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"Tuairisc Amhailt U Iartin": An Eighteenth-Century Poem on a Fair
Author(s): Cornelius G. Buttimer
Source: Eighteenth-Century Ireland / Iris an d chultr, Vol. 7 (1992), pp. 75-94
Published by: Eighteenth-Century Ireland Society
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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
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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.
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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).
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78
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY IRELAND
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.
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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.
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80
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY IRELAND
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).
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TUAIRISC AMHAILT U1 IARTAIN: EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POEM ON A FAIR
81
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.
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82
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY IRELAND
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.
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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.
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84
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY
IRELAND
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.
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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.
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86
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY IRELAND
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.
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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.
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88
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY IRELAND
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.
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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,
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90
EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY IRELAND
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
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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).
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92 EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY IRELAND
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
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TUAIRISC AMHAILT U1 IARTAIN: EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY POEM ON A FAIR
93
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
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94 EIGHTEENTH-CENTURY IRELAND
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.
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All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions