"**~ •*• *^

; / "■■*

FIRST AMERICAN EDITION.

Revised Simple Lessons in Irish

GIVING

the Pronunciation of Each Word.

BY THE LATE

REV. EUGENE O'GROWNEY,

M. R. I. A.,

Vice-President, Gaelic League, Dublin.

With Appendix Containing a Complete and Exhaustive Glossary of Every Irish Word used in the Text.

PART I.

New York: THE GAEL PUBLISHING COMPANY,

150 Nassau Street.

1902.

"Sw»* wu*

"•Oocum 5tói|ie *Oé Ajuf onójiA nAh-éijieAnn."

— Annals of the Four Masters.

Copyright, 1901

By The Gael Publishing Company, New York.

All Rights Reserved.

124789

FOREWORD.

>N presenting to the public "Revised Simple Lessons in Irish ' ' we are endeavoring to carry into effect the expressed wishes of the late lamented Rev. Eugene O'Growney. These revised Lessons are the last liter- ary production of that great Gaelic scholar and lover of Ireland and her language. It was his intention to continue the work of re- vision throughout the entire series, but, ere he reached the conclusion of this first book the angel of Death snatched him from us. be^rm-Acc *oé te n'^n^m.

It is to be regretted that he was not spared to complete this great work on the lines so well commenced, and it is sad to think that one so gifted and so universally loved and respected, should be called from this life ere he reached the noon of his manhood.

To the student of Irish this little work will be found a most useful and helpful compendium. Great care has been given to the compiling of the " Phonetic Key'' system. By following in- structions, every word given in the book can be

in

pronounced according to the usages of the best modern speakers of the vernacular. The author's chief aim was simplicity and clearness of expression. He felt instinctively, and knew practically, that to accomplish this end no barrier should be placed in the path of the student. How well he has succeeded the world now knows from the wondrous results achieved by the great Gaelic Revival of which he was the first practical promoter and teacher.

In the "Rules of Aspiration," which have been supplemented by an additional chapter at the end of the book on the "Aspiration of l.n.r. " by the Rev. Dr. Henebry, the student will find a key to the reading of any simple prose texts in the Irish language.

We feel that we cannot close this brief intro- duction without extending our thanks to the Rev. Richard Henebry, Ph. D. , late Professor of Celtic Languages, Catholic University, Wash- ington, D. C , for having generously undertaken to read and correct the entire proofs of the book before passing through the press.

C. O'F. New York, December ist, igoi.

iv

ADDITIONAL PREFACE.

IIT the request of Mr. Richardson, publisher "*■ of THE GAEL, I read the proofs of this little book, while passing through the press. I made some minor corrections, added a few foot- notes and rewrote entirely the sections dealing with the aspiration on l.n.r. The treatment of that obscure matter here set forth is that already advanced by Dr. Holger Pedersen in his masterly tract "Aspirationen i Irsk " (Leipzig, 1897). It is hoped that its publication may be of service to students who desire a fuller knowledge of the aspiration of those consonants.

Richard Henebry, Ph. D.

PREFACE TO FIRST EDITION.

CHE following course of. simple lessons in Irish has been drawn up chiefly for the use of those who wish to learn the old language of Ireland, but who are discouraged by what they have heard of its difficulties. A language whose written literature extends back for over a thousand years, and which has been spoken in Ireland for we know not how many centuries, must naturally differ in many ways from the modern languages now generally studied. But the difficulties of Irish pronunciation and con- struction have always been exaggerated.

As I myself was obliged to study Irish as a foreign language, and as I have been placed in circumstances which have made be rather familiar with the Ian-

guage as now spoken, I have at least a knowledge of the difficulties of those who, like myself, have no teacher. I have tried to explain everything as simply as possible, and I have the satisfaction of knowing that these lessons, during their appearance in the "Weekly Freeman" and afterwards in the "Gaelic Journal," have made some thousands of Irish people aquainted with what is really our National Language.

I am convinced that a person who speaks Irish can learn to read and write the exercises of their lessons in a month; and I believe that one totally unac- quainted with the language can master the pronun- ciation of every word in the lesson (Parts I. and II.) in six months.

The following plan of working out the exercises of the Lessons appears to be the best. (1) First, let the student go over the lessons, translating the Irish les- sons into English, and writing out the translations. (2) Let him then re-translate into Irish, comparing with the original. (3) Lastly, he may translate the English exercises into Irish.

To those who, in many ways, have assisted in the construction of these lessons, I offer my hearty thanks. The Archbishop of Dublin first suggested the bringing out of a series of lessons, in which the pronunciation of each word would be indicated in accordance with some simple phonetic system, and His Grace afterwards took a large share in develop- ing and applying that system. I am also indebted to Mr. C. P. Busihe, Mr. John M'Neil, Mr. J. H. Lloyd, Father Hickey, Mr. MacC. Dix, and many others, for

valuable suggestions.

EUGENE O'GROWNEY. iMaynoo'th College, 9th June, 1894.

vi

Composed from the Book of KcOs.

Simple Cessons in Trisb.

;ELTIC, GAELIC, IRISH. The Celtic race formed the first large wave of immi- gration from Asia to Europe. At first the Celts spread all over Europe, by degrees they retreated to the North-west. At an early period the race divided into two branches, Gaelic and Brythonic. The Celts of the Gaelic branch occupied Ireland, the Isle of Man, and Scotland. Those of the Brythonic branch occu- pied Britain, and were afterwards driven into Wales and over to Brittany.

The Gaelic dialect of Celtic is the best preserved, and has the largest literature. This dialect is spoken in Ireland, where it is called Irish or Irish-Gaelic, in the Isle of Man, where it is called Manx, and in Scotland, where it is called Scottish Gaelic or Erse, i. e., Irish.

The Brythonic dialect is spoken in Wales (Welsh or Cym- ric), and Brittany (Breton).

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

• the Spoken Language. •

UNTIL recently the Gaelic spoken by the people was little studied, and few were aware of its beauty and value. People often ask where the best Gaelic is spoken . We may say in answer:

(a) that the spoken Gaelic, when written down, is practically

the same in all districts, except that some places have a richer vocabulary than others.

(b) that the differences in pronunciation in various places are

not great, and that a good speaker from any district will be understood by all speakers of Gaelic, especially after a little practice (r) that the pronunciation in Ulster is, in some respects (such as the sound of á long), nearest to the older language, while that of Connacht is most uniform, and that of Mun- ster most musical and sonorous. (d) that the vocabulary of the North is simple and graceful, thai of the West an ideal for a good prose style, and that of the South the richest, most poetical and very idiomatic. The Munster spoken language is worthy of special study. In these lessons, the chief points in difference in pronuncia- tion are noted either in the text or in the appendix.

« Che Written Language. *

GAELIC was spoken in Ireland for many centuries before the coming of St. Patrick. Until then most of the liter- ature was conveyed orally, but to some extent there was writ- ing on stone and wood in Ogham characters, which were com- binations of long and short lines. St. Patrick and other Gaelic missionaries introduced the Latin letters, as they were then used in writing, and encouraged the writing down of the native laws ( Brehon laws ), traditions and literature. These early forms of the Latin letters are in use for writing and printing Irish to the present day.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

Cbe Alphabet.

Irish Letters.

Eng.

Letters.

Irish

Capitals.

Small.

Caps.

Small.

Sounds.

A

A

A

a

au

to c

X)

b c •o

B C D

b c d

be(t) ke(t) dhe(t)

e

e

E

e

ae

5

n

5

F G H

f

g h

fe(t) ge(t) he(t

1

1

I

i

ee

t

t

L

1

el

tn

tn

M

m

me(t)

n

n

N

n

en

o

o

0

0

ó

P

P

P

P

pe(t)

ti

r

R

r

er

s c

r

S T

s t

se(t) tlie(t)

11

u

U

u

00

Note. — The Irish alphabet is the easiest in the world to learn, as with the exception of two letters ( fi and f ), each of the capitals and corresponding small letters are alike in form.

In the English Alphabet there are 26 letters and 40 different forms of characters, making it much more difficult to acquire.

The English letters are named only by their sound, but in ancient times the Irish letters were each given a distinctive name. It happened that they were given the names of trees

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

§ 2. To familiarize yourself with the forms of the Gaelic alphabet write out twenty Eng- lish words in Irish letters. Take old friends : /O05, car, \\az, 50AC, pi£, etc., be sure to select words not having the letters j, k (c is always pronounced k), q, y, w, x, y or z. How some of the sounds represented by those letters are marked we shall see later.

« Plan of the Simple £e$$on$. *

77 1 e first of all give a table containing all w the sounds of the language. In this table each sound is represented by one sign or letter, and all through the lessons this sign or letter stands, in the key-words, for that sound only. Then, as each new Irish word is introduced, we give, in brackets after it, the exact sound of the word.

Thus, b-Án (baun), white; cú (koo), grey- hound; stAr- (glos), green; ftac (sLoth), a rod ; mean that the Irish word for white, is pron-

and shrubs. It is not necessary to learn those names. (Á) Aitm, palm; (t>) beit, birch; (C) colt, hazel ; (T)) t>aiji, oak ; (e) eAT>A, aspen; (£) feA|in, alder; (5) 50^, ivy; (tl) h-UAr, hawthorn; (1) ío-óa, yew; (I) Unf, quicken; (m) mum, vine; (n) nuin, ash; (O) oi|t, broom; (p) peit, peach; (n) jiuif, elder; (S) f uit, willow ; (€) ceitie, furze ; (U) «ft, heath.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

ounced (baun), giving b, au, and n the sound opposite them in the table of sounds.

Again (koo) is the sound of the word for greyhound, ( sLoth) for rod, sounding -oth as in "moth," not as in the English word " sloth" which would be (sloth). These words in brackets may be called key-words, as they give a key to the sound of the words.

• Sounds of the Language. •

$OME languages have sounds that are unknown in others. Thus Irish and German have some sounds that do not ex- ist in English. In Irish we have no sounds exactly like d, j, t, x, z, or ch in chip, nor soft dh, th. In English, as spok- en in Ireland, we have all the sounds in Irish except those de- noted in % 10 by L, N, randy. We often hear CH and h ( ch in German ich) in Anglo-Irish. There is no great diffi- culty, therefore, in representing to readers of English, all the sounds of the Irish language, except these four, L, N, r, and y . L and N can be easily learned. There are, therefore, only two sounds, r and y, that are difficult to acquire, as to these, see $ 10.

§ 3. Vowels and Consonants.

A, e, 1, o, u (au, ae, ee, o, oo), are called vowels; the other letters are called conson- ants. The letters t, n, ji are named ( el, en, er ) ; the names of the other consonants are : be, ke, etc., — the true sound is got by drop- ping final t from bet, ket, etc. Thus oa-o is spelled "be-au-dhe," cu is "ke-oo," $é is "ge-ae," mite is " me-ee-el-ae."

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

* Cable of Sounds, *

77|e have first, vowel sounds with, diph- ^^ thongs, and the obscure vowel sound. Then the sounds represented by the conson- ants.

* Phonetic K*V- *

§ 4. THE VOWELS.

In the Key-words,

yir<? A? be

In the English

the letters.

sounded like

words

1.

aa

a

half; calf

2.

8d

ae

Gaelic

3.

ee

ee

feel

4.

au

au

naught

5.

0

0

note; coke

6.

00

00

(long)

tool; room

7.

a

a

bat; that

8.

e

e

let; bell

9.

i

i

hit; fill

10.

0

o

knot; lock

11.

u

u

up; us

12.

u

oo

(short)

good; took

(same sound as

u in full. )

It is useful to note that the sound ( No. 6) of oo in tool is the same as the sound of u in rule; while the sound ( No. Il) of "U in up, us, is the same as that of o in son, done.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

* the Uowel Sounds, Accents, $c, «

§ 5. — The Vowel Sounds.

77|ords having only one vowel sound, such ^^ as dog, cat, black, ban are said to be words of one syllable, or monosyllables. "Words having two vowel sounds, such as sailor, mallet, over, are words of two syl- lables, or dissyllables. In English, words like fine, kine, have only one vowel sound, as the e at the end is silent. In Irish, pne, cine, are words of two syllables, the e being sounded, the words are sounded as if spelled finná, kinna. There are also words of three syllables and a few of four or five.

§ 6. Obscure Vowel Sound.

77 1 e may notice that the vowel sound of the

w unaccented syllable is not pronounced as clearly as that of the accented syllable. Thus minor and miner are pronounced by most people in the same way that one could not tell whether the last vowel was o or e, — jailor or jailer. It is just the same with Irish. Sé^m^f ( Shae'-más) is so sounded that the last syllable might be -mas or -mus, cob^n (thúb'-ár) might be spelled in English thub-

8 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

bar, thubbir or thubber. This obscure vowel sound will be denoted, as a rule by á. In some words we shall find it more convenient to denote it by i, as 0^415, p^-opAis ( kor' -rig, Paudh'-rig).

§ 7. Accent.

Tn dissyllables (such as sailor, actor, humor, across, along), one syllable or vowel sound is always sounded with greater stress than the other. This syllable is called the accented syllable, and in these lessons the accented syllables will be marked ('), thus, sai'-lor, ac'-tor, hu'-mor, a-cross', a-long'. As a rule, in both languages, the stress is on the first syllable, but there are some words (like across, along, beside, etc.) which are accented on the second syllable.

§ 8. Diphthongs are combinations of two

vowel sc

iunds.

Are to be

In the Key-

words.

sounded like

In the English word.

ei

ei

height

ou

ou

mouth

oi

oi

boil

ew

ew

few

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

« Consonants. «

§9.

Consonants used in representing the sound

of Irish words will be sounded thns: b, f, m, p, v, w, y, as in English.

h, as in English, except in dh, th, ch, sh, and h italic, k as in English. But ad- ditional signs are needed as explained at the end of this table.

g, as in English go, get, never soft as in ginger.

ng, as in English song, sing, never soft as in singe. — See ng below.

dh, like th in English thy, as sounded in most parts of Ireland or, like dh in Anglo- Irish laddher jfar ladder.

d, like d in duty ( as pronounced in Ire- land).

th, like th in English thigh, or like th in Anglo-Irish butther for butter.

t, like t in tune.

s, like s in so, alas, never like s in wise.

" sh, like'sli in shoot, lash!

10 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

§ 10. Special Sounds.

g, like g in go, log, not as in get, leg

k, " k in looking, not as in king, liking.

k, like k in king.

<7, " g m get, leg, begin, not as in go log, begnn.

1, like 1 in look.

Z, " 1 in valiant, or 11 in million.

l, " 1 thick sound not in JSnglish.

n, " n in nook.

n, " n in new, omon.

n, " n ^'c& sound not in English.

ng, " ng m long-er, wo^ as ítí singer.

ch, " gh m O'Loughlin.

h, " h in ^uman, as usually pro- nounced in Ireland^ or ch in German ich.

r, like r in run.

r, no exactly similar sound in English: heard in the Irish word for Mary (mau'-rá.)

V, gutteral sound not in English.

w, is in Monster like v, elsewhere like w.

T, r', n', denote the "snappy" sounds of 1, r, n, in kilt, curt, lent, as distinguished from the sounds of 1, r, n, in killed, curd, lend.

y, as in very.

