A choimeád socair agus an Ghaeilge a fhoghlaim

Panu Höglund

Giota beag ama ó shin chuaigh an scéala timpeall go raibh ‘páirtí náisiúnta’ nua le bunú in Éirinn. Mar is eol do chách tá ‘páirtí náisiúnta’ nó náisiúnaíoch nua ag teastáil ó mhuintir na hÉireann lán chomh géar agus rothar nua ón iasc. Thar aon rud eile ní féidir a rá nach mbeadh glacadh forleathan leis an náisiúnachas Éireannach i sochaí na tíre pé scéal é, agus páirtithe is eagraíochtaí seanbhunaithe ar fáil d’aon duine ar cás leis cás na hÉireann mar thír ar leith. Aon duine ar maith leis, abair, tuilleadh aitheantais agus stádais a bhaint amach don Ghaeilge agus do chultúr na Gaeilge, sin nó athaontú na ‘sé gcontaetha’ leis an gcuid eile den oileán a éileamh. Cén úsáid a bheadh i ‘bpáirtí náisiúnta’ nua faoi na himthoscaí seo?

An drae úsáid muise. Níl le tairiscint ag an bpáirtí ‘nua’ seo ach na seoraí smolchaite cainte a chloistear ó eagraíochtaí ciníocha nó nua-fhaisisteacha i dtíorthaí eile an domhain thiar le deich éigin mbliana anuas, ar a laghad. Is éard a deir siad ná go bhfuil siad ag iarraidh ‘náisiúnachas’ a chur chun cinn nó ‘an cultúr náisiúnta’ a tharrtháil, ach de ghnáth ní bhíonn a gcuid urlabhraithe in ann ach leagan leathchainte leath-Bhéarlaithe dá dteanga dhúchais a labhairt, ós rud é nár bhac siad riamh le staidéar ceart a dhéanamh ar a litríocht náisiúnta féin.

An cineál daoine a thugas tacaíocht d’eagraíochtaí cosúla is deacair a chreidiúint gur ”náisiúnaithe” iad i gciall cheart an fhocail. Is dóchúla gur cnáimhseálaithe meánaicme iad nach bhfuil suim ná suiméad acu ach in airgead agus i rudaí ábhartha. Bíonn siad éadmhar nó drochamhrasach ina dtaobh siúd a bhfuil spéis acu i gcúrsaí cultúrtha taobh amuigh den phríomhshruth is cúinge – shílfeá go gcuireann a leithéid míchompord orthu.

Rud cultúrtha den chineál sin go díreach í an Ghaeilge i sochaí na hÉireann. Mar sin tá sé in am ag na colúnaithe bréag-Liobrálacha in Éirinn éirí as an dóigh a mbíonn siad ag áitiú gur rud cúng ciníoch í an Ghaeilge. Ní sheasann an Ghaeilge don chiníochas chúng ach don uilechuimsitheacht. Mé féin rugadh ar an gcoigríoch mé, tógadh ar an gcoigríoch mé, agus d’fhoghlaim mé mo chuid Gaeilge ar an gcoigríoch. Mar sin féin d’fhear lucht na Gaeilge fáilte lúcháireach romham, toisc gur aithin siad chomh dáiríre, chomh díograiseach, chomh dúthrachtach is a bhí mé ag iarraidh an teanga a choinneáil beo agus an chuid is fearr di a chur i mbéal na ndaoine arís – chomh tugtha is a bhí mé don bhéaloideas a breacadh síos ó bhéal na gcainteoirí deireanacha aonteangacha agus don litríocht a tháinig ó pheann na scríbhneoirí ar cainteoirí dúchais iad.

Mar sin, más duine óg thú in Éirinn inniu, agus, abair, sinsir Afracánacha agat nó cídeog Mhuslamach á caitheamh agat, is éard a mholaim duit ná staidéar a dhéanamh ar an nGaeilge gan do mhisneach a chailleadh. Déan do staidéar ar an nGaeilge, léigh saothar leis na scríbhneoirí a fuair an teanga ó thaobh na dtaobhann. Caith súil ar an mbéaloideas go bhfaighe tú amach nach raibh seansaol na nGael ródhifriúil le saol do mhuintire féin, nó saol d’athar mhóir agus do mháthara móire, thiar ar an seanfhód. Aithneoidh tú gur daoine daonna sinn go léir agus gur uirlis iontach í an Ghaeilge le hamhrán an chomhdhaonnachais sin a sheinm. Beidh fáilte romhat ag gluaiseacht na Gaeilge, agus ní bheidh aon duine in ann a rá nach mbeifeá dílis d’Éirinn.

Scríbhneoirí Gaeilge ón bhFionlainn é Panu Höglund.


Keep calm and learn Irish

Panu Höglund

Some time ago we heard that there was a new ‘National Party’ to be started in Ireland. As everybody knows, a new national or nationalist party is about as necessary for the people of Ireland as a bicycle is for a fish. Above all, Irish nationalism is widely supported in society anyway, and if you think Ireland’s cause is yours, you will find a plethora of established parties and organisations to join. For instance, if your aim is to bring the Irish language more status and recognition, or if you want to demand that the ‘six counties’ be reunited with the rest of the island. What use would a new ‘national party’ be in this situation?

No use at all. This ‘new’ party can only offer the same hackneyed phrases that have been heard from racist or neo-fascist organisations in other western countries for 10 years at the very least. They insist that they want to promote ‘nationalism’ or ‘national culture’, but usually their spokesmen can only manage a slangy, Anglicised variant of their own language, as they have never studied their own national literature. When this wave really reaches Ireland, you can be sure that the followers of this ‘nationalism’ will be entirely ignorant of the national language. 

The sort of people who support such organisations are no ‘nationalists’ in the real sense of the word. More probably they are middle-class cranks who are only interested in money and material things. They are jealous and suspicious of anyone who is interested in culture outside the most narrow mainstream – you’d think that sort of thing makes them uncomfortable.
The Irish language is precisely that kind of cultural thing. Certain pseudo-liberal columnists in Ireland who insist that the language is somehow an intrinsically narrowly nationalist and racist thing should cut their crap. Irish does not stand for a narrow, racist outlook but for inclusiveness. Myself, I was born and bred outside of Ireland and I learnt my Irish outside Ireland, but the speakers of Irish welcomed me, because they recognised that I was serious, committed, and passionate about keeping the language alive and making what is best about it accessible to people again, as enthusiastic as I was about the folklore of the last monolingual speakers and the literature written by native authors.

So if you are a youngster in today’s Ireland, with African roots or wearing a Muslim shawl, what I recommend to you is keep calm and learn Irish. Study Irish, read the writings of those authors who got the language from both parents. Take a look at the folklore and you’ll find out that the old life of the Gaels wasn’t that different from the life of your own people, of your grandparents back in the old country. You will learn that we are all of the same human stock and that Irish is a great instrument for playing that song of common humanity. You will be welcomed by the Irish language movement, and nobody will be able to say that you aren’t loyal to Ireland.

Panu Höglund is a Finn who writes in Irish