appendix will be added containing a list of peculiar words arranged in the following order:—(1) Words in which the old pronunciation is still preserved, such as beag, raiḃ, biḋeaḋ, etc.; (2) words contracted in rapid pronunciaation, such as mriartaċ for muirċeartaċ, dearṫair and dreaṫáir for dearḃraṫair; (3) words involving metathesis, as mnuiċille for muinċille; (4) remaining irregular words, if any. Students are requested to take notes of any irregular pronunciations they may hear, and report to the Gaelic Journal for insertion in the list.
Recent numbers of the journal have been returned unclaimed from the following addresses:—Patrick J. Craen, 48 High-street, Newark, New Jersey; Patrick Barry, Gortroe, N.S., Rathcormack, Waterford. Addresses should be written very plainly. The numbers are posted regularly; if they do not reach their destination it is not our fault.
Our readers will be glad to learn that Mr. John Fleming is so far improved in health, that he is no longer confined to his room. Go mba seaċt ḃfearr é!
The Cork Gaelic League recently held a most successful and thoroughly Gaelic reunion.
The programme for the annual Mód at Oban is now issued. The mód will open on 11th September; prizes are offered or Gaelic songs (four parts), Gaelic songs (two or three parts; Gaelic solos, male, female, and for children; Gaelic singing, with accompaniment on the Highland harp; harp playing; original Gaelic songs and poems; original translations into English verse; Gaelic prose composition (prize of five guineas); folk-tales; recitations; readings. The Marquess of Bute offers a prize of £10 for an essay by a medical man on Second Sight in the Highlands.
Proceedings of the Gaelic Society of Inverness, vol. xviii., 384 pages.—In the eighteen volumes of the transactions of this Society, the student of Gaelic will find a vast treasure house of Gaelic lore, much of it in excellent Scottish Gaelic. The chief attraction of the present volume is the exhaustive work on Gaelic charms and incantations, by Mr. William MacKenzie, who has collected an immense mass of curious old Gaelic material, which was never until now put on record. The paper covers nearly a hundred pages, and is a worthy complement of Nicholson’s great work on Gaelic proverbs. It is most curious to find that many traditions are yet preserved in the Highlands with regard to St. Patrick’s hymn and other things intimately connected with, but now forgotten in Ireland. Mr. MacBain has a valuable paper on the Gaelics of Badenoch, in which, as in most local districts, there are some survivals of the peculiarities of the older language. A large number of Perthshire Gaelic songs is published by Mr. Cameron.
VARIOUS PROVERBS, &c., FROM CORK.
1. Is breaġ an saoġal ort, a ṁic ó, mar (muna) an déirc a ḋeireaḋ ḋuit, you have fine times, my lad, if poverty is not the end of it. Má’s eaḋ féin, is aoraċ an obair é,, even so, ’tis an easy life. A ṁic ó is frequent. c.f., boyo in English; by boyo or lado in many places is meant a scamp, Déirc, literally charity, = Dé-ṡeirc, God-love.
2. Ná beir leat gur mise duḃairt é, don’t bring away the impression that ’twas I said it.
3. Ar ṁaiṫe leis féin ḋeineann an cat crónán, for its own good the cat purs.
4. Dá mbeiḋeaḋ coigeann ag an gcat, is minic a raċaḋ sé dá ḟeuċaint, if the cat had a churn, ’tis often he’d go to inspect it; or, ba ṁinic a ḃas ann, he’d often have his paw in it (ag deánaṁ or ag bualaḋ maistreaḋ) is also used for “making a churning.”)
5. Tá ceoḃraon ann, there is a mist. There are many words for mist, ceo, cuisne, ceoḃrán, ceofarnaċ, cafarnaċ, ceobarnaċ
6. Ag pógaḋ an leinḃ le gráḋ do’n mbanairtle (banaltra), kissing the child for love of the nurse, humouring people who can influence others. Tá sé mar a cruṫuiġeaḋ aḃras fé, he is as he was made to be, lit., as his material was shaped; aḃras, web of cloth.
8. Ní caṫair mar a ṫuairisg Corcaig, Cork is not as (great as) its name.
9. Go réiḋiḋ Dia an bóṫar dá anam, may God smooth the way for his soul.
10. Ólfad anois é, agus ólfad mo ḋaoisgín ar ball é, I’ll drink it now, and my child will drink it bye-and-bye. Said by a nurse.
11.Go ndíolair d’ ḟiaċla le Dia na glóire, may you pay your debts to the God of glory (in this world, and thus escape punishment in the next).
