Grá Geal mo Chroí (1901)
Pádraig Ua Néill, composed in Toronto, Ontario
In 1901, the composer of this piece suffered a great loss when his daughter Iveragh died suddenly at 14 years old. Pádraig Ua Néill wrote this poem to honour her memory, recalling her namesake of his native Uíbh Ráthach, Co. Ciarraí.
Without this history, his poem could easily be mistaken for a simple emigrant poem for the place of Iveragh. But knowing this background, his poem stands as a heartbreaking depiction of a parent’s loss and a touching tribute to his daughter, Iveragh O’Neill.
Anocht táim im’ shuí ar an dtráigh mar fadó,
Do shuíos-sa le grá geal mo chroí,
A hainm dá scríobh ins a’ ghainimh trí ‘n ghleó,
Ghní na faoileann ag léim ar an dtoinn.
Tonight I am sitting on the beach as long ago,
When I sat with the bright love of my heart,
Her name being written in the sand through the noise,
Made by seagulls leaping on the waves.
I m’intinn do chímse an leighdeach úd thall,
Áit go gcónaíonn anois grá geal mo chroí,
Táim ana-bhrónach ‘s mo choiscéim go mall,
Ó fhág mé Íbhreáthach gan bhrí.
In my mind I see that far shore across,
The place where my bright love now lives,
I’m truly sorrowful and my footsteps are slow,
Since I left Iveragh without strength.
Is binn liomsa an glór ghní na héin ar na géagaibh,
Is binn liom an ghaoth thig ón rós ‘nuas ón gcraoibh,
Ach is binne ‘s is áille liom péarla na sléibhte,
M’Íbhreáthach a ghrá geal mo chroí.
Sweet to me the sound that the birds make on the tree limbs,
Sweet to me the wind coming down from the rose on the branch,
But sweeter and more beautiful to me the pearl of the mountains,
My Iveragh, the bright love of my heart.
This poem has been shared with the Gaeltacht of Uíbh Ráthach as an unrecognized part of their own oral history.
For citation, please use: Ua Néill. Pádraig. 1901. “Grá Geal mo Chroí.” Ó Dubhghaill, Dónall. 2024. Na Gaeil san Áit Ró-Fhuar. Gaeltacht an Oileáin Úir: www.gaeilge.ca
Adapted from: An Gaodhal. 1901 (July). New York: M.J. Logan. See the original here.
