Rang Gaeilge, 23ú lá Mí na Nollag 2024

Faoi Dheireadh Thiar (tuilleadh)
At Long Last (continued)

  • JACKIE: Hello? Duirt mé leat gan glaoch orm ar an bhfón
    seo, ‘Tommy … Níl mé ag iarraidh labhairt le [d.l. 30] duine ar bith faoi láthair … No, Tommy.
    Níl sé d’am agam … Níl anseo ach mé fhéin agus ar Matrún … Ach ní féidir liom. No, Níl mé as
    iarraidh aon bhronntanas. . . Ní dhearna tú tada orm. Tá muid sách fada ag dul amach le chéile.
    Ta mé ag iarraidh briseadh faoi láthair
    . Níl tada le plé, Tommy … Bhuel biodh a fhios agat anois é… No, a dúirt mé… Orm fhéin atá
    an locht. Tá mé ag iarraidh a bheith asam fhéin faoi láthair … No, Tommy, Níl mé ag iarraidh
    thú a fheiceail agus sin sin (Cloiseann MAIRIN na cúpla focal deiridh agus í ar a bealach ar ais
    le tae.)

    JACKIE: Hello? I told you not to call me on this phone. I don’t want to talk to anyone at present… No Tommy. I don’t have time … Only me and the matron are here now … But I can’t … No, I don’t want any present … You didn’t do anything to me. We’ve been going out together for quite some time. I’m trying to break up right now … There’s nothing to discuss, Tommy … Well, now you know it …. No, I said … It’s my own fault … I’m trying to be myself right now … No, Tommy, I don’t want to see you and that’s that. (MAIRIN hears the last few words as she is on her way back with tea.

  • MÁIRÍN: ’Bhfuil tu ceart go leor, a Jackie?
    JACKIE: Tá. Yeah.
    MARIN: Meall leat a chodladh i arist, maith an bhean.
    JACKIE: Come on, Sally. (Ag imeacht.)
    SALLY: I have fallen in love with Coilmin.
    COILMIN: Up our that! Dar fia tá blaze uirthi sin ag imeacht.
    MAIRIN: Ná tarraing ort i nó céasfaidh sí thú.
    COILMIN: M’anam go mbainfeadh duine rattle fós aisti
    MAIRIN: Stop, a bhligeaird.
    COILMIN: Up our that!
    MAIRIN: Codloidh ta go brea ina dhiaidh seo. Anois, a Taimin.
    TAIMÍN: Níl aon chodladh orm.
    MAIRIN: Beidh sé ort nuair a luifeas tú ar an leaba. Ar ndóigh tá chuile dhuine eile imithe a chodladh anois ach a bheirt agaibhse
    [d.l. 31]

    MÁIRÍN: Are you OK, Jackie.?
    JACKIE: Yes, Yeah.
    MAIRIN: You will lure her to sleep again, good woman.
    JACKIE: Come on, Sally. (Leaving.)
    SALLY: I have fallen in love with Coilmin.
    COILMIN: Up our that! By Jove! There’s a blaze going on there.
    MAIRIN: Don’t pull her or she will torture you.
    COILMIN: My soul, if someone would still take a rattle from her.
    MAIRIN: Stop, blackguard
    COILMIN: Up our that!
    MAIRIN: You will sleep well after this.
    TAIMÍN: I am not sleepy.
    MAIRIN: It[sleep] will be on you when you lie down on the bed.

    Meall Beguile, charm; entice; Delude, deceive; disappoint
    Dar fia By Jove! By heaven
    céas crucify, torment, suffer agony
    tarraing pull, draw
    bligeard Blackguard m

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World War I at Sea: 1914

I recently read Robert K. Massie’s, Castles of Steel: Britain, Germany, and the Winning of the Great War at Sea

Some of this story I knew from other books, notably Dan Van der Vat’s The Ship that Changed the World: The Escape of the Goeben to the Dardanelles in 1914. In the 1920s Winston Churchill wrote that the Goeben brought “more slaughter, more misery, and more ruin than has ever before been borne within the compass of a ship.” This was because the Goeben forced the Ottoman Empire into World War I on the German side. This in turn led to the breakup of the Ottoman Empires. Long after Churchill wrote those words we are still dealing with the consequences of that: Modern Syria, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, and Israel were all Ottoman provinces in 1914.

