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MO CHÉAD RAINN GHAEILGE – Nótaí

 

Micilín Muc

 

Full version:

Chuaigh Micilín Muc

ar an aonach lá

ar an aonach lá

ar an aonach lá

Chuaigh Micilín Muc

ar an aonach lá

Haigh! Hó! Micilín Muc!

(Micilín Muc went to the market one day, to the market one day…)

 

Cheannaigh sé hata le

cur ar a cheann

cur ar a cheann,

cur ar a cheann.

Cheannaigh sé hata le

cur ar a cheann,

Haigh! Hó! Micilín Muc!

(He bought a hat to put on his head, put on his head….)

 

Tháinig sé abhaile

le port na habhann,

le port na habhann,

le port na habhann,

Tháinig sé abhaile

le port na habhann

Haigh! Hó! Micilín Muc!

(He came home, along the river, along the river…)

 

Sciorr a chos is

thit sé isteach,

thit sé isteach,

thit sé isteach.

Sciorr a chos is

thit sé isteach.

Haigh! Hó! Micilín Muc!

 

(His foot skidded(i.e. he slipped) and he fell in, he fell in …)

Beir ar a chluas is

tarraing é amach

tarraing é amach

tarraing é amach

Beir ar a chluas is

tarraing é amach

Haigh! Hó! Micilín Muc!

(Grab him by the ear and pull him out, pull him out…)

 

Dilín Ó Deamhas

 

As we mention in the book notes, Dilín Ó Deamhas was a well-known cartoon on RTÉ during the 1980s. More info from here https://www.rte.ie/archives/2015/0304/684233-seachtain-na-gaeilge-dilin-o-deamhas/ quote below:

Irish-language programme for children with a story about Nóra and her pet fish.

 

The 1980s children’s programme ‘Dilín Ó Deamhas’ took its name from the traditional Irish song sung in the opening titles. In this extract, Cathal Póirtéir consoles his co-presenter Máire Ní Bhric for not being able to fly like him. She can after all tell stories, like this one about Nóra and the pet fish who want to swim.

 

Gerald Victory created a composition based on the traditional song. Jan Mitchell created the collage-effect artwork for the cartoon – note the famous butterfly in the original and in ours! The band The Speks produced another version – see https://www.thespeks.com/nursery-rhymes/dilin-o-deamhas.php for more. They say:

 

“Dilín ó Deamhas is a traditional Irish nursery rhyme for kids. Our elders sang an English version of this sing-along song to us when we were children. It was called “She Didn’t Dance”. We have combined parts of both the Irish and English versions into one song with a Celtic theme…

 

 

Sit on a couch and hold your baby facing you in your lap. Gently bounce her on your knee and sing along to “She didn’t dance at all…” While singing “Throw her uppity up…” lift her up to your face and bring her back to your lap three times. On the third time gently lower her to the floor in time for “she will come down nearby…”

 

A rough translation of the verse in our book is:

We’ll throw her up and up,

 

We’ll throw the child up

 

Throw her up and up and up

 

And she’ll come down tomorrow.

 

Seán Ó Loinn

 

One of two Waterford songs in the book, this translates as:

 

Seán Ó Loinn lives over there in the valley

 

He and his family have nice house

 

He doesn’t care for hard work

 

But he lives happily

 

Oró, you are my darling

 

Stay there Séan love

 

Oró, you are my darling

 

Stay there happily

 

More info here https://storoidhreachta.com/2020/03/23/sean-o-loinn/

 

Thanks to Aodán Ó Ceallaigh for this song.

 

A Nóra Bheag

This is the second of two Waterford songs in the book, thanks again to Aodán.

 

Little Nóra, where were you last night

My Mammy said to me

At the back of the house at the water well

Learning dancing steps

 

And iomba Nóra, Nóra, Nóra

And iomba you are my sweetheart

And ioma Nóra you are my love

I’m so in love with you

 

iomba (‘umba’ – a non-lexical musical vocable)

 

Hup hup amach

This is a well-known children’s rhyme with lots of regional variants. This is a version that we half-adapted and sing with our children at home. Nicholas Williams’ wonderful collection of rhymes, Cniogaide Cnagaide, has some of them. The music came to us somewhat naturally!

 

Rough translation:

Hup hup, go out, oh you clumsy-footed pony

We’ll be in An Daingean (Dingle) this time tomorrow

Mamaí will put your shoe on, Daidi the nail,

And we’ll be in An Daingean this time tomorrow.

 

Huisín

This is definitely the most unusual of all of the songs in the book. I first came across the lullaby on itma.ie – Irish Traditional Music Archive — Taisce Cheol Dúchais Éireann – William Campbell sings it at the Dublin Oireachtas of 1908 (here: https://www.itma.ie/digital-library/sound/husheen-william-campbell)). I haven’t heard any other recordings of it but have seen variations of it written in Cniogaide Cnagaide (Williams) among other collections.

 

Rough translation

 

Oh who is this lying down

 

So soundly at the door of my heart

 

From east or west come the shadow of night

 

Lithely and quietly

 

Husheen, Hush-oh, Hush is la-la lo-o-o…

CRANN NA nGUÍONNA – Nótaí

 

There are two sections to this:


1. Background to Wishing Trees

2. Vocabulary


1. Information about Wishing Trees can be found on the last page of the book. Here is a translation:

Wishing trees or fairy trees can be found in many places in Ireland.

Historically, these were places that were believed to be door-ways to the fairy world.

The trees were considered good places to make wishes for future health and happiness.

