Dia dhaoibh, a Chairde.

Bhí mé an-ghnóthach sna míonna atá imithe thart.

But I'm still doing my best to learn that difficult, exotic and wonderful language.

And therefore it upsets me to read articles like this: http://www.independent.ie/opinion/columnists/kevin-myers/kevin-myers-more-subsid ised-companies-likely-to-fail-as-fangs-of-reality-bite-2677558.html. My cousin sent me the link because he knows of my interest in Irish. As I have mentioned before, my cousin himself is not interested in Irish so much and he even jokingly refers to himself in his inimitable Dublin accent as a member of the "monolingual English-speaking rabble of the country."

He said he that he was even shocked about the way Peig Sayers was likened to Fred West. (He had to explain who Fred West was.) "But nobody takes Myers seriously," he said. "It is best to ignore him." (I don't know about that. Mr. Myers is writing in Ireland's biggest selling newspaper, isn't he? Not a good image for the country.)

Anyway it struck me that instead of the monolingual enemies of the Irish language constantly disparaging the language, they should keep quiet on the subject of languages - which should be an embarrassingly sensitive and vulnerable spot for them. Should not they be in constant fear that those rare people with complete bilingual ability in both English and Irish would be poking fun at their ignorance? It is a hard thing to say and everybody has dear relatives and friends that they don't want to hurt but the simple fact is that this would be the natural thing, i.e. that those with the superior ability should be in the better position and not vice versa. In Luxemburg it is those people who can speak both French and German who have the status and it is the rural farmers who only speak German who feel under pressure when they encounter bilingual situations. (I could not imagine a situation in Luxemburg city where a monolingual farmer would dare to issue an injunction to a French-speaking group to "stop speaking that f***ing language!" ! ;-) )

So maybe my cousin is right and English is indeed the language of the "monolingual rabble". Maybe that is one of the rules of democracy: when the majority want to be wrong, then wrong is right.

When people are being very, very nasty to Irish speakers why can't the Irish speakers be a little bit nasty back?

Slán go fóill.

(Message edited by acco on June 22, 2011)

Mr Myers is a noted contrarian. His function is to ensure that the editor is never stuck for letters to fill the letter page.

He fulfilled that role in the Irish Times until fired for insulting single mothers.

Insulting Irish speakers is however acceptable prejudice!

This is just Kevin Myers doing what he does best. I've always chosen to ignore him. He regularly insults any thing Irish. He is the stereotypical west brit.

quote:

Several generations of poor blameless citizens had their childhoods ruined by the imposition of the demented reminiscences of Peig Sayers, a pipe-smoking old mad woman from the Blaskets.

This female Fred West, not content with having her own life filled with misery, was determined to spread it as far as she possibly could. In this ambition she was assisted by a lunatic from England named Robin Flowers and several Scandinavians with straws in their hair and a berserker look in their eyes, who between them turned her geriatric babblings into an educational purgatory for hundreds of thousands of children.

Surely these are the demented babblings of a very disturbed person. To whom would such vitriol appeal?

I wonder what he thinks of the British Queen's "A Uachtaráin is a chairde" and the American President's "Is féidir linn." They showed respect.

Kevin Myers is in the throes of his own anti-Irish hatred. Berserk?

It sounds like he lives in a world that is sad and soulless, and everything is judged on economic worth. Change the words a bit and everyone would see how absurd the argument is.

"... Have you heard of anything more stupid in your life? Jobs, not according to skills or market demands, but solely because one is disabled."

No special programs for those with a handicap! Let them figure it out on their own!

Once again, Kevin Myers has has made a fool of himself - it's amazing to me that people actually pay money to read that stuff.

What always amuses me about the jaded Kevin Myers (nobody takes him seriously any more anyway) is the way he populates his columns with "facts" that aren't true. For example, Udaras na Gaeltachta was devloped to develop employment in the Gaeltachtaí - not to "provide jobs for Irish speakers".

To be fair to Kevinthough, he consistently applies that established journalistic device - Never let the truth get in the way of a story

The one acceptable prejudice still practised in Ireland now is against Irish speakers. When I am openly berated for speaking Irish or hear it mumrmured under someones breath I usually just say out to them 'Sasanach' with a big smile on my face and that drives the monolingual English speaker mad! I've beeen told the term Sasanach is also used in Wales as a perjoratory term against

Robin Flower:Deputy-Keeper of Manuscripts,British museum 1929-44.Fellow of the British Academy.Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.Member of the Royal Irish Academy.He was given many awards and honours by colleges and learned bodies almost too numerous to list.As fluent in Greek,Latin,Anglo-saxon and Welsh as he was in Irish,in addition to speaking most modern European languages.Would to god that I were such a ' lunatic from England'.

A case of 'projection' I think ,since Myers was reared in Leicester and speaks with a rather affected 'boarding school' drawl.This is not to say that he went to such a place.Or that being born or raised in England is a bad thing.Didnt do Flower any harm!

But it seems to have set up some inner conflict in the fevered mind of Mr.Myers.

Agus oibríonn sé go seoigh. Féach an méid aird a fuair an fear bocht abhus!