* See $ 9. .. . . ~~ ~~~

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 11

• Broad and Slender Uowels. «

§ n.

^he Vowels a, o, u are called bkoad vowels ; e and 1 are called slender vowels. A Consonant is said to be broad when the vow- el next it is a, o, or u ; a consonant is slender when the next vowel to it is e or 1. Thus the consonants in cú, -oó, rru\, ^m, 05 are broad ; those in mé, ri, rrnt, teif are slender. In English there are many words in which there is a consonant with a, o, or u on one side of it and e or 1 on the other, such as Ireland, England, machine, lesson. This is not the case in Gaelic, whenever you find a broad vowel on one side of a consonant, you will always find 4, o or u on the other side; and if e or 1 is on one side, e or 1 will be on the other. This peculiarity of spelling in Gaelic is expressed by c^ot te caol ^^up le-At^n te te^c^n= slender with slender and broad with broad. ( See these words in the

Index at end of the book).

« Cong and Short Uowel$< «

§ 12.

Cach of the vowels can have either a long sound or a short sound. When a vowel

12

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

has a mark over it, as á, é, í, ó, ú, it is to be given its long sound. When there is no such mark, the vowel is to be given its short sound.

* Sounds of Trisb Uowels, *

§13.

The Irish

Is sounded like the

i. e. like the vowel

Vowel

phonetic sign

sound in the word

á long a short

au

0

naught knot

é long e short

ae

e

Gaelic let

1 long i short

ee i

feel hit

ólong o short

0

V

u

note done, much

ú long u short

oo u

tool put

« £on$onam$.

*

§14.

t), ft tr

>J P>

ti, are sounded like b, f, m, p,

h in English.

C, 5, t,

", V,

r lilce k, g, 1,

n, r, s ( never z),

except in

cases that shall be treated later.

N.B.-

- r broad ( next a, c

) or u) is sounded

like s.

S slender (next e or 1 ), is

sounded like sit.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 13

exercise I.

§ 15. Pronounce Aloud, Learn by Heart, and

Write out in Irish Letters, The

Words : bin (baun), white. bo (bo), a cow. ipÁi (faul), a hedge. bpó^ (bróg), a shoe. mÁlA (mau'lá), a bag. cor (kus), a foot, r-át (saul), a heel. món (mor), big, great.

5Ur (glos), green. 05 (og), young. 5Uoi (glon'), clean. rmót (smol), a thrush, r-ac (sok), a sack. 50b (gab), bill (of bird).

§ 16.

Article. — No word is used in Irish for a or an, the indefinite article.

The word for the, the definite article, is ^n (an), like an in annoy. An r mót, the thrush; rmót, a thrush; ^r^t, an ass.

A Noun is the name of any thing, person or place, such as Dublin, Patrick, bó, bpó^.

An Adjective is a word that tells what sort a thing is ; as, bin, 05, mop.

The adjective comes after the noun in Irish as : — pmót móp, a big thrush, bó 05, a young cow.

14 simple lessons in irish.

§ 17. — Ulster Sounds.

*Á like (a.a.) as pÁt (saal). *a " (a) as 3lAp (glas).

ó " (au) as 03 (aug).

o " (o) as 50b (gob).

Read out aloud: Cop A^up bnos, cop A^up pÁl, pac A^up mÁlA, £lAp Agup bÁn, ApAl móp;, bó 05, bó 05 A$up ApAl móp, pÁl glAp, pmól 05 ^5ur 50D mop, P^c mó|\, mÁlA mop., An mÁlA A^up An p ac, An pÁl ^lAp ^5«r xmi pmól 05. cú (koo), greyhound, pé (shae), he. 5lún (gloon), knee. pilef (fil'-á), poet, muc (muk), pig. mil (mil'), honey,

pup (pus), lip. -pi (ree), a king,

mé (mae), I, me. p í (shee), she.

Read aloud and translate into English.

Cú A^uy muc, cú mop A$up muc 05, cu A$up

apai, cu -asup Dó) cú ^sur r"101) f* °5, v* ^s^r

pile, pie móp, An cú Agup mé A$up An pi 05, pup A^up mit, pé A$up pi -AS^P mé, An f mól 05 A^up ,an pÁl 5lAp, An pÁl Agup An pile 05, An pile Agup An mÁlA móp, An pmól 05 Agup An mÁlA móp; glún, cop, bpó^.

* These were the sounds formerly used everywhere, and they are still heard in many words, such as Ap^l (as'-al), an ass. The word for and is Ajup, (og'-as), in Munster (á'-gus); bó

ASur AVA^> a cow anc^ an ass*

t pile is pronounced (fel'-a), in Munster.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 15

« €xerci$e TT. •

§ 19.

•o broad (next a, o or u) is sounded like (dh). c " (next a, o or u) is sounded like (th). —See § 11.

Apt) (aurdh), high, tall. ?ax>& (fodh'-a), long.

bÁffo (baurdh), a bard. 5°tic (gurth), a field.

cac (koth)* a cat. \\óx> (ródh), a road.

coca (ko'-tha), a coat. fA^A-pc (sog'-arth), a priest.

■oÁn (dhaun) a poem. rrjóL (sthol), a stool.

■oojiAp (dhur'-asj, a door. cobAji (thub-ar), a well. *-oth as in moth.

TU Afro, a tall king; Ano-pi, high king, chief king; cóca mor\, a big coat, overcoat.

Cac bin A£ur cú bin. cú 05 &$u? c^c °5- an cac Ajup An r\í. pi Agur Árvo-r\í. bÁjvo A^up pile. An dájvo A^uf An "OÁn. An f A^Apu 05 A$uf An bÁjvo mófi, irvo. An "ooriAf móf\, An *oor\Af

5tAf, An T)Or\Af mÓr\, ^lAf. t>0 A^Uf Af At A^Uf

cobA|\. An cobAf\ mop. ^opc móp, ^tAp. bó

A^Uf AfAl A^Uf £OpC tYIÓp JÍAf . CÓCA A^Uf bpÓ^. £OpC ^AT)A 5tAf . f CÓI pA-OA A^Uf f CÓt Ap*0. AfAl °5 ^SUT p ÓO |?AT)A.

§ 20.

UÁ An $opc 5tAf. thau án gurth glos. The field , is green.

16 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

*UÁ

mé

C5-

^Uá An cú 05.

thau

mae

6g.

thau an koo óg.

I

am

young.

The hound is young

*UÁ

CÚ

ó5-

*"Cá fé 65.

thau

thoo

og-

thau shae og.

You

are

young.

He is young.

Uá f é 05, he is young. Uá ri 05, she is young. UÁ An m' Agur An pile 05, the king and the poet are young,

§ 21. — Verb and Nominative.

In Irish the nominative case is placed im- mediately after the verb ; as cá cú, thou art.

§ 22. — Verb, Nom. Case, and Adjective.

In English sentences like "the field is large," the order of words is : 1, nominative case ; 2, verb ; 3, adjective. In translating such sentences into Irish, the words must be placed in the following order : — 1, verb ; 2, nom. case ; 3, adjective. Examples : —

1. 2. 3.

■cÁ mé móji, I am big.

cá cú 05, thou art young.

cá An so|\c stAf , the field is green.

* As we see here, the word rÁ, means, am, art is, are. The older form of tÁ is auá (a-thau). CÁ is always the first word- It is better to join an adverb to acá than an adjective. In correct Irish one always says acá An cu 50 h-05, acá An IÁ 50 bjteÁj. An adj. is joined to 1S. 1f 05 mé, I am young,

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 17

§ 23.

When there is another adjective qualify- ing the nominative case, it is placed im- mediately after its noun, as : —

zá aw $of\c móp star, the big field is green.

zá An cú t>Án 05, the white hound is young.

Ar\c (orth), Art, Arthur.

UnA (oo'-na), Una.

exercise TTT.

§ 24.

Note. — The word cu (thoo), thou, is used when speaking to one person. In English, the plural form, you, is used.

Uá mé 05, tzá cú 05, zá ré 05, zá fí 05, zá

Af\C Ó5, TZÁXÍWA Ó5, TZÁ AX\ CAZ Ó5. Aft tTIÓf\ ^Uf

Afic t>Án. C-Á An -pile 05, cú t>Án «4511^ cac t)Án. cóca tnóp A^uy cótza ipATtA. zÁ cú 05, cá mé móp, cÁ ré Ájvo. cÁ <ati cob^p sLan. cá "Únx\ 05, A^uf cá Apc Ájvo.

§ 25.

Put into Irish the following, pronouncing the Irish aloud:

Afield. The field. The green field. The long, green field. The bard, the poet, the king, the priest, the white-haired bard, the tall poet, the young king. The king is young. A young, tall priest. The bard is young, The

2

18 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

field is green. A white hound, a white ass. You are young. A green field and a long, high road. Una is young and tall.

§ 26. •o slender sounds like {d\ i. e., din duty. c " " " (t),i.e.,t in tune.

V " " " (r).

—See §§ 9 and 10.

There is no sound in English exactly the same as the sound r. The sound is heard in the Gaelic word (Mau'-ra), Mary, or the Anglo-Irish "praety" for "potato," where the sound is seen to be half way between r and z. Beginners may pronounce it r. This slender sound r is never given \\\\, or to p at the beginning of a word-

•oilif (dee'-lish), dear, cin (Yeer), land, country ce (£e),*hot. cipm (ftr'-im), dry.

<Ag (irregularly pronounced eg), at.

a\k " " er), on, upon.

tTUc CÁbA (mok-kau'-ba), MacCabe. m^cCon-m^A (mok-kún-mor'-á), Macnamara. m<áf\c^n (maur'-thaun), Martin. X)áx) (baudh), a boat. cá^ (kaur), a car. c^or (krus), cross. tnilir (mil-ish), sweet, ctúf (thLoo), tongs.

* almost like che in chexry. t Ujijrnl is heard in the South.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 19

exercise TU-

§ 27.

^he verb ca often corresponds to the Eng- lish there is, there are ; as, cá t>ó a$ An cobAn, there is a cow at the well ; cá bó A^ur Af At a$ An cobAn, there are a cow and an ass at the well. O cóca món a\\ at\ rA^Anc (than ko'-tha mor er an sog'-árth), There is a big coat on the priest, i. e., he is wearing a big coat. The word A^tir is often shortly thns i; as, cÁnn món -] bÁ-o rnón, a big car and a big boat.

§ 28.

UÁ CÁnn mÓ|\ AJ\ Atl nÓT). Af At A^Uf CÁnn. CÁ

An cÁnn a$ An x>onAr. cá cnor An An Af At. CÁ An ctú An An nó*o. cá An ctú ce. cá ÍTlÁncAn 05. cá ÚnA Ájvo. cá cóca bÁn An Anc TTIac CÁbA. cÁnn món "j bÁ"o món. cá bnój; An Anc 05.

§ 29.

^he boat is on the land. The land is green. The well is dry. I am hot. There is a stool at the door, and the tongs is on the stool. Martin MacNamara is at the door, and Art MacCabe is on the road. The road is dry.

20 simple lessons in irish.

§ 30.— Rules.

Olthough beginners may sound t and n like

1 and n in English, these letters stand

in Irish for three different classes of sounds.

(i). The ordinary sounds of 1 and n, as in lamb, noon.

(2). The liquid sounds of / in va/iant ( // in mi//ion, Wi//iam), and of n in «ew, iVewry, owion. These sounds we shall represent by (italics) /, n.

(3). The thick sounds of 1 and n are produced by flattening the top of the tongue against the teeth, while producing words like law, noon, etc, These thick sounds we shall represent by small capitals, L and N,

Rule. — Liquid and thick sounds are given to t and rt}

1. At the beginning of words.

2. When t or ti is next any one of the dentals, — ■o, n, c, I, ji, f ; this includes tl, tin. In such cases the liquid sounds /, n, are given to t, n slender, and the thick sounds

L, N, to I, n, broad. When t, n, do not begin a word, or are not next the Dentals •o, ti, r, 1, f or fi they are sounded as in English.

oalla* (boL'-a), a wall, tan (Laun), full. c-Ap^u (kop'-aL), ahorse, ni (nee), not. ni'tf (neel), is-not, etc. Conn (kuN), Con. rtán (sLaun), complete, in perfect health. la (Lau), a day. rot^r, (súl'-ás), light.

LÁi*oif\ (LauíZ'-ir), strong.

* In Munster, fALla (foL'-a), a wall.

t ni't, an abbreviated form of tii puil, pronounced «eel.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 21

exercise U-

§• 31.

Tin mé, I am not ; ni'l An iá ce, the day is not hot; ni'l Conn 05, Con is not young; iá ce, cipm (Lau te £ir'-im), a dry and hot day; cá aw IÁ ce, cifAm, the day is dry and hot.

The word ^sur, and, is often left out, as here shown, between two adjectives, especi- ally when the adjectives are connected in meaning.

1. Zá Conn 05 LÁi-oitt, young Con is strong.

2. Zá Conn 05, t-Ái-oin, Con is young and

strong. As we see, the above sentence can have either of two meanings. In speaking, the meaning is known from the way the words are grouped :

1. TZÁ — Conn 05 — Lároip.

2. "Cá — Conn — 05, LÁi*oif\.

§ 32. "Cá vaXXa mop, -ÁfiT) a^ An cob>An. f\óT> món *] vaIIa ájvo. ní'i bAilA (there is no wall) a$ An \\óx). CApAll món A^u\* vaIIa Áfvo. cá ah Iá ce. ni'l av\ IÁ cij\m. zÁ rotAp món a^ An *oon^f . ni't Conn VCÍac ConmA\\A 05, cÁ fé l-Ái-oip. ni'l mé, ni'l cú, ní't fé, ni'l fí. HójvA(Nó'-rá), Nora.

22 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

§ 33.

Hot day. The day is hot. The day is hot and dry. The high road is dry. A horse and a car. A white horse and a big, high car. Nora is young and tall. Con is young, he is not tall. Nora and Una. Una is healthy and strong, she is not young. A full bag, and a big sack. The well is full. It (ní't fé) is not dry. The horse is not at the well, the ass is at the door. The car is on the road. The big green boat is on the land. The land is not dry. The horse and the greyhound are on the road. There is a cow at the well.

exercise UT.

§ 34. — Words.

bmr (brish), break. mot (múl'), praise,

•oún (dhoon), close, shut, ól (ol), drink. p*5 (faug), leave. pog (pog), kiss.

Stan (glon'), clean. pór (pos), marry.

U*r (los), light. caj\ (thar), come.

The above words are all verbs. A verb is a word meaning to do something.

Don't is translated by r\Á (Nau); as, x\& ^ás mé, don't leave me ; r\& pó^ ^n cac, don't kiss the cat.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 23

Armfo, (áN-sú'), here, as in the Eng. in such. Annfin (áN-shin'), there.

From trying to satisfy, in different ways, the law of Slender with Slender, § II, Munster people say (an-sin'), and Con- nacht people (in-shú'). In Munster the old word ponn (sun), here, is yet heard sometimes.

exercise UTT.

§ 35.

bfurce (brish'-£a), broken. LArcA (Los'-thá), lighted. -oúntA (dhooN'-thá), closed, shut. óIca (óL'-thá), drunk. StAntA (glon'-tha), cleaned. pórtA (pos'-thá), married.

