Transcript

An ceathrú lá dho July an bhliain seo bhí aonach i gCill Airne. Agus bhí mo mhac ar an aonach. Agus bhí a chapall i bhféith báite sa bhaile. Bhí na comharsain go léir ar an aonach ach amháin beagán. Agus ní raibh aon chúnamh agam chun é a thabhairt saor as an bhféith báite ach amháin beirt dos na comharsain.

Agus bhíomair ar ár ndícheall agus tréis beagán aimsire tháinig triúr eile chughainn. Agus cheapas go ndéanfainn an talamh slán, ó... (má d'fhéadfainn é,) timpeall ar an gcapall agus dá bhfaighinn ag seasamh é go bhféadfainn é a chimeád ann go mbeadh an chuid eile dhon chiseach déanta.

Ach d'fhan sé sínte mar a bhí sé go raibh an chuid go léir don chiseach déanta agus do chuireas-sa srian ar a cheann agus do léim sé in airde chugham agus do shiúil sé amach ar an dtalamh slán, chomh slán is chomh folláin is a bhí sé aon lá riamh, gan aon rud ná rian d'aon ní air agus bhíos ana-bhaoch do Dhia agus na comharsain é a thabhairt slán folláin go mórmhór nuair ná raibh mo mhac sa bhaile.

Ach tháini' sé féin agus cúigear nó seisear buachaillí eile san am céanna (go raibh sé) ar an dtalamh tirim. Agus bhíomar go léir baoch do Dhia agus na comharsain gach aon ní a bheith slán againn.

Translation

On the fourth day of July this year there was a fair in Killarney. And my son was at the fair. And his horse was in a quagmire at home. All the neighbours except a few were at the fair. I had no help to save him from the quagmire except two neighbours.

And we were doing our best and after a small while three more came to us. And I thought that I would make the ground safe, oh... if I could, around the horse and that if I could get him standing I could keep him there until the rest of the wattle-pathway was finished.

But he stayed lying as he was until all of the pathway was done and I put a bridle on his head and he jumped up to me and out he walked onto the dry land, as safe and as healthy as he was any day, without anything or a mark of anything on him and I was very grateful to God and the neighbours who rescued him safely especially when my son was not at home.

But he came with five or six other boys during the time that he was on dry land. And we were all grateful to God and to the neighbours that we had saved everything.

Commentary

This is a personal anecdote about the rescue of a horse and appears to have little of specific folkloric interest.