Decided at the last minute to get a boat over to Aran Mór. Last time I was there was 13 years ó shin and my has it changed. My trip started in Galway city, looking as beautiful as ever. Heard the best trad gig ever in Tígh Chóilí.

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I got the 'Clann na hOileain' bád from Ros an Mhíl. In this fishing harbour, all signage was haphazardly half Irish or English, sometimes only in Irish, sometimes a small bit of Irish and rest English. Interesting to see.

Be aware that throughout my trip, my eyes and ears were hanging to see and hear Irish.

The crew on Clann na hOileain spoke Irish to each other, sometimes as Béarla to other crew members, and wore 'criú' tops. As the boat pulled out of the harbour, everyone was nattering away during the safety announcement, but when the Irish version was broadcasted, all the tourists hushed a little to listen to it.

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(Message edited by ceolmhar on July 22, 2006)

The trip out of Ros an Mhíl was lovely. Sun beating down on us, the rocky terrain of Conamara slowly fading into the distance. The boats didn’t have stabilisers the last time I went to Árainn – a very smooth ride indeed.

Arriving at Cill Rónáin, everyone was scoping out the harbour’s skyline for the first time. "Siopa Carraig Donn" stands out like a sore thumb, just what I was looking for. "Failte go Árainn" is painted on another building. I hear a tourist saying 'Fáilte' and something else in German. "Teach na Ceibhe" is also visible, but alas, most of the signage in this skyline is in English. I know that sounds silly, but the skyline should be jammed with Irish signage - this is what visitors look for in a new 'country' like Árainn.

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My god, there's a Supermacs here? Oh dear.

Off the boat, the first signage on the harbour I notice is at hastily erected "An Ghaeltacht" sign. I giggled a little, well, they had to put that sign somewhere. Much to my dismay there is an Irish sign about parking in mooring in ITALICS. Surely the council haven't erected all Irish signage on the island in italics and English in normal script like the rest of the Gaeltacht?

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(Message edited by ceolmhar on July 22, 2006)

Walking towards the city centre, my ears are as sharp as razor blades trying to here some feckin Irish.
Lots of weathered men standing beside horses and Ford Transits shouting "tour roun deh oylan". I know they’re speaking Irish to each other but the tourists are being so obnoxiously loud, I can only bite my tongue.

A bike hire building with "Rothair ar Chios" in big writing. Nice enough. I think I'll rent me bike from there later.

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Some nice detailing on the water caps in Árainn

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Nothing of interest in the city centre. Jesus, there is obviously no planning control in Árainn - The quality of these 'modern' buildings is rubbish and completely out of style of the traditional architecture. Anyway, I don't really care about that, I'm in Árainn and that's all that matters!

I'm happy enough to see that most of the pubs and B&Bs were named in Irish with the traditional seimhiu dot above the letter. A nice enough bialann in the centre of downtown Árainn: “An tSean Cheibh”

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Did I mention how hot it is right now? It is very, very hot. I feel as though I'm back in Barcelona. This is Ireland’s heat wave of July, 2006. I picked a fine time of the year to visit.

Hmm, at the harbour ramp “Cosc ar Pháircáil” …in italics, no English. Just one example.

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On the way to the brú óige, I spotted the central bank

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Right next to it, the Lucky Star Bar

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I've sorted out my beddage in the b&b/hostel. The Bean an Tí didn’t seem to understand “feicfidh mé thú go luath”. She’s a lovely woman all the same.

Bit of old and new

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Went to 'Spar' newsagents.. SPAR? Jesus hell, this place has changed a lot. Spar had greetings in Irish and signage throughout an siopa was in Irish too. But sure with the English radio blasting throughout the shop, I might as well be in Dublin. The girl behind the counter isn’t Irish either so a “cén chaoi a bhfuil tú?” was met with glazed eyes.

Walking further through the city centre reveals a very bandy old Oifig an Phoist and a lovely oldschool phone booth (like the one on Dame St. in Dublin). As far as I can remember, it had “Glaonna gan boinn” written on it. I totally forgot about card phones! This must be the only Gaeilge cardphone booth left in Ireland. It was very, very weathered. The LOTTO sign is in Irish too. “An Crannchur Náisiúnta”

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This friendly capall was begging for attention.

