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Bas Gàidhlig Cúige Laigheain
Posted: Fri Aug 08, 2008 4:43 am
by Neas Olc
ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - A St. John's man believed to be the last speaker of an obscure dialect of the Irish language died Wednesday morning.
Aloysius O'Brien was 93.
O'Brien, a St. John's farmer, spoke Leinster Gaelic - or Irish of the books - a dialect now extinct in Ireland, which was passed down to him from his Irish-born grandmother. The Leinster dialect became extinct during the 20th century, and O'Brien was thought to be the last person in the world who could speak it. O'Brien spent much of his life working to preserve Irish history and language and instructed classes in "the Gaelic."
He received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Memorial University in 1982 for his efforts.
Bha naidheachd ann mu seo ann an subway an-diugh ann an Toronto. Bha mi ann an trean aig 9 uairean feasgar agus cha b'urrainn dhomh creidsinn gu robh mi a'faicinn "Gaelic" air telescreen an-seo.
Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 12:35 am
by Supreemio
I really hope linguists went to him and made him to recordings, and stuff like that to save the dialect being forgotten.
Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 1:37 am
by *Alasdair*
LAST IRISH SPEAKER Duration: 00:02:00
He was the keeper of a language.
Aloysius Patrick Joseph O'Brien spoke a rare Irish dialect that he learned from his grandmother, who was born in Ireland but immigrated to Newfoundland in the 19th century. And so, the death of 93-year-old Aloysius O'Brien in St. John's this week spells the likely extinction of the Leinster Gaelic dialect.
Leinster Gaelic -- also known as "Irish of the books" -- is no longer spoken in Ireland. And now, with O'Brien's death, it's no longer spoken fluently in Newfoundland.
Aly, as he was known to friends, taught himself the finer points of the language after his grandmother died. Then he began teaching Leinster Gaelic to some devoted students in small classes. He was honoured by Memorial University with an honourary degree for his commitment to keep the Irish dialect alive.
As an ardent gardener and an expert on Newfoundland's native plants, Aloysius O'Brien also helped to develop the university's botanical gardens.
Posted: Fri Sep 05, 2008 5:37 pm
by Gaeilgeoir2008
Hi guys,
It was very sad to hear the news about the death of the last Leinster native Irish speaker.
There's still a small Gaeltacht left in Rath Cairn(County Meath)Leinster, albeit the people that live there are native Connact Irish speakers.
The Meath Gaeltacht is the smallest Gaeltacht area and consists of two adjacent villages of Rath Cairn and Baile Ghib. Navan, 8km from Baile Ghib, is the main centre within the region with a population of 20,000+. The Meath Gaeltacht has a population of 1,591 and represents 2% of total Gaeltacht population. The Meath Gaeltacht encompasses a geographical area of 44 km². This represents 1% of total Gaeltacht land area). The Gaeltacht of Royal Meath has a slightly different history than that of the country’s other Irish speaking regions.
The two Gaeltachtai of Baile Ghib and Rathcairn are resettled communities, where the Irish government of the 1930s redistributed the vast estates of absentee landlords[citation needed] as small farm holdings to poor farmers from the Gaeltacht areas of Connemara, Mayo and Kerry. The aim was to redress a centuries old imbalance, where the Irish farmers were forcibly removed from this land by the English under Oliver Cromwell, with the infamous edict to ‘Hell or Connacht’. When the Irish farmers returned to the land in Meath, they brought with them their native language and culture, which today is greatly celebrated in the small Gaeltacht of Baile Ghib and Rath Cairn, 70 km from Dublin city.
Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2008 4:59 pm
by Supreemio
Sorry, but I don't believe that story about the last native Leinster speaker.
Leinster Irish has been extinct for donkeys years....
Posted: Wed Sep 17, 2008 6:51 am
by Neas Olc
In Ireland it had. The last speaker been living in Canada for over half a century, at least.
