I've just spent 15 days in South Connemara and I spent one night on Inis Meáin.

Here are the words I've learned:

Barúil = funny
sách = enough (ie: an bhfuil an t-uisce sach te? = is the water hot enough?)

Goille = come here

An bhfuil tú mór liom arís = Are you getting on with me again? (ie: are you friends with my again after what happened?.

I learned how to say ''shy'' which is prononced cool.

Géagán = branch

I spoke to a woman from Ceantar na nOileán but she lives in An Cheathrú Rua she says ''comhlódar'' for family, and it seemed no one uses this in An Cheathrú Rua so maybe it could be a Ceantar na nOileán thing, the same woman that gave me ''cool'' for shy. I'm not sure of spelling but I guess it is ''cuthail''.


Information I got from Inis Meáin:

In Inis Meáin it seems like they don't say ''tá mé i mo chónaí'' or ''cá bhfuil tú i do chónaí'' but ''cá gcónaíonn tú?'' and ''conaíonn mé'' = I live. It also seems there is differences in the Irish on Aran than on mainland Connemara not very big but noticeable.



I learned Leathuair tréis a ceathair = half four

Tiocfaidh mé abhaile amáireach = I'm going home tommorow

I learned Gaothúlach for ''windy'' by two people on Inis Meáin but no one understood it on the mainland Connemara.

Ardán = one of them big hills on the roads on the islands

Slender ''d'' is prononced as a J. For example they prononce ''deas'' as ''jass'' on Inis Meáin but ''dyas'' on mainland Connemara.

Inniu prononced ''in-yuh'' on Inis Meáin but ''inniubh'' on mainland.

Árannach = someone from the Aran Islands

Ag fágáil = leaving (instead of ag imeacht)

Thats basically everything I learned there, sorry for the English phonetics as I am not good with IPA!

quote:

Barúil = funny

barrúil

quote:

Goille = come here

"goile"
(tá's agad go bhfuaimníthear ll caol agus l caol ar chaoi eile taobh amuigh do Mhumhain ;-) )

quote:

An bhfuil tú mór liom arís = Are you getting on with me again? (ie: are you friends with my again after what happened?.

Suimiúil. D'fhoghlaim mé rud ineacht mar sin fosta ó mhúinteoir as Tír Chonaill.

quote:

I learned how to say ''shy'' which is prononced cool.

Cúthail

You did well, Trigger. It is a great place to learn Irish. People are so willing to talk and include you in their conversations.

I also learnt a few words on Inis Meáin long ago: ar mo ghabháil dom siar tríd na róidíní (the little lanes) casadh bráthair Críostaí orm. "An bhfuil a fhios agat nath a chuala mé anois díreach," ar seisean, "go mbeadh corr-mhúr is aiteall ann". Wow! Now that's Irish.

Uair eile dá rabhas i gcomhluadar sheanfhundúir ón oileán chuala mé é ag beannú do chomharsa leis a bhí istigh i ngarraí ag baint fhataí,* "Óra, bail ó Dhia ort, murab agat atá na mealltrachaí!"

corr-mhúr - corr-chith báistí - an odd/occasional shower of rain;
aiteall - tréimhse gearr gréine - a short period of warm sunshine
"Óra, a blessing from God on you, if it is not you who has the huge lumps (i.e. fine potatoes)
meall - a lump, plural: na meallta (CO); in the dialects plurals vary and may be replicated for intensity as here Meall +tra + cha + í
Seanfhondúir - an old-timer
murab = mura + b = if it is not
Caithfidh mé cuairt eile a thabhairt ar Inis Meáin.

[Does anyone know where in Graiméar Gaeilge na mBráithre Críostaí that particular séimhiú is mentioned? Ag baint fhataí. I don't think it should be "ag baint fataí" but I may be wrong. Reading that book is awe-inspiring. The dedication and scholarship of those who compiled it has to be admired.]

and, of course, "bróga úrléir (=úrleathair)" otherwise known as "pampooties". :-)

A chairde,

Briefly, as Béarla:

I'm thinking of a quick trip to South Connemara myself at the end of August or early September. Just taking my ease and visiting the Gaeltacht. Does anyone have any recommendations re accomodations/activities? Any b&bs etc to recommend in the area, esp An Cheathrú Rua?