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Signage on the island's main roads are non existent. There is a lot of rusty old signage in Irish directing me to the various teampalls. This is nice though. This is a very Irish thing.

Visiting Dún Angoasa ar mo rothaír. Some typical Galway scenes on the way.

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more..

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Dún Angoasa now has a heritage centre. I didn’t have to pay the last time. Good to see that all the history information in Irish with English in italics or non-bold. Hah, take that English. Somebody has crudely written the Irish translation above "chevaux-de-frise" on every board. They were obviously not to happy about the French term being used, and rightly so. I can’t remember what the Gaeilge for it was, but I’m certain that the Irish term as been used on the island longer than the French one!

There’s some signage right at the fort’s wall. A warning in italics, and underneath in English caps. But there’s also a separate sign “Ná caith clochan”. A young English tourist glimpses at it “What’s that? Oh, don’t throw stones”. I overheard some other tourist kid telling his friend a word in Irish he learnt. It was “Cuir” – ‘put’.

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OK, I remember Dún Angoasa as a kid, but m’athair never let us near the edge. This time, I was able to stand there and take it all in. After 20 mins of milling about taking photos, it suddenly hit me. This most overwhelming feeling that I can’t explain. The fact that there were people here over 3000 years ago, praying, sacrificing, whatever they did, I can understand exactly why they built this fort here. It has to be the most amazing view of the Atlantic this side of Europe. The highest, furthest point west you can go in Europe. Absolutely breathtaking. It’s a memory that will stick with me forever.

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After visiting almost every teach tábhairne and bialann on the island, I have not heard any Irish so far. All I want is to eavesdrop on some locals.

A drunk local is wailing out some sean nós songs in the American Bar. Not particularly in tune, but it's good enough nonetheless.

Just caught a wee glimpse of the Bar lady speaking in Irish to a local *very quietly*. Another local comes in and they all shout as Béarla. (I’m saying locals because they all have Galway accents). An interesting bar with a fireplace right in the middle of the bar. Irish architecture if ever I saw it.

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Just got chatting to a young lad who manages one of the bars near the airport. He’s a Gaeilge fella of 18. He says island living is ‘alright’, but I can tell he wants off. I tell him how lucky he is to come from such a unique place, to speak his own native language, etc. He agrees.

I was glad to see that most of the bar/bialann workers are young locals who all speak Irish.

Evening is closing in now and I’m starving. Not many bialanns to choose from in the city centre.. only three in fact. Found one. A Basque waiter serves me. He visited Árainn 5 years ago and comes back every summer to live – he even managed a winter. With Basque and Conamara having close genetic ties, it didn’t surprise me that this fella spoke some Irish too.

I'm now at the harbour on this beautiful summer’s evening. There are two locals trying to fix the engine of their fishing boat “Naomh Beanan”. They're speaking as Béarla to each other in heavy Conamara accents. Some German tourists just arrived asking them about some diesel for their VW Golf that they were promised earlier. The fisherman gets on his phone, at last, he's yabbering away in Irish to the person on the other end. Great to hear! He finishes of the conversation with ‘alright slán’. Just like on RnaG, Irish conversations are peppered with “Alright, you know, I mean, sort of, like, just, and so on”.

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On the way back, a youngfella with a NY cap trundled by.

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(Message edited by ceolmhar on July 22, 2006)

As the evening wears on, the sky becomes more and more eye catching.

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(Message edited by ceolmhar on July 22, 2006)

I was leaning against a wall beside the main Halla, Ragús, and a Dub family came along and stood beside me. The father was speaking to his Dub children in Irish. Nice to see, and I hope I’ll do the same when I have kids. Anyway, I’m quite Spanish looking so I think he thought I was a foreigner. He’d talk to the kids in Irish and they would reply in half Irish/English. I understood everything they said. They were talking about the trá and the shells, etc. He said “An bhfuil siad glán ag féachaint?” I instantly thought Béarlachas. Are they clean looking? Was that Béarlachas?

OK, so overall I haven’t heard much Irish on the island. But I know where to find it now. The proper locals prefer to keep away from the tourists. This wasn’t what it was like 13 years ago. If you want trad Irish music, I do not recommend the island. It’s so diluted with tourists these days and it seems to me that local musicians would prefer to play in the city or at home.