T)ún An *oonAr. nÁ *oún An *oor\Ar. jtAj; An ctú Annro. nÁ pÁ5 An clú Annrm. nÁ pAg An cá\\\\ Ap

-ATI f\ÓT). 5lAT1 Atl CÁpp, A^Uf f?Á5 ATI CApAtL A5Uf Atl CÁr\f\ A$ ATI T)0|AAf . CÁ ATI CÁr\fl glATICA, CÁ ATI

CApAlt A5 An cobAf . nÁ mót An j\í 05. mót An bÁtvo Aguf An -pite. cá Ar^c Agnr "ÚnA pórtA. ca Apc A5 An -oopAf . LAf An folAf . nÁ pÁ^ Annro mé. ní'L t>nó5 At\ An Af At. ní't cóca món aj\ An peAf\. nA ca|\ Annfo.

24 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

§ 36.

Leave the horse at the well. The well is not dry. The well is full. The wall is not broken. Do not praise the big horse. Praise the strong horse. Nora is not married. She is here. Come here. Do not leave me at the well. Do not leave the horse and the car there on the road. The king is not married. Do not praise the long poem. The young thrush has a long bill. Titer e is a long bill on the thrush. The car is broken.

exercise UTTL

§ 37.— Him, Her.

Y\á psg -Atinr o i, do not leave her here. nÁ ?&S a§ aw -oof^r é, do not leave him at the door. Here we see that Him, Her, after verbs, are in Irish, é (ae, like ey in they), í (ee). Notice also how in those sentences the pro- noun comes last. By the pronouns are meant mé, cú, fé, é, rí, í, and the words for we, us, ye, they, them.

§ 38.

rló (no), or. Wá Nau), nor ; as, r\Á ^5 bó

TiÁ C-Ap-Alt -A5 -At! COtMf\.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 25

1n (in), in. 1nr An (ins an), in the.

Tlí't t)fió5 nÁ cóza An Anc 05, ^sur c-Áfé rtan.

CÁ fé -Af\ -ATI flCrO. UÁ CÓC-A fAX)A x\fV xMI f Ag^fC.

cá bó ^5 -An cob^n. nÁ f-Áj; ^nn fin í. nÁ pá^ bÁfvo, pile nÁ fA5-á|\c mr ^n cín. c<\ tnuc mr >Ati rnÁLA món. cÁ foLdp rnón ^5 ^n *oonx\r, zá TTlÁn- cÁn 05 tn^c Cava Ann fin. ^5 jtac nó mÁlA Ann fo.

The horse is on the road, and leave him there. Art is young, do not praise him. The horse is young. The wall is broken. The field is green. The day is hot and dry. The cat is in the sack, do not leave her there. The tongs are (cá An ziú) in the well, and the well is full. Do not light the light. Come here and close the big door.

lis we have seen, § 7, in words of two syl- lables the stress is on the first syllable. But in Munster, if the vowel sound of the first is short, and that 'of the second long, the stress is now put on the last syllable. Common examples are many words with the diminutive endings -05, -in, -Án. In Ulster, on the other hand, final long syllables are shortened too much.

26 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

§39.

Munster.

-Atvoan, a'hill. (aur'-dhaun) do.

fcpxvaán, salmon, (brodh'-aun) (brádh-aun')

camÁn, a hurley, (kom'-aun) (Kam-aun')

cAfÁn, path, (kos'-aun) (Kas-aun')

cAfós, coat, (kos'-og) (Kás-óg')

gApfún, a boy, (gor'-soon) (gor-soon')

rs^voÁn, herring, (sgodh'-aun) (sgudh-aun')

fúSÁn, hay rope, (soo'-gaun) (soo-gaun')

ufLÁp, floor, (ur'-Laur) (ur-Laur')

AmAVÁn, fool, (om'-a dhaun) (am-a-dhaun) copp-an, reaping hook, (kur'-raun) (k'r-aun')

JjAfif un is from the French garcon. Cooac (thub-ok'), to- bacco, and pnip'rt (shwee'-sheen), snuff, are foreign. So is ComÁp, (thúm-aus'), Thomas. A^kw (á-raun'), bread, is accent- ed on the last syllable in Connacht ; in Ulster (ar'-an).

exercise TX-

§ 40.— This, That.

So (síí), this, as in such ; fin, (shin'), that, as in shinty. Note that (1) they come after the noun. (2) tho article An must go before the noun. (3) f o and fin are sounded as if part of the previous word ; as, An rmótfo (an smol'-sá), this thrush; An cú-rA (ankoosa), this hound. An iá fin ( an Lau-shin), that day. An cú ós f o, this young greyhound : An pó-o cipm fin, that dry road. Note that fo, fm, come last ; An cap All móp f o.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISPI. 27

exercise X-

§ 41.

1tif An -oopAr, in the door(way). úp (oor), fresh, new.

TZÁ An bj\AT>Án mó|\ mp An cobAf\ po. pÁ5 An fcólmóf ro aj; An "DO^Ar Ájvo fin. ni't cof bpifce A|\ ^n fcót f o. cÁ CAf 05 aja Ape. fÁ$; An bpAT>Án móp mp An mÁlA fin, A$tif fÁ5 An rnÁlA Ap An f cól Afro, ní'l ^n £App "n °5 ^nn fO- cá f é Af\ An pot). An fgA-oÁn 05 A^uf An bpA*oÁn milip. f Á5 An f ú^Án Ap An AfAl, Aguf f Á5 a$ An t)opAp é. cÁ tnuc Aguf bó Ap An ÁjvcÁn glAf. ní't bpóg nÁ cóca A|\ An AmAT)Án mop pm. ni'L UomÁf Ann f o. AfiÁn úp, mitif, f nípn ce. ní'L An IÁ apm. ní't An IÁ ce. ní't UomÁf 05. cá An fcót Ápx).

A path and a road. This path is not clean- ed. This road is not clean. Close the door. Leave that s.ool on the floor, and light the light. Pnt (cuitO the light on the stool. Pnt the yonng cat and the salmon in this bag. Don't leave the boy and the greyhound there. Clean the salmon and put him in that bag. Young Nora is in the doorway. She is not at the well. Leave that fresh salmon here The hurley is broken.

28 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

exercise XT.

§ 42 —Has. Have.

UÁ CAp-Alt as TTlÁpeAn, TZÁ cac 05 ^5 Tlóp,A, There is a horse at Martin; there is a young cat at Nora, i. e., Martin has a horse, Nora has a young cat. Tin copp.Án 45 Ape, Art /^a£ ?i<9£ a reaping hook.

§43.

UÁ c^pAll móp bÁn 45 1TI.Ape.An 05. "C& cac

05 .A5 UriA. UÁ tnuc, bó, clú, pcót, .ApAl, A^ur 5^\|Apún 05 a$ Tlóp^. Tlí'l CAtru\n a§ Ape 1T)ac C<\b^. tli'l CApog .Ap Ape, c*á c-Após A5 Ape, rri'l -An c-Após xMinpo. (See § 39).

§ 44.

Do not leave that reaping hook here. Mar- tin has a hook. Con has a green field, and a cow, and a pig. Con has not a car, nor a horse, nor an overcoat. The fresh herring is not here, Art has him in the sack, and leave him there. Do not praise that young boy. Thomas has a fresh herring and fresh sweet bread. Art has snuff, he has not any tobacco,

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 29

Oxother peculiarity of Minister Gaelic is the lengthening and change of sound given to vowels before it, tin, and certain combination of consonants. All vowel sounds or passages of the voice, are influenced by the nature of the stoppage of voice, or consonant that is coming next. Thus, in weld, curd, grand the vowel is not snapped off so abrupt- ly as in welt, curt, grant.

If we cut off the final t of these last words, we may repres- ent the abrupt endings by wel', cur', gran'. So, in Gaelic, we have kur' put. kur round,

mil' honey. mi/ destroy.

far' man. faar better.

And many other pairs of words of one syllable, those in the first column being spelled with single I, n,fi, and those in the second with It, nn, jifi, as beann, mionn, paitt, finn.

t)un, bonn ;ron, ronn ; ton, tonn ; bean, beann ; cion, cionn; fait, jMitt; -pan, p-ann ; fuit, fuit, noun and verb, as can puit, An puit ; mm, rmon, mionn ; rm, r mn ; cup and in AfiÁn thur' and cojift, tower.

In older English, again, vowels become changed in sound before certain combinations of consonants, as we see in provin- cial English, Lowland Scotch and the Irish brogue; or form of English used by the first invaders, in words like ould, row I, boitld, boord. So in Gaelic, ofit>, bojiT> are ó]\x>, bófvo, in Mun- ster, and (ourdh) (bourdh) in the Aran Islands ; Ann is (auxi in Aran and (a-ooNT, oun) in Munster ; Anatt, hither, is a-nauL in Aran, á-nouL' in Munster.

Compare the vowel sounds in the English words — weld, welt ; curd, curt ; grand, grant

30

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

exercise XTL

§46.

771 hat the effect of the Minister lengthening of vowel sounds is, can be seen from the following table. We do not pretend to give all the shades of pronunciation of various parts of Munster.

§ 47.

The word

Is pronounced

Connacht.

W. Munster. East Munster,

A m^ll

moL

mouL

ma'-oul

•o^ll

dhoL

dllOUL

dha'-oul

Am

om

oum

a'-oum

Cfiann

kroN

krouN

kra'-ouN

1 im

im

eem

eim

mill

rail

meeZ

meil

arm

kin

keen

keinn

binn

bin puL

been

^ _

bein

O poll

V

pOUL

Cftom

thrum

throum

■oonri

dhta

dhouN

O is sometimes lengthened to oo :■ CjAom krum kroom

Ationn á-núN' á-nouN

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 31

§48.

77 1 e can now bring in many common words which have in Mnnster those peculiar vowel sounds. For the sounds see the table just given, § 47.

Am, time. cap^tt -oorm, a bay horse.

birm, sweet rn.AU, slow,

cfiann, tree. mitt, destroy.

•o-aU, blind. pott, a hole, pool.

•oonn, brown haired, cpom, heavy.

miUf, sweet to taste, birm, melodious.

btar (bios), taste. im, butter.

UÁ Ape aj; c«|\ An ctú Ap An rcót, Art is put-

ting the tongs on the stool, tirt ílófVA as "out 50 Sajwi^, Nora is not going

to England. "CÁ CAxnÁn aj; XYlAptAn 05, a^u? zá fé a^ imif\c

a^ An j\ó-o, . . . he is -playing on the

road. Zá An c^Ann 05 ^5 pap, the young tree is

growing. "Cá An cApAlt a^ ót a? -ati cob^p, the horse is drink^^ out of the well.

Words like these ending in -ing, are called present participles, As we see, in Gaelic we use x*s, at, followed by a noun; instead of growing, playing, we say at growth, at play.

32 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

The 5 of as is usually left out, except be- fore vowels when it is sounded with the fol- lowing vowel; as, a' p\p, a' cup, a' -out; a' s'ot, a' s' itnipc. Outside Munster a$ 'ut is said, wrongly, for a$ -out.

§ 49.

cup (kur), "putting. j?Ár (faus), growing. •out (dhul'), going. 01 (5l), drinkm^.

irmpc (im'-ir^), playmp'.

Ar (as, as in glass), out of.

UÁ blAr miUf A\y au 1m up. ní't im up Annro. CÁ im up A5 TlópA ; ní'l im tiá ^p^n A5 "Útia. UÁ poll móp inp Ati uptÁp. cá ati 5Aprún 05 A5 cup tnÁlA a\k av\ AfAl. ní'l CApAlt *oonn A5 au rAgApc nÁ mol An CApAtt tnAll. nÁ mitt ati CApAlL 05. Am t:at>a. r\A -pÁj; An cÁpp móp

CpOtn Ap An AVAl Ó5 fO. CÁ CApAttAJJ An ^AgApC.

§ 50.

Leave bread and butter on this stool. Mar- tin is drinking out of the well. There is a green tree growing at the well. A blind horse. The tree is not green, it is dry. The cat is playing with the thrush; the salmon is playing with the herring. Martin is put- ting a coat (cóca) on Art. Una has a sweet (binti) poem.

0

SIMPLE LESSONS IX IRISH. 33

exercise XTTL

§ 51. — Words, ther examples of Minister pronunciation.

Connacht. Munster.

Cam, crooked. kom koum

CiU-TMfVA, Kildare. kiZ-dhor'-a keeZ-dhor'-a

j?onn, air of song. fuN fouN

S^nn, scarce. goN gouisr

linn, a pool. l\n leen

cinn, sick, tin teen, tein

§ 52.

The sounding of ó as u, sometimes heard in Munster, is to be avoided, as ílófA (xoor' á), móf (moor), nó (N'oo).

§ 53.

t)i is 'the imperative mood, second person singular, of the be avoided, except by Munster people, as nófiA (Noor'-áJ, nó fxooi, etc.

exercise X1U.

§ 54.

I0T15 (Lung,) a ship. firm (shin), we.

of (or), gold. "OuflAf (dhur'-Las), Thurles.

50 (gu, as in^wst), to ttopmuc (rús-mulc'), Rossmuck.

5fÁnÁfT> (graun'-aurdh), Granard.

SAfAnA (sos'-á-ná), England.

CÁ An lon^ A5 "out 50 S^f AnA ; zÁ An bxvo a$ •out 50 TxOf muc. f ^5 An I0T15 ^nnf o, rÁ f í bfifce.

o 0

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

tlí'l bÁT> ti-Á tons &g gfiáfiájvo. ZÁ An X)á\\t> 05 onn, zÁ An fví fLÁn. zÁ mé cinn, zÁ cú tnórv, cÁ firm .as *oul 50 Cilt-*oAr\A. cÁ im úp s^nn. ní'l óf\ -A5 tn^|\c-Ati. ní'l ponn binn a\\au x>Án fin. c-Á cóza cfvom, ce -Afi Afxc.

§ 55.

There is a crooked tree growing here at the well. Do not be drinking out of that well, that well is not clean. There is a sweet (voiced) thrush at the door, she is drinking out of the pool, leave her there. Nora is sick. This fresh bread has a sweet taste (cá bLar- av). We are not going to Thurles, we are going to Kildare.

exercise XU*

§ 56. — Sounds of Group of Vowels.

"In Irish, as in English, vowels are grouped together in three ways. (1.) In the word ruin, the u and i are pronounced separately; the u being pronounced distinctly, and the i somewhat obscurely. The same may be said of the e and a in the word real. (2. ) In the word round, the sounds of o and u melt into each other, forming what we call a diph- thong. (3.) In the word mean, the earepre-

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 35

sents one simple vowel sound, like e in Trie. But as this one vowel sound is represented in writing by two letters, these two letters, ea} are called a digraph. Other digraphs are ai in main, ou in though, ae in Gaelic, oa in\ goal, etc. We shall now examine the vowel groups in Irish.

exercise XUL

§ 57. — Sounds of \a and Vl&.

\a is pronounced ee-a, like ea in real. via " oo-a, fi ua " truant.

Each vowel is pronounced separately, the second vowel being obscure.

