Scéal an Cheannaighe

Agus is saobh an siobhal do-rinne ceannuighe críonna do cheannuighthibh Bhaile Átha Cliath ar ndul go Sligeach dhó d’iarraidh fiach do bhí aige ar Ó gConchubhair Sligigh. Agus an oidhche do-chuaidh don bhaile, tángadar buidhion do dheaghaos dána a gceann Í Chonchubhair lé dán ar n-a ghréschuma go fáthamhuil focailghlic. Do héisdeadh an dán agus do díoladh an bhuidhion go daor d’airgead agus d’earraidhibh uaisle onóracha. Agus is eadh adubhairt an ceannuighe an uair do-chonnairc sé a dhaoire do díoladh an dán, “A Í Chonchubhair, is daor cheannchus tusa dán,” ar sé. “Ní daor,” ar Ó Conchubhair, “óir ní thugus a leathluach air fós.” Mar do-chualaidh an ceannuighe sin, táinig go hÁth Cliath tar ais. Agus is gearr ’na dhiaidh sin go ndeachadar buidhion ré dán d’ionnsuighe an cheannuighe do cheannach airm agus éadaigh uaidh. Do fhiafruigh in ceannuighe dhíobh an raibhe dán aca do dhíolfaidís ris féin. Adubhradur-san go raibhe. “Más eadh, ceinneóchad-sa go maith é.” Tug sé deich bpúint dóibh ar an dán do bhí dénta lé forgla chéd bliadhan roimhe sin; agus ‘na dhiaidh sin do ghluais sé leis an dán a gceann Í Chonchubhair Sligigh a ndóigh go ttiubhradh dá uiread a ttug féin air dhó, agus nách dá athair ná dá sheanathair ná do neach do chineadh ná do chlannmhaicne Í Conchubhair do-rinneadh an dán do rug an ceannuighe leis. Agus giodh eadh mar do-chualaidh Ó Conchubhair connradh an cheannuighe, agus a raibhe ris in dán fá n-a chomhair féin dá cheannach uaidhe, tug Ó Conchubhair dá uiread a ttug an ceannuighe ar an dán dó dá chionn, bíodh nách raibhe feidhm aige ris. Agus dar leam-sa is mór do mealladh an ceannuighe do chionn an bhairr aisdir-sin do chur air tar an tí nár éimidh dán ná drécht ná deaghlaoidh dá ttugadh chuige riam, .i. deaghmhac Fiachaidh mhic Aodha, fear ceannsuighthe caibhdhean agus cosanta a cheirt, agus fear congbhála gach deighriaghla.

Narrative

The text here is a prose extract from the poem Iomdha urraim ag cloinn Chathaoir addressed to Feidhlim mac Fiachaidh mhic Aodha Ó Broin (d. 1630) written by Domhnall Carrach Mac Eochaidh. Feidhlim Ó Broin was the head of the Gabhail Raghnaill branch of the O’Byrnes who lived in modern-day County Wicklow. They were one of the few remaining Gaelic families close to Dublin and were a regular thorn in the side of the English administration.

This text is found in the Leabhar Branach or the Book of the O’Byrnes which was edited without translation by Seán Mac Airt and published by 1944. Mac Airt based his edition of the 73 poems on a manuscript copy from the early eighteenth century, now Harvard MS Ir 6. The poem from which this extract has been taken is on folio 47 v (or page 215). . This transcript was based on a copy written by Brian mac Giollaphádraig in 1622. Both the poem and prose can be accessed on the Bardic Poetry Database of the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies (here)

The text was chosen as it serves as a humerous introduction to the language. The text also draws attention to the cultural distinctions that existed within Ireland in the seventeenth century as people interacted across fluid and porous borders between Anglo-Irish and Gaelic spheres of influence.

The key point at play in the text is the required generosity of Gaelic leaders and their patronage of poetry and poets: An Flaith Flaithiúil. This is combined with a humerous story about the cultural misunderstandings of a merchant from Dublin to provide a comedic break in the poem. The text finishes by reinforcing Feidhlim’s own reputation for generosity and for purchasing poems and then returns to the poem.

This text is an example of a crosántacht, a mixture of poetry in snéadhbhairdne (8² 4²) and prose which is usually of a comedic nature. Ken Ó Donnchú has provided a detailed introduction to the crosántacht in his discussion of Foghmhar na bhfileadh fuil Bhrianach. The verse preceding the prose here ends in ‘ ’s nach saobh siobhal’ and provides the echo-words linking the poetry and the prose.

