Cornelius G. Buttimer

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"Tuairisc Amhailt Uí Iartáin": An Eighteenth-Century Poem on a Fair Author(s): Cornelius G. Buttimer Source: Eighteenth-Century Ireland / Iris an dá chultúr, Vol. 7 (1992), pp. 75-94Published by: Eighteenth-Century Ireland SocietyStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/30070924Accessed: 05-08-2014 14:30 UTC

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Tuairisc Amhailt Ui lartain:

An eighteenth-century poem on a fair

CORNELIUS G. BUTTIMER

UAIRS.AND MARKETS are no longer a prominent feature of life in Ireland. Their present condition is the opposite of that which obtained until this

century. They previously played an important role in a variety of domains, the commercialization of agriculture, the sale and distribution of manufactured goods such as household utensils, clothes and the like, and as occasions of communal enjoyment. Recent studies on the nature and significance of fairs have concentrated on English-language sources chiefly. A complementary body of evidence also exists in Gaelic tradition. A text from this background is published here to illustrate the range of the Irish material. It is entitled Tuairisc Amhailt Ut lartain ar Aonach Chlar Chluana Mhic Mhuiris sonn (hereafter Tuairisc). The work gives a burlesque account of an eighteenth-century fair. In what follows the event on which it is based and the circumstances of the composition will be discussed insofar as these can be determined. The ability of the Irish language to describe a commercial and social enterprise will also be considered.

The text and its provenance

Tuairisc proceeds on parallel levels of space and time. The piece offers a panorama of various scenes taking place during and up to the end of the fair. A comic element is present throughout. The work opens with a list of animals for sale. Prices seem excessive in relation to the livestock on offer, which include mangy ewes and pigs as small as hedgehogs (lines 1-15). There is overcharging for clothing and implements (6-13). Stalls are festooned to captivate and

1. P. O'Flanagan, 'Markets and fairs in Ireland, 1600-1800: index of economic development and regional growth', Journal of Historical Geography 11, 4 (1985), 364-78; I thank Professor O'Flanagan for this reference. P. Logan, Fair Day (Belfast, 1986 is a more popular account. The Irish data might profitably be considered in a broader international context, for which see P. Bohannon and G. Dalton ed., Markets in Africa (Evanston, Illinois, 1962), a classic study of market typologies in traditional and transitional cultures, and R. Hodges, Primitive and peasant markets (Oxford, 1988).

75



76 EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY IRELAND

deceive the young and inexperienced (14-6). Commodities such as food and drink are readily available for consumption on the spot. These combine with music, dancing and sporting to produce an atmosphere of noisy abandon, punctuated by the arguments of gamblers and the cries of beggars and hawkers (17-38). More licentious pursuits are also noticed, youths chasing and seducing girls, pick-pocketing, faction-fighting and drunken disputation (39-53). In these conditions, animals go astray while frustrated owners attempt to retrieve them (54-5). Much oath-taking is heard at the tolls as dealers conceal the nature and value of their purchases from the customs authorities when leaving the fair (56 60). The last laugh is on the individual reporting the different incidents. In his distraction he has failed to sell his wares. He is left duly impoverished, unable to obtain a consoling draught to wet his old throat (61-4).

We depend on the text itself for information about the person to whom it is ascribed. Some data occur in the work's title. The latter is problematic in its own right. As amhailt is the Gaelic term for 'monster' or 'ghost' it might be translated 'The phantom account of 0 hIartain' or alternatively 'The Phantom 0 hiartain's account'. If a personal name is involved', it must be some form of nickname, as otherwise neither this nor the surname is genuine as such, so far as I am aware. The last name may represent 0 hiartnain, an attested by-form of the family name O hIfearnain.3 The Heffernan connections are with the southern half of Ireland, notably Clare and Tipperary.' The surname's origins may explain some of the comic element in Tuairisc. If 6 hIartAin is a southerner, this would make him an outsider vis-a-vis the location in which the fair may have been held. Reasons (albeit tentative for believing this to be a Connacht town are examined below. As an outsider, he might have felt at greater liberty to describe the peculiarities of a situation at some remove from himself.

The sense of distance between 0 hiartain and the occurrences portrayed should not be exaggerated, however. The reference to Clann Orla (27 depicts the lower orders at the fair in terms of the aristocratic satire of upstart commoners found in the seventeenth-century Pairlement Chloinne Tomais.5 Nevertheless the latter composition's acerbic irony is not a feature of Tuairisc. 0 hIartain is ultimately a dealer and tradesman of sorts, capable of appreciating

2. The Apparatus and Variant Readings below show some of the manuscript titles treating 'Amhaile as a first name, with one difficult source (A), discussed later (note 44), apparently linking it with the personal name 'Hamilton'.

3. A nineteenth-century biography of the poet Liam Da11 6 hIfearnain (c.1720-1803 found in RIA MS 24 L 12, pp. 178-84 (RIA Cat. pp. 2428-41 (p. 2433) gives the composer's surname as 15 Hfartnain'. For various English renderings of the family name in Elizabethan fiants, see L. Prtit, 'Aon-fhile an leaminachais: Liam Da11 6 hIfearnain,' in W. Nolan ed., Tipperary: history and society (Dublin, 1985), pp. 185-214 (p. 187).

4. See E. Mac Lysaght, Irish families: their names, arms and origins 4th edition (Dublin, 1985), p. 103.

5. In N. J. A. Williams ed., Pairlement Chloinne Tomciis (Dublin, 1981), p. 3, line 78 (hereafter PCT with line references only), Orla (Orlaithe is the wife of Tomas MOr mac Liobair Lobhtha whose own origin is partly human and partly diabolical. The peasants of Ireland are imagined to descend from the same Tomas.



TUAIRISC AMHAILT Ul IARTAIN: EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POEM ON A FAIR 77

as well as criticising much of what is on offer.' He seems no less judgemental when it comes to the drollery of his own predicament. His attitude is one of bemusement at the foibles of his fellow human beings. Certain of these may be known to him as his familiarity with local family names (for which see below would indicate. If a genuine individual is in fact involved, 0 hIartain's identity may have been disguised to ensure his continued participation in the event while also offering him the freedom to comment on its various activities.

The work's title states the fair in question was held in Clar Chluana Mhic Mhuiris. I have not been able to find a centre corresponding exactly with this name. While the manuscript evidence discussed later points to a south-eastern provenance, I would tentatively suggest the intended venue is Claremorris (Clcir Chloinne Mhuiris), Co. Mayo. Tuairisc is linked with this county in one of its sources. The copy in question must admittedly be treated with reserve as it has undergone transformations which make its witness idiosyncratic.' The composition's toponym shares a number of features with the western placename and its traditions, most notably of course the term clar, 'plain'. Clanmorris (Clann Mhuiris is the barony in which Claremorris is situated. The barony may derive its name from Clann Mhuiris na mBri, the premier Norman family in the area in the later medieval period, possibly of Geraldine origin. The family's designation as Mac Mains may be reflected in Tuairisc's title.' The element cluain, 'meadow, pasture land', does not appear in the usual Gaelic form of the name of the town. However, it is not necessarily inappropriate in the context. A variety of cluainte are found in the immediate vicinity of Claremorris.9 Surnames mentioned, CiosOg (41), 0 Aida (44), 0 DUill (44 v. 1. and a Ban. (45), have prominent Connacht associations."