§ 58. — Words.

t)f\iAn (bree'-an), Brian, tli^u (nee'-íiL), Mali. X)\a (^Zee'-á), God. nuA (Noo'-a), new. cm (kee'-a), who % pat (fee'-al), generous, pu^fi (foo'-ar), cold. 5uaI (goo'-al), coal. fSiAti (shgee'-an), a knife. fSu^b (sgoo'-ab), a broom.

36 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

fUAf, (soo'-as), up, upwards,

uAn (oo'-an), a lamb.

cia? who, often sounded cé.

Cia ca a$ An codaja? Conn Ó t)f\oin (o brin), who is at the well? Con O' Byrne. cá ré fo a$ •out 50 T)úpiAr, this man is going to Thurles. Uá fí fin a$ *oul 50 Cill--oAf\A, that woman is going to Kildare. pA$ é ro a$ T)ú\\lAy , ^5 í fin a$ Citl-T)Ar.A, leave this man at Thurles, leave that woman at Kildare.

§ 59.

tlft -An IÁ re, ZÁ An tÁ puAp. x>ún An *ooj\Ar.

CIA CÁ A£ An T)0\\A\*. CÁ t)f\1An tTI-AC Cáda a^ An

•oofVAp Agur Ape O "bpoin. cÁ r ac móp, cpom at; Ape, *] cÁ 5UAI mp An rAC. j?áj5 An r ac Ap An uplÁp. cÁ t)f\iAn A5 cup tnÁlA a\\ An fcót. cá An rsuAb A|\ An rtól pm. cÁ rgiAn ntiA A5 Conn, ni'l Conn A5 *oul 50 SAfAnA, cÁ fé A5 *out fUAf 50 "OuplAf, CÁ ré fo A5 *oul 50 SAfAnÁ. ni'l tliAtt Annfo. ciA cú Annfo? t)piAn. cÁ *Oia j?iaI. ní't Conn nÁ TDÁpcAn Annpo, cá fiA*o Ap An pó*o.

§ 60.

Leave the knife here. Brian has a new coat. That man is not going to Granard,

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 37

this man is going to Granard. A cow, a lamb, a horse, a green field. Who is going up the road (r u^f aw fió*o) ? Brian Mac Nama- ra. Niall is sick, he is not here, he is drink- ing out of the new well. Brian has a bay horse, young Martin has a white ass. The horse and the car are not here, they are at the door.

exercise XU1T.

§ 61. — The Digraphs in Irish.

For the meaning of digraph, see § 56. Some digraphs represent long vowel-sounds and others represent short vowel-sounds.

§ 62.

The long vowel-sounds are often represent- ed by digraphs consisting of two vowels, one of which is marked long. Thus : —

Á\ is sounded like Á, i. e., like phonetic symbol au

ei

" é

<(

((

ae

01

" ó

a

it

0

U1

" u

((

it

oo

—See §

4.

38 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

§ 63.

lis will be seen, these digraphs are formed by adding 1 to the vowels á, é, ó, ú ; and the sound of the vowel which is marked long is given to the whole digraph. Except in a few words, the only difference between á\, ói, úi and á, ó, ú, is that the consonants which follow the Ái, ói, úi are slender ; thus, a fvúin, o loved one ; a rcóip, o treasure, have the same vowel sound as mm, r cóf\.

§ 64.— Words.

Aic (au£), a place. tÁi-oip (Lau<2Í7), strong. cAibín (kaub'-een), a caubeen, an old hat. Cáic (kauZ), Kate. mom (moTi), turf. cfúibín (kroo'-been), a crubeen. cpúirsín (kroosh'-geen), a jug, a pitcher. jMitce (fauZ-^e), welcome. ^ ó-o (f 5dh), a sod.

poitÁm (fúL'-aun), sound, wholesome, mite (meel'-e), a thousand. mór\A (mon'-á), of turf. t?ó-o món^, a sod of turf. pÁif-oe(paush,íZé), a child. rLÁince (sLaun'-té), health. ias (log), weak.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 39

ZÁ Conn O tléitX (ó waeZ), m éijunn (ae'-7Í7i), Con O'Neill is in Ireland. z& A^c 1D^c Tleitt (mok n&el ), 45 -out 50 n-ei^mn, Art MacNeill is going to Ireland. Uá Róif -7 tri-aipe 45 -out ó éipmn 50 S^jwi-a, Rose and Mary are going from Ireland to England.

ó'n (ón), from the. Wn (dhún), to the.

§ 65.

The preposition to (to a place) is translated by 50 (gú) when the article ati does not follow, as, 50 gjiariAfvo, to Granard.

§. 66.

When a vowel follows, n is prefixed; as, 50 n-Áic, to a place. When the article follows, 50 is sometimes, bnt -oo'n (dhun) is generally USed=£o the; as -oo'n áic, to the place.

§ 67.

The prep, in is translated by m ; as, m éi^- inn, in Ireland.

§ 68.

tlí't C-Aicannro, zÁ pi ^5 -out r u^foo'n tob-ap. zÁ 5-Afr-ún mó|\, LÁroip 45 ^n *oof\^f, r\Á -pÁ^ ^nn fm é. nÁ f Á~s ^n pót) f m ^p ^n Ufvt.Áj\ ^l^n fo. nrl flÁince 45 tTUpcAn, zÁ fé cmn, Laj;. cia cá

40 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

-Annpo? "CÁ ÍT).Áij\e 05 -Atinro. tníte -pÁitce ! zÁ cú A^ "oul 50 CiU/OAjvd. rri'L mé ; zÁ tné .<*£ *otit ftj^f 50 T)ú\\Ia\*. -pmól -A5«f 5°b> rouc *] c|Aúibín. tií't f^UAb nÁ clú m f^n ^ic ro. cá Cfiúif^ín Lán ^5 Uom,Ár, ^ur cá ré ^5 ól.

police, a t1óf\^f welcome Nora.

T>ún An T)o\\Ar, a ÚnA, shut the door, Una.

Here we see how a is put before the name of any person you speak to.

CiU--Áif\ne (kiZ-aur'-7iá), Killarney.

Welcome, Una ; you are going to Thurles ? I am not going there, I am going to Killarney.

exercise XU1TT.

§ 69.— The Softened or "Aspirated" Sounds of the Consonants.

771 E have now spoken of the sounds of the vowels in Irish, W and of their peculiar sounds in the Munster and Ulster dialects; we have also spoken of the sounds of various groups of vowels. We have treated of the broad and slender sounds of consonants, and have now to speak of the softened, or, as they are generally termed, " aspirated," sounds of many con- sonants. We have examples of this softening down of conson- antal sounds in other languages. Thus, from the Latin word deliberare are derived the French delivrer, and the English word deliver, where the b of Latin is softened to v. Again, the Irish words bjiÁtAijt and te^t^fi correspond to the English brother leather, but the c is softened in sound (this is denoted by the mark above it, i), and the words are pronounced brau'-her, /ah'-ar.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 4T

Exercise XTX-

§ 70. — Rules for Aspiration.

Ospiration in Irish means the softening of consonants. It is sometimes indicated by placing a dot () over the consonant, as t); or by placing a il after it, as t)h.

$ 71.

There are nine consonants which admit of aspiration or secondary sound in Irish, as follows :— t>, C, X), 1£, 5, m, p, S and U.

Thus :— X), ó, *ó, p, g, rh, p, s and t.

§ 72.— Sounds of t, n tl.

^he aspirated sounds of t, and tl are almost like the sounds of the English 1, n. The aspirated sound of tl is almost the same as that of p slender. As these sounds are not very important, they may be passed over lightly.

§ 73. — Sounds of Aspirated u and s. Aspirated c (*. e., t or cti) sounds like h.

tno tip. (mu heer), my country

tno totMjA (mú húbár), my well,

mo cuif\ne (mu hoor'-né), my spinning wheel

mo ceine (mu hen'-e), my fire.

42 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

§ 74.

UÁ1T115 (thaunig;, came, did come, is now usually spelled tÁm^ (haunig), as, tÁ^r^^^ Sé^mtif 50 t)^iie-AtA-CiiAt, James came to Dublin, tli cairns fé ^óf, he did not come yet.

§ 75.

Uus (thug), gave, did give), is now general- ly spelled tug (hug) ; as, tus Cat^t r51An *°° Thau, (^ee'-ál), Charles gave a knife to Niall. tlí t«5 fé capiat *oo ttnat, he did not give a horse to Mall.

§ 76.

éifie (zer'-e), Ireland. cACAotjt 5 koh'-eer), a chair.

éifiinn (aer'-i»), in Ireland.

éifieAnn (aer'-án), of Ireland.

Atioif (a-nish'), now. cajic (thorth), thirst.

mo (míí), my. mÁCAiji (mauh'-er), mother.

mAit (mah), good. ptAic (flah), a prince.

50 -oeo (gu dheo), forever. teAÚAn (/ah'-iin), wide, broad.

LeAU (lath), with thee. mAfi (mor), as, since.

bóÚAji (bo'-har), a road. 50 bpÁi x (gu brauh), for ever.

CacaI (koh'-al), Charles. O CacaiI 2 (o koh'-al) , O'Cahill.

bAite At a CI1AÚ 3 (bwal'-e ah'-a kite! ah), Dublin.

baile An -Áúa 4 (bwal'-e an ah'-a), Ballina.

1 Literally, to judgment. 3 Town of the ford of hurdles.

2 Literally, Grandson of Cahill. 4Town of the ford.

5 Pronounced in Munster, koh-eer .

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 43

§ 77.

Aimfip (am'-shir), time, weather. liom (Zum), with me.

UÁ X)ÓtA\K CAtTI ^5 "OUt 50 t),Alle-ÁCA-CtlAt.

P.Á5 fcót móf\ a*5 an túifine, ^uf cui|\ CAt-Aoip.A5 Ati ceine. U-Á p.Á*ofiui5 O C-acaiL m 6if\inn -Atioir, ní ptnlfé -A5*out 50 cíjv eile. ní fuit -Ati bóc-Aj\ 5UM1. cÁ -An b^t) te.AC.An LÁiT)ifi.

Do not leave a chair at the door, the day is cold and soft. I am not going to Ballina, I am going to Dublin, and Cathal O'Neill is going with me : we are not going yet, as (m-atV) the weather is cold. The road is dry, the boreen is not dry. A soft crooked boreen The road is not broad.

§ 78.

'Cá rput pvoA m jMti cí|\ f o, -A^ur cá r í va-oa. *oé4ti *oeipf\* .Anoir, cÁ cú rn.AlX. cátTlÁpcAn ÍTIac

C-ÁtXA tl-At. C-Á CAf\C ITlÓfV -Af\ til -Alt >A5Uf CU5 HópA

copn tnf^e *oo tlóir. J^5 -An ^ic ro ^sur C^F 5° Cill-.Áif\ne. tjá cac b.Án ^5 -An ceme -A5 ót tnfjje.

* This is the word in use in Connacht and Ulster and -oeit- near. (</eh-én-ás), and t>e-AOA-ó (d-you'-a), in Munster.

44 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

§ 79. — Examples in S.

S Aspirated (i. e., f °r rti) sounds like h.

The possessive adjectives tnó (mu), my ; -oo

(dhú), thy; a (a), his, cause aspiration, as, —

•oo f oU\r (dhú hul'-ás), thy light.

*oo f e.\in|\ó5 (dhu ham'-rdg), thy shamrock.

•oo fuíince (dhu hh&rm'-té), thy health.

•oo fúii (dhu hooZ), thy eye.

•oo f\át, (dhu haul), thy heel.

•oo f úif ce (dhu hoosh'-ie), thy flail.

Note — In some words where p is followed by a slender vowel it takes under aspiration a sound like c in same conditi- ons. Thus -oo fiubAl, a feot, pron. dhu hyu'-aL, á hyol, and dhu chú'-aL, á chol. See § 108.

-Atiiof (a'-^ees), up, from below. «Arm^f (a'-noo'-as), down, from above.

fiof (shees), down, downwards.

ru-dr (soo'-as), up, upwards, fiof (hees) below, f tUf (hoo'-ás), above.

Síof and f ti^r are used with verbs of motion and f íof and f u^f with verbs of rest.

§80.

S is never aspirated except at the begin- ning of a word, and even then only when fol- lowed by a vowel or by t, n, f ; because f, i. e. h, could not be pronounced before other con- sonants, Thus : —

mo rsé^t (mu shgael), my story.

ttlo rs^n (mu shgee'-an), my knife.

mo rsiobót (míi shgib'-ól), my barn.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 45

exercise XX*

§ 81. — Examples in p.

p Aspirated i. e., p or pti sounds like f.

mo póc-A (mú f ók'-á), my pocket, mo píopA (mú feep'-á), my pipe. mo pÁipc (mú fau'-irk), my field.

§82.

The particle a (á) used before the nomin- ative of address, causes aspiration, as :

a peA*OAi|\ (á fadh'-ár), o Peter! a póil (á foZ), o Paul ! a pÁvp^s (á faudh'-rig), o Patrick ! a SeAtnuif (á haem'-ish), o James !

Notice how the names peA-oA^, pót, SéAmuf, are spelled differently, peAo^ifi, póit, SéA- mtur, when the nominative of address is used.

§ 83.

CiontiAf (kiN'-as1), how. pÁiftc (pzurk), a park,

fjittinj (sgi/'-ing), a shilling pÁile (saul'-é) sea, salt water.

*Oia "óuic, a pexvoAij\ ! T)ia A*f tTluifve "uinc, a ÓéAmuip . cionnAf tÁ cú ? nÁ pÁg t>o píopA a\k An f cót, ctn|\ mo píopA aj\ An f cot, A^uf cuin An flitting m *oo póCA. cá Conn 05, A^tif cÁ píopA

46 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

^5«f codac xMge. nf t p-aipc aj$ ipÁx>\\A^. Cá cob.an in mo p.áir\c, x^up cá uir^e £u,an m f\an cob-An. tií tÁini5 av\ cap-att "oo'n cob^|\ j?ór\ CÁ Conn f iof -05 -An jráite.

There is a big hole in my pocket. James has a pipe, he has not tobacco. Con has tob- acco, he has not a pipe. Do not put tobacco in your pipe yet, your pipe is not clean. My pocket is full. James you have a horse and a mare. Peter has a pasture field. My past- ure field is green ; your field is dear. Put your mare in my pasture field ; there is no water in your well. Peter gave a pound to Niall. The horse is not at the well.

Exercise XXI.

§ 84. — Examples in f.

■p Aspirated (i. e. fr or j?n) is silent. Thus, fruit is pronounced (il). The word which is usually written ni't, am not, art not, is not, are not, is really the abbreviated form of ni fruit (?iee-il). See note, § 30.

§85.

JTuxMtt, got, found; pu^in mé capAtt, I got a horse.

rií fruAin (^ee oo'r, also nee hwoo'-ir), did not get; ní fruAin mé ratting, I did not get a shilling.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 47

So also, ni $&ca (nee ok-'-a), did not see, ni f ác a Sé-Amur pe-A-o-An, James did not see Peter.

TIT put f Sitting -A5 pe-A*o.An, j: tMin f é f sitting ó tli-att. ní f aca An cAp-Att -An cob,An, -A^ur ni tÁini5 r é f u-Af *oo'n cob-An. ni f tut "ComAy aj; obAin m f ^n tetm,A, -A^ur ní f aca mé An c -An -An not), ní't neutc -An bit m r^n rpéin .Anoir . ni fruit mo piop-A m mo póCA, zá mo píop^ -a^-ac, a &é\Amtnr. ní f-AC-A mé x>o piop-A.

