it should not, then it has made sufficient progress; but if it should—and all unprejudiced persons must agree that it should—then let it be preserved. Whether we be successful or not, one thing is certain, and it is, that the National Teachers will do their utmost to insure its success.” (Loud applause.)
Another cheering fact is the number of teachers in all parts of the country that are studying the Irish lessons in the Weekly Freeman. We would ask all those to work up local public opinion through the local papers, and through any persons of influence whom they may meet.
A Congress will be held in the Mansion House, Dublin, of those who are interested in the preservation of Irish as a spoken language, and who (knowing that all other efforts are futile as long as Irish is practically excluded from the schools) are anxious to see the teachers in the Training Schools afforded an opportunity of learning Irish. The Annual Meeting of the National Teachers of Ireland will also deal with the subject.
The fourth volume published by the Irish Literary Society is a collection of the addresses of Sir Gavan Duffy, Dr. Sigerson, and Dr. Douglas Hyde, on Irish literature and kindred subjects. The volume is the most interesting yet published. Dr. Hyde is engaged on a sketch of the history of Irish literature, to be published as a volume in the same series.
The Irish Echo of February contains some of the poems of Donnċad mór O’Dálaiġ, Abbot of Boyle, and a reprint of the first pages of Coney’s Irish Dictionary. It also has a photograph and some articles by the late Father Keegan. The Gaodhal of the same month prints the continuation of a fine Gaelic letter, which we would wish to see translated, with notes. We are glad to see that the Gaodhal is doing well financially. The Irish American has always its large Gaelic column. We have also received the Providence Visitor, and the Irish Republic, with sympathetic articles.
In Scotland, the Celtic Monthly (threepence) is improving with every issue. The Oban Times and Inverness Chronicle gave encouraging notices of our last number. Mac Talla is still the best of the Gaelic papers.
Mr. David Comyn’s papers on Irish Illustrations to Shakespeare, which attracted so much attention as they appeared in the Weekly Freeman, are now collected in pamphlet form—price sixpence. Mr. Comyn, as our readers know, was the first editor of the Gaelic Journal.
NOTES AND QUERIES.
(In giving pronunciation, the phonetic key, employed in the easy lessons, is to be used.)
(1) Translation of the word “care.” Take care, seaċain! Take care of the cows, dein aireaċus ar na buaiḃ. Lock the door carefully, Cuir an glas air an ndorus go cruinn. Lay it down carefully, leig uait go h-aicilliġe é (aicilleaċ = handy, in W. Cork). He does not care about it, níl aon dúil aige ann. He has the care of a family, tá cúram clainne air. How busy he is, naċ cúramaċ atá sé (=anxious). Bean ṁór-ċúraim, a great business woman. Tá a ċúram díom feasta, I am no longer responsible for it. To these E. Munster phrases we may add tá sé i ḃfeiġil an tiġe = in care of (= i mḃun, i gcionn in Connaught). For dúil, we usually hear spéir in the West. In Meath, the sentence níl dúil agam ann, is usually translated “he has no element for it,” from the fact that dúil means (1) care for, (2) an element, creature.
(2) Ná fan ag an dorus, or ag an ndorus? which is the more usual? In some parts even the adjective is eclipsed: as, air an gcnoc mbuiḋe, air an bpáirc mbáin. In the genitive plural, the eclipsis of the adjective is still common; as, ala na gcos nduḃ, i gcionn trí n-oiḋċe.
(3) In Munster eist is pronounced (eisht), and eiriġ = eirig. In Ulster éiriġ is (aeree) or, sometimes, eeree. In Meath, éiriġ is (eeree), and iarraiḋ is (eree).
(4) Ní’l mé in inniḃ é ḋeanaḋ, I am no table to do it, especially when prevented by poverty, sickness, &c., Ulster. Nílim ionaṁail (inneaṁail ? is the pronunciation in-ool′ or ing-ool′?) ċum (or air) é ḋéanaṁ (Munster). These two seem to explain the western níl mé (in-on′), which seems to be = in innḃe. There are two uses of the phrase, (a) níl mé (in-on′) é ḋéanaḋ, or a déanta, I am not able to do it, (b) {{insular|má tá an lá (in-on′), if the day is suitable. In a former number of this Journal I equated (in-on′) with in ionċaiḃ; I believe this was wrong.
(5) Notice the different pronunciations of the verbal noun of the verb “to do”: deánaḋ (daan′-oo), Ulster; díongnaḋ (deen′-oo), W. Connacht; dianaṁ (dee-on′-ăv) Munster. In Munster, the verb “to do” is, in most of its parts, a regular verb, dein; in Meath tein is sometimes heard, and in the perfect, ron.
(6) How many? How much?
Cé ṁeud? (for cé a ṁeud).
Meud or méad is a noun masculine; gen. méid. Often erroneously written as a noun feminine; nom. méid; gen. méide.
When cé ṁeud means how many in number, it is followed by a noun in the nominative singular.
When it means how much in quantity, it is followed by a noun in the genitive.
Examples; How many people, days, miles, houses, &c,
Cé ṁeud duine, lá, míle, teaċ?
How much money, cloth, land, &c.?
Cé ṁeud airgid, éadaiġ, talaṁna?
How many times? how often?
Cé ṁeud am?
How much time? how long?
Cé ṁeud aimsire?
(The above are due to Mr. Bushe, Father O’Leary of Castlelyons, MacD., etc.).
