Gaelic

CM: Cèilidh deireadh chùrsa ann an colaiste ann an Sasainn, aon dha na cùrsaichean: clasaichean Gàidhlig, aon eile: reul–eòlas, 'astronomy' – a' teagasg na Gàidhlig Iain Aonghas MacLeòid, a' teagasg reul–eòlas Pàdraig Moore ainmeil.

Thòisich an còmhradh, a–nise, leabhar beag Gàidhlig mu reul–eòlas air nochdadh sna bùithtean.

Tha Iain Aonghas MacLeòid ann an stiùidio Inbhir Àir airson innse dhomh mu dheidhinn.

Iain Aonghais, a bheil e ceart a ràdh gun robh e cho sìmplidh siud, còmhradh aig deireadh … aig cèilidh?

IAML: Tha.

Bha sin, uill, tha sgeulachd air thoiseach air a sin … ach …

CM: Ò, a bheil?

IAML: Ach … thachair an leabhar ann an còig mionaidean aig clas Gàidhlig.

CM: Innis dhomh ciamar a thachair e, innis dhomh an sgeulachd.

IAML: Uill, eh, aig … as … air an Tairbeart, tha Niseach còir a' fuireach, maighstir-sgoile an Tairbeirt, tha e a' fuireach ri taobh mo pheathar, is bidh sinn a' dol dhachaigh a h–uile samhradh.

Agus samhradh a tha seo thàinig Dòmhnall a–steach, agus bha e an dèidh a bhith ann an Nis, chuala e gun robh na gillean air tilleadh à Sùlaisgeir leis a' ghuga, agus dh'fhalbh e a–null agus thill e le dusan dhen ghuga is thàinig e a–steach dhan taigh is thuirt e: ”an do dh'ith thu riamh guga?”, ars' mise ”cha do chuir mi mo bheul air, ach chuala mi cus mu dheidhinn.”

Uill, ars' esan, thig a–null feasgar Disathairne, thu fhèin, is do bhean, is do phiuthar, is gheibh thu guga.

Chaidh sinn a–null is, uill … chòrd e rium, bha …, cha do chòrd e ri mo bhean is mo phiuthar, cha do ghabh iad e, ach ghabh mise e, is bha deagh uisge–beatha aig Dòmhnall is, mar sin, chuidich sin a shlugadh.

Co–dhiù, bha mi a' smaoineachadh, ciamar a b' urrainn dhomh sealltainn cho taingeil is bha sinn mar … an t–aoigheachd a fhuair sinn anns an taigh aca, 's cha b' urrainn dhomh smaoineachadh dè bheirinn dhaibh, ach thàinig e a–steach nam inntinn duan, sonaid Bheurla a bh' againn anns an sgoil o chionn trì fichead bliadhna, eh, sonaid a sgrìobh am bàrd Beurla, am bàrd Sasannach, Keats, Iain Keats, mu dheidhinn na ciad uair a leugh esan leabhar a sgrìobh an eachdraiche mòr Chapman mu dheidhinn bàrd Greugach Hòmair agus ag innse mar a, mar a chaidh … chaidh iad chun … mar a leugh e mu dheidhinn Seanailear Spàinnteach, a rinn cogadh ann am Meagsago, agus fhuair e a' chiad shealladh air cuan a' Phacific, agus … ach 's e Keats fhèin ag innse sealladh a fhuair esan air a leugh e an leabhar.

Agus bha e ag ràdh ann a–shin, anns a' Bheurla:

Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or when stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
He star'd at the Pacific—and all his men
Look'd at each other with a wild surmise—
High, upon a peak in Darien.

Agus thàinig seo a–steach orm agus smaoinich mi – sgrìobhaidh mi sonaid ann an Gàidhlig mu dheidhinn na ciad uair a dh'ith mi … a' chiad bhlasad air a' ghuga.

Agus thug mi seo do Dhòmhnall agus chòrd e ris.

Agus bheir mi dhut ceathramh dhen t–sonaid, uill chan eil innte ach dà cheathramh:

Trì fichead bliadhna 's a deich nis air mo chùl
anns na Hearadh, air a' Ghalltachd, is aig deas,
is an àitichean de bharrachd fuachd is teas,
nach iomadh biadh san àm sin mheall mo shùil,
a' chuid bu mhotha chòrd iad ris a' bhrù,
ri diathad de gach seòrsa mo chàil rinn cleas,
ach ars' Dòmhnall: 'cuiream thu fo gheas
le sògh de lòn, air am b' eòlach mise om' thùs.'

A' cagnadh na ciad criomaige fo mo dheud,
crith–thalmhainn ann an toinisg càil is blas,
is mis' Pàdraig Moore ag amharc na h–ùr–reul
ga chruthachadh gu h–obann is gu bras,
is mis' Niall a' ghàirdein làidir a' gearradh leum
air uachdar fuar na gealaich, a' chiad chas.

Agus chuir mi bhuam i, is cha do smaoinich mi an còrr mu dheidhinn, ach bha an clas Gàidhlig an seo againn agus bha aig ceann seachdain agus bha mise a' teagasg Gàidhlig agus cò bha a' teagasg reul–eòlas ach Pàdraig Moore.

Agus … aig na Gàidheil, bidh cèilidh aca Oidhche Disathairne ge b’ e cò an clas eile a bhios ann, bidh na Gàidheil, bidh cèilidh aca, agus … thathar air iarraidh air an luchd–teagaisg gun dèan iad criomag air choreigin, ma nì iad seinn, seinnidh iad, ma dh'innseas iad sgeulachd innsidh iad sgeulachd, ach smaoinich mi, seach gun robh Pàdraig an siud, gun toirinn dhaibh an t–sonaid ann an Gàidhlig agus an fheadhainn … na h–adhartaich às a' chlas Ghàidhlig, thuig iad dè bha mi ag ràdh, agus rinn iad deagh ghàire, agus thuig Pàdraig Moore gun robh rudeigin mu dheidhinn fhèin ann agus dh'fhaighnich e dhomh dè bh' ann, is dh'innis mi dha, is thug mi dha eadar–theangachadh.