GRMMA,

Paul

Maith thú, a Trigger. Tá éad orm!

quote:

[Does anyone know where in Graiméar Gaeilge na mBráithre Críostaí that particular séimhiú is mentioned? Ag baint fhataí. I don't think it should be "ag baint fataí" but I may be wrong. Reading that book is awe-inspiring. The dedication and scholarship of those who compiled it has to be admired.]

That lenition happens there because after "ag", historically the verbal noun is in the dative. So what follows it, is lenited (that's why people say "ar an éan bheag" in Donegal too, for instance).
Long ago (and even in pre-CO literary Irish), it was the rule to lenite any noun after a verbal noun preceded by "ag", but now that rule has disappeared, but it remains in some set phrases, like ag gabháil fhoinn, ag baint fhataí, ag baint mhóna(dh), ag gabháil cheoil, ag fáil bháis, etc.

cf Graiméar Gaeilge na mBráithre Críostaí: §4.16 (5th point)

An bhfuil tú mór liom arís = Are you getting on with me again? (ie: are you friends with my again after what happened?.

Reminds me of "he is very big on me," meaning "he supports and promotes me strongly in my efforts."

(Message edited by Domhnall_Ó_h_aireachtaigh on July 28, 2009)

An suimiúil, an man I knew from Mayo would say ' he is great with you ' meaning 'he' likes and/or thinks highly of you.Sounds like béarla for 'tá sé mór leatsa',although this guy was not from a Gaeltacht,the influence is still felt,apparently.

"An bhfuil tú mór liom arís" This is also used in Erris Co.Mayo.Its used to indicate friendship.

e.g Bhí mé an mhór Léi= I was very friendly with her.

An bhfuil tinneas goile 'ad ?

Gabh i leith, cogar i leith, cogar annseo chugam

Goile = stomach

Gabh i leith = come hither, come here

Paul 99,
some of the B&Bs in An Cheathrú Rua (Carraroe)

http://www.galway.net/acc/galway/carraroe.html

http://www.irishtourist.com/directory/accommodation/bed_and_breakfast/west/galwa y/connemara/carraroe/

Féile an Dóilín is a good time to come.
http://www.doilin.com/Events.html

Go raibh míle maith agat, a Lughaidh. Is mór an chabhair an t-eolas ar an teanga réamh-chaigheáin. Léigh mé an chaibidil sin ar an séimhiú [GGBC 4] ach tá an oiread sin eolais ann is nár aimsigh mé a raibh uaim. Táim buíoch díot.

Interesting post Trigger. Did you ask about the supposed monoglot Irish basket maker on Inis Meáin? And how many communities in south Conamara did you visit? Did you visit Camus, Leitir Móir, Carna etc?

I have yet to make it beyond Ros a' Mhíl. I was there briefly before I went to Inis Meáin.

It was on my mind to ask but I forgot all about it! But I can confirm that there are a small number of people on Inis Meáin 50+ that their English is very broken and can't speak much, I spoke to one man and he didn't have a lot of English at all just some phrases but he couldn't have a long conversation!

quote:

Did you visit Camus, Leitir Móir, Carna etc?

I went to Leitir Móir and stayed there for about 5 hours walking about, taking photos, having the odd convo in the shop etc.

I got the taxi from An Cheathrú Rua (where I stayed) to Leitir Móir and I stayed there for about 5 hours walking about for a good while, having something to eat, taking hundreds of photos, talking in the shops etc.

I also spent well over an hour walking about in Ros an mhíl and went into the restaurant there, as I missed my bus back to An Cheathrú Rua by a couple of mins!

I went to Inis Meáin twice, the second time I spent the night there so I spent atleast 2 days and one night there because I got last boat back. I also went to An Spidéal twice as well and there is plently of Irish still to be heard especially in Tí Hughes pub. I visited Inis Oírr for the day as well but didn't say there the night. (First boat there and last boat back)

(Message edited by trigger on July 28, 2009)

(Message edited by trigger on July 28, 2009)

Danny, it also looks like Michael McNulty has moved out of Inis Meáin because of work (thats what the barwoman told me in the pub) hes been gone since March.

Trigger, any idea where he has gone ? I wonder if he has returned back to Toronto ?

I got told that hes back in Canada but I don't know if hes back in Toronto.

If he turns up here I will let you know.

