USEFUL JOTTINGS.
(Rev. Eugene O'Growney.)

1. Chuaidh mé a bhaile = I went home. What is the
a here, and why is the b of baile aspirated?

The idea of “home” is expressed in Irish by an baile,
a phrase that literally might be translated “the village.”
“At home” is ins an m-baile, anns an m-baíle. There
is no danger of confounding “at home” with “in the
village,” for this latter phrase is air an m-baile, as in the
song:—

Tá cailín air an m-baile so
Ar ab ainm dí-si Máire.

“To home,” then, would naturally be do'n bhaile, or
chum an bhaile, and this second form would become un a'
bhaile or 'na bhaile in the spoken language, at least, of
Ulster and Connaught. This is not mere conjecture, for
'na bhaile is the form used in Innis Eoghain. In all
probability, therefore, a bhaile is what remain of chinn an
bhaile, and this will explain the a and the aspiration.

2. Ar thainnigh (hangee) sé leat is the West-Con-
naught pronunciation of what is commonly spelled ar
thaithnígh (hahnee) sé leat. Why this pronunciation?

Taitinim and taitneach are the forms of the verb and
adjective used by Scotch Gaels in Ulster, and North
Connaught. From the verb come taithneamh and taith-
eamhach; from taitneach is formed taithnighim. In all
these words the — tn — was found to be a rather harsh
sound, and was changed to dn, and this became
nn as usual, just as muidne = sinne has become muinne
in Meath. It appears to be a mistake then to aspirate the
second t of these words, for in all places where n and nn
are pronounced correctly, tainnigim lic, and not tait-
nigim, &c., are the words heard. What spelling should
be adopted, taithmghim, taitnighim or tainnigim? This
is a question for Irish scholars to answer.

3. Go d-tí an Cháisg.
Go d-tí an g-Cáisg.
Which is correct?

Go d-tí in old Irish i = go d-tiocfaidh in the modern
language; hence the eclipsis after go. In phrases such
as go d-tí an Cháisg, go d-tí was seen to be equivalent
to a preposition (= until, till), and so instead of being
regarded as a verb followed by its nominative, it began to
be used as an ordinary preposition (=till; to) followed

by the dative. This is evidently a wrong use of the
phrase. Indeed, in the best Irish-speaking districts of
Connaught, go d-tí is yet followed by the nominative.

It is evident also that the use of go d-tí should as far
as possible be restricted to cases where it would preserve
its true meaning — go d-tiocfaidh. Such uses of it as in
tháinic se go d-tí mé, are uncalled for; there is no lack
of suitable prepositions.

The same future of tigim is yet used in another phrase,
sul a d-tí=sul a d-tiocfaidh; where sul a d-tí has
come to be used as a preposition=roimh. Hence sul a
d-tí bhfad = before long. This is not very good Irish, for
bhfad is not a noun, but the remains of i bhfad an adverb.
However, it is preferable to sul i bhfad which is heard
also, and in which sul is incorrectly used as a preposition.

A NHÚIRNÍN DÍLIS.

Atharruighthe ó'n Sags-bheúrla lé Pádraic
Stúndún.

Budh bhrónach an móimeant gur shéolas óm'
ghrádh-geal,
Óm' mhúirnín dílis, Eibhlín Óg,
Do phógas a deóra 'smo dhrólan dá brácadh,
Mo mhúirnín dílis, Eibhlín Óg;
Budh bhán bocht a grúadh, do bhí léigthe air
mo ghúalainn,
Budh tháis í a lámh — ní raibh mármar ní
b'fhúaire —
Do smuaineas gur choídhche mo dhíothchur óm'
scúadhaire,
Óm' mhúirnín dílis, Eibhlín Óg.

Lé h-éimheacht focail túachail, budh lúaim-
neach ár m-búidhne,