Amhrán an Bhéil Dúnta (2015)
Dónall Ó Dubhghaill, composed in Ottawa, Ontario
Bronnadh an duais filíochta ar an ndán seo ag Oireachtas Gaeilge Cheanada, 2016
Ar mo theanga a scaoilim,
Ag síneadh, múscailt, ‘s ag spré
Radharc nua sinsearach,
Soilseach, saoithiúil is spéireach
On my language I let loose,
Stretching, awakening, spreading
A new ancestral view,
Luminous, humorous and beautiful
Seoda spleodracha gliondracha,
Mar sclimpíní os comhair mo shúl
Lóchrann mórga loinneachta;
Teochroí díodhanta geanúil
Cheerful, joyous gems;
As dancing lights before my eyes
A majestic beacon-light of joy;
A loving warm-heartedness of comfort
Ach athraíonn mo chás seascair
Mar ruithne triallach thar gleann -
Siogairlín ána an Earraigh
Seargthe ‘s silte go donn
But my cosy situation changes
As a wandering ray of light over a glen -
The elegant hanging blossoms of Spring
Withered and diminished to brown
Seal i Naomh Eoin a chaithinn,
I gcroigríocha 's i mBaile Sheáin
Caoch gan mo Ghaelainn ghlinn;
Mo scíos is damhna mo bhróin!
A period in Saint John (NB) I would spend,
In foreign lands and in St. John’s (NL)
Blind without my silver-toned Gaelic;
My depression and cause of my sorrow!
Cnaítear uaim mo Ghaelainn
Ar chamchuairt monair ‘s dua
Drithlín i ndiaidh lá duartain;
Linntreog tar éis tonn tuile
My Gaelic is corroded away from me
On a journey of toil and labour
A glistening bead after a day of rain;
A small puddle after a tidal wave
Dóchas i measc an tslua
Cluas tuiscint a bheith le fáilt
Dias amháin cruithneachta
I ngort stéigeach creagach cráite
A hope amongst the crowd
An understanding ear to be found
A single shaft of wheat
iIn a barren, rocky, tormented field
Thar n-ais i mo dhúthaigh a ráiním,
I réimsí mo ghar-aithreacha
Madhmann rabharta áibhéil orm
Le faoiseamh is faoilte dom chás
Back in my district I happen,
In the tracts of my great-grandfathers
A great spring-tide bursts upon me
With understanding and relief for my situation
I screabán m’athar críonna
Reodh an ithir ‘na gcloch
‘S Abha na mBradán ag sníomh
Go Loch na mBéabhar amach
In my grandfather’s rocky patch of land
The arable soil would freeze to stone
And the Salmon River winding
Out to Beaver Lake
Thuigeas-sa an chiall is an chúis
Gur shéanabhar ar ár ndúlra
Tost, aiféala is scairiúnt
I measc na gcrann is cumha
I grasped the reason and cause
That you denied our nature
Silence, regretful shame and separation
In the face of the trees and loneliness
I gcealtracha Sacsanach
Ag folú bhur máchail bhéil
Cé nach cuirim aon locht oraibh
Thit scor ciúin ar an séis
In the masks of Saxons
Hiding your defect of speech
Although I don’t put blame on you
A quiet ending came on the hum of conversation
Cloisim sibh i mo thimpeall
Mar siosarnach ar fhannán
Saolta is scéalta gan chuimhne,
Gan aithris ach ainm is lá.
I hear you surrounding me
As whispers on the wind
Stories and lives not remembered,
Without an account but a name and a date.
I gCamden Thoir ‘s i dTamworth
‘S in alltair ionnarbtha fadó
D’ainneoin an mheatha ‘s an náire,
Tá macalla ionam fós.
In Camden East and in Tamworth,
And in desolate lands of exile long ago
Whatever story on the decline or shame,
An echo is in me still.
For citation, please use: Ó Dubhghaill, Dónall. 2015. “Amhrán an Bhéil Dúnta.” Na Gaeil san Áit Ró-Fhuar. Gaeltacht an Oileáin Úir: www.gaeilge.ca
