Duinnín in Áth na Lachan (tuilleadh)

Dineen in Duckford (continued)

• ‘Go bhfóire Dia orainn,’ ar seisean, agus ba phaidir óna chroí amach é. ‘A Mhary, a chroí … Bhí snáth dearg chun cliath a chur ar gheansai, nó a leithéid, a bhí ar ordú ón mangaire aici, ‘Bhfuil ball éadaigh dearg ag éinne agaibh?’

  ‘Nil, a Athair.’

  ‘Agus cogar, a thaisce, ‘mbionn an clog cruinn de ghnáth?’

  D’fhéach Mary ar an gclog, seanchlog a raibh aghaidh bhán bhricneach air.
  

  ‘God save us,’ he said, and it was a prayer from his heart. ‘Mary, my heart, There was red yarn to darn a sweater, or the like, which she had on order from the peddler, Do any of you have a red garment?’

  ‘No, Father.’

  ‘And whisper, treasure, is the clock accurate as a rule?’

  Mary looked at the clock, an old clock with a speckled white face.

  fóir	Help, succour, relieve, save	v
  cliath	Wattled, latticed, frame; hurdle; patch of darning	f
  mangaire	Hawker, peddler; Small dealer, monger; Huckster, haggler	m
  ball	organ; spot, place; member	m
  cruinn	round; exact, accurate
  gnáth	Custom, usage; customary thing	m
  De ghnáth	as a rule
  bricíneach	freckled

• ‘Ar ndóigh, tá san briste lem chuimhne. Bhí uaireadéir ag Bella.’

  ‘Téimis amach go cró na mbó.’

  Ar a shlí amach as an teach dó[?], lorg sé an tairne ar strac an mangaire a lamh air. Bhí níos mó nó an t-aon tairne amháin teilgthe ag clair an dorais.

  ‘Murach an tairne sin,’ arsa Nell, ‘ní iarrfadh an mangaire leigheas agus ní fheicfeadh sé an taobh istigh den chró nó an fhuil ar na leacacha. Ghlacfaí leis gur imigh Bella dá deoin féin agus ní chuardófai a corp chóiche.’
  

  ‘Of course, that’s broken in my memory. Bella had a watch’

  ‘Let’s go out to the cowshed.’

  On his way out of the house [for him???], He looked for the nail that had torn the peddler’s hand. The door boards had more than one nail sticking out.

  ‘If not for that nail,’ said Nell, ‘the peddler would not ask for a treatment and would not see the inside of the shed or the blood on the tiles. It would be accepted that Bella had gone of her own accord and her body would never be searched for.’

  tairne	nail	m
  strac = srac	pull, tear
  strac = stróic	tear, rend
  teilg	cast, throw; shed color	v
  deoin	will, consent	f
  cuardaigh	Search; search for, seek
  chóiche	ever	[future]

• ‘Ní thuigim na tagairti do líonta damhán alla,’ arsa an Duinníneach.

  ‘Tá leigheas sna líonta, a Athair,’ a mhínigh Mary. ‘Nuair a bhaineann siad na hadharca de na budóga, ní dhéanann siad riamh ach slám a bhaint de na frathacha agus a bhrú ar an ngoin, mar bhuadán.’

  ‘I líonta Dé go bhfilltear sin,’ arsa an Duinníneach go cráifeach, agus mheabhraigh sé dé féin an mhír eolais sin a thoilleadh sa bhfoclóir, ar bhealach éigin.

  ‘Seo cró na mbó,’ ar sise.
  

  ‘I don’t understand the references to spider webs,’ said Dineen.

  ‘There is medicine in the webs,’ explained Mary. ‘When they remove the horns from the heifers, they never do anything other than a put handful on the walls and pressure on the would, as a bandage.’
  ‘In God’s webs it is then returned,’ said Dineen piously, an d he reminded himself that that item of information was contained in the dictionary, in some way.

