Reviving lost Irish words and phrases from Cavan

A local language enthusiast is shining a light on Cavan dialect and phrases in Irish.

As a passion project, Seán Ó hUltacháin has compiled ‘Leabhrán Bhréifne’ to coincide with Seachtain na Gaeilge. It stands as a reference guide for anyone eager to bring an authentic local flavour to their use of Irish.

“It’s a collection of poems, seanfhocals, prayers, songs and stories of Cavan Irish from different records. There’s some from folklore records from Dúchas, old books of seanfhocals from Cavan, and in Mountnugent there was a man called James Coyle 100 years ago who had several manuscripts of Irish local to this area.”

Sadly only one of James Coyle’s manuscripts survive. Seán enjoyed transcribing the old Irish, hand written script for the book.

“Luckily this one we have, 320 pages, is the biggest and best one apparently,” says Seán.

Asked for a seanfhocal collected by James Coyle he offers: “I love this one, ‘Ní féasta go róstadh Ní céasta go pósadh’ - It is not a feast until the roast (comes) (And) there are no galling trials till marriage (comes).’”

Giving an example of seanfocals of local relevance, Seán recalls one recorded in County Monaghan: ‘D’ólfadh sé Loch Síleann’ which translates as ‘He would drink Lough Sheelin’.

“My favourite one here is, ‘Béal eidhinn, croí cuilinn’ Seán says, translating it as a mouth of ivy and a heart of holly. “That means someone with a very pleasant mouth but very thorny heart,” he explains.

The ‘Leabhrán Bhréifne’ collection also features local Cavan words, which he suspects you won’t find in any dictionary.

“Dochlach, means ‘very’ - so dochlach te means very hot,” he says, and flicking to a section with 10 pages of ‘Kilnaleck Irish’ he gives another example, “Gothadh, which means appearance”.

Seán believes that when Irish was the first language in Cavan, the county would have had its own dialect, possibly many dialects.

“The Irish in the Donegal Gaeltacht differs, even between parishes. So it would have been the same here, there would have been different dialects even a few miles down the road, because Irish had been developing for thousands of years, so every place would have its own local lingo.

“Even now every county has its own lingo [in English], and we’ve only had English for a few hundred years, so imagine thousands of years of local, Irish culture would have been very rich.”

We are chatting in Súil Eile cafe on a Tuesday evening, just before Seán is set to take an Irish class; it’s one of two Irish classes Seán teaches each week in Kilnaleck (beginners and intermediate). He also teaches beginners’ Irish for parents of children attending Ghaelscoil Bhréifne. The busy Ballymachugh man also runs a Celtic art class midweek in Súil Eile; while on Sundays he hosts nature walks around the county giving people a chance to use their cúpla focal in a relaxed setting.

He keeps all of the participants updated through a Scoil Síleann Whatsapp community numbering over 100 people. Seán derives great satisfaction from knowing he’s helping others immerse in the culture.

“It’s the best job I ever had,” he enthuses.

“I have three passions in life,” he says. “Celtic art, gaeilge and nature - so the walks, the Irish classes, the Celtic art classes all give me an outlet to share those passions with other people.”

Seán was inspired to pursue art by his aunt, the late Pauline Halton. Some of her beautiful artworks hang on the walls beside where we chat.

The Celt notes their styles are very different.

“In some ways, but it’s still a celebration of local culture,” Seán counters convincingly.

“It’s still the same theme.”

“She was an inspiration in every way and I am very lucky to have had her as my ‘other mother’. She looks on over my classes in Súil Eile from Cúinne Pauline, which means ‘Pauline’s Corner’.

“It’s the fifth anniversary of her passing this year on March 24. I feel I have done her proud.”

Seán hopes his efforts in compiling Leabhrán Bhréifne will help to further enrich the use of the language in Cavan.

“I just want people to be aware of the words, so if you have an interest in Irish you can work it into your cúpla focal. There’s no point in me holding onto all of this information in my own head - I want to share it as much as possible so then we have a common knowledge of these words.”

Seán will discuss Leabhrán Bhréifne on Thursday, March 12 at 7pm in Johnston Central Library, Cavan town. For more information on Leabhrán Bhréifne and Seán’s classes, see: www.scoilsileann.com