Trees that were thought to be fairy trees were usually hawthorn trees, but they could also be oak or ash and they were often located near a holy well.

More recently, some of these trees have been covered with the physical embodiments of people’s wishes. Over time, however, these physical wishes can be harmful to the trees if they are made from material that won’t biodegrade.

The inhabitants of my story bring wishes to tie on this wishing tree. Like wishes, which can be fleeting, the best kind for the trees are those which will disappear over time and become part of the environment.

Some famous wishing trees sites in Ireland include:

The Hill of Tara, County Meath
St. Brigid’s Well, County Kildare
Tarbert Fairy Fort, County Kerry
Ballyvourney, County Cork
Dungiven Priory, County Derry
Fore Abbey, County Westmeath

 

 

2. Stór focal (vocabulary)


page 1

ar chnocainín – on a little hill

(cnoc = hill)

léi féin = by herself


page 4

crann = tree

guíonna = wishes


page 5

daoine = people

ábalta = able

(in ann = able)

guíonna a fhágáil = leave wishes

ann = there


page 8

bhí cónaí ar = lived

go leor ainmhithe = lots of animals

mór(a) = large


page 10

beag(a) = small


page 12

áit shábháilte = a safe place / haven

(literally: a safe place was in the tree but in Irish, we can use “in” to define something so: “the tree was a safe place”)

dóibh siúd = for those

a bhíonn ag eitilt = who fly (literally “who do be flying”)

sa lá = in the day (you can also just say “lá”)


page 13

san oíche = at night (you can also just say “oíche“)


page 15

áit shábháilte = a safe place / haven

do chách = for everyone

(you can also say “do gach duine”)


page 17

ach = but

céard faoin = what about the

faoin gcrann féin = about the tree (it)self

(note: we refer to the tree as female in this book despite “crann” being a masculine noun; there is no genderless ‘it’ form in Irish)

nach raibh = didn’t

guí ar bith = any wish/any wishes at all

aici = have/has (for a female)


page 19

nach raibh = didn’t

mianta = desires

ar bith = at all


page 21

go cinnte = for sure/surely

mianta a croí = her heart’s desires

teas na gréine = the heat of the sun


page 23

séideáin ghaoithe = gusts of wind


page 25

ceathanna báistí = showers of rain (i.e. rainshowers!)


page 28

cairde = friends


any questions? ask us at myirishbooks@gmail.com !

FUAIMEANNA NA FARRAIGE – Nótaí

 

Véarsa 1

 

tá an ghrian ag éirí

tá na héin ag canadh

thar an bhfarraige mhín

go séimh is go binn.

the sun is rising

the birds are singing

over the smooth sea

gently and sweetly

dúlamán

 

duileasc

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

ag dealramh ar charraig

type of edible seaweed – ‘channel wrack’

dulse – edible seaweed found on north atlantic coasts

shining or glistening on a rock

Véarsa 2

 

 

na báid is na hiascair


ina suí ar dtús,

 

 


amach leo

ón gcé


ag seoladh faoi luas.

 

tá na heangacha scaoilte


le breacadh lae

 


faoileáin

 

 

 

 

deilfeanna

 

á leanúint

 

go réidh

the boats and fishers


up first (‘ina suí’
means sitting down and to be awake, up and about.

off they go

from the quay (‘cé’)


sailing at speed.

 


the nets are released


at dawn (at the breaking
of the day)


seagulls (listen to the
different regional pronunciations on focloir.ie)

 

dolphins

 

following them

 

steadily

 

 

Véarsa 3


mochóirí na maidine

 

amuigh

 

le lag trá



ag breathnú amach

 

an solas sa bhá

 

lorg a gcos

 

sa ghaineamh fliuch

 

mall agus moch

early risers (from moch = early)

 

out/outside

 

at low tide (lag = weak)

 

looking out

 

the light in the bay

 

footprints / imprints of
their feet

in the wet sand

 


late and early (note,
mall means early and late (and slow too), often depending on the region!)

 

 

Véarsa 4

tá na rónta

á ngoradh féin

 

 



faoi theas na gréine

 

ag glacadh néal codlata


tar éis a mbéile

 


sleamhnóidh siad

 

ar ball

 


ar ais san fharraige

 

éist leo


ag scréachaíl


go maorga mairgneach!

the seals are

warming themselves (from ‘gor’ – heat, warmth)

 

under the heat of the sun

 

taking a nap

 


after their dinner (meal)

 

they will slide

 

after a while; soon; shortly

 

back into the sea

 

listen to them


squealing


grandly, dignified (maorga), but wailingly too (mairgneach)

 

 

Véarsa 5

gainéid

ag eitilt

anall is anonn

ag faire

ag fanacht

ag fiach

le fonn

a sciatháin fillte siar


a gcoirp ar tinneall

a rian ar an uisce

ag tumadh

go grinneall.

gannets

flying

back and forth

watching

waiting

hunting

with desire

their wings tucked back

bodies set, or tense

their mark

diving

down to the bottom (grinneall – seabed)

 

Véarsa 6

tá an oíche ag titim

an ghrian

ag dul faoi


na héin is na héisc


ag dul a luí

 

gliomaigh

portáin

nach iad atá diamhair

 


amach leo


san oíche


go beo is go bríomhar

the night is falling

the sun (

setting; going ‘under’

the birds and the fish

going to bed/sleep

 

lobsters

crabs

aren’t they mysterious or enigmatic


out they go


at night


full of life and energy

 

MO CHUID AMHRÁIN GHAEILGE – Nótaí