Fockle ayns dty chleaysh

Eirinys Manninagh - Jantys Nish!

Ta shin ooilley er chlashtyn yn skeeal mychione y guilley va lhiggey er dy row moddey oaldey cheet keayrt ny ghaa agh cha daink eh. Eisht tra va’n moddey oaldey ayn dy firrinagh cha ren peiagh erbee credjal yn guilley tra v’eh ginsh skeeal feer daue. Er lhiam dy nee mish yn guilley shen nish ta screeu yn art shoh, ayns aght ennagh.

Son whilleen dy vleeantyn as ta mee er ve bio ta ny eirinee Vannin er ve gaccan nagh row argid dy liooar oc as hig baase as cragh da eirinys Manninagh dy gerrid mannagh vow ny eirinee tooilley argid ny cooney veih’n Reiltys. Son shickyrys car yn jeih blein as feed shoh t’er n’gholl shaghey ta eirinee Vannin dy liooar er choayl nyn dhalloo kyndagh rish genney dy argid oc, agh ta foast Manninee dy liooar gobbragh er y thalloo kyndagh rish berchys nyn n’ghowaltysyn va cosnit moghey ‘sy cheead shoh.

S’baghtal dou nish nagh vel monney jeh’n berchys v’ayn faagit da ny eirinee jiu. Ta skeeal ayn dy vel bunnys dy chooilley Manninagh as gowaltys echey geearree creck yn thalloo oc ec yn traa t’ayn. Cha nel ping erbee ry-chosney veih bainney, feill vart ny feill vuc noadyr, as cha nel eirinagh erbee jerkal rish cosoylaghtyn share ‘sy traa ry-heet! Ta gaue rieugh ayn nagh bee agh kuse dy Vanninee faagit ayns ny gowaltysyn Vannin ec jerrey yn thousane blein shoh!

Cha nodmayd cur foill cairagh er yn Rheynn Eirinys Reiltys Vannin son ny boiraghyn t’ayn ny ny eirinee noadyr er y fa dy nee caghlaaghyn mooarey ‘syn aght ta’n theay smooinaghtyn er eirinys as bee ta reill yn chooish shoh. Cha syms quoi s’lesh yn foill son shoh, agh cha nel scansh erbee er shen. T’eh foddey smoo scanshoil dooin ooilley dy smooinaghtyn er traa ry-heet eirinys Manninagh as yn Ellan ain, er lheh yn sorch dy heer baillin fakin!

Ta palchey dy lieh ayn smooinaghtyn dy vel eirinys Vannin yn thie s’jerree da ny shenn tradishoonyn as cultoor Vannin, as eer dy vel ymmodee sleih smooinaghtyn er eirinee myr sondereeyn shirrey argid gyn scansh da’n chymmyltaght oc s’lesh ny eirinee Vannin ny schleiyn, keeayllyn chionnit as cliaghtaghyn y cheer. My vees ad caillt beemayd ooilley ny s’boghtey as bee towl mooar faagit ayns cree Vannin.

S’treisht lhiam dy jean dy chooilley pheiagh ta gobbragh da’n chooish shoh smooinaghtyn dy dowin as dy lajer er - ny eirinee, ny sheshaghtyn eirinys as dy chooilley ayrn jeh’n Reiltys, dagh oltey Tinvaal. Cha nel eh kiart dy cheau argid ayns ny shenn buill cadjin dyn smooinaghtyn, myr ta’n cliaghtey er ve rish bleeantyn. Lhisagh shinyn ayns Mannin smooinaghtyn er aghtyn noa sheiltynagh son cooney lesh eirinys Manninagh, ta goaill stiagh yeearreeyn as barelyn yn theay er cooishyn bentyn rish yn chymmyltaght, foays ny beiyn as reayrt y cheer. As cha nhegin dooin jerkal rish eirinee Vannin gobbragh daa oor yeig dagh laa, shiaght laghyn ‘sy chiaghtin jus’ dy chosney scrug ny ghaa son y boayrd oc.

Manx Farming - Action Now!

We have all heard the story of the boy who let on that the wolf was coming but he didn’t come. Then when the wolf was really there nobody believed the boy when he told them the truth. I think that I’m like that boy now writing this article in a way.

For as many years as I have been alive the Manx farmers have been complaining that they didn’t have enough money and Manx agriculture would be in peril if the farmers didn’t get more money soon from the Government. For sure over the past thirty years enough Manx farmers have lost their land because of a scarcity of money , but there are still enough Manxmen working on the land due to the money which their farms had earned them earlier this century.

It is clear to me now though that there is not much of that money left today. There’s a story around that almost every Manxman with a farm wants to sell his land at the moment. There’s not a penny to be earned from milk, beef or pork and there’s no farmer expecting better prospects in the future! There is a real danger that there will only be a few Manxmen left in Manx farming at the end of this millennium!

We cannot justifiably blame the Manx Department of Agriculture for the current situation , or the farmers because it is the huge changes which have taken place in the way in which people think about agriculture and food production which are driving this. I don’t know who is to blame for this but the blame is not that important. It is far more important for us all to think on the future of agriculture in the Isle of Man and our Island, especially the sort of countryside we wish to see!

There are many people who think that the Manx agricultural community is the last home to the old Manx traditions and culture, and even though some people think on farmers as greedy fellows looking only for profit without heeding the environment , it is the farmers who have the skills, knowledge and customs of the countryside. If they are lost we’ll all be the poorer and a big hole will be left in the heart of the Isle of Man.

I hope that everyone who is working in this area will think long and hard about the future - the farmers, the agricultural societies and every part of Government, every member of Tynwald. It is not right to throw money in the usual old places without thinking as has been the custom for years. We in the Isle of Man should think of new imaginative ways to help Manx agriculture, which take account of the wishes and opinions of the general public in matters such as the environment, animal welfare and the appearance of the countryside. But we must not expect Manx farmers to work twelve hours a day seven days a week just to earn a crust or two for the table.


Phil Gawne July, 1998.