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Steel Lobsters

Notes and quotes concerning Myke Cole, Steel Lobsters: Crown, Commonwealth, and the Last Knights in England

“The total time from the moment they donned their armor , to the battle that would see them pass into legend, was about a month. It was a bright, final flash of glory – like the sparkling sun on their polished metal armor – before winking out forever.”

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Rang Gaeilge, 21ú lá Mí na Samhna 2024

Faoi Dheireadh Thiar (tuilleadh)
At Long Last (continued)

  • COILMIN: Ara, bionn a muintir isteach is amach le parcels mhóra ag cuid acu sin is gan ag an gcuid eile againn ach ag diúl a gcuid méarachaí.
    MAIRIN: Luigh ar an leaba anois is bí ag ligean do scith. Tá lá mór amáireach romhainn.
    COILMIN: Óra, mallacht Dé uirthi mar leaba. Nach inti sin a chaillfear muid.
    MAIRIN: Gabh i leith uait, a Taimín. Cuirfidh mise a chodladh thú.
    TAIMIN: ‘Bhfuil sé chomh fada sin sa lá?
    MAIRIN: Ní thiocfaidh Santy Claus mara dtiocfaidh tú a chodladh luath.
    TAIMIN: Níl. Níl. Níl mé ag dul ag corraí as seo nó go dtiocfaidh fear an phosta.
    COILMIN: M’anam muise go mbeidh do thóin leathnaithe go maith ag fanacht, nó go dtiocfaidh scolb ar uibheachaí glugair.
    MAIRIN: All right mar sin, a Taimin. Déanfaidh mé hot whiskey dhuit ós í an Nollaig í.
    COILMIN: Anois tá tú ag caint! Fuisce ar a aghaidh a ólfas mise.
    MAIRIN: Fainic an mbeadh aon chúthaileacht ort dhá iarraidh.
    Comin: Níl, ach go raibh leisce orm a rá leat an ghloine a lionadh go barr.
    MARIN: Bhuel, mhairfeá san áit a gcaillfí daoine eile.
    COILMIN: Up our that. Is í an Nollaig í, Nach í, a Taimin?
    TAIMIN: Is í faraor.
    MAIRIN:A, ná bí bronach, a Taimín. Bain sásamh as an Nollaig agus grá mo chroí thú. [d.l. 23]

    COILMIN: Alas, their people come in and out with their large parcels, while the rest of us just suck their fingers.
    MAIRIN: Now lie on the bed and take a rest. We have a big day before us tomorrow.
    COILMIN: Oh, God’s curse on her for a bed. Isn’t in there we will be lost.
    MAIRIN: Come hither, Taimin. I will put you to sleep.
    TAIMIN: Is it that late in the day?
    MAIRIN: Santa Claus will not come if you do not go to bed early.
    TAIMIN: No. No. I’m not going to move from here until the postman comes.
    COILMIN: My soul indeed your butt will expanded in waiting, until that addled eggs will hatch.
    MAIRIN: All right therefore, Taimin. I’ll make hot whiskey for you since it’s Christmas.
    COILMIN: Now you are talking! I will drink whiskey in his face
    MAIRIN: Beware of any shyness about asking for two.
    Coilmin: No, but I was too shy to tell you to fill the glass to the top.
    MAiRIN: Well, you would live in the place where others would be lost.
    COILMIN: Up our that. It’s Christmas. Isn’t it, Taimin?
    TAIMIN: It is, alas.
    MAIRIN: Oh, don’t be sad, Taimin. Enjoy your Christmas and love of my heart for you.

    diúl sucking, suck m, v
    scíth Tiredness, fatigue; rest f
    mara = mura if not, unless
    corraí Movement; stir, excitement m
    leathnaigh widen, extend
    scolb indentation, scallop; notch; splinter;
    Nick; crack, chip;
    Lean wiry person; strapping fellow.
    m
    ubh egg f pl uibheacha
    cúthaileacht Shyness; diffidence f
    leisce Laziness, sloth; Shyness, embarrassment f
    faraor alas
    sásamh Satisfaction; Gratification, pleasure m

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St. Luke’s in November 2024

As we have done on several previous visits to Chicagoland, Mia and I left Windycon about 9AM Sunday, missing the con events of that day. Once again we went to worship at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Evanston. This is what we did after after Capricon in February of this year and Windycon last year and in 2021. We are always glad to be back there, see old friends, and see that the parish is thriving.

