Irish Class, May 16, 2011
Rang Gaeilge, 16ú lá Mí na Bealtaine 2011
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Monday Night Irish Class, May 16, 2011
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Tag Archives: scottish gaelic
Wool Waulking at the Minnesota Scottish Fair
On Saturday we were part of colgaffneyis contingent at the Minnesota Scottish Fair and Highland Games. mia_mcdavid had just woven a 15 yard length of tartan, a custom commission for our friend AC. Here is Mia, wrapped up in her work.
Picture behind cut
Got stuff done
I have done the first four of the items on Tuesday’s list of things to do after last weekend with colgaffneyis. Derusting the tools was not hard. Steel wool and oil sufficed for everything except the drawknife. A wire brush in an electric drill took care of that. Finishing the froe club was easy when I could hold it in the leg vise on my work bench and use one of the big drawknives I have here.
I still have to finish the Gaelic notes. Since Sunday I have found out something more about colgaffneyis war cry, “faugh a ballagh“, which to include. It solves a small mystery.
Getting back to normal
colgaffneyis stuff is out of our garage, and we have managed to get our stuff out of it as well. So we are able to put both cars in it. Still to do:
- Put away all the wool plaids that have been drying in the basement.
- Clean the rust off some of my tools that were caught in the rain at Mankato.
- Clear my workbench (At least far enough that I can use it).
- Finish the froe club that I made at Mankato. It is actually usable now, but the handle could use some more work.
- Revise the notes on Scottish and Irish Gaelic from my talk at Mankato. I was quite gratified by the interest shown by my fellow members. I will submit the notes to colgaffneyis newsletter and put them up on my website.
How long can you tread water?
We had a good night’s sleep. For me it was one of the best night’s sleep ever at a colgaffneyis event. We were woken by the breakfast bell at 8AM, followed immediately by loud thunderclaps. It has been raining hard ever since.
Fortunately, our site (Jack McGowan’s farm) has a lodge house which we are able to use. We have retreated there until the rain stops, or we have to pack and go home anyway. We have some indoor activities to keep us busy. E.g., I gave a brief talk on the Gaelic languages which was well received.
Scottish Ramble
After skipping it Saturday I spent most of Sunday with colgaffneyis at the St. Paul Scottish Ramble. This was a good time.
Nollaig Chridheil huibh!
Merry Christmas to you!
A note on classical literary Gaelic/Early Modern Irish
In last Monday night’s Irish class we talked about Classical Gaelic Poetry from the
early modern (1200-1650 AD) period. I mentioned that I had run across a description
of some of the rules. I found it in
Gàir Nan Clàrsach – The Harps’ Cry: Anthology of 17th Century Gaelic Poetry. The
book is about Scottish Gaelic, but this form of poetry, and the language was common to
both Gaelic Scotland and Ireland in the period. The poets who produced these works had been trained in the genre for years. Their work was aimed at the Gaelic elite, and traditionally they were supported as court poets by the clan chiefs and great lords. Here is a verse from Niall Mòr Mac
Muireadhigh’s Do Ruaidhri Mòr, Mac Leòid (“To Ruaidhri Mòr”), followed by the analysis in the
introduction to the book.
| Fiche meisge linn gach laoi – nochar leisge linn ná lé; fiú i neart ar mbeathaidh do bhí ceathair, a trí, a seacht le sé. |
From Hilbert Space to Dilbert Space, and beyond 