  ‘This is the cowshed,’ she said.

  tagairt	Reference, allusion	f
  mínigh	Smooth, polish; Make gentle, assuage, quiet; Explain, expound, interpret.
  adharc	horn	[animal]
  budóg = bodóg	heifer	f
  slám	Lock, tuft; Handful; amount, quantity; Wisp; cloud	m
  fraigh	wall	f var pl frathacha
  brú	press, crush	m
  goin	wound	f
  buadán	Stump of animal’s horn; Bandage on dehorned anima
  cráifeach	Religious; pious, devout
  meabhraigh	Commit to memory; remember.
  mír	Bit, portion; prize, palm	f
  toilleadh	fitting, finding room, capacity	m

• Bhi sé ar clé an tí agus céim nios isle nó é, fuinneoigín folamh amháin ann. Chrom an tAthair Pádraig chun iniúchadh a dhéanamh ar rud éigin ar an talamh faoi leac na fuinneoige [d.l. 174] amuigh.

  ‘Luaithreach ó phíopa tobac,’ ar seisean le Bill. ‘Ar ndóigh bionn go leor daoine ag caitheamh ach nach deas mar a luíonn an píosa seo faoin bhfuinneog?’

  Bholaigh sé é. Ansin lean sé Mary isteach sa chró dorcha a raibh áiteacha do cheithre bhó ann. Sheas an láir bhán, an chráin mhuice agus an madra ar leac an dorais.

  It was on the left of the house and a step lower than it, there was one empty window. Father Patrick bent down to inspect something on the ground under the window sill outside.

  ‘Pipe tobacco ashes,’ he said to Bill. ‘Of course a lot of people smoke but isn’t it nice how this piece lies under the window?’

  He smelled it. Then he followed Mary into the dark shed where there were places for four cows. The white mare, the sow, and the dog stood on the doorstep.

  crom	bend, stoop	v
  iniúchadh	scrutin, inspection	m
  Luaithreach	ashes, dust	m
  Bolaigh	smell, scent	v

• ‘Nach bhfuil cat agaibh, a Mhary?’

  ‘D’imigh an cat nuair a chailleamar Nóinín.’

  Bhí blaincéad de shíoda liath ar na fraitheacha. D’aimsigh ar Duinníneach an áit ar stoitheadh anuas bindealán don mhangaire.

  ‘Níl bó againn ón uair gur chailleamar Nóinin. Fuair sí bás dé scamhóga.’
  

  ‘You don’t have a cat, Mary?’

  ‘The cat disappeared when we lost Nónín.’

  There was a blanket of gray silk on the walls. Dineen found the place where a bandage had been pulled off for the peddler.

  ‘We haven’t had a cow since we lost Noinin. She died of lungs [pneumonia].’

  síoda	silk	m
  stoitheadh	Pull, extraction	m
  bindealán	bandage
  scamhóg	lung

• ‘Bhi an fhuil, a chonaic an mangaire, ar an tairseach i gcónaí nuair a tháinig an Sáirsint anseo,’ arsa Bill os íseal … ‘Ansin, áit a bhfuil marc cailce. Nuair a bhogamar an easair i leataoibh, fuaireamar tuilleadh fola faoi.’

  ‘Ní raibh deis aige an áit a ghlanadh i gceart,’ arsa Nell.

  ‘Cad chuige go bhfuil easair sa chró agaibh agus gan bó agaibh, a Mhary?’

  ‘Ní muide a chuir ann é. Bainimid raithneach le cur faoi na cearca. Coinnimid istigh sa haggard é. B’fhéidir gur leag na póilíní cuid de anuas ar an bhfuil.’

  
  Chroith Bill a cheann. Sheas an Duinníneach cois fuinneoige.
  

  ‘The blood that the peddler saw, was still on the threshold when the Sergeant came here,’ Bill said in a low voice …’Then, the place with a chalk mark. When we moved the bedding aside, we found more blood under it.’

  ‘He didn’t have a chance to clean the place properly,’ said Nell

  ‘Why do you have bedding in the shed and no cows, Mary?’

  ‘We didn’t put it there. We collect ferns to put under the chickens. We keep it in the haggard. Maybe the police put some of it down on the blood.’

  Bill shook his head. Dineen stood by a window.

  tairseach	threshhold	f
  easair	bedding, litter	f
  raithneach	fern, bracken	f
  Croith	shake	v

• ‘Istigh sa chró a deineadh an píopa úd a ghlanadh amach,’ ar seisean. Féach rian luaithrigh ar an taobh istigh den bhfuinneog.’

  Rinne an gabha iniúchadh air.

  ‘Speilín an aitinn, lenar deineadh an marú, a Mhary, cá háit a [d.l. 175] gcoinnionn sibh é?
  

  ‘That pipe was cleaned out inside the shed,’ he said. ‘See a trail of ash on the inside of the window.’

  The blacksmith inspected it.

  ‘The gorse scythe, with with the killing was done, Mary, where do you keep it?’

  Luaithreach	ashes, dust	m
  rian	course, path/td>	m
  speilín	scythe-blade
  aiteann	Furze, gorse, whin	m gs aitinn

• ‘Ba chóir é a choinneáil sa tseid, ach fágaimid thuas i bpáirc an aitinn é de ghnath agus an chloch fhaobhair leis, le go mbeadh sé ar láimh agus lasadh na tine á bhaint.’

  ‘Agus an barra rotha agus an tsluasaid a luaigh Bill?’

  ‘Bhuel … d’fhéadfadh go mbeidis thíos sa ghort. Chuir Deaidí prátaí agus cé nár fhás siad ar fad, tá barr faoi na gasanna san ar éirigh leo … nó d’fhéadfadh go mbeadh an tsluasaid taobh le cró Huirris agus an barra rotha ar chíl an tí i ndiaidh do dhuine éigin an mhóin a thabhairt isteach.’
  

  ‘It should be kept in the shed, but we usually leave it up in the gorse field and the sharpening stone with it, so that it would be at hand to get kindling for the fire.’

  ‘And the wheel-barrow and the shovel Bill mentioned?’

  ‘Well….they might be down in the field. Daddy planted potatoes and although they didn’t all grow, there is a crop under the stalks that succeeded … or it could be that the shovel is next to the Huirris’s shed and the wheelbarrow is at the back of the house after someone has brought in the turf’

  m

  cloch	stone
  faobhar	sharp edge	m
  barra = bara rotha	wheel-barrow
  sluasaid	shovel	f
  luaigh	mention, cite	v
  gort	field	m
  gas	Stalk, stem	m
  móin	turf, peat	f

• ‘Mh’anam, a Mhary, ach níl moran eagair fúibh,’ arsa an gabha agus uafás air.

  Bhí an báibín ar chromán Mhary aris. Thuig sé go raibh léirmheastóireacht áirithe sa ghlór agus chrom sé ar ghol.

  ‘Bíonn Deaidí cúramach ach amháin nuair a bhíonn port nua a chumadh aige.’

  ‘Cumann sé ceol,’ arsa Nell.

  Ní moladh a bhí i gceist aici. Ghairm an Constabla Bill i leataoibh ar an Duinníneach.

  ‘My soul, Mary, but there is not much order about you,’ said the blacksmith in horror.

  The baby was on Mary’s hip again. He realized that there was some criticism in the voice and he bent over crying.

  ‘Daddy is only careful when he has to compose a new tune.’

  ‘He composes music,’ said Nell.