Trigger,

Go raibh maith 'ad. Funny you should mention Michael. It had been a couple of months since I checked his blog. Just last week I decided to go back to see if he had posted any updates. There was nothing new. It's too bad things didn't work out (apparently) for him there. I saw him on TG4 multiple times.

Did you have a chat with the postman/fisherman/bike renter Máirtín Ó Fátharta? I may have his name wrong. Or the poet and storyteller Dara Beag Ó Fátharta? Seems like every other person on the island is a Ó Fátharta or an Ó Congaile.

When you were in places like Leitír Móir etc, was Irish to be heard all around or was it more confined to private conversations in the pub? Did you hear young people speaking Irish amongst themselves? I really regret not spending more time in south Conamara as it's the largest Gaeltacht in the country!

On Inis Meáin and in Baile na nGall in west Kerry, it was heard all around. To a lesser extent, this was the case on Toraigh too. As an English speaking visitor to these places, I didn't have to strain to hear it spoken in the street or in the shop. It was just there, if you know what I mean. You knew you were in a place that was different to the rest of the country. Irish was more prominent than English. In other places in the Gaeltacht, such as Dún Luiche and Baile an Fheirtéaraigh, I had to seek it out more. English was more often than not the language used by the locals that I heard in passing...

So that's why I'm curious to know what you heard 'on the ground' when you were in south Conamara.

quote:

Did you have a chat with the postman/fisherman/bike renter Máirtín Ó Fátharta?

Yes I rented a bike from him for a day and a half, had a quick chat with him.

quote:

Or the poet and storyteller Dara Beag Ó Fátharta?

No but I went passed him on my bike though :-)

quote:

When you were in places like Leitír Móir etc, was Irish to be heard all around or was it more confined to private conversations in the pub? Did you hear young people speaking Irish amongst themselves? I really regret not spending more time in south Conamara as it's the largest Gaeltacht in the country!

South Connemara is far by the most vibrant and best Gaeltacht in the whole country. I heard every local speaking Irish all the time in the pubs, shops. For young people, in Leitir Móir I heard young locals speaking Irish in the shop and one on the phone laughing away in Irish. Young people spoke Irish in An Cheathrú Rua too in the pubs.

I heard mostly English by young people in An Spidéal.

In Inis Meáin, Irish spoken all the time by all ages.

quote:

was heard all around or was it more confined to private conversations in the pub?

No, most people in the pub is packed full of locals and its all Irish.

Dea-scéal é sin agat, Trigger.

go hiontach! Did you notice many tourists in Ceantar na nOileán? Are there many summer homes there like in Dún Chaoin or Gaoth Dobhair? I was wondering if there's a switch over to English more in the summertime because of many visitors. Apparently not. Good.

quote:

go hiontach! Did you notice many tourists in Ceantar na nOileán? Are there many summer homes there like in Dún Chaoin or Gaoth Dobhair? I was wondering if there's a switch over to English more in the summertime because of many visitors. Apparently not. Good.

Only one family but thats about it. Yes plently of summer homes in them areas.

But I reccomend you not to stay in Ceantar na nOileán if you are on foot but in An Cheathrú Rua, as An Cheathrú Rua is a proper sized village with everything there such as the three pubs, three shops etc and the Irish is just as strong as Ceantar na nOileán. You can always catch the every hour bus to Ros an Mhíl harbour which takes only 10 mins to get to the Aran Islands for the day and get the late bus back. You could also get the bus to An Spidéal or Galway City and get one of the buses back. You wouldn't be able to do them things in Ceantar na nOileán unless you had a car, its too far out in my opinion. If you wanted to visit Ceantar na nOileán you could always cycle there or get taxi which is about 10 euro.

(Message edited by trigger on July 29, 2009)

That's good to know. I'm planning a trip to continental Europe. Either for next Spring or in 2011. I'll probably hop over to Ireland at the end and spend four or five days in south Conamara as that's one area I haven't seen enough of. Will probably rent a car. I'd like to walk part of the Slí Chonamara walking route.

Unfortunately, I now live about 7,000 kilometres away.

(Message edited by Danny2007 on July 30, 2009)

Trigger, a chara,

Togha fir!

Cá raibh tú ag fanacht ar an gCeathrú Rua?
Cén "B&B"?

GRMMA,

Paul