2
been in America or Scotland for longer or shorter periods, and when they return the Irish they speak is often little better than a jargon. Examples such as the following may be heard from at least 80 per cent. of the people—tá sé mend-ál anois acht tá sé an-bleach-áilte—fail-ál mo rye orm—set-áladh an trap—chuala mé go robh gains (= biseach) oirthí!
Practically no attempts have been made so far to arrest the decay of the language. It is true that a society has recently been formed to preserve Ulster Irish, but some time must elapse before much can be done. There is little or no temptation for the people to learn to read Irish at present as, apart from the excellent little texts published by J. P. Craig, Donegal Irish is practically unrepresented in literature and the dialect is too far removed from Munster and Connaught speech for the publications of the Gaelic League to be intelligible. Even the simple Connaught tales published by Douglas Hyde are found difficult. English is the language of the people’s devotions, and the schoolmasters seldom know sufficient Irish to teach it intelligently. In one respect they are free from blame, viz. that there is a dearth of suitable text-books.
As I had never heard any Irish spoken before I first went over in 1903 my first summer was spent in learning to understand and make myself intelligible. The initial difficulties were stupendous. I had a fair theoretical knowledge of Connaught pronunciation which had to be unlearnt, and the vocabulary was in large measure strange. Worst of all, however, was the difficulty in getting away from English, a difficulty which has dogged me all through. That I was able to overcome all these and other difficulties is due solely to the unfailing kindness of my host, John Hegarty. J. H. is my chief source of information, and a word about him may not be out of place. He was born in 1831, and has spent all his life in Meenawannia, with the exception of about 18 months. He possesses a far better knowledge of Donegal Irish than any other person I have met, and, as far as I can judge, he has been little, if at all, influenced by book Irish. He has an immense store of tales and Fenian poems in the vernacular, and it is only a few of the oldest men and women like himself that are able to speak Irish in its purity. I take this opportunity of thanking him most cordially for all his trouble, and for the interest he has taken in me.
Two courses lay open to me. The one was to rely upon