  She did not mean it as praise. Constable Bill call Dineen aside.

  eagar	Arrangement, order	mi>
  cromán	hip	m
  léirmheastóireacht	criticism	f
  crom	bend, stoop
  port	Landing-place; harbor, port; tune	m
  cumadh	formation; Composition; Contrivance, invention	m
  gair	call	vn gairm

• ‘Féach,’ ar seisean, ‘Níl á dhéanamh agat ach an cás i gcoinne Fayley a dhéanamh nios measa. Tá fianaise á mhealladh agat bhéal Mhary nach aon mharú tobann a bhí ann ach dunmharú pleanáilte fuarchúiseach, go raibh ar an té a mharaigh Prunty easair agus barra rotha, sluasaid agus speilín a bhailiú ó na ceithre haird. Ní bheadh a fhios ag strainséir cá bhfaigheadh sé iad.’

  ‘Maith thú, a Bhill! Sin é mo bharúil féin. Sin a shíleann Fayley freisin.’

  ‘A Mhary,’ ar seisean, ag casadh ina treo. ‘Ar thaitin Mrs. Prunty leat?’

  ‘Nior thaitin.’ [d.l. 176]
  

  ‘Look,’ he said, ‘You are only making the case against Fayley worse. You are attracting evidence from Mary’s mouth that it was not a sudden killing but a cold planned murder, that the person who killed Prunty had to collect bedding and a wheelbarrow, a shovel and a scythe blade from the four corners. A stranger would not know where to find them.’

  ‘Good on you, Bill! That’s my own opinion. Fayley thinks so too.’

  ‘Mary,’ he said, turning in her direction, ‘Did you like Mrs. Prunty?’

  ‘I did not.’

  mealladh	Beguilement, allurement, enticement; Deception; disappointment	m
  pleanáilte/i>	planned
  fuarchúiseach	Cool, imperturbable; Chilly, frigid; Apathetic, indifferent.

• “’Raibh a fhios san ag d’athair?’

  ‘Dúras leis í a ruaigeadh, nach raibh aon mhaith inti.’

  ‘Ach níor ruaig?’

  ‘Ta croi róbhog ag Deaidi. Ni dhíolfadh sé bó ar a feoil. Coinnímid Huirris cé go bhfuil sí seasc. Bhí Deaid ag súil go dtiocfadh cor éigin sa scéal — go n-imeodh Mrs. Prunty da deoin féin. Ar ndóigh, ní imeodh. Choíche.’

  Bhí súile Nell ar lasadh. Shílfeá ón ngoic throda a bhí ar Bhill go mbuailfeadh sé an Duinníneach.
  

  ‘Did your father know that?

  ‘He was told to chase her away, that there was no good in her.’

  ‘But he did not.’

  ‘Daddy’s heart is too soft. He would not sell a cow for its meat. We keep Huirris even though she is barren. Dad was hoping that something would happen in the situation — that Mrs. Prunty would leave on her own accord. Of course, it wouldn’t go away. Never.’

  Nell’s eyes lit up. You’d think from Bill’s fighting attitude that he would strike Dineen.

  ruaig	Chase, put to flight
  deoin	will, consent	f
  seasc	Barren, unfruitful, infertile
  cor	Turn, turning movement	m
  choíche	ever, forever, never
  goic	Cock, slant, tilt; attitude	f
  troid	fight, quarrel	f, v gstroda

• ‘De ghrá Dé, a Athair,’ ar seisean, ‘éirigh as!’

  ‘Lean ort!’ arsa Nell.

  ‘Dúirt sí go gcuirfeadh sí Joe chuig an díleachtlann nuair a bheadh sí i gceannas an ti,’ arsa Mary.

  ‘D’inis tú san do d’athair?’

  ‘D’insíos dócha é.’

  ‘Ar ndóigh, is cailín mór tú féin anois. D’fhéadfá féin cúram a dhéanamh den chlann agus de d’athair,’ arsa an Duinníneach, á bréagadh. ‘Bheadh an saol ar bhur dtoil agaibh ach fáil réidh le Bella.’

  ‘For the love of God, Father,’ he said, ‘Give it up!’

  ‘Carry on!’ said Nell.

  ‘She said she would send Joe to the orphanage when she was in charge of the house,’ said Mary.

  ‘Did you tell your father?’

  ‘I probably told him.’