The regular occurrence of a number of annual fairs in the Connacht centre supports the possibility of Clar Chluana Mhic Mhuiris being identical with the Mayo town." Claremorris was a suitable location for this form of undertaking for many reasons. Ease of access to other neighbouring Mayo locations like Ballinrobe, as well as prominent north Galway venues such as Headford and Tuam, would have encouraged trade. Itineraries connecting Claremorris with these and other destinations appear in many guides to the roads of Ireland in the

6. The text includes favourable comment on prices for bread (33 and puddings (35 and on the ready availability of a range of alcoholic drinks (36), for instance.

7. See data on title in MS A in Apparatus and Variant Readings below. 8. See N. 6 Muraile, Mayo places: their names and origins (Westport, 1985), p. 21. 9. In the six-inch Ordnance Survey Map of Co. Mayo (Sheet 101), the following lacenames

occur within two to four miles of Claremorris: Cloonboy, Cloonconor, Cloondroon, Cloondinnaire, Cloonkeeghan, Cloonshanbo.

10. Mac Lysaght, Irish families, pp. 69 (Cios6g), 78 (6 thida), 79 (6 Mill), 49-50 (a Wire and also 63 (Coistealla), the latter surname being possibly present in line 21 (for a discussion of which see Textual Notes below).

11. For details of these events, see W. H. Crawford, 'Development of the county Mayo economy, 1700-1850', in R. Gillespie and G. Moran ed., 'A various country': essays in Mayo history 1500-1900 (Westport, 1987), pp. 67-90 (pp. 86-7).




late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.i2 Clanmorris barony in which Claremorris is found seems to have been one of the more prosperous in the county. This may be concluded from the early-nineteenth century description of Mayo prepared for the Royal Dublin Society. The latter work reports relatively favourable soil conditions, sweet and rich pasture lands and substantial levels of crop cultivation in the area.' The foregoing circumstances contributed to a rather robust agricultural economy in the barony of a kind seen in the com position analysed here.

The inventory of commodities and trades occurring in Tuairisc may furnish additional grounds for linking the work with Claremorris. The list (whose entries the Textual Notes and Glossary given below should help identify resembled material available in other medium-sized Mayo towns. Thus a nineteenth-century schedule of tolls and customs payable on articles sold and by dealers present at fairs and markets in Ballina makes mention of the following goods, together with the services of various tradesmen. These are cited here with fees charged (denominated in pence):

Pedlers, per stand (2d); bakers (2d); hardware (2d); herrings (2d); hatters (2d); shoemakers (2d); nailers (2d); leather-cutters (2d); flannels and friezes (2d); milch cows (6d); dry cows (5d); horses and asses (2d); sheep (2d); each dead pig (2d); suckling pig (2d); dead sheep (2d); dead beef (6d); butter, per crock (1d); potatoes, per sack (1d); oats, per sack (1d); cabbage, per load (1d); loy shafts and shovels (1d); vegetables, per load (2d); crannagh, sloat and dillisk (id); coppers for ditto (1d)."

The only aspects of the above enumeration which would distinguish Ballina from Claremorris relate to marine produce. One might not necessarily expect to find the latter in an inland centre like the Clanmorris barony town. Should further research establish a more plausible or even definitive location fo Clar Chluana Mhic Mhuiris, I am confident the citation just considered relating to Ballina (and by extension Claremorris will be just as relevant.

Tuairisc and the world of the fair

The list of commodities highlights a basic characteristic of our composition, its underlying realism. There may be a tendency to overlook this feature in view of

12. G. Taylor and A. Skinner, Maps of the roads of Ireland (London and Dublin, 1778), pp. 211-16; J. S. Dodd, The traveller's directory through Ireland (Dublin, 1801), p. 201; M. Sleater, Introductory essay to a new system of civil and ecclesiastical topography and itinerary of counties of Ireland (Dublin, 1806), p. 226.

13. J. McParlan, Statistical survey of the County of Mayo (Dublin, 1802), pp. 17, 25-34, 41. 14. Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the state of the fairs and markets

in Ireland Part II, Minutes of Evidence, H.C. 1854-55 (1910), xix, p. 41. Despite Dr Caoimhin 6 Danachair's reservations about the value of parliamentary papers as a source for social history expressed in A. O'Dowd, Meitheal (Dublin, 1981), p. 13, I believe these documents provide useful information in this regard.



TUAIRISC AMHAILT U1 IARTAIN: EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POEM ON A FAIR 79

the fact that the work is a literary creation and because the fair's date is not known. (The absence of a fixed date for Tuairisc makes it difficult to employ its evidence to determine such specific matters as relative pricing, for example). However, burlesque depends for its effectiveness on the humorous repre sentation of reality. Other aspects of the text besides its commercial data confirm the verisimilitude of the information.

Tuairisc records courting scenes involving the ladies of the locality (39-43, 50-1, cf. 22). Fairs were a recognised threat to young women's morals. This may be observed in such productions as the early nineteenth-century manual for girls entitled The Schoolmistress; or, instructive and entertaining Conversations between a teacher and her scholars (Dublin, l825).'5 The handbook contains instruction on female duties like 'cottage cookery' (pp. 134-8 and the proper ventilation of cabins and other residences (pp. 146-57). It also describes life's pitfalls, with fairs being sufficiently prominent in this regard to require a separate section (pp. 115-20). The schoolmistress suggests to pupils excited at the prospect of attending a forthcoming event that 'by the time you are old enough to go to fairs, you will have good sense and good principles enough to stay at home from them' (pp. 116-7). She is concerned at the 'riots and fighting which sometimes occur on these occasions' (p. 115 for which she blames excessive consumption of alcohol. The teacher concludes that 'It were as well as if the business of fairs had been confined' to the exchanging or selling of different products for which they were originally intended, but 'wherever drunkenness finds its way, every other vice will surely follow' (p. 116

The Gaelic work speaks of further disturbances, particularly the confusion surrounding customs declarations on leaving the fair (56-60). The following deliberations of a mid-nineteenth-century parliamentary report on the state of fairs and markets in Ireland might be read as a gloss on the testimony our com position provides concerning tax avoidance. Addressing the issue of the payment of imposts, the commissioners of enquiry stated:

We found the persons employed as collectors in many places endeavouring to meet the constant evasion of tolls, by obliging all parties leaving the fair with cattle, and claiming to be exempt as unsold, to go through some form, such as touching a piece of paper pasted on a board, or a book fastened to a pole, and to pledge them selves thereby to the truth of their statements. This is called clearing the cattle, and, we regret to say,. is very extensively practised. These several forms are adopted to evade the penalty attached to the illegal administration of an oath; but though not, strictly speaking, oaths, they are looked upon in that light by the lower orders, and we conceive such an objectionable and demoraliziiig practice cannot be too severely censured. It tends to make the ignorant peasant think lightly of the sacred obligation of an oath, and leads, in addition, to endless disputes, and constant scenes of riot and disorder, in which the cattle are shamefully abused by

15. For a brief account of the work, see D. 6 Murchadha, 'The schoolmistress of 1824', An nniinteoir naisitinta, 19, 2 (February, 1975), 17-8. Diannuid 6 Murchadha kindly drew my attention to both book and article.




both the drivers and the collectors with the one endeavouring to force such cattle through the custom-gap, which the others oppose.'

