Fockle ayns dty chleaysh

Ta mee er ve litcheragh agglagh er dyn shiaghtin Feailley Ghaelgagh, as myr shen ta daa vee er n’gholl shaghey nish gyn fockle erbee ayns dty chleaysh. Ta leshtallyn dy liooar aym agh dy firrinagh she shocklaid, pyaghyn mynrey, berreenyn Nollick as y lheid ta er ve jannoo orrym.

Wahll, hug Séan Ó Brádaigh dou giarrag v’ayns Emshir Ny h-Erin yn shiaghtin shoh chaie as cooish feer anaasagh v’ayn. Screeu yn fer naight ynsee mychione mean-scoill t’ayns Ullee raad ta’n ynsagh jeant ooilley ayns ‘Gaeilge’. Chossyn mean-scoill Feirshtey yn boayl s’ardjey ayns rolley ny scoillyn Nerin Hwoaie (faagail scoillyn grammeydys magh ass) son keimyn ny scrutaghtyn GCSE cosnit ec scollagyn y scoill. Hooar tree feed as tree jeig ‘sy cheead dy scollagyn y vean-scoill ny tree keimyn s’yrjey, as va jeih as feed ‘sy cheead yn towse cadjin son scoillyn ayns Nerin Hwoaie.

Dooyrt Proinsias Ó Labhradha, yn Lhiass-Ard-Vainshtyr, dy dug foays yn ynsagh, towse ny brastyllyn as ard-vreeaghys ny scollagyn yn rah er yn scoill. Haink yn chooid smoo dy phaitchyn veih bun-scoillyn Gaelgagh ayns Beeal Feirshtey as veih lughtyn-thie ta er ve streeu dy reaghey ynsagh trooid Gaelg son nyn baitchey. Ta Culturlann Feirshtey yn boayl ta’n mean-scoill goll er chummal (shen y boayl va Brian screeu mychione ‘syn art echey v’ayns y phabyr-naight car Feailley Ghaelgagh).

Ta daa haghteraght currit dooin veih’n skeeal shoh. Ta ynsagh trooid Gaelg feer speeideilagh eer nagh vel earroo dy choorseyn, tekslioaryn, feeishanyn as y lheid ry-gheddyn ayns Gaelg! S’firrinagh shen, agh cha nhegin dooin jerkal rish yn reiltys cur er bun scoillyn Gaelgagh roish my jeanmayd soilshagh da dy vel sleih dy liooar ayn kianlt dy jeean rish ‘ynsagh trooid Gaelg’ cour nyn baitchey.

‘Stiagh ‘sy tidey’

Ta’n jysk cumir ‘Stiagh ‘sy tidey’ cummit liorish yn Bann Mollag ry-chionnaghey ayns ny shappyn fy-yerrey hoal. Er-lhiam pene dy vel shoh yn kiaull share ta ry-gheddyn ayns Mannin ec yn traa t’ayn, agh ta’n jysk cumir(JC) shoh feer vie eer dauesyn nagh vel kianlt seose rish kiaull Vannin.

Ta Gaelg ry-chlashtyn ayns tree arraneyn er y JC: Fin as Oshin, Lemuel, as Arrane y Vuggane. Ta’n reih arrane aym ‘Tromlhie’ ta soilshaghey yn meehreishteil as treihys currit er Manninee ta fakin concraid as breekyn er ny magheryn boayl v’ad cloie ayns nyn aegid.

Lhig dooin cur ard-voylley da’n Bann Mollag son y JC yindyssagh shoh. S’treisht lhiam dy gluinmayd arraneyn as kiaull noa veih’n phossan shoh as s’treisht lhiam dy gionnee shiu ooilley yn JC.
After a two month break, ‘Fockle ayns dty chleaysh’ returns to its usual spot in the last Examiner of the month. The bilingual column has been absent mainly due to the regular contributors over indulgence in Christmas cake and mince pies.

Last week I received a very interesting cutting from the Irish Times sent from Dublin by Séan Ó Brádaigh. The education correspondent wrote about a Gaelic medium secondary school in Ulster. The Belfast Gaelic secondary school was top of the GCSE league table for schools in Northern Ireland (with the exception of Grammar schools) for the results achieved by its pupils. 73 per cent of pupils’ passes from the ‘Mean Scoill Feirste’ were in the top three grades, compared with an average of 30 per cent for all schools in Northern Ireland.

Deputy Head, Proinsias Ó Labhradha, said that the success of the school was down to the quality of tuition, class size and motivation and inspiration of the pupils. Most pupils came from Gaelic medium primary schools in Belfast and from parents who have fought hard for the provision of Gaelic medium education for their children. The school is housed in the Belfast Culturlann or cultural centre, which Brian mentioned in his article during Feailley Ghaelgagh.

There are two messages for language enthusiasts from this story. Firstly, Gaelic medium education does work even though there are considerably fewer resources for teaching through Gaelic. Secondly we must not expect the Government to open Gaelic schools here (despite their proven success), before we show that there is a real commitment from enough parents to have their children taught through Manx.

‘Into the tide’

The new Mollag Band CD is to be found in all good record shops at long last. Personally I think this is the best music in Manx shops that money can buy at the moment, however, even people not involved in the Manx traditional ‘ethno-funk’ music scene will be impressed with this.

Three of the songs on the CD are wholly or partly in Manx: Fin as Oshin, Lemuel and Arrane y Vuggane. My favourite song is ‘Nightmare’ which tells of the desolation and sadness felt by Manx people who see bricks and concrete on the fields in which they played in their youth.

The Mollag Band deserves much praise for this wonderful CD, and I hope that we will hear more songs and music from them soon. Buy the CD and enjoy it.

Philip Gawne