  ‘Of course, you are a big girl now. You yourself could take care of the family and your father,’ said Dineen, being lied to. ‘Life would be to your liking but for getting rid of Bella.’

  toil	Will; inclination, desire, wish	f
  réidh	level, smooth; ready, prepared; finished

• ‘Chonaic mé pictiúr de Róisin, í siúd a bhfuil cónai uirthi i gCeatharlach. Deir Deaidí go bhfuil sí cneasta, gealgháireach. Caithfear cúram a dhéanamh de Joe,’ arsa Mary agus d’fhéach sí féin agus an Duinníneach sna súile ar a chéile.

  ‘Féach air seo,’ arsa Ó Duinnín le Bill agus méar á leagadh aige ar shlinn a bhí ag gobadh amach ón bhfalla ina seilf idir doras agus fuinneog, istigh. Bhí brúscar tobac leathdhóite air. Bholaigh an Duinníneach é . . . ‘Úr go leor,’ ar seisean, agus den chineál céanna leis an luaithreach amuigh. Mick McQuaid, a Bhill?’

  Ach ní raibh aon chur amach ag Bill ar thobac.
  

  ‘I saw a picture of Róisin, who lives in over Carlow. Daddy says she’s nice, cheerful. Joe must be taken care of,’ said Mary and she and the Dineen looked each other in the eyes.

  ‘Look at this,’ said Dineen to Bill hile laying a finger on a sliver that was sticking out from the wall in a shelf between the door and the window, inside. There were fragments of half-burned tobacco on it. Dineen smelled it … ‘Fresh enough,’ he said, ‘and of the same type as the ash outside. Mick McQuaid, Bill?’

  But Bill did not have anything to say about tobacco.

  cneasta	Honest, sincere; Decent, seemly; Mild-mannered
  gealgháireach	Having pleasant smile; sunny, radiant; cheerful, joyous
  slinn	Thin slab, shingle, tile; flat stone	f
  gobadh	Protrusion; Shooting, springing, sprouting	m
  brúscar = bruscar	Crumbs, fragments; Refuse, rubbish	m
  dóite	burned, burnt
  Luaithreach	ashes, dust	m

• ‘Réitigh duine éigin a phiopa agus é ina sheasamh anseo, ní [d.l. 177]
  rófhada ó shin. Thug sé glanadh amach maith don bhabhla agus chaith sé an lasóg trín bhfuinneog, mar a dhéanfadh duine ciallmhar agus easair thirim faoina chosa. Ni foláir nó go raibh an easair ann ag an am, nó chaithfeadh sé faoi é, ar na leaca. Ansin líon sé agus las sé a phiopa as an nua. Thosnaigh sé á ól ach, ar chúis éigin, leag sé as a láimh ansin ar an seilf é agus thit cuid den líonadh as. Féach ansin é.’

  
  

  ‘Someone lit his pipe while he was standing here, not too long ago. He gave the bowl a good cleaning and threw the light through the window, as a sensible person would do with dry bedding under his feet. The bedding must have been there at the time, or he would have thrown it down, on the slabs. Then he filled and lit his pipe anew. He started drinking but, for some reason, He then laid it from his hand on the shelf and some of the filling fell out. See it there.

  babhla	bowl	m
  lasóg	Small flame; small torch, light	f
  ciallmhar	Sensible, reasonable
  tirim	dry
  líon	fill	v
  tosnaigh = tosaigh	begin, start
  líonadh	filling
  cúis	cause, reason, matter	f
  leag	knock down; lower, lay

• ‘Thugamar faoi ndeara é,’ arsa Bill, ‘ach nior chuir an Sairsint aon suntas ar leith ann. Ni fios cé a chuir ann é, nó cathain ar cuireadh ann é.’

  ‘An gcaitheadh Mrs. Prunty dúidín?’ a d’fhiafraigh an Duinníneach de Mhary.

  ‘Ní chaitheadh,’ arsa Nell agus goimh uirthi.