Disregard for authority, permissiveness, over-indulgence and other factors are thus common to both the English and Irish sources. They highlight the extent to which the inversion of normal life takes place at fairs. Indeed concealment of the author's identity and the exact whereabouts of the event reported may also reflect this situation. Reversal of normality is not unique to the context of the fair. It is found in Ireland at patterns," wakes'6 and related events. The feature is seen in carnivals' and other quasi-ritualistic incidents overseas.20 Recent Irish and international scholarship has renewed investigation of such occasions for evidence of social behaviour and world-view. Fairs and markets have not been subject to a similar sustained analysis despite their parallel circumstances. I would suggest their testimony deserves fresh attention in the quest for a fuller understanding of Irish cultural dynamics.2'

The data in Tuairisc and the work's overall tenor enable other issues of general import to be raised besides the market forces just considered. In particular, the composition facilitates discussion of the role of Irish in towns and cities during pre-Famine times. Daniel Corkery broached the issue in The Hidden Ireland (1925).22 He would allow that the language played some part in an urban setting. Concerning rural journeymen and traders, he wrote 'Even in Dublin these traffickers were Irish speakers, if necessary; while in places like Cork and Limerick and Waterford their business was very often carried on in that language, as it is in Galway to this very day' (p. 22).

Nevertheless Corkery noted Tor all this widespread use of their language . . . the Gaels never made their own of the cities and towns', suggesting they were 'little else than exiles among the citizens' (p. 23). In his view the 'Hidden Ireland of the Gaels' (p. 19 was to be found outside the town walls; indeed 'its strongholds lay far away beyond all the fat lands, beyond the mountain ranges that hemmed them in' (p. 23).

16. Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the state of the fairs and markets of Ireland, H.C. 1852-53 (1674 xli, p. 38.

17. D. O Giollein 'Perspectives in the study of folk-religion', Ulster Folklife, 36 (1990), 66-73 (69).

18. G. 6 Cnialaoich, 'Contest in the cosmology and the ritual of the Irish "Merry Wake", Cosmos, 6 (1990), 145-60, for which reference I thank the author.

19. P. Burke, Popular culture in early modern Europe (New York, 1978), pp. 178-204. 20. R. Darnton, The great cat massacre (New York, 1985), pp. 5-104. 21. In M. M. Bakhtin's Rabelais and his world (Bloomington, Indiana, 1984), such chapters

as 'The language of the marketplace in Rabelais' (pp. 145-95 and 'Popular-festive forms and images in Rabelais' (pp. 196-277 provide a comparative context for the study of festive gaiety in a mercantile setting. I am grateful to my friend Diarmuid O Giolldin for suggesting this line of enquiry.

22. Page references here are to the Gill and Macmillan edition (Dublin, 1967).




I believe this aspect of Corkery's work requires the same degree of reap praisal other features of his pioneering study have received." Many texts are extant which suggest Gaelic speakers did not necessarily shun the urban environment in the manner proposed. A series of eighteenth and nineteenth century Irish-language compositions reveals a varied urban landscape. These works not only describe physical landmarks but also express more abstract notions of commerce and enterprise, communal solidarity, social conditions and the like." The Hidden Ireland appeared before the publication in full of the celebrated Diary of Humphry 0' Sullivan." The latter compilation presents the universe of a medium-sized town, Callan, Co. Kilkenny, on the eve of the Famine, detailing its administration, customs, pastimes, politics, social hierarchies, trades, travel and other features. In its own right Tuairisc offers a similar microcosm. Through its presentation of a fair our piece portrays one of the main activities of any Irish centre of the period. The work's humour and Breughelesque vitality demonstrate how easily the material is handled. The Gaelic lexicon adequately conveys the technicalities of the occasion described.

Other levels of expression in addition to its repertory of Irish-language technical terms allow Tuairisc to paint the fair with confidence. The text's format makes a contribution in this regard. The work largely consists of reiterations of a basic syntagm employing the past tense of the substantive verb to indicate existence or presence (BM A ann, Bhi B ann etc). In most lines, three or four stressed elements appear, with occasional instances of alliteration. In the majority of cases, the penultimate word (usually a diminutive for comic purposes ends in -eogl-g, producing a rhythmical effect. These additional features give Tuairisc a metrical structure, almost. The iterative style in question is not unique to our composition. It is seen either partially or fully in other verse texts, especially sources which describe group activities. The early eighteenth-century poet Se6n 0 hUaithnIn incorporates the procedure in his

23. L. M. Cullen, 'The Hidden Ireland: re-assessment of a concept', Studia Hibernica 9 (1969), 7-47, published as a separate monograph (Mullingar, 1988); B. 0 Buachalla,

Corcora agus an Hidden Ireland', in S. 0 MOrdha ed., Scriobh 4 (1979), 109-37; idem, AnnOla Rioghachta Eireann agus Foras Feasa ar tirinn: an comhtheacs comhaimseartha', Studia Hibernica 22 & 23 (1982-3), 59-105. For a defense of Corkery's work, particularly its cultural and literary sensitivities, see S. 0 Tuama, `DOnall O Corcora: fealsamh cultUrtha, IdirmheastOir litriochta', Cfiirt, tuath agus bruachbhaile (Baile Atha Cliath, 1990), pp. 57-83, especially p. 82 where earlier papers by the author on the same topic are noted.

24. For various forms of textual evidence in this regard, see C. G. Buttimer, 'An Irish text on the "War of Jenkins' Ear-, Celtica XXI (1990), 75-98 (89-91, notes 44-5, 54); idem, 'A Gaelic reaction to Robert Emmet's rebellion', Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society xcvii (1992), 36-53; comments on relevant census data appear in G. FitzGerald, 'Estimates for baronies of minimum level of Irish-speaking amongst successive decennial cohorts: 1771-1781 to 1861-1871', Proceedings of the Royal Irish Academy vol. 84 C 3 (1984), 137-8, 143-50.

