Despite one interesting response to my last post, I'm going to proceed in good faith and say nothing else about the matter. It won't help me or anyone else if I get thin-skinned about such things, I suppose. :)

My first question is about something which was partly addressed by Carmanach in a recent thread. He said that when you compare one thing to another, you cannot say simply “Cosúil le X” ('Like X'), and gave a great list of other possibilities. The only question mark was over what might be most appropriate in Ulster Irish.

I was initially rapt because I’d been puzzling over this very usage of ‘dála’ by a writer from Belfast, Philip Cummings, but I’ve started to suspect that his Irish isn’t exclusively drawn from Ulster Irish. I could be wrong though.

I suppose I have two questions, then:

1. Does anyone know much about this writer I’m talking about (he used to be a columnist for Lá Nua), and how one might describe the provenance of his Irish (ie. dialect(s), if applicable)? It's important because I'm learning a lot by reading his work, but I need to put it in its context.
2. If ‘dála’ isn’t Ulster usage to express 'like X', when what is?

Thanks in advance,
Rob

Carmanach has made a name for himself as a great support of Gaeltacht Irish. Someone called Cummings from Belfast is unlikely to have a Gaeltacht dialect as his native Irish; I would recommend dropping Cummings and reading something more authentic. There are plenty of Ulster writers to choose from.

I don't think Carmanach said that dáltha is definitely not Ulster usage, but he just said he didn't know what what. I don't know either - but maybe Lughaidh will proffer an opinion.

I quite enjoy Philip Cummings' columns in Lá which are available in book form; I don't know much about his poetry.

But as Corkirish says, he is not a Gaeltacht writer.

(Message edited by aonghus on January 19, 2011)

Aonghus, I can't find the link now, but isn't there a blog by someone from the Arran Islands Mac a' Bháird was the surname but I don't recall the firstname - maybe the OP would gain something from reading that?

This one:

http://oileanach.blogspot.com/

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I'm not the best person to judge the quality or otherwise of a writer's Irish; unless it is jarring I don't notice it.