I'm looking for a translation (or even a summary) of the following passage from 1925:

quote:

Gaedhealtacht na Gaedhealtachta 'seadh Inis Meadhoin. Ní mheasaim go bhfuil i nÉirinn indiu aon áit atá chomh Gaedhealach, maidir leis an nGaedhilg, agus atá an t-oileán seo. Agus togha na Gaedhilge atá ann freisin. Tá sé buailte i m-aigne le tamall nach bhful a sárughadh le fághail...Tá Inis Thiar Gaedhealach, acht caithfear a admháil go ndéanann muinntir an oileán seo úsáid de'n Bhéarla thar mar is ceart. Tá fáth leis. Bhí cosantíorí cuain agus calaidh i n-Inis Thiar mar do bhí i gCill Rónáin. Is beag áit a dteidheann an nathair nimhe nach bhfuil a lorg le feiceál. Is maith s fiú a thabhairt fá deara go bhfuil an Ghaedhilg go láidir i n-Inis Meadhoin, áit nach raibh cosantóirí cuain agus calaidh nó póilíní riamh.

Go raibh maith 'ad.

My gloss; probably has a few errors.

Gaeltacht thru and thru is Inis Meáin. I don't reckon there is any place so Gaelic, as on this island. And the choicest Gaelic there is too. It's long been in my mind that there is no exception to this [could be in error here]

Inis Thiar is Gaelic too, but one one must admit of the the island people using English as well. There is a reason for this. There were port soldiers and boats there for Cill Rónáin. One can go few places but they are to be seen. [an idiom 'nathair nimhe' -venomous snake is used here]

It's great value to come across Gaelic so strong on Inis Meáin, a place not touched by soldiers, ferries nor police.

I'll give it a go:

Inis Meadhoin is the gaeltacht of all gaeltachts. I don't think there's a single place in Ireland today that's as Irish, with regard to the Irish language, as this island. And the best of the Irish language it has too. I've been of the firm belief for some time now that no greater a place is to be found... Inis Thiar is Irish, but it has to be said that the people use English more than they should. And there's a reason. There were harbour protectors and ferries in Inis Thair as there were in Cill Rónáin. There's few places tyrants can flee to that they aren't being watched out for (<-- not quite sure what this sentence means). It's worth a mention that the Irish language is strong in Inis Meadhoin, a place that's never had harbour protectors or ferries or police.

Go raibh maith agaibh!

I appreciate both your efforts. It's neat to see the pre-standard spellings used there. It would seem that Inis Meáin is *STILL* the strongest Irish speaking community all these years later. I certainly found that to be the case when I was there.

I have a friend who was in Inishmaan a while back and he was telling me Inishmaan is untouched by English, Irish is the main language of the island.

Nowhere is "untouched by English". But I certainly recall telling you about Inis Meáin on IGTF about how it was one of the only places I visited in the Gaeltacht (and I visited over half a dozen gaeltachtaí earlier this year) where you could tell that Irish was the dominant language.

"Is beag áit a dteidheann an nathair nimhe nach bhfuil a lorg le feiceál."

Is a rare place that a snake goes where his mark is not to be seen (the English - the aforementioned 'cosantíorí cuain agus calaidh )