25. M. McGrath ed., Cinnlae Amhlaoibh Ui Shaileabhdin, Irish Texts Society XXX-XXXIII (London, 1936-37). For extracts and helpful commentary see also T. de Bhaldraithe, Cin Lae Amhlaoibh', pp. xv-xlii; idem in J. Jordan ed., The pleasures of Gaelic literature (Cork, 1977), pp. 97-110.




account of the revelry at the sports meeting in Coad townland, barony of Inchiquin, Co. Clare, which opens thus:

Ddanam a ruin in 6inneacht don Chomhfhad Is aerach is is stigach an aria sin; Beidh laomairf is leannta ann, tr6anrith is trtip ann Is b6arfaidh na stillsaithe an ras ann. Beidh gearghaise damhsa ann, fi Eadbhard is Una ann, Is Eamonn ar ldsradh le Slaine, Beidh S6amus ag Susan a tearma gan tuirse Is*6 ag cur a chrtIbl6ithe i bhfdinne.'

Let us go, love, together to Coad, A pleasant, convivial place, Athletes and ales will be there, and trotting and trooping and the husseys will there win the race. Dances in downpours, even Eadbhard and Una there, and Eamonn wrestling with Slaine, Susan will have S6amus interminably without travail joining his paw with her in a wedding-band.

Fiadhach an Mhada Ruaidh, a spirited description of a fox-hunt involving persons from a range of counties in the south of Ireland, contains similar inven tories of those in attendance, of which the following stanza is a typical instance:

Do bh1 na Paoraigh = Cheapach Cuinn ann Is Arttir Russell 15 'n mBantir ann Bh1 na Faoitigh = Bheanntraighe ann Is ROidi Arthur agus dream Nal ann."

The Powers from Cappoquin were there And Arthur Russell from Banteer, The Whites from Bantry were there And Roddy Arthur with a group of police there.

An unpublished description of an unspecified Co. Cork gathering recorded at the end of the last century and beginning Bhi Mrs. Sullivan = Chathair Bhullain ann consists entirely of renditions of the same sentence structure A ann, Bhi B ann etc.)."

26. E. O hAnluain ed., SeOn O hUaithnin (Baile Atha Cliath, 1973), pp. 57-8, 57. Translation (not literal mine.

27. C. O Lochlainn ed., An Claisceadal (Baile Atha Cliath, 1930), Duilleachan 26 (my translation).

28. See P. de Brtin, Clcir lcimhscribhind Gaeilge Choldiste 011scoile Chorcai: cnuasach Thorna I (Corcaigh, 1967), p. 253, describing MS 97 (T. 21), pp. 34-5. Topographic evidence would suggest a north-west Cork provenance, e.g. mention on p. 34 of Inse With (either Inchamay north or south, townlands in barony of Duhallow; see General alphabetical index to the townlands and towns, parishes and baronies of Ireland (Dublin, 1861), p. 534). I thank my colleague Dr Roibeard 0 hUrdail for discussing this point with me.



TUAIRISC AMHAILT UI IARTAIN: EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POEM ON A FAIR 83

It is therefore clear that Tuairisc and analogous fair-related compositions such as Aonach Bhearna na Gaoithe are not isolated occurrences but rather variations of a poetic or recitative genre depicting meetings and similar phenomena. Their function seems ad rem when discussing the place of Irish in the urban context. By its nature, life in towns and cities involves distinctive, concentrated levels of group and personal interaction. The framework of the compositions examined here shows that a means to encompass these realities existed in Gaelic tradition. Such a capacity might be borne in mind in any extended discussion of rural and urban cultural relationships. The growth of cities and towns in eighteenth-century Ireland highlights the importance of this topic. The extensive urbanisation of the Irish overseas in the last century also underlines its relevance.30

Manuscript sources and distribution of Tuairisc

Many of the works just reviewed have overt southern connections and the same can be claimed for Tuairisc itself. The earliest copy of the text known to me occurs in RIA MS 24 C 573' (hereafter C made by a Co. Kilkenny scribe and schoolteacher, Seosamh 0 Diomusaigh.32 The greater part of the compilation carries the date 1796, which in turn allows one to ascribe our piece to the eighteenth century. The document includes a range of traditional compositions, tales like the Battle of Clontarf (ff. 151 v ff. and Fianaiocht matter (ff. 69 r ff.). Other contents give it a more cosmopolitan flavour, linking the Gaelic world with the international scene. A version of Donnchadh Ruadh Mac Con Mara's Eachtra Ghiolla an Amarciin (ff. 49 r ff.), recounting details of the Clareman's journey to Newfoundland, occurs in the manuscript." The presence of a prose work entitled Cogadh Sasana Nua (ff. 174 r ff. enhances the North American association. This composition lists battles fought during the American Revolution, citing the numbers killed, injured and captured in different locations throughout Canada, New England, New York, New Jersey and elsewhere. The list was extracted from a letter written in Baltimore,

29. An tAth. P. Breathnach, Ceol ar sinsea IV An Treas Cur Amach (Baile Atha Cliath, n.d.), pp. 8-9; see also P. 0 Machain, Catalogue of Irish manuscripts in Mount Melleray Abbey, Co. Waterford (Dublin, 1991), p. 70 (with reference to item 9 (1 147).

30. This topic has been broached by K. Whelan, 'Town and village in Ireland: a socio cultural perspective', The Irish Review 5 (Autumn, 1988), 34-43, for which reference I thank Dr Tom Dunne.

31. The manuscript is described in RIA Cat. pp. 3211-17; Tuairisc is on ff. 183 v-185 r. 32. For a short notice of the scribe; see E. O hOgdin, `Scriobhaithe Lamhscn'bhinnl Gaeilge

gCill Chainnigh 1700-1870', in W. Nolan and K. Whelan ed., Kilkenny: history and society (Dublin, 1990), pp. 405-36 (pp. 416-17); cf. the article mentioned in note 36 on p. 84).

33. Edited by R. O Foghludha, Donnchadh Ruadh Mac Conmara 1715-1810 (Baile Atha Cliath, 1933), pp. 21-30.




Maryland, in the late 1770s." It is clear that the scribe's horizons are broad. In this light, perhaps one ought not be surprised that the manuscript should contain a text associated with a part of Ireland somewhat distant from the copyist's own region.

Other aspects of his eclecticism may be seen in the remainder of the Academy codex and in the second of 6 Dfomusaigh's surviving documents. His other extant codex, NLI MS G 663, was written in the late eighteenth or early nineteenth centuries." The latter work contains a measure of devotional literature, particularly prayers and hymns.36 Balancing this pious interest is the appearance in C (ff. 3 ff. of the well-attested disputation between Sdamus na Sr(Ina de Paor and a priest on the morality of a rakish life." This piece highlights the scribe's fondness for works with a comic strain. We also learn of O Dfomusaigh's quirky sense of humour from G 663. The National Library compilation contains Do chualas weal ter suairc gan bhreag (pp. 70 ff. a poem describing the misadventures of an uncouth giant ('An tAmadan MOr' and his comely female assistant in Lochlann, the Scandinavian land of exploit and intrigue (pp. 70 ff.)" Instead of the single running heading which accompanies other compositions in the manuscript, this piece has its own unusual set of rubrics for successive pages of text." These jocose additions, which appear to be the scribe's innovation, clearly reflect 0 Diomusaigh's reaction to the humour of the poem he is transcribing. Tuairisc's comic orientation thus fits a well-established pattern in its recorder's output.

