Dialects in the Irish language

Seán  Mac  Criomhthain  (1875 –  1955)  is  not  to  be  confused  with  Seán  Ó Criomhthain,  author  of Lá  Dár  Saol  and  son  of  Tomás  Ó  Criomhthain  whose  famous chronicle of life on the Great Blasket Island was published under the title An tOileánach. Mac Criomhthain’s  importance  stems  rather  from  his  mastery  of  the  oral  tradition  which  led Seosamh Ó Dálaigh to place him on a par with Peig Sayers as two of the best informants he had  encountered.  Ó  Dálaigh  himself  was  one  of  the  most  prolific  collectors  of  the  Irish Folkore Commission whose contribution to what is now the National Folkore Collection must be  considered  as  one  of  the  great  cultural  achievements  of  Irish  history.  Nonetheless,  the institutional  frames  influencing  the  collection  process  meant  that  ultimately  the  IFC  lacked what  Ó  Giolláin  calls  an  “reflexive  ethnology”  (141),  and  this  issue  therefore  merits  some discussion.  The  present  paper  is  intended  to  advance  the  discussion  with  reference  to  the presence, or not, of linguistic essentialism on the part of the Irish state as well of other sectors of  society,  taking  as  central  texts  Seán  Ó  Riordáin’s  famous  poem “Fill  Arís” as well as a recently completed critical edition of Seán Mac Criomhthain’s folkloric repertoire.

In: Johnston, D., Parina, E., Fomin, M. (eds.) (2015), 'Yn llawen iawn, yn llawn iaith': Proceedings of the 6th International Colloquium of Societas Celto-Slavica. Studia Celto-Slavica 7, pp. 288-289. Aberystwyth: University of Wales Centre for Advanced Welsh and Celtic Studies, 2015.

What kind of Irish was spoken in Westmeath?
Aengus Finnegan
“Irish? Was that ever spoken here at all?” It is not at all implausible that mention of Westmeath Irish might elicit such a response from a present day Westmeath man or woman. Irish, for many, belongs to some distant and unknowable past, and yet evidence of the language is to be found all around us. Townland names, folklore collections and word-lists, even the rhythm and vocabulary of everyday speech, all hint at a rich tradition which exists just below the surface. It is probably no more than 100 years since the last native speaker of Westmeath Irish passed on, yet almost nothing has been written about the dialect or dialects of Irish one spoken in the county. A considered look at the evidence in this article reveals both Connacht and Ulster influences.

“Irish? Was that ever spoken here at all?” Is mór an seans gur freagra den sórt seo a bhainfeadh caint ar Ghaeilge na hIarmhí as an gnáthdhuine sa lá atá inniu ann, i gContae na hIarmhí. Baineann an Ghaeilge, dar le go leor, le tréimhse atá i bhfad siar, le saol atá caite agus ceilte orainn go deo. Ach tá fianaise ar an teanga ar gach aon taobh dúinn. Féach ar ainmneacha bailte fearainn, ar bhailiúcháin bhéaloidis agus ar liostaí focal. Éist, fiú, le tuin an Bhéarla sa chontae agus lena stór focal agus tá rian den Ghaeilge ann go fóill. Ní dócha go bhfuil 100 bliain ann ó cailleadh an duine deireanach le Gaeilge na hIarmhí, ach is ar éigean a scríobhadh tada ó shin ar an gcanúint nó ar na canúintí Gaeilge a labhraítí tráth sa taobh sin tíre. Déantar scagadh san alt seo ar an bhfianaise mar atá agus sonraítear tréithe Ultacha agus tréithe Connachtacha san fhianaise sin.