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Windycon 2024

My wife Mia and I spend the weekend of November 8-10 in Chicagoland at Windycon, a science fiction convention that we have frequently attended since the 1970s, and which we went to last year. This was Windycon 50. I went to Windycon 3 back in 1976, and Mia and I both went to Windycon 5 in 1978.

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Rang Gaeilge, 22ú lá na Mí Dheireadh Fómhair 2024

Faoi Dheireadh Thiar (tuilleadh)
At Long Last (continued)

  • TAIMÍN: (go hardghlórach): Fón, fón, fón. Haigh, fón!
    COILMÍN: Suigh síos, nach gcloisfidh siad fhéin é.
    TAIMÍN: Ar ndóigh ar fhaitios nach gcloisfeadh. Fón Nurse. Fón. Fón! (Tagann JACKIE isteach.) Fón fón, fón!
    JACKIE: Ceart go leor, a Taimin. Tá mé dhá fhreagairt anois. [dhá
    is Connemara dialect]
    COILMÍN: Ach cén sort dáir a bhuaileas chor ar bith thú nuair a thosaíos an fón sin?
    JACKIE: Áras na nAosach, hello. INo. Jackie… Bhuel tá an Matrun cruógach faoi lathair. An féidir liom teachtaireacht a thógail? … Cé atá ag caint? . . . Fan nóiméad amháin mar sin is gheobhaidh mé dhuit í. ‘Mhairin?
    MÁIRÍN: (ón taobh amuigh): Céard?
    JACKIE: Tá tú ag teastail ar an bhfon. Coinnigh an line nóiméad amháin le do thoil.
    (Cuireann MAIRIN a cloigeann isteach ar stáitse.)
    MÁIRÍN: Tóg teachtaireacht, a Jackie, is cuirfidh mé glaoch ar ais nuair atá siad curtha a chodladh.

    JACKIE: (ag clúdach an fhóin): Social worker atá ann. Dúirt sí go raibh sé práinneach.
    MÁIRÍN: Oh Lord, cuir thusa Bríd isteach sa leaba mar sin. Tá sí ina sui ar an gcommode.
    JACKIE: O.K.
    MÁIRÍN: Hello? Oh hello Nancy. Happy Christmas, a leana… Is fíor dhuit, ach an oiread le mo jab fhéin. Is deacair do social worker sásamh a bhaint as an Nollaig … Emergency? Dia linn. Céard atá ag cur as dhuit?
    [d.l. 16]

    TAIMÏN: (Loudly) Phone, phone, phone. Hi, phone.

    COILMÍN: Sit down, they won’t hear it themselves
    TAIMÍN: Of course for fear they would not hear. Phone Nurse. Phone. Phone! (JACKIE comes in) Phone phone, phone!
    JACKIE: All right, Taimín. I am answering now.
    COILMÍN: But what sort of frenzy hits you at all when that phone starts up?
    JACKIE: House of the Aged, hello. No. Jackie… Well, the matron is busy at present. Can I take a message? … Who is speaking? … So wait a minute and I’ll get her for you. Maureen?
    MÁIRÍN: (from outside): What?
    JACKIE: You are wanted on the phone. Please hold the line for a minute.
    (MAIRIN puts her head in on stage.)
    MÁIRÍN: Take a message, Jackie, and I’ll call back when they’ve been put to bed.