The other recensions also have strong ties with the south. The work appears twice in RIA MS 23 C 13, written by Domhnall Mac %thigh (Daniel McSheehy in Waterford in the years 1822-37/38.4 The first copy (hereafter C'

34. I am preparing an edition of this composition. 35. For a description of the manuscript, see N. NI Sheaghdha, Catalogue of Irish Manuscripts

in the National Library of Ireland Fasciculus XII (Dublin, 1990), pp. 68-70. 36. For an edition of one of the compilation's devotional works, see B. 6 Cuiv, 'Two religious

poems in Irish', Celtica XX (1989), 73-84 (76 ff.), where there are some observations on the scribe's origins (76).

37. For this text see further P. Walsh, Lcimhscribhinni Gaeilge ChoiMiste Phadraig Mci Nuad An Dara ClO (Ma Nuad, 1980), p. 96.

38. See D. 6 Giollain, 'Myth and history: exotic foreigners and folk-belief, Temenos 23 (1987), 59-80 (59-65 for a discussion of this location in Irish tradition. The Fenian text in question is explored by G. Mac Gill-Fhinnein, Tachtra an Amaddin MhOir', Eighteenth century Ireland 4 (1989), 75-81; for the broader compositional context see also S. Watson, `Laoi Chab an Dosciin: background to a late Ossianic ballad', ibid. 5 (1990), 37-44.

39. The headings (given here as in the manuscript are: 'An Tamadan MO (pp. 70-1), 'An fear mew gan Chian' (72), 'An fear mew bhi gan innithinn' (73), 'An fear mOr gan stuidear' (74), 'An Rtlila Cam' (75), 'An 6inseach fir' (76), 'An laighaidhce' (77), 'An pOrtuir gan chois' (78), 'An lice nach raibh air acht chuig mhirimh dheag' (79), 'An rtlila do fuair a dha lurgan' (80). There is no mention of these rubrics in the catalogue referred to above (note 35 which also overlooks certain other running headings in the compilation.

40. RIA Cat. pp. 1024-28.



TUAIRISC AMHAILT UI IARTAIN: EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POEM ON A FAIR 85

probably belongs to the earlier of those dates, the second (hereafter C2 to the later.4' The document is noteworthy in that many texts appearing in its opening half are later systematically repeated, as though the scribe had taken up writing again after a lapse of time.42 A compiler from the same county, Riocard Paor, transcribed his version of the piece in a manuscript completed between 1824 and 1827, RIA MS 23 L 5 (hereafter L).43

The scribe and the place of writing are not known in the case of a fifth copy, RIA MS 23 A 17 (hereafter A), a codex which in part at least is dated 1803." As observed earlier, this rendering of Tuairisc has other difficulties. A consists of 37 lines of manuscript text. Some of these lines correspond to single lines of C, others to mixtures of lines of C, a further set are neither attested in the latter nor the alternative sources, Ci, C2 or L, to my knowledge. The otherwise unattested lines may represent garbled versions of what stood in the main composition or separate developments. I give them below in the Apparatus and Variant Readings to the extent they may be recovered from the manuscript in its present damaged condition. I also list the order in which C's lines appear in A without supplying actual readings; the readings themselves seem frequently corrupt. My objective is to give a general impression of the shape of its text rather than employ A's evidence for editorial purposes. The version's main interest lies in the probable influence of oral transmission. A shows the composition must have become part of the spoken tradition at some level, perhaps through imperfect memorisation on hearing it read out from manuscript. It is interesting to note that Tuairisc's own form and subject-matter suggests the interaction of oral as well as written culture in its genesis.

The edition which follows is based on C with spelling normalised according to recent standard Irish. Punctuation and some capitalisation have also been supplied. C's indentation of even-numbered lines underscores the composition's verse-like character. None of C' 's or L's lines is indented while in contrast C2 divides its text into fifteen quatrains. This again offers a clear recognition of Tuairisc's poetic dimension. A is alone in having the greater part of its copy in double columns (p. 69). Certain of C's original readings, a selection of variae from some of the remaining manuscripts and other apparatus-related information are furnished. The variants are given to assist discussion in the Textual Notes of problematic passages and to convey an impression of the manuscripts' affinity. Briefly stated, 0, C2 and L appear to be derivations of C,

41. C' is on pp. 146-8, C2 on pp. 237-9. 42. The following correlation of material on earlier pages with repetitions of the same items

on later pages (with the exception of Tuairisc indicates the extent of the overlap: pp. 47:104, 102:234, 105:258, 113:262, 125:247, 131:254, 136:251, 140:257, 141:231, 149:225, 157:240, 166:223, 168:219.

43. RIA Cat. pp. 305-10; Tuairisc is on pp. 12-14. For some information about the scribe see C. G. Buttimer, Catalogue of Irish manuscripts in the University of Wisconsin-Madison (Dublin, 1989), p. 9; 6 Machain, Catalogue of Irish manuscripts. . . Mount Melleray . . p. 4.

44. RIA Cat. pp. 980-82; Tuairisc is on pp. 69-70.




each with its own modifications. Thus their closeness to the latter, at whatever remove, may be seen in such features as misreading of C's peculiar orthog raphy. The distinctive style of 0 Diomusaigh's f, h and s results in the other documents misrepresenting the words seafOid (16 v. 1. and hada (23 v. 1.), for example. and C2 are in turn closely related to L with respect to their identical length and the inversion of material on lines 63-4, for instance. C2 adds its own occasional innovations (19, 40, 59 vv. IL). A's particular state makes it difficult to suggest how its copy fits this outline. The recensions mirror the fluidity one generally finds in contemporary Gaelic textual transmission.

Fairs and markets in later Gaelic tradition

While Tuairisc is an eighteenth-century work, fairs continued to be a feature of life in Ireland in succeeding generations, as indicated at the outset. The Irish language was associated with these events even while English came to be the dominant vernacular. The following work transcribed in the late 1890s records sounds at fairs remembered from some fifty years previously:"

Raidhmis an Aonaigh fAg so raidhmis do bhiodh ag na ceannaidhthiba ar gach aonach sb margadh timcheall caogad bliadhan 6 shoin.l.

Saor, saor, an uile nidh saor Trdmpaidhe ceoil, bdclaidhe brOg, geocaigh gabhar, ringidhe muc trumainne tdirinn. Tallow, garters, Carlow spurs, pins on pin-cushions and every article in the hardware department from a needle to an anchor to be sold at a reasonable rate. Barcelona hat bands three times around the hat for one penny; as to strength and durability it would draw a bull to a stall or draw a ship to a harbour. Cuireadh cairde 's leath airgid ad' laimh cairde go Nodlaig chum' an leath eile dhe. Aenneach ne full geall ne airgead aige, gheobhaidh s6 cake gan aon-rud. 'S a Stale, bi brioscr dfol a bhfuil agat. Togha rogha an tobac ann-so. Tobac 's snaoisin, Snuff and Tobaccy, etc.

