Amhráin Bhéarla i gCeantar Charna (Mícheál Ó Cuaig)

Play recording: Amhráin Bhéarla i gCeantar Charna (Mícheál Ó Cuaig)

In this recording, Mícheál discusses the way in which English-language songs came into the repertoire of singers in the Carna area — during a period when many or most of them had little or no English.

Interview in Irish; English transcription available on this page. This was an impromptu recording; the sound quality is variable.

Transcriptions prepared by Bríd Ní Ghríofa, Muigh-Inis.

Ar ndóigh bhí réimse mór millteach amhrán ag Joe mar atá a fhios ag chuile dhuine. Bhí réimse an-leathan, repertoire an-leathan amhrán aige agus, is dócha, bhí sé ag cur leis i gcónaí. Bhíodh an taisteal ann. Chaith sé blianta in Albain agus i Sasana mar atá a fhios ag chuile dhuine agus ansin Meiriceá. Bhí sé ag cur leis i gcónaí, go háirithe na hamhráin Bhéarla is dócha, ach bhí go leor de na hamhráin aige sular fhág sé agus fiú amháin amhráin Bhéarla, bhí go leor acu sin aige freisin. Déarfadh sé fhéin go bhfuair sé go leor acu óna athair ach tá sé fíor go raibh na hamhráin Béarla acu sa gceantar seo agus bhí sé sin spéisiúil: cén chaoi ar tháinig na hamhráin Béarla isteach ann? Is dócha go mbíodh go leor anonn agus anall, daoine ag taisteal ó áit go háit ag an am, go dtagadh daoine isteach a thugadh amhrán. Ach bhí mé ag éisteacht le fear, fear a labhair mé ar ball air: Joe Pheadair Uí Laoi. D’airigh mé sean-taifeadadh dhó ar Raidió na Gaeltachta le gairid ag caint ar Joe, bhí sé ag cur síos ar na hábhair céanna, ar na hAirdeanna agus ar na hamhráin agus mar sin, agus bhí sé ag caint ar na hamhráin Bhéarla agus bhí sé ag rá, rud a chur sé fhéin an-suim ann ariamh, an bealach a raibh amhráin Bhéarla acu, ag an sean-dream, iad in ann iad a chasadh go breá do dhream nach raibh mórán Béarla acu a deir siad, nach raibh in ann é a labhairt ar chor ar bith, agus cheap sé gur rud an-suntasach a bhí ansin agus ar ndóigh ba ea. Ach tá a fhios agam féin go raibh cuid de na hamhráin a chasadh Joe, leithéidí The Banks of Sweet Dundee agus There Was a Lady in Her Father’s Garden… bhíodar sin ag muintir Mhic Dhonnacha i bhFínis. Bhí sé an-spéisiúil ann féin, go mbeadh amhráin Bhéarla acu, ach ar ndóigh, mar a deir tú, bhí amhráin Ghaeilge acu. Bhí siad an-fairsing.

Translation

Of course, Joe had a huge breadth of songs as everyone knows. He had a wide breadth, a wide repertoire of songs and, I suppose, he was always adding to it. He travelled a lot. He spent time in Scotland and in England as everyone knows and then America. He was always adding to his repertoire, particularly the English songs, but he had a lot of songs before he ever left home. He used to say that he got the English songs from his father but it’s true that they used to sing English songs in this area, and that was interesting: how did the songs come into the area? There were probably a lot of people coming in and out of the area, travelling from place to place, and these people probably brought English songs into the area. But I was listening to a man, who I mentioned earlier: Joe Pheadair Uí Laoi. I heard an old recording of him on Raidió na Gaeltachta recently, and he was talking about Joe, and discussing the same things; the Airdeanna [the Aird Thiar and Aird Thoir districts of Iorras Aithneach] and the songs and so on, and he was talking about the English songs and he was saying, something he always found very interesting, how they had English songs in their repertoires, the old generation, and how they were well able to sing the songs, for people who couldn’t speak the language at all. He thought this was remarkable and of course, it was. I know that some of the songs Joe used to sing; the likes of The Banks of Sweet Dundee and The Lady in Her Father’s Garden… the Mac Donnacha family in Fínis had them. That’s very interesting in itself, the way they had the English songs but of course, as you say they, did have the Irish songs. There was an abundance of them.