I did not see a ship or a boat on the water. Mall did not see the seagull in the sky. Charles is not on the island — James did not see John on the island. I did not see the man working. I got a shilling from Art, I did not get a pound from Art, I got a pound from Mall, and the pound and the shilling are in my pocket now. Nora is not below at the well : she is above on the cliff.

§ 86 — f After Yowels.

When p follows mo, -oo, the o is omitted, as, m'pe-An (maer), my grass. m'fion (meen), my wine. nVf e-An (mar), my man, husband. m'f tut (mwil), my blood. m'f eoit (m-yol), my flesh, ^o'fuinneós (dhÍ7i-óg), thy window.

48 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH

IpeAn and be^n, besides meaning man and woman, are used for husband and wife.

% 87.

Instead of té^riA (Zaen'-á), meadow, the word móinfe\Af\ (mó/i'-aer), literally, bog- grass, is often used.

§ 88.

"CÁ An féAn cifun m rAn rsioból, rÁ m'féAn ú|\ in r^n móin-f é-Af -póf . ní t^im^ tn'fé\Af\ ó'n Oit- e^n tí|\ -póf. tus mé An pon *oo fhxUX, -A^urcus m'féAp An fpexil *oo'n *ouine eite. ní fuit ^n pon m rAn pop^. ní -pACA tné rt'píon (deen) m áw An bic. cá *oo fúifce fíor m f^n fgioból.

§ 89.

Nora, your husband is not in the meadow now, he and my husband are at the well, drinking water. My husband has a big, young horse; he got the horse in the mead- ow. The man came to the meadow, he did not find any person (mime An bit) in the meadow. I did not see your husband. I did not see your husband anywhere. I did not see your scythe up in the meadow.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 49

exercise XXTT.

§ 90. — Examples in t) and rh.

^he aspirated sounds of b and m are practi- cally the same. Aspirated m nasalizes the syllable in which it occurs and it is only thus it differs from t>.

t) and m aspirated (i. e., b or bti, rfi or mti) are pronounced as follows : —

When slender (that is next to e or 1), they are pronounced like v.

Whenflnal (at the end of a word) they are also pronounced like v.

In other cases they are pronounced like w. in wine, wonder.

Examples and notes on local peculiarities will now be given.

§ 91. — Words.

tmn (lift), with us. riti (shiv), you, ye. lib (liv), with ye. ju\ib (rev), was, were.

bi (vee), was, were.

-AgAib (og'-av), at ye.

5Aillirh (GaZ'-iv), Galway.

CAf\c (thorth), thirst.

.áLAinn (ayl'-ift), beautiful.

50 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

§ 92. — (t)i is the past tense of bi).

t)i is sometimes used as a past tense of jzá ; as, tzá ré 05, he is young ; bí ré 05, he was young.

TUib (rev), was, were. Note that pAib is pronounced irregularly, not (rav), but (rev). The reason is, that it was formerly spelled j\oib, which would be pronounced (rev).

tlAib is used after the interrogative particle An, the negative particles ni, 6 a ; the interro- gative negative nÁ6 ; the dependent particle- náó, 50 ; the optative particle 50, and the rel- ative governed by a preposition.

Examples of tiaiu after the interrogative particle An, and the negative particle ni.

tlí fVAib-Ati bÁ*o a\\ An uifge, the boat was not on the water; An jvAib An cap All a% av\ *oofiAf ? was the horse at the door ?

TUib is not always used for was.

Observe there are no words for yes and no in answering a question in which j^b is used, but bi, was, i. e., Yes, and, ni naib, was not, i. e.y No.

An fu\ib tlójiA a^ Ar\ coUdfi? t)í.

Was Nora at the well? (She) was, i. e. yes.

An fVAib An CApAll a\k An \\ór> ? Hi jvAib.

Was the horse on the road ? (He) was not, i. e., No.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 51

An jvaitt CaúaI a% "out 50 JJí^^tvo ? Dí.

Was Charles going to Granard ? (He) was, i. e., Yes.

An fvAitt fé ^5 An c-AjifVAis? (kor'-eg), ni jvaiE>.

TPas he at the rock? (He) was not. No.

§ 93. — Other Examples.

A t>ean (á van), his wife.

A rhic (á vik), o son !

A bne-Ac (a vrax), his trout.

TiÁ ipÁ^ *oo tine^c ^5 at\ T>ofvdr. An fUMtt CAtAl tit> -A5 "out 50 ^A^ni ? M, -j pu^in ré odp.aU, a\k An ^óx>, ^5«f támic f é 50 J^ittirh titin (with us). t)í Ape umn, ^uppuain ré b-Áp. ^n ftAit!> c-ap-Att <A5-dit>? ní |vai£>, t)ít>ó ^stíf -AfAt ^5-Amn.

§ 94.

We are not going down to Galway, ye are going up to Granard. We have a horse, ye have a coach. Had ye a scythe in the mead- ow ? Was the horse working in the meadow ? Dermot was not working with us in the meadow. Had Nora a lamb ? No, she had a sheep. Had Art a horse ? Yes, and he had a coach. My window was clean, thy window was not clean. There was no window at all in the fort.

52

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

§ 95. In Munster b and rh at the end of the first syllable of words, are sometimes silent. The previous vowel is then lengthened to make compensation.

Connacht. Munster.

■oeirhe^f (<2ev'-fis), (<#ei-as), a shears,

■oeitfnn (^ev'-in), (dei-in), certain.

Stubne (siv-ne), (see-ne), Sweeney,

ctnmne (KÍv'-7ié), (Kee'-ne), memory

ctnbe (Kiv'-e), (Kee-e), proper,

-otube (dhiv'-e), (dhee'-a), blacker.

ei£>tin (ev'-leen), (ei'-leen), Eileen.

This silencing of b and rh takes place (1) when these letters are between vowel sounds, or (2) when preceded by a vowel sound and followed by t, rt, n, r.

§ 96.

Hi fruit (nee-il) cuirhne a\\ bit «Ag^m, puAirt mé buitte mófi criom ó Th-Atl. bí au otAnn Ap m'uAn 05, ^ur £UAif\ mé x>eirhe-ár ó Afvc; xxnoir* ni full An oUMin a\\ au uau. av\ fuMb Conn XY\ac Suibnetib? ní n-Aib; bí ré te CazaI. ni fruit •oeirhe^f ^Atn. ^n riAib Conn cmn? bí 50 •oeirhm, ^sur jruAin ré b-Ár. cÁ dbtín 05 j:óp, jzá 50 x>eimin, ^sur* zÁ ciAtt x\ici, ^up ní fruit ÍH^irte 05, ^suf ní fruit ciAtt aici.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 53

I did not see Art Mac Sweeney on the Is- land. He was not on the island, he was above on the cliff. I did not see the seagull on the water. Young Art has no memory yet. Con got a heavy blow form Niall, and he has no memory at all. The day is dry, Yes, indeed. Come with us.

§ 97.

At the end of words, t> and rh are sounded like v. in love, dove, wove, cove, give, live, as, -oub (dhuv), black, black-haired. zAlAm (thol'-áv), land, earth, soil.

If the vowel preceding t> or rh at the end of a word be broad this v is made with ^ose and extended lips lips — uv. If slender the lips are drawn tighter and nearer the teeth like — iv. Both lips must be used in making those sounds.

§ 98.

As a rule the sound of t> and rh broad, any- where except at the end, and often at the be- inning of words, are sounded like w.

§ 99.

This w sound unites with the previous vowel sound in the same word ; thus, a®, Am are sounded like (ou) in our phonetic key : ot> and orh like (o); titt, urh,are like (oo); e-ab, earn like (ou). But a deal depends on whether the syllable containing the t> or rh be accented or unaccented.

54 simple lessons in irish.

§ 100.— Words.

aX)a* (ou'-a), a river.

5-Ab-An (gou'-ar), a goat.

catnip (kou'-ir), help.

leAX)A\\ (Zou'-ar), a book.

T)órhnAU (dhon'-áL),t Donal, Daniel.

put) At (shú'-ál), walk.

úttait (oo'-áL), an apple.

5An (gon), without.

%aX>a (gou'-a), a blacksmith.

mtnte^nn (mwil'-ÍN), a mill.

fórh^c (ró'-áth), before thee, used in the phrase, céxvo mite police nórh.At, a hun- dred thousand welcomes before thee.

§ 101.

"ÓÍ mtnte^nn -ajv An Ab-amn, -A^tif t>í T)órhnAU -A5 otxain mr -an rhinte^nn. |?ux\i|\ 'Oórhn-Att úbxUX mr An eopnA, mr An rhtnteAtin -aj\ <aíi At>x\inn. zá i^rsxMpe -A5 fiúb^t fíof "oo'ti ^bxMtin -Anoif. cá An ^aX)a -as obAifi irif An rhuitexMin. cuif\ *oo le-Aban in *oo póCA. cug "Di^tun-AiT) ^n leAt>A\\ *oo T1i.aU,. ní pu-Ain ré le.Ab.Ap ^|i bit u^im (oo'_ ém, from me), j:or5Ail au le.Ab.An món. ní n.Aib -An mvnte-Ann A£ ob.Aifi, t>i An aX)a g^n tnrj;e.

f *This is the correct form of nom. sing, of this word; gen. ADAtiti, and i/a/. ADAinn. In the earlier editions Fr. O'Growney wrote AbAinn as nom. sing., following spoken usage, t dhoon'-aL in Munster. ~~"

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 55

§ 102.

There is a large salmon below in the river. Donal did not get a salmon in the river, he got a little tront from the fisherman. There is an apple growing above at the door. There are a cow and a goat below in the meadow. I have not a book in my bag, my book is in the barn. A thousand welcomes to (before) you ! There is not any blacksmith (s^ua a\\ 01c) in the place. The blacksmith gave no help to Niall. The story is not in the book.

exercise XXTT1.

§ 103 — Additional Sounds of t) and rh .

the beginning of words t> and tti if slender are pronounced like v, if broad are pron- ounced somewhat like w. In Munster they are usually pron. v in both cases.

§ 104.

F

In some places b and rh broad, followed by along vowel, á, ó, ú, are pronounced v. Thus, mo rh.ác4irv (mu wauh'-er), my mother, is pro- nounced in parts of Munster (mú vauh'-ér). This sound we shall mark by a w. Note the following examples.

56 simple lessons in irish.

§ 105. — Examples.

a tixvo (á waudh), his boat.

A °F°5 (& wr°g)> his shoe.

-Abó (á wo), his cow.

a mÁtA^ (á wanh'-ér), his mother.

a múipnín (á woor'-7£een), O darling.

mo bpón* (mú wrón), my sorrow.

aúa^ (ah'-ér), father.

a lilAipef (á waur'-é), O Mary.

a rhuipe (a wir'-e), O Mary, re-

ferring to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

tr\Ac-An-X)Á^x> (mok an w&nrd), Ward, lit., son of the bard.

§ 106.

tlí fruil lAfS'xj^ bit m mo b-ÁT> ^noif, zá mo bÁT) £oLLAm. cuip An r5illiti5 m mo mÁU\. zá mo bfvó5 *oub. pjAifi m'ACAip bÁp m f-Ati OileÁn "Up. ní fiAib tnr^e m r^n -AbAinn, [bi ^n AimpeAp omn. rri pAib túipne as mo rhÁCAip. piAip mé bpóg úp m fAn bÁiLe móp.

* In Munster mu vroon.

1 Note that in Irish we say mtnjie (mwir'-é), when speaking of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and mÁijie (maur'-é), when we re_ fer to ordinary Marys, The former represents an old Latin- Welsh 'Moria', the latter English Mary.'

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 57

§ 107.

My boat is empty and heavy, your (t>o) boat is empty. I found your boat on the land. My mother is not alive now, she died in Ireland. Daniel Ward came to Ireland and died. My mother got a pound from my father and she gave the pound to Mall. My cow was not white, she was black. My shoe was not wide

exercise XXTU.

§ 108. — Examples in Ó.

IIspirated C i. e., 6 or cti written with broad vowels, is sounded like gh in lough, 0' Loughlin, as these words are usu- ally pronounced throughout Ireland. It is a rough gutteral sound, not a mere h sound. We shall represent this sound by ch. See § 10, Key to Special sounds.

§ 109.— Words.

&po-XX\AtA (aurd moCH'-a), Armagh. acc (ocHth), but. be-AtAC (bal'-áCH), a way, a road, toó (lúcii), a lake.

" me^rs^ (mas'Ka), Lough Mask.

" tUif (oo'-ir), Lough Owel.

58 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

tocUMinaó (LúoH'-lánáCH), Dane, Danish.

Ó LoóLdirm (ó LuCH'-lá^), O'Loughlin.

Tlí (ree), a king. )

re-AófvÁn (shacH'-raun), error, astray.*

ze&cz (^hacHth, thociith), cóming.

AS ce-acc, coming.

tetm^ (Zey'-ná), a meadow.

§ no.

A, his, causes aspiration ■ as, a bean, (á van), his wife.

§ HI.

pS5 -An be-aLac, a áé-Amuif ! zá at\ fú a^ ce-Aóc ^noif, pÁ5 -a beAlAó (val'-áCH). ní'l long ^n t)it ^n Loó 11-Aif\, x\óc cá txÁD t>e-A5 T>e^f -Agam ^n Loc tTleAf5A. ní fuit ^n cap-All m jMti teuna, 'nÁ -an ^n póx). cá be-aLac pma ó t)><Mte-xSt<A- CU^t 50 ti-Án*o-tTlACA. ní fuiL T)órhnAtt ^5 ce,Acc ^ bAite ó'n OiteÁn "Únf (America) f?óp.

§ 112.

Do not be in my way. There is no fish at all in Lough Mask. There is a fisherman on the lake. Charles is coming home from Armagh. I did not see James in America.

* See Note page 67.

tin Connacht the name for America is OiteÁn up, in Mun- ster SAf AnnA nvuvo. It is better to write ,AmejiicA.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 59

§ 113.

t?e\Aó (faecH), see, look at, behold !

bu^óxMit (boocH'-éZ), a boy, aherdsboy.

c-AitLe^ó (KaZ'-aCH), an old woman, hag. Iaóa (L0CH'-á), a duck, bocc (búCHth), poor, tuó (luch), a mouse. te.dc (Yacii), a house.

§114.

Only: I have a horse and a cow=cÁ CApAtt Ajup bó a^atd. I have only a horse, ní ptnt A5AU1 acc CApAtt, /</. I I have not but a horse.

§ US. The sound of CH, at the beginning of words, requires a lit- tle practice; as mo CApAtt (mú CHop'-al, not so soft as hop' -3lL,), my horse.

§116.

*Oia TJO beACA (dee'-a. dhu vah'-a), literally, God thy life, is a salutation often heard=\Velcome ! Hail. In Connacht Sé x>o beACA (shae dhú vah'-á). beAnnAcc leAC (baN'-aCHt lath), a blessing with thee ; good bye. beAnnAcc tib, when speak- ing to more than one person.