This Léamh edition stems from an introductory workshop on reading Early Modern Irish held by Léamh and the Celtic Studies Association of North America (CSANA) in the Summer of 2021. We would like to thank the participants for their helpful questions and feedback.

Translation

And it was a foolish journey that a shrewd merchant of the merchants of Dublin made, after going to Sligo to collect debts that he was owed by Ó Conchubhair Sligigh. And [on] the night that he went to the town, a band of good poets came to Ó Conchubhair with a well-wrought wise wittily worded poem. The poem was listened to and the group were paid dearly with money and noble honourable goods. And what the merchant said when he saw how dearly the poem was paid for was, “O Ó Conchubhair, it is dearly you pay for a poem”, he said. “It was not”, said Ó Conchubhair, “for I haven’t given half of its value yet”. When the merchant heard this, he came back to Dublin. And shortly after this a group of poets approached the merchant to buy weapons and garments from him. The merchant asked them if they had a poem that they would sell to him. They said they had. “If so, I will pay well for it.” He gave them ten pounds for a poem that had been written the best part of a hundred years before then; and after that he went before Ó Conchubhair Sligigh with the poem in the hope that he would give double what he himself had paid for it, and it was not for his father, or his grandfather, or any of his ancestors, or any of his sons that the poem that the merchant had brought with him was written. And yet, when Ó Conchubhair heard the merchant’s offer and the value of the poem that was brought before him [Ó Conchubhair Sligigh] to buy from him [the merchant] Ó Conchubhair gave twice as much to him for it as the merchant gave for the poem, even though he had no use for it.

And in my opinion, the merchant was greatly deceived to undertake such an excessive journey rather than [going to] one who never refused a poem, song, or good lay, that was given to him, i.e. the good son [i.e. Féidhlim] of Fiachadh the son of Aodh, a man of the taming of bandits and of the protection of his right, and the man of the maintaining of every just rule.

Translation

orthography

Note that the orthography of the text reflects earlier spelling conventions of Irish. For example, one might expect déanta instead of dénta as it appears here.

prepositional pronoun do

Both lenited and unlenited forms of do are found within the text: dhó, dóibh. This is common in Early Modern Irish (SnaG IV §10.4 (8)).

alliterative pairing

The use of alliterative pairs or triads is a stylistic feature and very common in Irish, for example go fáthamhail focailghlic and dán ná drécht ná deaghlaoigh. These groupings add emphasis to the meaning. The second or third element often contains an extra syllable. Compare Modern Irish, mór millteach, beag bídeach.

a dhaoire

Daoire might be confused with the genitive singular feminine of the adjective daor which shares the same form as the abstract noun, daoire, ‘costliness’.

When the masculine singular possessive pronoun proceeds an abstract noun (a + abstract noun i.e. a ghile) lit. ‘its brightness’ it is used idiomatically to convey the meaning ‘how bright’.

tángadar buidhion

Generally the verb and subject must agree in number in Early Modern Irish. The 3 sg form is used for singular nouns and the 3 pl form for plural nouns. For example, a-tá an fear, but a-táid na fir.

When the subject is a collective noun, grammatically singular but semantically plural, the singular or plural form of the verb can be used. Here buidhion is in the nominative singular but follows the 3 pl form of the verb, tángadar.

verbal noun phrases

This text contains numerous verbal noun phrases which are common in Early Modern Irish. Verbal nouns are nouns which describe actions and can be declined as regular nouns.

For example, scríobhadh, ‘[the act of] writing’

The object of a verbal noun follows the verbal noun and is in the genitive case.

déanamh + obar

déanamh oibre ‘doing [of] work’

The agent of the verbal noun can be expressed by the noun preceeding the verbal noun and places the verbal noun in the genitive case.

fear + déanamh

fear déanmha ‘man of doing’, ‘a doer’

These can be combined giving AGENT + VERBAL NOUN [GEN.] + OBJECT [GEN.]

fear + déanamh + obar

fear déanmha oibre, lit. ‘a man of doing of work’, ‘a man who does work’

An example of this construction in this text is fear congbhála gach deighriaghla.

fear, ‘man’ + congbháil ‘[act of] keeping’ + gach ‘every’ + deighriaghail ‘good rule’

fear congbhála gach deighriaghla

AGENT + VERBAL NOUN [GEN.] + PRON. ADJ. + OBJECT [GEN.]

‘a man who keeps every good rule’, ‘the man of the maintaining of every just rule.’

Further discussion on verbal noun phrases can be found in Desiderius (O’Rahilly, 1941), p. 262-9

Chunk Title Goes Here, the Original Text

Definition

Form

Function