  ‘Níl aon ní eile le déanamh anseo agam,’ arsa an Duinníneach go tobann.

  ‘We noticed it,’ said Bill, ‘but the Sergeant did not give it any particular attention. Don´t know who put it there, or when it was put there.’

  ‘Did Mrs. Prunty smoke a pipe?’ Dineen asked Mary.

  ‘She did not smoke,’ said Mary venomously.

  ‘I have nothing else to do here,’ Dineen said suddenly.

  suntas	Notice, attention	m
  ar leith	apart, separate; several, distinct; remarkable, special
  cathain	when
  dúidín	short-stemmed (clay) pipe	m
  goimh	sting, venom	f

• ‘Ach ‘bhfuil a fhios agat cé mharaigh Mrs. Prunty?’ arsa Bill.

  ‘Duine nach raibh ann in aon chor agus duine a bhí ann faoi dhó, arsa an Duinníneach agus meangadh mioscaiseach ar a aghaidh, ‘mura bhfuil breall orm,’ ar seisean ina dhiaidh sin agus an gliondar ag imeacht de.

  ‘Téimis ar fad, le Pluirin, faid le geata Jer Ui Chualain,’ arsa an Duinníneach. ‘B’fhéidir go mbeidh scéal le léamh ar an gclaí acu siúd.’

  Caoga slat ar aghaidh ó gheata mhuintir Toole, tháinig siad chuig ceann an bhóthair agus geata na gCualánach.

  ‘But do you know who killed Mrs. Prunty?’

  ‘A person who did not exist at all and a person who existed twice,’ said Dineen with a mischievous smile on his face, ‘if I am not making a fool of myself,’ he said afterwards as the joy went away.

  ‘Let’s go, with Pluirin, to the gate of Jer Ui Cualain,’ said Dineen. ‘Perhaps there is a story to read on the wall there.’

  Fifty yards on from the Toole’s gate, they came to the end of the road and the gate of the Cualains.

  faoi dhó	twice
  meangadh	smile	m
  mioscaiseach	Spiteful, malicious; trouble-making
  breall
  gliondar	Gladness, joyousness, mirthfulnes	m
  claí	Dike, wall; fence	m

• Chruinnigh gach éinne thart ar an Duinníneach agus an luifearnach ar dhá thaobh an gheata á scrúdu aige.

  ‘Céard tá á lorg agat?’ arsa Bill leis.

  ‘Rud nach ann dó, buíochas le Dia,’ arsa an Duinníneach agus gliondar air.

  ‘Ag teach mhuintir Doyle, d’fhág sé slán le Dora agus na [d.l. 178] páisti, le Huirris agus an madra. Nior labhair sé arís gur fhág sé slán le Nell ag doras stáisiún na bpóilíní.
  

  Everyone gathered around Dineen as he examined the weeds on either side of the gate.

  ‘What are you looking for?’ Bill said to him.

  ‘A thing that is not there, thank God,’ said Dineen with joy.

  At the Doyle family home, he said goodbye to Dora and the children, Huirris and the dog. He didn’t speak again until he said goodbye to Nell at the door of the police station.

  Cruinnigh	gather, assemble, collect; draw together; …
  luifearnach	Weeds; Dross, refuse; Rabble

• ‘Bhí tú rólách léi,’ arsa Bill go gearánach. ‘Ise a scaip an scéal go raibh Fayley le Bella a phésadh.’

  ‘An bhean bhocht,’ arsa Ó Duinnín. ‘Fulaingeoidh sí fos. Téimis go príosún Chill Mhantáin laithreach. Ni mór duinn Fayley Toole a chur ar a shuaimhneas.’

  ‘Cad is fiú é a chur ar a shuaimhneas nuair a chrochfar[fut aut] é i ndiaidh an tseisiúin?” arsa an Constabla go searbh.

  ‘Biodh muinín as an Tiarna agat agus féach an féidir leat treaip nó mótar, nó asal fhear na móna a fhail ar iasacht.’
  