§ 117. tlí $aca mé Aon $eAn a\\ bit 45 An x>o\\av. t)i ?eA\\ boot as An -oorvdr Anoif, A-guv n\ÁlA tnón A^e. ?éAc ! zá Itió a\\ An úplAp. -pu^if mé Iaóa a\\ An loc. tlí put tons ^5 Tlix\U, ní fmt xMge AócbÁ*obe^5. T)i-a *oo be^tx\ a bxMle, a &é\Arn- uif. tlí ^ib mé in "oo ti$ ^cc bí mé m jmti cij eite. be^nn-ácc leAt ^noif .

60 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

§ 118.

Cahal had only a little horse. Put the hay in the barn, do not leave a thranneen on the floor. See the salmon in the river. The trout is coming down the river. Peter is poor, he has not a shilling in his pocket. The house is small. Con is not in the house now. I have a house in Armagh. The lad is young. There is an old woman at the door.

§ 119.

C slender aspirated is pronounced almost like h followed by y. In Munster when bet- ween two vowels, or at the end of a word, it is just like h.

•opoice^x) (dhreh'-yadh), a bridge, T)fvoió- e^t) ÁtA, Drogheda (the bridge of a ford).

pee (fih'-ye), twenty.

tTlíCeÁL (meeh'-yaul), Michael.

§ 120.

Exceptions : ce^ti-a, already, before, is pro- nounced han'-a, not h-yan'-a ; cus^m, cu^ac, cui$;e, towards me, thee, him, are erroneously pronounced hug'-ám, hug'-áth, hig-e in some places ; the termination e^cc is usually pro- nounced like -ace, ocHth, not acBth,

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 61

§ 121.

pee c^px\tl twenty horses. Notice that cap All, has the same form after pee as if it meant one horse.

§ 122.

"CÁ •opoicexvo -áfvo 45 'OpoiceA'o-Át^ ^n-an aX>- -Ainn ÁLdinn. r\Á re^r a\\av\ T>noice.<ro. ní f^c^ mé tDíóeÁt in r-an cain. ci£ tiom 50 T)noióe.<yo- ÁtA. t)í mém r-Ati ám: óe^n^. tug mé pee púnc •00 Hi All, ^uf pixMn r é púnc eite ó m'-At-ain, Atz ní -puxM-p fé f sitting -An bit ó mó rhÁt-Ain.

§ 123.

I was not in Armagh before. I have twenty sheep, but I have no lamb at all. There is a large door on the house, and a high window. There is a river at Drogheda, and another river at Dublin. There were a hen, a duck, a lark, a seagull, an eagle, and another bird in the house, and they died.

§124.

Ci-ACÁte-AC? cá C&caX, ^guf tlófVA tiom. cia zá téi? c-á tlóttA téi (Zae' hé). c^n tiom a múinnín 50 "b^ite-Át^-Cti^c. zá mé 45 *out te pÁ*onAi5 O t3nix\n ^sur UomÁf HIac Stnbne 50 toc tUin.

62 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

exercise XXU.

§ 125. — Examples in *ó and g.

T) and 5 aspirated (-0 or *oti, 5 or 5.1) are pronounced in exactly the same way.

§ 126.

*Ó and 5 final, and in the middle of words assume various sounds such as w, v, ch, g.

W and v in the middle of words join with preceding and following vowels to make long sounds or diphthongs.

At the beginning of words :

*Ó and § slender are sounded like y.

"Ó and § broad have a gutteral sound not in English, and which we shall represent by the Greek gamma (y).

The correct sounds of these, and all other consonants can only be acquired from a nat- ive speaker.

§ 127.

We shall deal first wih -o and 5 slender.

(A). At the beginning of words *o and 5 are pronounced like y.

(B). In the middle and at the end of words •o and 5 slender are silent, but have an effect on the preceding vowel which they lengthen.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 63

§ 128. — t) AND g SLENDER AT THE BEGIN- NING OF WORDS.

TTlo "Ó1A

(mú yee'-a),

my God.

mo "ÓiaLIaI'O

(mú yee'-L-ai/),

my saddle.

mo xncceatl,

(mu yeeh'-aL),

my best.

mo jjiaLL

(mú yee'-aL),

my jaw.

mo 3é

(mu yae),

my goose.

■oéAn -oo -óítceAlt, do thy best.

fiinne (ri«'-é) f é a "óíiceAll, he did his best, mo jeAtl fmu yaLh my promise, in Munster, youL. An jeAÍAC (yal'-acH), the moon, in " yal-oCH'

§ 129.

T1Á ctnn mo "OiAltAiT) An mo CApAll, acc ctnn -An tmaUai-o eite An An ArAl, Ajur ctnn mo •oiaIXait) An An lÁin. tÁ An jeAlAC m r An rpéin, CÁ An OótAn seAt Anoif . ní nAib An tjeAlAó in f An rpéin, Aguf bi An bótAn *oub.

§ 130.

Do not break your promise. Conn did his best ; he gave his horse, his saddle, and his bridle to Niall, and he gave his coach to Art. Niall got a blow from Art ; his jaw is broken.

§ 131. — X) AND g SLENDER FINAL.

"0 and 5 final (that is at the end of words) slender are silent ; but they lengthen the pre- vious vowel or digraph if short. Thus :

Before silent •Ó and 5.

64 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

t)i-ó is pronounced bi (bee). cigeAfin-A " riA\\n& (tee'-árná). Sometimes, but not generally, the short digraphs are lengthened thus : —

.di is pronounced as is aí, that is ee. 01 " oi, ee.

tii " ui, ee.

« ai " uaí, oo'-ee.

§ 132.— Words.

* bu*Mt) (boo'-ee), victory.

* Co|\cai5 (kiirkee), Cork.

* qmArt (kroo'-ee), hard.

* UA15 (oo'-ee), a grave.

* cuai-o (cnoo'-ee), went. * r tiro (see), sit.

The long digraphs á\, éi, 01, úi, are affected by t) and 5 following — * bfunt; (broo'-ee), bruise, *-oói$ dho'-ee),burn. ^p^i-ó (fau'-ee), a prophet. * téi£ Zae'-ee), read.

But in words of more than one syllable it is not so noticeable ; as, bpuigce (broo'-^e), bruised ; -oóijce (dho'-^é), burned.

Ó T)áLai$ (6 dhaul'-ee), O'Daly.

* Ó CeatLAig (0 kai/ ee), O' Kelly. *f\éit) (rae'-ee), smooth, easy. *imci5 (im'hee), go away.

* imti5 te^c, be off with you.

* In some parts of Munster these words are pronounced with a radical "g" sound, as Cojicaij (kur'-kig), etc.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. Q-j

§ 133.

50 buxMt), to victory, winning victory, is now shortened to a dú by English speakers.

§ 134.

ó T)órhn^ilt a bú ! zÁ mé -A5 "out 50 Cop oai§ -Aft mAi*oin. ni ftnl av\ dóc.aj\ cpu-ait). caja liom, ^5uf rui*ó fíof ^5 An teme. UÁ m' At^i|\ ^5«r mo mÁCAi|\ in f\an UA15. imtij te^c a o.Aite. ni ■p uit -An bóc^p féit).

§135.

Do not sit on the stool, the stool is broken. Art O'Daly died, he is now in the grave. A large grave. The grave is large. The place is not cold. The day w^as warm and dry. The day is not long now. The oats are green yet. Go down to Cork, go up to Dublin.

§ 136. — "Ó AND g SLENDER IN THE MIDDLE OF WORDS.

Similarly in the middle of words, -o and $ slender are silent, but lengthen the prece- ding short vowel or digraph.

1 .di ei 01 in are lengthened to ee ei ei ee ee, Thus : —

5

QG SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

Sijte (sb.ee '-le), Sheela, Cecilia.

"bpiji-o (bree'-id), Brigid.

cAi-óbpe (theiv'-shé),* a ghost.

ei-oeAn (ei'-an), ivy.

oróce (eeh'-yé),f night.

córhntiije^nn (kon'-ee-lN),;); dwells, lives.

§ 137— Words.

A few words like cr\oi*oe, luige, buit>e, fuit>e? are pronounced kree, lee, bwee, see, instead of kree'-e, Lee'-é, bwee'-e, see-'e.

§ 138.

In Connacht and Ulster some few words with t) and 5 are pronounced as if spelled with tx

Munster. Ulster and Conn.

UUg til-Dip, Maguire; ma Gee'-ir, má oiv'-ir.

ei-óe^n, ivy; ei'-an, ev'-an.

cuige, straw; thee'-e, thiv'-e.

guTóe, praying; Gee'-á, GÍv'-é.

* In Munster, thei'-shé.

] In ee'-he.

X In " koon'-ee-aN.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 67

§ 139.

t)í tli-Att tn^s t1fói|\ A\y An fliAt) ; t>í An oi*óóe •out), Agur óuxMt) fé -an x\n fex\ófV-Án,* A^uf ni cAimg ré a t>Aile 50 mAi*oin. ni £aca mé -an c.Ait)£>r e. c-d CAit)t)f e inr An "oún món. ní'l, acc cá ei*óeAn A5 rÁr ^p ^n *oún. j:Á5 An reun A^ur ^n ctnge inr ^n fgioból. corhnAigeAnn Apx Ó 'OórhnAill a^ An oiteÁn. 1mti$ leAC Anoir, A^ur beAnnAóc leAC.

§ 1^0.

Night and morning. The night is long and and the day is short. I went to Armagh with Conn Maguire. The barley is yellow, the grass is green. Mall has a big heart. Heart and hand. The road is not soft, the road is hard (and) smooth. You went to Cork, Art went to America. Sheela did not see a ghost.

* The following Examples serve to illustrate the use of the synonyms reAcjiÁn, Afi f Án, and Amu^A, all of which are ex- pressed by the English word astray. CÁ An p eAji Aft \ eÁófiÁn, CÁ An cApAtt Ajt pÁn ; CÁ An p eAji AtnúJA. SeACfiÁn cannot be applied except as indicating error of intellect, and can only be applied to persons, not things. See §§ 109 and 147.

68 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

§ 141. — t) AND g BROAD.

We now propose to explain the sounds of ■ó and 5 broad.

At the end and in the middle of words -o and 5 broad are sometimes silent. See § 126.

§ 142. — Examples.

eos^n (o'-an), Eugene, Owen.

exvomonn (ae'-máN),* Edmund, Edward.

pxvó (fee'-fi), a deer.

Stvá-ó (grau), love.

nuA (Noo'-a), new.

juiAi) (roo'-á), red, red haired.

fli^ti (shZee'-áv),t a mountain.

&ot>\ (ea), Hugh.

Ó tv\05^ipe (o Lae'-ar-e), O'Leary.

Lao§ (Lae), a calf.

cpÁtnónA (thrauh'-noná), evening.

§ 1^3.

gAe-óe^ts (Gae'-il-ig), the Irish-Gaelic lang- uage, usually pronounced (oael'-ig), and in Munster (Gae'-ling). t>eu|AtA (baer'-La), the English language.

* Munster sounds — ee-o'-maN. t sh/ee'-uv.

X From -Aox) are derived ttlAC Aox>&f son of Hugh, i. e. Mackey, Mackay, Magee ; Ó \\-Aox> a (grandson of Hughj, O'Hea, Hayes, Hughes. Ao-b^kw (ae'-a-gaun), little Hugh ; hence 1TIac ^o-ÓAgÁin, Egan, Keegan.

§ Declined, nom., ^Ae-óeAl^; gen., gAe-óil^e; dat. and ace,

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 69

§ 144. UÁ Aero Rua*o ó "OórhnxMlt 45 *oul 50 cin eite. t)í p-At> fuiAt) ,Att -An rliAb. ní £aca mé p^vo -An bit -An -An oileAn. ní tug Aot) ó íléitt jjnÁT!) 'oo'n •oume eile. ní f uil éAt)monn fu^f A\y An rliAb ; c-Á -An cnÁtnónA j:uAn. ní nAib "beunlA -A^ur 5^et)ili5 Ai$e.

§ 145. — "Ó AND § BROAD AT END OF WORDS.

At the end of words -o and $ lengthen the preceding short vowels and digraphs.

rriÁg (mau), a plain. br\e-Á§ (braa), fine. X 0$ (so) happiness. 50 bne.Á§, finely,

pot) (fee), a wood. euió-o (ael'-o), escape.

cnu-o (kroo), a horse shoe.

bo-ó-An (bó'-ár), bothered, deaf.

Munster. Elsewhere.

triA-oA-ó, a dog (modh'-a), (modh'-oo). buAUvo, a beating (boo'-ál-á), (boo'-ál-oo). tllA-o^ro nuAt), and m^-of^yo n uatj, are often used for fox ; rionnAC (shÍN-ácH) is the proper

word.

§ 146.

Cmn cnú*o nuA"ó \ao\ ^n lÁin. ctnn bnó^; nuATj -An Anc 05. ní -pACA mé tlójvA -A5 An cobAn ; bí ^n mA-OA-ó 05 -A^ur An cú riión -j An Iao£ nuAt> A5 An *oún. puAin -An rn-A-oxvó buAUvó cnom ó íli All. ní pACA An rionnAó -An óú aj; ceAcc.

70 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

§ 147.

The dog did not see the deer on the moun- tain. The mountain was high, and the deer was young, and there was tall grass growing on the mountain. I have a horse-shoe in my pocket. Hugh is deaf, John is not deaf. The dog was astray (-aiiiu^a, am'-oo-á), on the mountain.

§ 148.

In the middle of words -o and 5 lengthen the preceding short vowel. io-oaI (ee'-al), an idol. Se,á$.An (shaa'-an), John. u^-dap (oo'-dhar), an author.

Y& bpeág ; cÁirus Ca"05* a tiAite ó Á^-o-VOaóa, acc ní pint rséAt nuxvó A\y bit Aige. ní fuil U^vós cinn, zá r é 50 bpe-áj Atioir, acc t» ré arm 50 leóp. zá Apc m^5tnt)i|\ ^s obxMp, zá ré as cup (putting) ctnge a^ C15 (hee) ntixvó. zá An j?e,Af\ boóc ^s 5Ui"óe ^5 au •oopAr, P«A1|\ ré ^n ^uf ím ó ílórvA. "cÁAti 01-óce seat (bright) -j An bótAp bpeÁ^, -acc map rin Féin (even so)> t^n 50 U" (till day) ; a popular saying.

§ 149. The ivy is growing at the door. The ivy is green. John and James are in the house.

* In Munster (Theí'-ág).

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 71

The night is bright (and) fine. The ivy is fresh and green, but the wall is old and yel- low. The fox and the dog are not in the meadow, the fox is in the river and the dog is coming home. Brigid is not in the house, she went home.

§ 150.

In the middle of words xvo and 45, when followed by a vowel, are pronounced (ei) — like ei in height ; Thus : — -A5-A1-0 (ei'-ee), the face. a-óa\\c (ei'-arK), a horn.

fuvó^pc (rei'-árx), sight, a view.

xvoafc^ (ei'-ás-thár), a halter.

ó íU$xjXLai$ (5 rei'-áL-ee), O'Reilly.

5-<yóAf\ (Gei'-ár), a beagle, a hound.

xvórh*yo (ei'-mádh),* timber.

§ 151. The silencing of *o and 5 as above has brought about the contraction of many words in the spoken language, as —

btixvóAin (blee'-an), a year.

bpígi-o (bree^), Brigid.