Agus sheas e mionaid no dhà, a' tachais a cheann (a' chinn) is a' coimhead gu dùrachdach, is ars' esan: 'nan sgrìobhainn–sa leabhar beag dhut air reul–eòlas an deigheadh agad air eadar–theangachadh gu Gàidhlig agus gum biodh e gu feum do chuideigin a bhios ag ionnsachadh Gàidhlig, bheir mi dhut an teacs, is bheir mi dhut dealbhan, is diagrams, rud sam bith a tha dhìth ort' agus thuirt mi ris, 'nì sinn sin' agus bha e cho math ri a ghealladh, ann an trì mìosan no mar sin, chuir e thugam a h–uile càil a bh' ann, agus chaidh an leabhar eadar–theangachadh is a chur ri chèile is mar a thuirt thu, tha e anns na bùthan a–nis.

CM: Uill, uill … Guga, Niseach, Hearach, Pàdraig Moore, agus a–nise, leabhar mu reul–eòlas againn.

English

CM: An end–of–course cèilidh in a college in England, one of the courses: Gaelic classes, another: reul–eòlas 'astronomy' – teaching Gaelic (was) John Angus MacLeod, teaching astronomy (was) the famous Patrick Moore.

The conversation began/begat(!) a small book in Gaelic about astronomy that has appeared in the shops.

John Angus MacLeod is in the Ayr studio to tell me about it.

John Angus, is it correct to say that it was that simple, a conversation at the end of ... at a ceilidh?

IAML: Yes.

That was, well, there's a story before that ... but...

CM: Oh, is it?

IAML: But ... the book happened in five minutes in a Gaelic class.

CM: Tell me how it happened, tell me the story.

IAML: Well, eh, at ... in Tarbert, there lives a kind man from Ness, the schoolmaster of the Tarbert school, he lives next to my sister, and we go home every summer.

And this summer Donald came in, and he had just been in Ness, (and) he heard that the boys had returned from Sùlaisgeir with the guga, and he went over and came back with a dozen of the guga and he came into the house and said: "have you ever eaten guga?", I said "I haven't eaten it, but I've heard a lot about it."

Well, he said, come over on Saturday afternoon, you, and your wife, and your sister, and you'll get (some) guga.

We went over and, well... I liked it, yes..., my wife and my sister didn't like it, they didn't take it, but I took it, and Donald had a good whisky and, so, that helped it go down (helped to swallow it).

Anyway, I was thinking, how could I show how grateful we were for ... the hospitality we received in their house, and I couldn't think of what to give them, but I had an idea (it came into my mind) a poem, an English sonnet that we had at school sixty years ago, eh, a sonnet written by the English (language) poet, the English poet, Keats, John Keats, about the first time he read a book written by the great historian Chapman about the Greek poet Homer and tells how, how (they) went ... they went to the ... as he read about a Spanish General, who waged (a) war in Mexico, and he got his first glimpse of the Pacific Ocean, and ... but it is Keats himself who tells a vision that he got as he read the book.

And he was saying there, in English:

Then felt I like some watcher of the skies
When a new planet swims into his ken;
Or like (when) stout Cortez when with eagle eyes
He star'd at the Pacific—and all his men
Look'd at each other with a wild surmise—
High, upon a peak in Darien.

And this occurred to me and I thought – I will write a sonnet in Gaelic about the first time I ate ... the first taste of (the) guga.

And I gave this to Donald and he liked it.

And I will give you a quatrain of the sonnet, well it is only two quatrains:

Sixty years and ten now behind me
in Harris, in the Lowlands, and in the south,
and in places of greater cold and heat
many a meal in that time has deceived my eye,
most of which agreed with my (the) stomach,
with dinners of all kinds my appetite deceived,
but Donald said: 'let me put you under a spell
with a extravagance of a meal', forever known to me'.

Chewing the first crumb in my mouth (under my tooth),
an earthquake in the senses and the palette (taste)
I am Patrick Moore looking at the new star
being created suddenly and swiftly,
I am strong–armed Neil (Armstrong) taking a leap
on the cold surface of the moon, the first foot.

And I put it away, and I didn't think any more about it, but we had the Gaelic class here and it was at the end of a week and I was teaching Gaelic and who was teaching astronomy but Patrick Moore.

And ... the Gaels have a ceilidh on Saturday night, regardless of what the other class is, the Gaels have a ceilidh, and ... the teachers are been asked to do a turn, if they sing , they will sing, if they tell a story they will tell a story, but I thought, because Patrick was there, I would give them the sonnet in Gaelic and those ... the advanced ones from the Gaelic class, they understood what I was saying, and they had a good laugh, and Patrick Moore realised that there was something about himself in it and he asked me what it was, and I told him, and I gave him a translation.

And he stood for a minute or two, scratching his head and looking earnestly/seriously, and he said: 'if I were to write you a little book on astronomy, would you be able to translate it into Gaelic and that it would be useful for someone who is learning Gaelic, I will give you the text, and I will give you pictures, diagrams, anything you need' and I said to him, 'we will do that' and he was as good as his word (and) in three months or so, he sent me everything, the book was translated and compiled and as you said, it's in the shops now.

CM: Well, well... Guga (gannet), Niseach (a Ness person), Hearach (a Harris person), Patrick Moore, and now we have a book about astronomy.