  ‘You were too friendly with her,’ said Bill complaining. ‘It was she who spread the news that Fayley was going to marry Bella.’

  ‘The poor woman,’ said Dineen. ‘She will suffer yet. Let’s go to Wicklow prison immediately. We need to give peace to Fayley Toole.’

  ‘What’s the point of giving him peace when he will be hanged after the session?’ said Bill bitterly.

  ‘Trust in the Lord and see if you can climb or motor, or borrow the peat man’s donkey.’

  lách	Pleasant, affable, sociable, friendly
  gearánach	complaining
  ise	she, her	emphatic
  scaip	scatter	v
  Fulaing	Bear, endure, suffer, tolerate	Fulaingeoidh
  searbh	bitter, sour, acid
  suaimhneas	Peace, tranquillity; quietness, rest	m
  croch	hang
  muinín	Trust, confidence	f
  dreap	climb	v
  iasacht	lending, borrowing, loan
  iasacht X a fháil	borrow X

• Cupla uair an chloig ina dhiaidh sin scaoileadh isteach i gcillín Fayley Toole iad. Fear ard dóighiúil a bhí ann ach bhí sé cromtha agus a cheann ina ucht aige. Bhí a shúile gan bhri.

  ‘Ní bhfaighidh tú focal uaidh seachas “led thoil’ agus “go raibh maith agat”‘, arsa an bardach agus déistin air. ‘Deich nóiméad faid na cuairte.’

  ‘Fayley,’ arsa an Duinníneach leis, ‘nílim chun ceist ar bith a chur ort. Táim chun rud nó dhó a insint duit.’
  

  A few hours later they were released into Fayley Toole’s cell. He was a tall and handsome man but he was bent over with his head on his chest. His eyes were expressionless.

  ‘You won’t get a word from him other than “please” and “thank you”,’ said the warden with disgust. ‘Ten minutes for the visit.’

  ‘Fayley,’ Dineen said to him, ‘I’m not going to ask you any questions. I’m going to tell you a thing or two.’

  scaoileadh	Loosening, undoing; release, discharge	m
  cillín	cell	m
  dóighiúil	Handsome; Good-looking, beautifu
  crom	Bend, stoop	v
  ucht	Chest; breast, bosom; lap
  brí
  bardach	warden	m
  déistin	Distaste, nausea; disgust, loathing	f

• ‘Bhí Mary agus na leanaí eile i dteannta Dora Doyle an tráthnóna ar fad, an lá ar maraíodh Mrs. Prunty. Cé go raibh réiteach déanta go bhfillfidís abhaile, choinnigh Dora don tae iad mar gur thuig sí go raibh Bella ar an ól.’

  Chroch Fayley a cheann. D’fhéach sé ar an Duinníneach.

  ‘D’fhan siad ina dhiaidh sin mar go raibh bó ag breith agus theastaigh uathu an lao a fheiscint.’

  ‘Buíochas le Dia,’ arsa Fayley agus deora leis.

  Léim sé ina sheasamh agus rug sé ar dhá láimh an Duinnínigh.

  ‘Ní thuigim,’ arsa Bill.
  

  ‘Mary and the other children were with Dora Doyle all evening, the day Mrs. Prunty was killed. Although it had been arranged that they would return home, Dora kept them for tea because she realized Bella was drinking.’

  Fayley hung his head. He looked at Dineen.
  ‘They stayed after that because a cow was giving birth and they wanted to see the calf.’

  ‘Thank God,’ said Fayley with tears.

  He jumped to his feet and grabbed both of Dineen’s hands.

  ‘I don’t understand,’ said Bill.

  croch	hang
  teastaigh	Be wanted, needed (ó, by).
  lao	calf	m

• Ní fhéadfadh Fayler an choir a shéanadh mar bhí eagla air [d.l. 179]
  

  ‘Fayley could not deny the crime because he was afraid ‘

Notaí Faoi Scéalta