Aran breagh milis annso. Pinginn ar chaca 's o go halainn. Gach aon sort rael airgid d'e ghlacadh ann-so. Aran sinseir ann-so. Luach dha phinginn ar an bpinginn um thrathnOna. A sgeul fein sgeul gach aenne sgeul Mhaire an t-airgead.!!

,T.Ua D. 3.4.97.06

The prattle at the fair Here is the prattle spoken by the merchants at each fair and market about fifty years ago.

45. The text occurs in MS 82 (T. 6), P. 248, a compilation of various forms of traditional material made in the years 1896-98 by Tom, i.e. Tadhg 6 Donnchadh (1874-1949); see de Bran, Clar lamhscribhinni" Gaeilge . . cnuasach Thorna I. pp. 210-19 (p. 217). For Torna, Gaelic League activist and former Professor of Irish at UCC, see C. G. Buttimer, 'Celtic and Irish in College', Journal of the Cork Historical and Archaeological Society xciv (1989), 88-112 (100-06). (my translation.

46. Subsequent annotations in Toma's own hand are as follows: 'Initial c made over earlier g-. 'sic. Length-mark of -a added later. dReplacing earlier ar (cancelled), -Underlines and word earradh written over; 'sic; -1 encircle and -c added later. g-gUnderlined.



TUA1RISC AMHAILT MARTAIN: EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POEM ON A FAIR 87

Cheap, cheap, everything cheap Musical trumpets, buckles for shoes, yokes for goats, rings for pigs, whorls for spinning-wheels. [English text as above]. Bid and credit and half the money in your hand and credit till Christmas for the other half. Anyone without a pledge or money will get an item for nothing. And He, look smart and sell what you have. The best and choicest tobacco here. Tobacco and snuff, [English text as above].

Fine sweet bread here. A penny each beautiful cake. Every kind of sixpence and silver taken here. Ginger-bread here. Twopence-worth for a penny this afternoon. Everyone tells his own tale and Mire's tale is money

Riming cadences of the kind detected in Tuairisc remain prominent in the Irish segment of the foregoing composition.

Members of the Gaelic community continued to participate in fairs and markets when the last century drew to a close. However linguistic and perhaps other barriers appeared to strengthen. Sean O Conaill (1853-1931), the well known south Kerry story-teller, recalls the intolerance shown to Irish speakers at the Cahirciveen fair when doing business there in his younger days." As an old man in the 1920s, Blasket Island native Tomas O Criomhthain (1856-1937 reflected on a visit to a Dingle fair earlier in his life." A mixture of nostalgia and slight defensiveness at some moments of dissipation during the event characterizes his account. Can the normative effects of official culture which had a limiting influence on other elements of traditional behaviour in the nineteenth century be detected here Some perspectives on these questions may be gained from a study of the archives of the Irish Folklore Commission, now held in the Department of Irish Folklore, University College, Dublin. The latter repository contains a cornuocopia of references to markets and fairs." The material was principally collected in the 1930s and 1940s from the last generation of Gaelic society to have had extensive contact with these occasions, and who also witnessed their demise. This rich body of folklore data and earlier forms of Irish-language evidence remain largely unexplored. It is hoped that the present paper has highlighted some of the potential in the untapped sources for the history of a now forgotten facet of commercial and cultural life in early modern Ireland.

47. S. 6 Duilearga ed., Leabhar Sheain Ui Chonaill (Baile Atha Cliath, 1448), p. xxviii. 48. P. O Maoileoin ed., An tOileanach (Baile Atha Cliath, 1973), pp. 108-19. 49. 6 Giolldin, loc. cit. (note 17); idem, 'History, folklore and the state', Arv: Scandinavian

Yearbook of Folklore 46 (1990), 169-73. 50. This may be inferred from notices of fairs and markets in the Interim Index to the Main

Collection and the Subject Index to the Schools Collection which, apart from a few pre twentieth century documents (see P. de Brim, Lamhscribhinni Gaeilge: treoirliosta (Baile Atha Cliath, 1988), p. 4, 6 form the bulk of the archive.




Text

Tuairisc Amhailt uf Mahn at aonach Chlar Chluana Mhic Mhuiris sonn.

1 Bhf ginf =ir ar bhudOig ann, Bhf crOinn is Pont at bhulOig ann,

Bhf trf point at chliobOig ann, 4 Bhf se scillinge is se pingine an chlamhfhOisc ann,

Bhf trf real an mhuk chomh beag le grainneoig ann, Bhf dh chrOinn gan teibe at shutha drantOige ann.

Bhf bonn an bhanlamh barrOige ann, 8 Bhf crOinn an shtisa chltimhach is an phluideoig ann,

Bhf cheithre boinn an pheire nuabhrOg ann. Ba dhaoir bhf stannaf, cannaf is cuinneoga ann,

Ba dhaor bhf miasa, criathra is tunnOga ann, 12 Bhf trinsitlirf peatair saor is splin6ga arm,

is nf raibh feidhm fiafraf at ha nr at dhtidOig ann. Bhf siopai seasta ag mealladh ban 6g ann,

lan de threalaf, d'earraf is d'fhldeoga ann 16 is de nithibh eile nar thuigeas tre iomad seafOide.

Bhf clan Ian aran na mbulOg ann is cailleacha do cheannach is do ghearradh ma ghiondOga,

Bhf gabaiste ma charnein an card ann 20 is laniomad blonag is putOga.

Bhf ceitheamach costsalach ag urchar garbh6ige ann, Bhf coc is braid sfoda at Shfle an strabOid ann,

Bhf caipfn htida mar chltidadh an scolOig ann. 24 Bhf imirt theas i gclais an tseanrOid ann,

Bhf veidhlfn is pip i gclaf na seamsOg ann is do bhf damhsa garbh ag marbhadh ciarOg ann,

Bhi Clann Orla liobarthas gliogar ma seanbhrOga ann, 28 Bhi comhlainn reatha ag faiche na seamrOg ann,

is lucht babhta is malairt ag tagra eagOra ann. Bhf brat ban i mbarr gach bothOige ann,

Bhf bacaf ag beiceadh is ag deanamh collOide 32 is do bhf greasaf dona ag moladh drochbhrOga.

Bhf builin chomh saor le sodOig ann, Bhf trf pingine an phont ime faoi chupOig ann

is no raibh ach leathbhonn an an bpont den phutOig ann. 36 Fairsinge ar leann, an bhranda is an bhurgOid ann,

Bhf potaf ag fiochadh in ucht na banOige ann is feoil cid stialladh i gcliabh gach bothOige ann.

Bhf speic an Pheig da 001 ann 40 is f go gnOthach ag 61 le hOgana,

Bhf ruaig ag OnOra an Sheoirse CiosOg ann mar do nocht se a glCiine is a hurOg ann

is i ar a ail i gcltlid tor neatOige ann.