I LOVE Árainn and would recommend it to anyone. There is an absolute sense of magic and Irish cuteness about the place. I do worry greatly about the locals relying on tourism far too much though. The tradition of the island is fading away ever so quickly. Visit Árainn while it’s still relatively intact because sadly, it will not last forever.

Lastly, a photo in our hostel had us in tears laughing on the last night. It was a man sitting on a donkey, but you can’t really make out the man’s legs.. so it’s a Mon-key.. :-/

CLICK MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

Le meas,



ps. I WISH I could have posted this in one go.. but....

"Your post has too many links to external sites

Please contact Caoimhín O'Cléirigh and include the user name you were attempting to register if this problem persists. "

ARGHHH!


(Message edited by ceolmhar on July 22, 2006)

(Message edited by ceolmhar on July 22, 2006)

Great pictures! Great account of the trip!

Your name is Ceolmhar and you really enjoyed the trad. gig. so I want to ask, do you play trad. music? Did you go to a céilí or see Ragús or see the seals or the blow hole? There's never enough time on Aran.

We had a wonderful time when we were there. I spoke Irish to everyone but our kids were at the Irish college on the island while we stayed in a B&B.and we got to know the bean a tí and the guy who ran the Irish college. They were great. There were a lot of tourists there so we heard Italian, French, Spanish and even Japanese in the restaurants.

I never thought about the signs when I was there I was so busy talking to everyone. It's a good point and I'm glad you documented it.

Míle maith agat a Cheolmhair

A Chaitriona, a chara,

I sing, play guitar, piano and tin whislte. I can play pretty fast on the tin whistle but not as fast as the pros i nGaillimh!

I also love to play Brazilian bossanova.. see here: http://homepage.eircom.net/~billybrady/music/Desde-Que-O-Samba-%C9-Samba.mp3

É maravilhoso. Você é um músico excelente.

Forgive me if the Portugese is all wrong above.

That was utterly amazing! Ar chum tú é freisin?
Do you sell CDs of your work? Wow!

quote:

The girl behind the counter isn’t Irish either so a “cén chaoi a bhfuil tú?” was met with glazed eyes.

Does not compute. I have read in the Daltaí archives many posts by people like Seasamh MacMuiri and others telling how the influx of foreigners and multiculturalism in general in Ireland can only be good for the Irish language. You must have met the only foreigner in Ireland not fluent in Irish!

I believe multiculturalism is a great thing for Ireland, and I don't believe that the Irish language will be affected by it in anyway. To think as such would be very narrow minded.

The more multiculturalism in Ireland there is, the more Irish natives will want to learn the Irish language and be more connected to their own culture.

That past 5 years have seen a massive boost in Irish learners and this has nothing to do with immigrants moving to Ireland.

The Irish people need to mix their genes with other exotic creatures.

It's early days yet. Time will tell sooner than ye think.

A Cheolmhar a chara
Go Raibh maith agat for the interesting acount of your visit. I shall be going there quite soon so its always nice to have input on what it shall be like. I thought your observations on signage was informative, you seem to have an interest in signage in Irish, you speak of it now and again I notice. I appreciated your observations on whare and when Irish is spoken on the island. Of course the conclusion that we can all come to here is that we wish that it was spoken more.

Beir bua agus beannacht

I really appreciate you taking the time to post all that. I really really enjoyed it! Sure makes me want to go more than ever.

Ceolmhar,

it was a bit disappointing how the Irish had to be hunted down on your trip. Why didn't you order your food and your points in Irish, and if the answer came back in English, tell them to stuff it and go elsewhere? It should be made crystal clear to the people of these islands that tourists want to hear the lingo. No lingo, no dosh.

quote:

He said “An bhfuil siad glán ag féachaint?” I instantly thought Béarlachas. Are they clean looking? Was that Béarlachas?

Not really. Or it if is, it's long established. Cloistear abairtí ar nós "Tá sé go deas ag breathnú" sách minic ó dhaoine a bhfuil an teanga acu ó dhúchas.