1:0151*0 (fweed), patience.

tlu-A-o-Ac (Noo'-áth), of Nuada, as in ttt.á$ YIu&oaz (mau-noo'-ath), the plain of Nuada, that is, Maynooth.

* In Connacht (au'-madh).

72 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

§ 152. ílí foil xvó-apc a\\ bic ^p An Laoj jrór, zá ré 05

-out fíofoo'n cotMp. ní jmca tné U^t>5 ó TLas- -Aitttj a\\ An ftMb. ní f ml xvómxvo a\k tut m j\aii ceac, -aóc cá tnóm 50 Leóf\ As-Ainn ; cui|\ j?ó"o mónA ^|\ x\n ceine ^noif.

§ 153.

Conn O' Reilly is working in the mill. Tim has not a boat on the river, but I have a boat on the lake. There is a little boat in the house. Do not put the halter on the mare; put the halter in your pocket. My sight is not strong ; but Niall O' Reilly has no sight at all, he is blind.

§ 154. — t) AND g AT BEGINNING OF WORDS.

At the beginning of words x> and 5 broad have a sound not heard in English, and can only be correctly acquired from a native Irish speaker. This sound we shall represent by the Greek gamma y.

We shall try to teach the sound as well as we can. Take the word auger Irish, za\\acm\\ (thor'-íiCH-ár), a carpenter's tool. In pron- ouncing this word " auger," the tongue is pressed against the back part of the mouth

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 73

in bringing out the sound of g. Try to pron- ounce auger without allowing the tongue to touch the back part of the mouth, and substitute y for g, the result will be " au^er" thus giving nearly the sound we want.

The y sound of -o and 5 slender in the be- ginning of words has the same relation to their broad sound (broad y, not heard ni English) that the slender sound of any Irish letter has to the broad sound of the same letter.

It will be seen that this sound y is not on hard as g, but is in reality only a partial consonant sound. Try the same experiment with the words ugo," spÁt>, "graw," etc.

The sound of 5 broad is related to the sound of 5 broad, as the sound of c broad so to the sound of c broad.

§ 155.

The phrase that we have until now spelled X>\a -owe! is always pronounced *Oia *otnc! (yit, almost gu-i£'). Another popular phrase is a 5jv<yó (á /rau ; between á grau and á rau) O love. Another is a "óinne cóif\ (á yin'-é CHór), my good man.

74 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

§ 156.

The preposition ap, on, upon, causes as. piration ; as a^ t)órhn.AiU (er ^6n'-aL), on Don-

al.

-opium (dhrim), the back.

pi^n (pee'-an), pain.

X))A Y* tTlui|\e ttmz, a "óuine coin. T)ia Y tTluine *úuic, **5ur p^-opxMg. Hi fruit *oo gone Star j?ór. Uá mo gone món : ^sur ní f uil coince A5 V&T ln ^0 $°l^c ^noif. ^ ™° "ooiiAf (yur'-as) -oúncA. UA pian m mo *ónuim (yrim). ]?u.4in Conn cóc-a nu.a, -A^ur c^ cóca nu^ eite A\y "Óórhn-Att Ó íi-Ao*ó^. Tlí j?uil *oo Ldoj; m mo £onc (^úrth) ; bí r é m r ^n leuna, acc cá f é .an ^n fU^o ^noif.

§ 157.

My back is broken. Do no break my win- dow. Do not break my door. I am sick, and my pain is great. I was sick, but I am not sick now ; I have no pain at all in my back I was going to Derry in the night, and my horse died on the road, nó-o. There is not a tree growing on the mountain ; the mountain is cold and bare.

*An abbreviation for Ajuf, and.

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 75

Exercise XXUT.

§ 158.— The Letters t, n, n.

^hough never marked those letters are as- ^ pirated under the same conditions as the others. Although this is the place to discuss them, still, as their changes are complex, the student would do well to reserve this section until later for closer study.

§ 159.— U.

The letter p is pronounced broad at the beginning of a word, whether the vowel fol- lowing be broad or slender, as p í (ree), a king, f óT) (ródh), a road.

The few exceptions to this rule are the only relics now left of the aspiration of \\ . Some- times after aspirating particles this p becomes r, as a |\í (á ree), O king, mo peace (mu rocHth), my law. lUfv é^pt> (Naur eir'-ee), but after níop éipig (neer eir'-ig) where the p of niofi is made slender after ni.

§ 160— t, n.

There are no less than four kinds of i and four kinds of n sounds in spoken Irish. In this section the unaspirated sounds will be repre-

76 SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH.

sented by l, l', n, n' and the aspirated by 1, l', n, n'. This departure from the ordinary phonetic system of the book is made only in this section, and the student's attention is directed to it.

§ 161.

L, n, are the broad, heavy sounds produced by putting the tip of the tongue to the upper teeth.

l', n', are mixed with a y sound, like the 11 in million, and the first n in opinion.

1, n, the aspirated forms of l, n, are like the ordinary sounds of 1, n, in English.

l', n', as the aspirated forms of l', n', are softened a very little only, by the addition of a y.

§ 162.

L, l', n, n', then under aspiration become 1, l', n, n'.

l to 1, as IÁ (Lau), a day ; moU (mu lau), my day.

l' to l', as te^n^rm ré é (L'an-in shae ae), he follows him, but -oo te^n ré é (dhu l'an shae ae), he followed him.

N to n, n oct Ann ré (Nuciith-in shae), he

SIMPLE LESSONS IN IRISH. 77

makes bare ; -do noóc ré (dhú nuCHth shae, he made bare.

n' to n', ne^vo (N'adh), a nest, mo ne^-o (mu n'adh), my nest.

Note — The following rules for 1, n, in the middle of words hould be noted, l, l', n, n', stand after initial p , as r-LAC (sLoth), a rod, fteAJ, (shL'á), a spear, r-nA-om (sNeem, Mun- ster sNeim), a knot, pneACCA (shN'ocHthá), snow. In aspira- tion they become hi, hl', hn, hn', as mo fle-AJ; (mu hl'a), my spear. After all other consonants in the beginning of a word 1, l', n, n', are used. -An c-fleAJ (áN /l'a), the spear.

In the middle of words l, l', n, n', are used after jt and f ; as coriiAijile (koor-La, and with a nasal k on account of m), cÁpnÁn Ckaur-Naun), a heap.

tit is pronouncd as nl, as mÁntA (mauN-Le), gentle, In be- comes L, as colnA, gen. of colAnn, a body, (Kix-La). CL, "ot, become L, and en, -on, become N, in the middle of words.

After all other consonants in the middle of words 1, l', n, n', are used. "OumLAf (dhoom-lis, Munster dhum-a-lis), gall, £05- tuim (fó-lím, Munster fou-lim), learning.

Before r> r:, -o, L, l', n, n', are used, mole (múLth), a wether, pjnonnp a (preeN-sa;, a prince. Before the other con- sonants 1, l', n, n'. .dinm (an'-im), a name.

In the middle of words between vowels, and at the ends after a vowel l, l', n, n', are represented by a double conson- ant in writing, 1, l', n, n', by a single consonant. CApAlt (Kop- áL), a horse, Af aI (ass-al), an ass, bAinne (boN'-a), milk.

End of Part I.

Composed from die Book of K«0t.

* INDEX •

-*♦*-

A.

We give below a glossary of all the words in this book. The number after each word refers to the (§) section where such word is to be found, together with its pronunciation and appli- cation.

Anorm, 47

AnuAp, down 79

aji, on, upon, 27

Aji, causes aspiration, 156.

Aft bit, at all, 85

AfiÁn, bread, 39

Átn>, high, 19

AffoAn, a height, 39

-Á^t)-1T1ac.a, Armagh, 109

Apr, Arthur, 23, 85

Af, out of, 49

AfAt, an ass, 16

aúaiji, father, 105

t>.

bÁT>, a boat, 27

bAite, a home, town, 106

t>AiLe-An-ÁtA, Ballina, 76

bÁn, white, 15

t)Aite-ÁtA-ctiAt, Dublin, 76

bAttA, a wall, 30

bÁji-o, a bard, 19

beAj, little, small, 117

beAÍAc, a way, 109

be An, a woman ,86

beAtinAcc, a blessing, 116

a, his, her, 93.

a, sign of the vocative, 93.

a' for A3, 48

At>A a river, 100. see n. *

acc, but, 109.

as, at, 27

A3 Aib, at ye, 91.

A3Ainn, with us, 93.

A5Am, at or with me, in my possession ; compounded from A5 and mé, 96.

A5AC, at thee, 85. A5 and cu.

A3tif, and, 16

Aici, at her, 96.

Ai3e, at him, 85.

Aimfifi, time, 77.

Aic, a place, 64

ÁtAinn, delightful, 91.

Am, time, 48

AmA-oÁn, a fool, 39

An, the, 16

An Í or, up, 79.

Annfin, there, 34

Annr-o, here, 34

Anoif, now, 76.

INDEX.

79

beat a, life, 116

t>eufit,A, the English language

143 bi, be, 53 bi, was, were, 91 bmn, melodious, 47 btAf, taste, 48 bliA-ÓAm, a year, 151 bó, a cow, 15 bocr, poor, 113 bot)Aji, deaf, bothered, 145 bótAfi, a road, 76 bfiA-oÁn, a salmon, 39 bfiAc, 50 bftdt, for ever, lit. ,

to the day of judgment, 76 bfteAC, a trout, 93 b|ieÁ5, fine, 145 t)jiiAn, Brian, 58 t>ftii;i-o, Brigid, 116 bjiif, break, 34 bfiifce, broken, 35 btioj, a shoe, 15 bfión, sorrow, 105 bjtuij, bruise, 132 bnúijjte, bruised, 132 buACAitl, a herdsboy, 113 buAit), victory, 132 btiAtAX), striking, 145 bvnlle, a blow, 96

CAbAiji, help, 100

cÁibín, a caubeen, old hat, 64

CAitteAC, a hag, 113

Caic, Kate, 64

CAm, crooked, bent, 51

CAmÁn, a hurley, 39

caoI, slender, 11

CApAlt, a horse, 30

cÁjifi, a car, 27

CAfÓ5, coat, cassock, 43

CAr, a cat, 19

CacaI, Charles, 75

cacaoi|i, a chair, 76

ceAnA, already, before, 120

ciA, who ? 58

ciaIX, sense, 96

ciAnnof, how, 8^

CiVLÁifine, Killarney, 68

Citl/OAfiA, Kildare, 51

cóifi, right, just, 156

coijice, oats, 156

Conn, Con, Cornelias, 30

CojiCAij, Cork, 132

cojin, a goblet, 78

cofijiÁn, a reaping hook, 39

cop, a foot, 15

cóca, a coat, 19

cjiuaix), hard, 132

cjiú-ó, a horseshoe, 145

cjiAnn, a tree, 47

Cfiom Abu, 47

Cftor, a cross, 27

cjiúibín, crubeen, pigs foot, 64

Cfiúir-^ín, a jug, a pitcher, 64

cu, a greyhound, 18

cuaix), went, 132

cu^atd, to me, 120

cu^ac, to thee, 120

cmbe, proper, 95

cuije, to him, 120

cumne, memory, 95

cuift, put, 77, 148

cufi, putting, 129

T).

■oaU, blind, 47 ■oÁn, a poem, 19 •oéAn, make, do, 78 ■oeipifi, haste, 78 note * "oeirheAf, a shears, 95 ■oeimin, certain, 95

80

INDEX.

■oeó, 30 t)eó, for ever, 76

T)ia, God, 58

■oiAttAi-o, a saddle, 128

'OiAjmiAi'o, Dermot, Jerry, 100

■oitif, dear, fond, 27

■oicceAtt, best, 128

■001 3, burn, 132

■oóijte, burned, 132

*OóíiinA"Ll, Daniel, Donal, 100

•oo'n, to the, 66

•oorm, brown haired, 47

•oof.Af, a door, 19

•oub, black, 97

■ouine, a person, 88

•quit;, to thee, 83

■out, go, A3 -out, going, 49

■oún, shut, close, 34

■oún, a fort, 139

■oúncA, closed, shut, 35

■ojioiceA-o, a bridge, 119

*OfioiceA"o-ÁÚA, Drogheda 119

•OuftlAf, Thurles, 54

e.

é, he, it, 70

eA-omonn, Edward, 142 eibtin, Ellen, 95 eile, other, 95 éijie, Ireland, 76 éifnnn, in Ireland, 64, 76 éijieAnn, of Ireland, 76 eojjAn, Eugene, Owen, 142 eonnA, barley, 100 eutót), escape, 145

pACA, did see, 85 f a-oa, long, 19 PÁ3, leave, 34 f Á13, a prophet, 132

f Áilce, welcome, 64 pÁl, a hedge, 15 f An, wait, stay, 145 fAOi, under, 146 f Áp, growth, 49 féAC, look at, behold! 113 p éAfi, grass, 86 peAfi, a man, 86 pern, self, 70 peoit, flesh meat, 86 piA-ó, a deer, 142 piAt, generous, 58 pice, twenty, 119 file, a poet, 18 fio-ó, a wood, 145 f ion, wine, 86 ptAic, a prince, 76 pot), a sod, 64 pót> mónA, a sod of turf, 64 ^0131-0, patience, 151 pottAirii, empty, 106 pottAm, wholesome, 64 ponn, air of a song, 51 pop, yet, 74 pop5Ait, open, 100 f ua|i, cold, 58 p uAifi, got, found, 85 pint, ni pint, is not, 77, writ- ten ni't, passim. pumneÓ5, a window, 86

3At>A, a blacksmith, 100 3AbA|i, a goat, 100 3At)A|i, a beagle, 150 5Ae-óiti3, the Irish language,

143 5AittnT), Galway, 91 3^n, without, 100 3Ann, scarce, 51 3Atirun, a boy, 39

INDEX.