TUAIRISC AMHAJLT UI IARTAIN: EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POEM ON A FAIR 89

44 Bhf O Dtida, O'Neill is GearOid ann, Bhf Uileac a Thiry is TiobOid ann,

ag 61 ffona is drfodar liornOine. Bhf rith is ruaig ar shlua slad pOca arm,

48. Bhf brufon is buillf is callOid ann Bhf =dal i mullaf ag sforghabail ann.

Bhf fir (Id bhfascadh ag mna i mbarrOga ann, ba mil& a ngleo faoi dheoidh is a n-abh6ga.

52 Bhf lucht meisce ann ag truisle de thuairteoga ag briseadh gloinf is ag stialladh fuinneoga.

Bhf Tadhg is Diarmuid ag stialladh scamhOga mar do chuaigh seachran slf ar a gcaoire is ar a mbulOga.

56 Ag beama an chustaim bhf nochtadh ar chasOga, Bhf gair eighthe, breige is garOide,

Bhf leabhartha do dtabhairt gan rabhadh gan ag6 ann. Bhf buaf is damh ag ropadh is ag bagar ar phuiteog

60 is do scinn a lan caorach trfothu ma dtruisleoga. Uch is trua mo dhfol is nfor dhfolas mo bharrOg ann

is me rOlom gan bonn im sheanphOca, gidh gur measa gan bonn faoi mo sheanbhrOga,

64 is nf bhfuaras fliochadh d'fhliochfadh mo sheanscOig.

FINIT

Translation

In order to attempt to convey the spirit of the original, the following translation is not strictly literal (although it is line by line). Readers seeking standard dictionary definitions (from P. Dinneen, An Irish-English Dictionary (Dublin, 1927 and N. 0 DOnaill, FoclOir Gaeilge-Bearla (Baile Atha Cliath, 1977), or a discussion of problematic passages may wish to consult the accompanying Glossary and Notes.

Phantom 6 hIartain's account of the fair at Clar Chluana Mhic Mhuiris.

A heifer there cost a golden guinea, a bullock a crown and a pound, a filly cost three pounds there,

4 a mangy ewe six and six, a hedgehog-sized pig thrice sixpence, two crowns without doubt for a snarling sow. There a cubit of sack-cloth cost a groat,

8 each fuzzy rug and a small blanket a crown, four groats for a pair of poor shoes. Barrels, cans and chums there were dear, vessels, sieves and small tuns costly,




12 pewter platters and spoons cheap and there was no use asking for flint or a clay pipe. Stands enticed young women there, full of articles, goods and axles

16 and other items I did not understand from too much foolishness. A board full of loaf bread was there with hags buying and cutting it into morsels, cabbage in heaps being broadcast

20 and a complement of lard and puddings. A filthy-soled fellow throwing stones there, Sile the strap had a cocked hat and silk top, small farmers with hood caps for covers.

24 There was play below by the old road valley, violin and pipe at the wood-sorrel fence, with rough dancing killing beetles, the lower orders' old shoes sqeaking,

28 running contests at the shamrock field and chancers and gamblers crying foul. A white flag atop each small hut there, beggars bleating and making commotion

32 and bad cobblers praising poor brogue-work. A loaf there was as cheap as a soda-cake, a pound of butter in a dock-leaf for three pence, only half a groat a pound of pudding.

36 Plenty of ale, brandy and burgundy, pots boiling in front of the green with meat cut in strips there beside each booth. A glance was being cast at Peig

40 while she was busy drinking with youth there, OnOra was chasing Seoirse CiosOg because he uncovered her knee and her hem as she lay on her rear in a nettle-bush recess.

44 0 Dtida, O'Neill and Gear(Sid were there, Uileac a Bac and Tiobciid, drinking wine and the dregs of lemon-juice. Pick-pockets there were chased and run after,

48 there was fighting, striking and commotion, sticks steadily pounded on poll-tops. Men there were squeezed in embraces by women, great at least was their banter and chatter.

52 Drunkards were tripping on tufts there, breaking glasses and shattering windows, Tadhg and Diarmuid wrenched their lungs because their sheep and bullocks went astray.

56 At the custom's gap jackets were opened, shouts of lies, falsehood and exclamation, oaths sworn without warning or reservation. Cows and oxen rushed and charged puddles



TUAIRISC AMHAILT UI 'ARMIN: EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POEM ON A FAIR 91

60 and betwen them, hopping, many sheep darted. Alas, my plight, I did not sell my sack-cloth there and I so bare with no groat in my old pocket, though having no sole under my old shoes is more appalling,

64 and I got ne'er a drop to wet my old throat.

Apparatus and Variant Readings

Title: 'al aonnach Chlar Chluan' C, 'Amhuilt Ui fartain air aonach Chlar Cldana Mhic Mhuiris' L, 'air aonach Chlar Chdana' C2, Tuairisg Hamailt U1 Houartain 6 Eanach Clair U1 Mhdisg is Conntae Mhuidhi6' A. Running heading: ̀Aonnach Chlar Chluan' C (ff. 184 r-185 only.

0, C2 and L want lines 27-8, 52-3. A's structure is as follows (lines in A corresponding to those in C where relevant): 1:5, 2:6, 3:3, 4:2, 5:10, 6:11, 7:13, 8:24, 9: ̀ [. . .1 dead le gfathain oirling', 10:25, 11:26, 12:27, 13:14 37, 14:23, 15: '[. . .1 chota ar bhramanoig ann', 16: [. . oidh athairr gan arlach', 17: 'do bh1 araig a picadh an cla[. . .1', 18: ̀ fear an craoi mhor gan forling [. . 19:54, 20:55, 21:39 (?), 22:59, 23:60 (?), 24:48, 25:49, 26: ̀ Ogainig ag muna faoi [. . .1', 27: ̀ greada bas a bhuil-liad t. . .1', 28:56, 29:58, 30:21, 31:44, 32:45, 33: ̀ [.. .1 mOr ann', 34:61, 35:62, 36:63, 37:64.

6 sothach C C2 L. 9. nuadh-bhrOig C. 13. liagh C L, 'fag C2 is ar C2. 16. sioffOide C, flosOide 0 C2 L. 19. air dhroch charrOl C2. 21 cOistealla C, coiste(a)lla C' C2 L. 23. bilda L 38. cliabh (in parentheses with ̀paor chalan' (? at lower, outer margin L. 40. le hoganach florin 0. 43. uf C L. 44. 6 Null C, 0 Dilill C' C2 L. 53. eitig C'. eithig C2. 59 abogair C, a bogar ar phuite Cl, ag boghar L, 'sa cfapail ann C2. 60. ttrulOga L. 62. gan bonn faoim shean-bhrOga C' C2 L. 63. gan bonn am shedn-phOca 0 C2 L. Ends Crioch C' C2, Crfoch leis an mad sin L.