Bhain mé an-sult as na pictiúir agus as an tráchtaireacht!

Excellent report...

was there last month (Our house is on the main-land looking out towards Inis Mór) and yes you do have to insist a bit on Irish in shops etc. We had a meal in the Aran Fishermaan (I think) and the waitress was from Slovakia though there were some "native" (sounds patronising) people there too. The clientele included a load of Ya - sorry Americans - speaking american and Japanese speaking what I imagine was Japanese..

Jarveys and bus drivers spoke in Irish if spoken too. The further west you go the more like the Inis Mór of old it gets..

The supermarket sound system jarred too...

Supermacs spoke in Irish - as it does in An Spidéal. but their advertising "specials" are all in English....


And the signs....argh yes these are my pet aversion about living over here. Maybe it's time for the black paint-brushes at midnight again...:-)

E

Ar thug tú faoi deara go bhfuil sé níos daora dumpáil a dhéanamh as Béarla ná as Gaeilge?

http://homepage.eircom.net/~billybrady/arainn/IMG_2765.jpg

Signs were decreed to be both in Irish and English in the sixties and the English and Irish were supposed to be the same size. But nothing was said about whether they should be in upper or lower case or italics.

Prior to that the wording in Irish waas always smaller so I guess that "THEY" decided that italics and lower case would ensure that the natives would not get to uppity...Obviously they never looked at the bilinguality of signs in other countries like Wales or Canada...

Those italics are driving me crazy! Someone just slice the English parts of the sign off already. Or at least put the English in italics. It's ridiculous.

Yes, Eoin, please do go out at midnight with your black paint and brush. You would be doing the whole Irish nation a favour.

I don't know...I personally like the look of italics, and don't think it makes what's in italics any harder to read. Not to mention that one normally puts something in italics when its more important or to be stressed than the rest of the text...

The italics are perhaps OK but it is the lower case (not bold capitals as the English is) that gives the impression of inferiority.


...and I'm getting a bit long in the tooth for the midnight black paint routine...though there was a time...(wink)

Eoin

Peictiúir an-dheas, Ceolmhar!!

How did you get around? Did you walk, bicycle?

GRMA a chairde :)

"Ar thug tú faoi deara go bhfuil sé níos daora dumpáil a dhéanamh as Béarla ná as Gaeilge? "

Níl a fhios agam a Eoin. Tá sé an-suimiúil ar fad. A penatly for English speakers perhaps?!

"The italics are perhaps OK but it is the lower case (not bold capitals as the English is) that gives the impression of inferiority."

It does indeed, and it contradicts the fact that Irish is the first official language of the country. It's a pet hate of mine and I think it shows a lack of respect for the language.

Here's an interesting one i gCabán tSíle i mBÁC, they seem to have done it arseways:

http://homepage.eircom.net/~billybrady/arainn/irishroadsign.jpg

And there are also some signs around the Ballybrack area near me that have installed brand news sign with Irish in lowercase and English in caps, no italics - It looks a lot better. But this was obviously a mistake.

Did you also notice that in every DART station in Dublin, they have the Irish signage in orange which means that they are invisible at night time because of the sodium lighting. Idiots!

All Irish-only Gaeltacht sign should have been erected in normal script. It really is nonsense.

We should have done it like the Scots/Welsh. Green for Gaelic. http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/12/Sanas.jpg/240px-Sanas.jpg

Norwegiandame: I rented a bike from beside the harbour. 5 euro I think it was. It's the best way to get around.

There is also a 'Bus Phobail' that goes up and down the island if you're feeling lazy.

(Message edited by ceolmhar on July 25, 2006)

Went to 'Spar' newsagents.. SPAR? Jesus hell, this place has changed a lot. Spar had greetings in Irish and signage throughout an siopa was in Irish too. But sure with the English radio blasting throughout the shop, I might as well be in Dublin. The girl behind the counter isn’t Irish either so a “cén chaoi a bhfuil tú?” was met with glazed eyes.

Inis Mór -- so near and yet so Spar.

I don't think Spar was there yet when I visited in 1999.

I've only been to Ireland twice--in 2004 and 2002--and it was amazing how much it changed in that time.

But, anyway, great photos and story, a Cheolmhar!