Bail ó Dhia oraibh a chairde, Seosamh anseo ag beannú isteach chugaibh arís. I've dropped in, ó am go chéile, over the few months to see what you were up to and I've noted a few of your ups and downs. An rud is mó a d'fhoghlaim mé ó sheasamh siar is ea go bhfacthas dom gur féidir libh gabháil go tóin poill in amannaí le cailleadh misnigh.
(Luífead níos mó le Béarla ná leis an nGaeilg an babhta so, rud ab annamh liom tráth.)
You're all very relevent to where we are going, despite your remove - distance from Ireland.
Gaeilg sa Ghaeltacht, Gaeilg sa Ghalltacht agus Gaeilg thar lear. Each of those realms are interacting and pertinent to each other, so we have be careful how matters proceed everywhere. You are a pertinent part what goes on here, san Oileán Iathghlas - in Ireland, and it is important that you realise that despite your geographic remove.
I've been alarmed by some who drop in here (to Daltaí na Gaeilge) with a deflated view of where we're going / not going / leis an nGaeilg. Some few on the board try to lift you all up again but they are occasionally outnumbered, is eagal liom, so you all go to bed dispirited, having discussed a lot of negative aspects of Irish (in English only to boot!). I'm left to drive out home wondering about you all and about whether you're doing yourselves good or bad. I feel you're actually doing yourselves no good, while at the same time you may be dispiriting other drop-in readers. I even suspect that there has been one wolf dressed as Granny who has been with you for more than a year now, and who conspires to keep you on the down spiral!
I see in my own circles (of three comhrá groups per week) the varying ups and downs also. A young drunk was moving from one group of Irish speakers to another, arú aréir, verbally abusing all and shouting 'fascists, you're all fascists' at them. Everyone tried to be nice to him and when confronted person to person with his outrageus aggression, moved away in embarrassment. When he arrived at my group and did likewise, I promptly asked him outside, stating that I had respect for both the company and the proprietors, walked to the door and held it open from the outside, waiting for him. The owner demanded that he leave and asked me to return, which I did and paid no remark to his further taunts. I thanked the owner/proprietor and the night ended in our favour. There were some 20 plus Irish speakers there. English speakers numbered ten or less. I would ask you all to be proud of what Irish you have, to be positive about who you are and where you are going with Irish. Despite your trips to the Gaeltacht and the language incidents you may have seen in the Galltacht, there is still a lot of the Irish language mess that you are not tuned in well enough to be aware of. I say this because I have tried occasionally to open a few eyes to what goes on and they, having witnessed the same incident as myself, mis-read entirely the exact and important truth of what just happened before our eyes.
Most of the Irish speakers in the pub the other night were about half my age, have children and shall have founded another Gaelscoil by September and in that Galltacht pub, we, lucht na Gaeilge, were the majority. We also had the complete blessing of all the non-Irish speakers, but one. The positive incidents are more frequent and more memorable. Iarraim oraibh anseo ar shuíomh Dhaltaí na Gaeilge, a bheith ag misniú a chéile - always have the positive word for each other here on the Daltaí site, always make some effort to put the few words of Gaeilge in your post (leis an gcnap Béarla a mhaolú). (On positivity, I have never seen anything but positivity from Will Kenny's 'Gaeilgeoir' in Minnesota
http://www.gaelminn.org/aboutgael.htm) I would like all the Daltaí posts to be as positive. It's the only way. Anything else can only lead to defeat. De réir a chéile, cuirfidh tú le do chuid. Keep taking in the few words and phrases everyday and spread the encouragment around you, on-line and anywhere else that's possible. A lot of us are definite about where we are going. Ba dheas thú a bheith linn. Be positive when you come on-line and you can only do good.
Ní poll ar an domhan chomh domhain le poll an amhrais. Seachnaímis an poll céanna.