Textual Notes

6. sutha drantOige: drantOg is a diminutive of the word dram, jaw, gum, mouth'. The meaning of the term preceding it is less certain. Professor Sean 0 Coiledin suggests reading sutha, and translating 'snarling sow'. It might be saitheach, from saith, 'bitch', with the -each ending present by apalogy with other second-declension feminine nouns (e.g. baintreach, 'widow cailleach, `hag'), yielding the translation 'snarling bitch'. The argument in favour of some type of creature is the fact that the term occurs at the end of a list of animals (1 5). Because these are farm as opposed to domestic animals, 'sow' is perhaps preferable. The word soitheach, 'vessel' might also be considered, with a suggested translation of 'small-mouthed container'. However, utensils are not mentioned for some time in Tuairisc (10-13); the section immediately following the animal inventory deals with garments, woollens and footwear (7-9).




13. ha: if liagh is to be taken as an oblique case of the word ha, 'stone', one might translate 'flint' in view of the line's pipe-smoking context (cf. dad6g).

18. giondOg: possibly a diminutive of the word gion, 'the mouth; a bit, bite, mouthful'. The '-d-' might result from the influence of canntalcannda, 'piece, portion'.

21. costsalach: I adopt this reading suggested by Sean ii Coiledin on the basis of the compound's occurrence as an epithet in PCT 1331-2, 1931 (' Conchubhar Costshalach'). In view of the final length-mark in the manuscript original the genitive of the verb-noun costail, 'cost(ing)' might be mentioned, yielding 'costing clerk' as a possible translation of ceithearnach c. Also deserving notice is the family name Coistealla.

24-8. dais an tseanrOid (24), clai na seamsOg (25), faiche no seamrOg (28): a proper name may be intended in each case (cf. 56n).

29. lucht babhta is malairt: the terms' sporting context (cf. 28 suggests some form of gambling.

36. burgOid: burgfiin is the usual spelling of the word for this beverage. Might the form here be due to the influence of the term purgOid, 'purgative', with a humorous negative comment on the drink's quality

42. urOg: diminutive of the term urlor, 'border, edge', here 'hem'.

56. bearna an chustaim: a proper name may also be in question here (cf. 24-8n).

GLOSSARY

branda 36 brat ban 30 breag 57 briseadh 53 bruion 48 budOg 1 builin 33 buille 48 lbul6g 2, 55 2bulOg 17 burg6id 36n cailleach 18 caipin hada 23 callOid 48

abhOg 51 ago 58 babhta 29n bacach 31 bagar 59 bankimh 7 b=n6g 37 lbarrOg 7, 61 2barrrOg 50 bearna 56n beiceadh 31 blonag 20 b6 59 bonn 7 bothOg 30,38 braid 22

banter objection, reservation exchange beggar; pi bacai charge, threaten(ing cubit green patch of ground sacking, sack-cloth hug gap shouting soft fat, lard, blubber cow; pl. bud coin (unspecified small booth, hut front, top

brandy white flag

lie breaking (faction- fight heifer loaf blow bullock loaf burgundy wine hag hooded cap commotion, noise, wrangle




canna 10 caora 55 carnan 19 car(il 19

casOg 56 ceithearnach costsalach 21n ciarOg 26 cid 25 dais 24n clamhfhOisc 4 char 17 cliabh 38 cliobOg 3 cladadh 23 (laid 43 clamhach 8 coc 22

collOid 31 comhlann 28 costsalach criathar 11 cr6inn 2 cuinneog 10 cal 43 cupOg 34 custam 56n damh 59 damhsa 26 ldiol 61 2diol 61 dona 32 drantOg drIodar 46 dreichbhrOg 32 dadOg 13

eag6ir 29 earra 15 eitheach 57

faiche 28n fairsinge 36 fascadh 50

can sheep heap carol, chant; ar c.: being announced cassock, jacket dirty-footed/-legged fellow beetle dike, fence, wall channel, gully, ditch mangy ewe board frame; basket, pannier filly cover corner, nook; cover fluffy, fuzzy cock (of hat, headgear commotion, noise contest see ceithearnach sieve crown churn rear large leaf, dock-leaf customs ox dance condition, fate sell bad, wretched see sutha dregs bad/poor shoe short-stemmed (clay pipe injustice article, goods, item falsehood, lie; pl. eighthe green abundance squeeze

feoil 37 fideog 15

fion 46 fiuchadh 37 fliochadh 64 fuinneog 53 gabaiste 19 gair 57 garbh6g 21 geirOid 57 gini 1 giondOg 18n gleo 51

gllogar 27

gloine 53 glain 42 grainneog 5 greasai 31 imirt 24 leabhar 58

leann 36 leath-bhonn 35

ha 13n liobartha 27 liomOn 46 lucht meisce 52 maide 49 malairt 29n mealladh 14 meisce 52 mias 11 mullach 49

neant6g 43 n116

nochtady 56 nuabhrOg 9 or 1 peatar 12 peire 9 pingin 4 etc.

meat axle (of spinning wheel wine boiling wetting; drop window cabbage shout stone clamour, din guinea morsel clamour, noise, uproar rattling, squelching sound glass knee hedgehog shoemaker play(ing book; I. a thabhairt: swear; pl. leabhartha ale, beer half-coin (unspecified flint tattered, untidy lemon(-juice drunkards stick exchange, gamble enticing see lucht m. dis crown of head; pl. mullai nettle article, item; d. p. nithibh revealing new shoe gold pewter pair penny




siorghabhail 49 repeatedly struck sii 55 see seachran S. slua 47 crowd, group slad pOca 47 pick-pocketing sodOg 33 soda-cake

PIP 25 pluideog 8 pOca 47 Pont 2,34 etc.

pota 37 puiteog 59 putOg 20,35 rabhadh 58 real 5 rith 28 r6lom 62 ropadh 59 ruaig 41,47 scamhOg 54 willing 4 scinn 60 scoMg 23 seachrein slf 55 seafelid 16 seamrOg 28n seam. 25 seanbhrOg 27,

63 seanphOca 62 seanrOd 24n seanscOig 64 sioda 22 siopa seasta 14

Pipe small blanket see slad p. pound (money or weight pot small pit, pool pudding warning sixpence running excessively/very bare charge, rush rush lung shilling dart, rush small farmer wandering nonsense shamrock wood-sorrel old shoe

old pocket old road old neck/throat silk stand

speic 39 sptin6g 12 stanna 10 stialladh 38,

53,54 strabOid 22 Asa 8 sutha drantOige 6n tagra 29 teibe 6 tor 43 tortOg 52 trealamh 15

trinsiti r 12 truisle 52 truisleog 60 tunnOg 11 ucht 37 urchar 21 urOg 42n veidhlin 25

glance, look spoon barrel cut in strips, shatter, tear saucy, unruly girl blanket, covering, rug

snarling sow pleading failure bush, clump clumb, tuft article, appliance, item; pl. trealai trencher, platter fall, stumble, trip hop, spring small tun or cask front shot, shooting hem violin, fiddle

Acknowledgements

An earlier version of this paper formed part of a talk entitled 'An Ghaeilge mBailte agus i gCathracha' presented to the Eighteenth-Century Ireland Society's fourth annual conference, St Patrick's College, Maynooth, 1988. The article was prepared with a grant from UCC's Staff Development Fund.



Cornelius G. Buttimer

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