An fear uasal agus an fear bocht - Seán Ó Conaglaigh
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Title in English: The poor man and the gentleman
Digital version published by: Doegen Records Web Project, Royal Irish Academy
Description of the Recording:
Speaker:
Seán
Ó Conaglaigh from Co.
Donegal
Person who made the recording:
Karl Tempel
Organizer and administrator of the recording scheme: The Royal Irish Academy
In collaboration with: Lautabteilung, Preußische Staatsbibliothek (now Lautarchiv,
Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
Recorded on 29-09-1931 in Courthouse,
Letterkenny. Recorded on 29-09-1931 in Courthouse,
Letterkenny.
Archive recording (ID LA_1230d1, from a shellac disk stored at the
Royal Irish Academy) is 03:23 minutes
long. Archive recording (ID LA_1230d1, from a shellac disk stored at the
Royal Irish Academy) is 03:23 minutes
long.
Second archive recording (ID LA_1230b1, from a shellac disc stored in
Belfast) is 03:23 minutes long. Second archive recording (ID LA_1230b1, from a shellac disc stored in
Belfast) is 03:23 minutes long.
User recording (ID LA_1230d1, from a shellac disk stored at the Royal
Irish Academy) is 03:22 minutes long. User recording (ID LA_1230d1, from a shellac disk stored at the Royal
Irish Academy) is 03:22 minutes long.
Transcript
Bhí fear uasal aon am amháin ann agus bhí fear bocht ag obair achan lá aige agus ag goil 'na[1] bhaile san oíche. Agus aon oíche amháin dúirt sé leis an fhear bhocht, mura bhfuasclóchadh sé ceist ar maidin lá harna mhárach dó a bhí sé goil a chur air, nach dtabhairfeadh sé obair níos mó dó. Agus ba í an cheist í freaghar[2] a bheith leis: "Goidé na trí ní ba sine agus ab óige ar an tsaol?"
Fuaigh an fear bocht 'na bhaile, briste brónach agus cha rabh a fhios aige goidé an freaghar a bheirfeadh sé air. Chuir a níon ceist air goidé an brón a bhí air - nach rabh sé mar ba ghnách leis ' cuartú a shuipéir. D'ins[3] sé daoithe goidé a dúirt an fear uasal leis agus nach dtiocfadh leis freaghar a thabhairt air, nach rabh a fhios aige údar an cheist a chuir sé air. D'ins sé daoithe ansin goidé an cheist, agus d'iarr sí air suí agna[4] shuipéar, agus nuair a bheadh sé ag imeacht ar maidin go n-inseochadh sise dó an freaghar a bheirfeadh sé ar an fhear uasal.
Nuair a d'éirigh sé ar maidin d'iarr an níon air inse don fhear uasal gurb í an... gurb í an (léann)... gurb í an ghrian, an ghealach agus an fhoghlaim na trí ní ba sine agus ab óige ar an tsaol.
"Cé a d'ins sin duid?" arsa an fear uasal.
"Níon atá sa bhaile agam," arsa an fear bocht.
"Caithfidh tú í a thabhairt domhsa," arsa an fear uasal.
"Le do thoil," arsa an fear bocht, "níl sí fóirsteanach le theacht in do láthair."
"Cuma liom goidé mar atá sí," arsa an fear uasal, "caithfidh sí a theacht in mo láthair."
Chóirigh an fear bocht a níon comh maith agus tháinig leis agus thug roimh an fhear uasal í. Agus dúirt an fear uasal laoithe... léithe go rabh sé ag goil á glacadh ina bean.
"Bhuel," arsa an cailín.
Chuir sé ceist ar an chailín an rabh sí sásta.
"Tá mé sásta," arsa an cailín, "ar acht."
"Goidé an t-acht?" arsa an fear uasal.
"Tá mo thrí ultach den tsaibhreas is fearr atá agad a thabhairt domh an lá a chuirfeas tú ar shiúl mé. Tá a fhios agam nach gcoinneann tú i bhfad mé."
"Gheobh' tú sin," arsa an fear uasal.
Bhí sí ag an fhear uasal go rabh triúr de chlann ann. Agus san am sin tháinig fear uasal eile ar cuairt 'uige ar laetha saoire.
Ó, rinn mé dearmad dó. Rinn mé dearmad dó (...).
Footnotes
= chun an. (Back)= freagra. Cf. Dónall Ó Baoill, An teanga bheo: Gaeilge Uladh (Dublin, 1996), 137. (Back)
= d’inis. (Back)
= ag a. Cf. Maeleachlainn Mac Cionaoith, Seanchas Rann na Feirste (Dublin, 2005), 180. (Back)
Note
This is an example of international folktale ATU 875 The clever girl. Though there are many different versions of this extremely popular story in Irish folk tradition, a common variant sees a quarrel between a farmer and a nobleman being settled by means of a riddle, to which the farmer's daughter provides the correct answer. See Hans Jorg Uther, The types of international folktales: a classification and bibliography (3 vols, Helsinki, 2004). For a full list of Irish versions of ATU 875 and its subtypes from all over the country, see Seán Ó Súilleabháin and Rieder Th. Christiansen, The types of the Irish folktale (Helsinki, 1968). The current example also contains a number of popular folkloric motifs, the foremost being H561.1.1. Conflict between peasant and nobleman decided so that each must answer riddles: peasant’s daughter solves them. See Stith Thompson, Motif-index of folk literature (rev. and enlarged ed., 6 vols, Bloomington, Ind., 1955-8).
This story is transcribed also in Róise Ní Bhaoill, Ulster Gaelic voices: bailiúchán Doegen 1931 (Belfast, 2010), 170-3.
