...

"I gCallainn i gCo. Chill Choinnigh mar ar chaith sé formhór a shaoil a bhí Amhlaoibh Ó Suilleabháin ina chónaí sna blianta sin (1827-35) a raibh sé ag gabháil don Chin Lae cháiliúil. Chuir Tomás De Bhaldraithe roimhe san eagrán seo scagadh a dhéanamh ar an ábhar agus an chuid sin di ba spéisiúla le léithóir an lae inniu agus ab fhearr a léireodh an t-údar fein is saol a linne a chur in eagar ar mhodh a bheadh soléite ag an léithóir sin.
Ba thréimhse chorraithe ar leith í an tréimhse atá I gceist sa Chinn Lae seo ag Amhlaoibh Ó Suilleabháin, gortaí, Cogadh na nDeachún, obair Uí Chonaill, na cumainn Rúnda. Tá trácht ar an gcuid sin den saol sa Chinn Lae seo – an t-aon chuntas atá againn ó Ghaeilgeoir ar chuid ghníomhach den saol sin é féin. Ach fairis sin tá cuntas chomh beo ar bheatha agus ar nósanna na linne sin nach aon áibhéil a rá’ an té a bhí eolach féin ar stair na mblianta sin, gur dhoimhne is gur bheotha a thuiscint ar mhuintir na linne ach an dialann seo a léamh.

Amhlaoibh O Sullivan lived in Callan Co. Kilkenny most of his life, in the years (1827-35) when he wrote most of his famous diary. Tomas De Bhaldraithe determined to write an edition of the parts that would be specially interesting to today’s readers in a reader friendly format. The times in question were exciting and unsettled with wars, famine and the politics and agitations of Daniel O Connell - the secret societies . There are comments on that aspect of Irish life in the diary, on his own life and the habits and ways of everyday life in Ireland in the 1830s."

"

Tagairt Eile : Iarsmaí de Ghaeilig Chontae Chill Choinnigh

1945. Breatnach (R. A.): Iarsmaí de Ghaeilig Chontae Chill Choinnigh.
In Éigse 26 (1992) pp. 21 42.

collected in 1938 from Pádraig Paor, from Glenmore in SE Co. Kilkenny, aged
about 90. Incl. samples of his speech with phonetic transcription.