    JACKIE: (covering the phone) It is a social worker. She said it was urgent.
    MÁIRÍN: Oh Lord, you put Bríd to bed then. She is sitting on the commode.
    JACKIE: O.K.
    MÁIRÍN: Hello? Oh hello Nancy. Happy Christmas, child[???]… It is true for you, but as much for my own job. It is hard for a social worker to enjoy Christmas… Emergency? God with us. What is bothering you?

    freagairt Answering, answer f
    Áras Habitation, abode; House, building; vessel m
    cruógach Pressing, urgent; busy
    práinneach Urgent, exigent; pressing, pressed
    leanbh child m
    sásamh Satisfaction; Gratification, pleasure m
    cuir as Put out of; deprive; …; disconcert, bother

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Rang Gaeilge, 24ú lá na Mí Mheán Fómhair 2024

Faoi Dheireadh Thiar

At Long Last

  • Pearsana


    TAIMÍN CHUALÁIN: Fear ciúin, deabhóideach nach bhfuil amharc na súl aige.
    COILMÍN AN BHREATHNAIGH: Fear a d’ol gach a raibh ag gabháil leis.

    MEAIG LOIDEAIN: Bean théagartha atá taghdach agus ceanndána.
    DARACH LOIDEAIN: Mac Mheaig. Tamall caite i Sasana aige.
    MÁIRÍN: An matran. Dea-chroíoch agus cineálta.
    JACKIE: Banaltra óg ghealgháireach.
    SALLY: I Sasana i gcaitheamh a saoil, a meabhair caillte aici.

    TAIMÍN CHUALÁIN: A quiet, devout man who doesn’t see well.
    COILMÍN AN BHREATHNAIGH: A man who drank everything he could take.
    MEAIG LOIDEAIN: A stout woman, impulsive and stubborn.
    DARACH LOIDEAIN: Meg’s son. He has spent some time in England.
    MÁIRÍN: The matron. Good-hearted and kind.
    JACKIE: A cheerful young nurse.
    SALLY: Spending her life in England. Lost her mind.

    deabhóideach Devout, devotional
    amharc Sight; Faculty of sight, vision
    breathnaigh Observe, examine
    téagartha Substantial, stout, bulky
    taghdach Fitful, impulsive, quick-tempered; changeable, capricious
    ceanndána Headstrong; wilful, stubborn
    dea-chroíoch Good-hearted, kind-natured.
    cineálta kind
    gealgháireach Having pleasant smile; sunny, radiant; cheerful, joyous
    meabhair mind, memory f

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Rang Gaeilge, 21ú lá Mí na mí Lúnasa, 2024

Turas go Lár na Cathrach (tuilleadh)

A trip to the Center of the City (continued)

  • [Scéal aisteach. Is cosúil gur turas ar LSD é turas go Lár na Cathrach.]

    Sin mar a bhí i dtús ár ngrá — aisling gheal a bhí ann ceart go leor. Ach goilleann sé orm go fóill a bheith ag smaoineamh ar an scéal nó chuaigh ár ngrá in éag; is dócha gur de réir a chéile a thuig mé sin. Bhí a fhios agam ar feadh tamaill gurbh fhearr liom gan í a fheiceáil ag an stop, ach ní admhóinn dom féin go raibh a fhios sin agam. D’éirigh mé tuirseach den dóigh a raibh ár gcumann ag dul ar aghaidh agus bheartaigh mé deireadh a chur leis. Scríobhfainn litir chuici agus dá dtiocfadh sí isteach sa bhus arís, bhéarfainn di í. Ní raibh de pháipéar agam ach an dréacht de mo thráchtas a bhí agam nuair a tháinig mé ar bord. Bhí sé ar an urlár faoi mo chosa — ní raibh sé de dhánacht ionam amharc síos air le fada.[…]

    That’s how it was at the beginning of love — it was a bright dream all right. but it still pains me to think about the story or our love expiring; I probably realized that gradually. I’d known for a while that I’d prefer not seeing her at the stop, but I wouldn’t admit to myself that I knew that. I got tired of the way our relationship was going and decided to end it. I would write a letter to her and if she got on the bus again I would give it to her. All I had on paper was the draft of my thesis when I came on board. It was on the floor under my feet — I did not dare to look down on it for a long time.

    goill Grieve, pain; afflict, distress; vex, hurt v
    éag dead; expired
    admhaigh Acknowledge, Admit
    cumann Friendship, love; companionship m
    beartaigh cast; poise, brandish; Plan, contrive; consider
    dréacht draft…
    tráchtas Treatise, dissertation; Thesis m
    dánacht Boldness; daring, confidence; forwardness, audacity f

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