81

jé, a goose, 128

jeal, bright, 148

je-vLl, a promise, pledge, 128

jcaIIac a moon, 128

51 Alt, a jaw, 128

Tjlón, clean, 18

jlarmca, cleaned, 35

gUf, green, 15

3tun, a knee, 18

30 to (a place), 54

50b, beak, bill (of bird), 15

50jir, a field, 19

3|tÁx), love, 142

5ftÁnÁfi-o, Granard, 54

jut-be, pray, 138

1.

i, she, her, 70

iat), they, 70

iAf 5, a fish, 106

lAfjxMjie, a fisherman, 100

imci j, go away, 132

imtij leAC, be off, 132

1m, butter, 47

imijic, playitg (games), 49

m, in, 38

mp, in the, 38

iot>aI, an idol, 148

IÁ, a day, 30 Iaca, a duck, 113 1^5, weak, 64 IÁ1-D1J1, strong, 30 tÁifi, a mare, 129 tÁn, full, 30 Iao^, a calf, 142 lAf, light, 34 Ur-CA, lighted, 35 leAbAji, a book, 100

tear, with thee, 76

leACAn broad, 11

téi, with her, 124

téi5, read, 132

leófi, 30 teóji, plenty, 148

teunA, a meadow, 87

Iiac, gray, 78

lib, with ye, 91

linn, a pool, 51

linn, with us, 91

tiom, with me, 77

toe, a lake, a lough, 109

loclAnnAC, a Dane, 109

toctTleAf3A, Lough Mask 109

tons, a ship, 54

toe Uai^, Lough Owel, 109

tuc, a mouse, 113

m.

tnAC-An-tiAifro, Ward, 105 tTlAC CÁbA, MacCabe, 27 tTlAcConmAfiA, McNamara, 27 1TIAC Suibne, Mc Sweeney, 96 rriA-OA-ó, mA-ojiAT), a dog, 145 mÁj, a plain, 145 mÁjtluA-ÓAC, Maynooth, 115 rriAjui-oi^, Maguire, 138 mAix)in, morning, 134 mÁijie, Mary, 64 rriAit, good, 76 triÁtA, a bag, 15 mAll, slow, 47 mAfi, as, so, 76 mAfi fin, so that, 148 mÁfXAn, Martin, 27 mÁtAiji, a mother, 76 mé, I, me, 18 TTIiceÁt, Michael, 119 mil, honey, 18 mile, a thousand, 64 milif, sweet, 27

82

INDEX.

mill, destroy, 47

mo, my, 76

mom, turf, bog, 152

móinpéAfi, bog grass, 87

mot, praise, 34

mótiA. of turf, 64

mójt, great, 15

muc, a pig, 18

minteAnn, a mill, 100

muifie, Mary, the Virgin, 105

see note* muijinin, darling, 105

n.

nÁ, nor, 38

nÁ, not, do not, 34

ni, not, 30

TIiaU, Niall, 58

ni't and ni pint, is not, 30

passim. no, or, 38 fiGfiA, Nora, 32 nuA, new, 58 TIuatdac, Nuadha, 157.

O.

obAiji, work, 85

Ó tojiiAn, O'Brien, 124

Ó CACAit, O'Cahill, 76

Ó CeAttAi 3, O'Kelly, 132

Ó *OaIai5, O'Daly, 132

Ó "OómnAitt, O'Donnell, 134

05 young, 15

oiléAn, an island, 85

OiteÁn-úji, America, 88

ól, drink, 34

ótcA, drunk 35

Ó tAosAi|ie, O'Leary, 142

olAnn, wool, 96

Ó toclAmn, O'Loughlin, 109

ó'n, from the, 66

óji, gold, 54

Ó UajaUaij, O'Reilly, 150

p.

pÁ-ofiAis, Patrick, 77 pÁiftc, a park, a field, 81 pÁifoe, a child, 64 peA-OAft, Peter, 82 piAn, a pain, 156 piopA, a pipe, 81 pócA, a pocket, 81 PÓ5, a kiss, 34 pót, Paul, 82 pott, hole, 47 pop, marry, 34 pófUA, married, 35 púnc, a pound, 122 pup, a lip, 18

n.

fiA-ÓAfic, a sight, 150

fiAib, was, were, 92

ftéi-ó, smooth, easy, 132

■pi, a king, 18

jiititie fé, he did, made, 128

jió-o, a road, 19

Uóif, Rose, 64

fiómAC, before thee, ioo

Tlofmuc, Rosmuck, 54

•fuiA-ó, red, 142

S.

fAc, a sack, 15 f ajajic, a priest, 19 fÁt, a heel, 15 fÁite, salt water, 83 peACfiÁn, astray, 109 SeÁ^An, John, 148

INDEX.

83

feAmjioj, a shamrock, 79 SéAtnuf, James, 82 feAf, stand, 122 fSA-oÁn, a herring, 39 f seal, a story, 80 fSiAn, a knife, 58 rSlUinS» a shillirg, 83 fjiobót, a barn, 80 fjuAb, a broom, 58 fi, she, 18 fib, ye, 91 fin, that, 40 fmn, we, 54 fionnAC, a fc>x, 145 fiopA, a shop, 88 fiof, down, 79 fiubAÍ, walk, 100 ftÁn, health, safety, 30 flÁince, health, 64 ftiAb, a mountain, 139 fmól, a thrush, 15 fm'fin, snuff, 39 f o, this, 30 fÓ5, happiness, 145 f oUf , light, 30 f peat,, a sythe, 88 fpéif , the sky, 85 f \\vi, a stream, 78 fcót, a stool, 19 fUAf, up, upwards, 58 r«5Án, a hay rope, 39 fuix>e, sit, 132 fúil, the eye, 79 fuifce, a flail, 79

C rÁ, am, art, is are, 20, 69

rAi-obf e, a ghost, 136

cÁimj, came, 74

CAtArh, earth, land, 97

rAf , come, 34

CAf ACAif , an auger, 154

CAf c, thirst, 75

ce, hot, 27

ceAc, a house, 113

ceAcc, coming, 109

ceine, fire, 73

C15, of a house, 148

ci3eAf tiA, a lord, 131

nnn, sick, 51

ríf,land, country, 27

cifm, dry, 27

clu, tongs, 27

cobAC, tobacco, 39

cobAti, a well, 19

ComÁf, Thomas, 39

rf om, heavy, 47

ru, thou, you, 20

C«5, gave, 55

rui^e, thatch, straw, 138

cúif ne, a spinning wheel, 73

U.

tiAim, from me, 100 tiAn, a lamb, 58 ubAll, an apple, 100 uj-oAf , an author, 148 tufje, water, 78 ÚnA, Una, Winifred, 23 úf , fresh, new, 41 tif lÁf , a floor, 39

Biographical Sketch

■OF-

Rev, €ugene O'Growney.

€UGENE O'GROWNEY was born at Ballyfallon, Athboy, Co. Meath, in 1863, and was only thirty-six years old when he died, on October 18th, 1899, in the Sisters' Hospital at Los Angeles, California.

Father O'Growney's parents did not speak Irish, and he often related that he did not know there was an Irish language until he entered St. Finian's, the Diocesan Seminary at Navan, Co. Meath. When he discovered there was a National language, he re- solved in the first place to make himself acquainted with rt, and in the next place to do all in his power to restore it to its proper place in Ireland as the lan- guage of tho country.

In the fall of 1882 young O'Growney entered May- nooth College, where he studied for six years, spend- ing all his leisure time in studying Irish and Irish history and antiquities. He had the advantage here of meeting Irish-speaking students, and he com- menced systematically to collect a vocabulary, as well as to perfect himself in Irish conversation.

He was ordained in 1889 and was appointed a curate in the parish of Ballinacarrigy, Co. West- meath, In 1890 his reputation as a Gaelic scholar had spread abroad and he was made co-editor and treas- urer of the "Gaelic Journal," which had been started

85

by the Gaelic Union a few years before. A personal friend who knew him intimately, tells the story of his life-work as follows:

"The first step that brought Father O'Growney's name before any section of the public was his taking up the editorship of the "Gaelic Journal.' Previous to this, during his vacations as a student in May- nooth, he had paid several long visits to the Aran Islands and other districts to learn Irish as it is spoken. Other students of Irish up to this time, who had made up their knowledge mainly from books, had been inclined to look down on the Irish of the people, and to suppose that nothing was to be learned from them. Father O'Growney's instinct told him that neither a successful language movement nor a resus- citated literature was at all possible unless the lan- guage of the people of to-day was made the founda- tion of the work.

"In Aran he chose Inis Meadhoin (Middle Island) as his place of study. This island contains about 500 inhabitants, everyone of whom speaks Irish. It had previously been visited by Professors Zimmer and Kuno Meyer, the well-known philologists and Celti- cists, and by Mr. O'Mulrenin, who are still often talked about by the islanders. But it was Father O'Growney who established the reputation of Inis Meadhoin as an Irish 'summer school.' The house where he usually stayed — Paidin Mac Donnchadha's — was playfully christened the Irish University by the then parish priest, Father Michael O'Donohoe, t>eArm4cx *Oé te n'^riAm.

"The first fresh stimulus that led to the renewed vigor of the Irish language movement was given by the Irish bishops when they decided to re-establish the chair of Irish in Maynooth. The significance ol

86 this event in the history of the movement has been too much lost sight of. At the time when the bishops, of their own motion, came to this decision, the fortunes of the Irish language had touched the lowest depths, and the number of those who spoke the language was smaller than at any known period of Irish history. In the ten previous years the num- ber had fallen from close on 900,000 to less than 700,000, if the census returns are at all to be relied on. Tlhe movement on behalf of the language had almost been lost sight of. Think, then, how much it meant when the Irish hierarchy resolved to raise up the study of Irish once more in the chief centers of Catholic education? This auspicious resolve was cor- respondingly fortunate in its fulfilment. The revival of the Gaelic Ohair just at this juncture when Father O'Growney was marked out as its natural occupant seems nothing less than a special act of Providence.

"Meanwhile Father O'Growney had taken charge of the 'Gaelic Journal.' This periodical had been set afoot by the Gaelic Union in 1882, but the Gaelic Union as an active body had gone out of existence in the eighties, and its journal was carried on chiefly by means of a generous subsidy by the Rev. Maxwell H. Close, a Protestant clergyman. When Father O'Growney came into charge in succession to Mr. John Fleming, since dead, the 'Gaelic Journal' made a fitful appearance at intervals of three months, more or less, and had about 150 paying readers, and another hundred or so who did not pay. By Father O'Growney's efforts the journal was once more brought out as a monthly, and its circulation was run up to about 1,000.

"About this time he commenced in the 'Weekly Freeman' his famous series of Simple Lessons in

87

Irish, which at once attained widespread popularity. Over and over again I have heard people comment on the extreme simplicity of Father O'Growney's method. It is Gaelic in homoeopathic doses. You learn the fundamental principles of the language, its pronunciation, and a vocabulary of several hundred ordinary words without feeling that you have learned anything. Perhaps not fewer than 50,000 individuals have been beguiled by these lessons into making some acquaintance with the language of their ances- tors. The Archbishop of Dublin took the keenest interest in the preparation of the lessons, and it is believed that to his suggestion was due the adoption of the 'key-word' device by Father O'Growney.

"All his publications, and his life, bore the motto of the 'Four Masters'— Docum jtóifte T>é, A$ur onojiA n<\ h-éi|teAnn — (For the glory of God and the honor of Erin).

"Father O'Growney's scholarship was recognized by the Royal Irish Academy, of which he was elected a member, and he was also a member of the Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language.

"When the Gaelic League was formed in 1893 Father O'Growney was absent, I think, in Scotland, but he had been for some time previously in constant communication with a few others, who, like himself, believed that the whole question of the National lan- guage required to be taken out of its academical sur- roundings and brought to the hearths of the people. Immediately on his return he associated himself with the League, and induced many others to join it, including several of his colleagues in Maynooth. He also placed the 'Gaelic Journal' at the service of the new organization. He is, therefore, properly to be regarded as one of the founders. Dr. Hyde was

88

elected president of the League, and has since been always re-elected. The Rev. Euseby D. Cleaver was elected vice-president, in recognition of his generous help given to the teaching of Irish in the primary schools, on which he annually spent large sums of money. Mr. Cleaver died a few months after the Gaelic League was formed, and Father O'Growney was chosen vice-president to succeed him, and re- tained the post till his death; but he depricated his election at first, and renewed his protest several times afterwards. Indeed, at no time did he seek prom- inence or obtrude his personality on others. The 'exaggerated individualism' that is set down as a leading trait of the Celtic character had no part in Father O'Growney. Both in Ireland and in America he worked hard for the consolidation of the language movement on the lines of the Gaelic League, to which he was affectionately attached.

"His appetite for work was extraordinary. At one and the same time he carried out the duties of pro- fessor of Irish in Maynooth, wrote a large instalment of his lessons every week for publication in the 'Weekly Freeman/ edited the 'Gaelic Journal,' aided in carrying on the outside movement, and acted as advisor to everyone who wanted to know anything about the Irish language. A Maynooth professor told me that Father O'Growney's batch of letters received by each post nearly equalled all those received by the rest of the staff. To carry on his classes properly he was forced to prepare special text-books- during this same period, and these books, both in scholarship and in method, excelled any previous work of the kind.

"His manner was as gentle as a child's. He avoided contention. The greatest crank, the most hide-bound

89

pedant could never ruffle his temper. Yet his charac- ter was firm and decided, and his tenacity both of purpose and of effort was remarkable. He had what many enthusiasts fatally lack — the saving grace of humor.

In 1894, owing to the great tax which his labors imposed on him, his health gave away and he left Ireland in the hope of recovering his health, or at least prolonging his life in the mild climate of Ari- zona. He was accorded a splendid reception in New York by the Gaelic and Philo-Celtic societies of this city. His life was undoubtedly prolonged, but the dread disease of consumption had got its hold, and his death was only a matter of time. He never re- laxed his labors, however, and only a few days before his death he was in correspondence with THE GAEL with the view of issuing a revised edition of hid "Simple Lessons in Irish."

Father O'Growney had a rare faculty of being a scholar and a man of greatest humility at the same time. He was more at home with and more delighted at meeting any humble Irishman who "had the Gaelic" than any intercourse with great scholars could afford him. He had, besides, the power of reaching out and making himself understood by the masses, and hence his great success. In addition to all this he had a rare magnetism, which was irre- sistible to those who met him personally, but which was felt even in his correspondence.

In America, though for a long time he felt that the hand of death was upon him, he never lost his cheer- fulness. He often sent a warning that the end might come at any time, but he said this as calmly as though he were writing of some ordinary event, and he went on to discuss the interest of what was dear-

90

est to his heart in this world, our native tongue, as a man might do who was absolutely heedless of death or danger. His efforts never slackened, even when his life hung by a thead. He was constantly writing to THE GAEL, the "Irish World," the "New World," the "Citizen" of Chicago, the "Mon- itor" of San Francisco, the "Providence Visitor," the "Irish-American," the "Boston Pilot," "Donahoe's Magazine," and some other Irish-American papers, and the theme was always the same, his object being to stir up interest in the struggle for the National tongue. Occasionally the "Highland News," of In- verness, had an article or a letter from him. A month seldom passed that some contribution of his did not appear in the "Gaelic Journal." Up to the last he kept up a constant correspondence with his comrades in arms on both sides of the Atlantic.

His death was an irreparable loss to the Gaelic movement and to Ireland, because never had she a more devoted, patriotic son. His life, however, was a lesson in lofty patriotism, unflagging zeal, tireless energy and unfaltering hope, which cannot fail to be a model for all Irishmen, and particularly for those who were his co-workers in the cause. He accom- plished more in a short life of thirty-six years than it is alloted to most of us to ever achieve. May his soul rest in peace, and may his memory be cherished as long as the Gaelic tongue shall last.

Date Due

DEC 12 'W

b$3~7

■ ■'.

28

r> („ó v/

j j

O/frt

-^

rccir

-'

^ > i

m -

W3

t

$

i

^cz23.e>& m789

0 ! Gr s^wney , Eugene

Author

Revised Simple Lessons in

Title

Irish rartl

OfG>*o*H*r

BOSTON COLLEGE LIBRARY

UNIVERSITY HEIGHTS CHESTNUT HILL, MASS.

Books may be kept for two weeks and may be renewed for the same period, unless reserved.

Two cents a day is charged for each book kept overtime.

If you cannot find what you want, ask the Librarian who will be glad to help you.

The borrower is responsible for books drawn on his card and for all fines accruing on the same.

Wtm

M:mm.