Ortha an dúireagáin - Eoin Ó Cianáin


Recording: [Download audio file] [Download AIFF audio file (of processed ‘user’ version)] [Download AIFF audio file (of archive version)]

Transcript

Ortha a chuir Muire ar shúil Cholm Cille, ar bhrobh nó ar bhraoinín, ar dhusta áithe nó ar cháithleach muilinn. Guidhim-sa Muire cé ar bith a bhíos insa tsúil sin go dtig sé isteach in mo bhéalsa le sochar don tsúil sin agus gan dochar do mo bhéalsa.

Translation

A blessing Mary put on the eye of Colm Cille, against(?) a blade of grass (?) or a little drop, dust from the fire (?) or the chaff from a mill. I pray to Mary that whatever is in that eye will go into my mouth to the benefit of the eye and not to the detriment of my mouth.

Commentary

Charms, particularly those involved in a ritual of healing, are commonplace in Irish tradition. A great many invlove invoking religious figures and saints, and this example seems to fit the pattern very well. They often employ obscure or archaic language, or reference some legend or tale that provides context or precedent for the healing the charm is supposed to effect. For examples from tradition see Áine Ní Chróinín, 'Orthaí agus paidreacha ón Rinn', Béaloideas 3:4 (1932), 427-31, and Seán Ó Súilleabháin, 'Cnuasacht orthaí agus paidreacha ó Chiarraí', Béaloideas 3:3 (1932), 356-8. The tradition goes very far back in Ireland, and examples of charms for removing splinters, thorns and other foreign bodies like the one above have been found in manuscripts such as the Codex Sangallensis and the Stowe Missal, dating from the early medieval period, before the tenth century. See Patrick Logan, Irish folk medicine (Belfast, 1981), 112.

This item is transcribed also in Heinrich Wagner and Colm Ó Baoill, Linguistic atlas and survey of Irish dialects (4 vols, Dublin, 1958-69), vol. 4, 291.

Title in English: The charm of the mote
Digital version published by: Doegen Records Web Project, Royal Irish Academy

Description of the Recording:

Speaker: Eoin Ó Cianáin from Co. Tyrone
Person who made the recording: Karl Tempel
Organizer and administrator of the recording scheme: The Royal Irish Academy
In collaboration with: Lautabteilung, Preußische Staatsbibliothek (now Lautarchiv, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin)
Recorded on 24-09-1931 at 11:00:00 in Queen's University, Belfast. Recorded on 24-09-1931 at 11:00:00 in Queen's University, Belfast.
Archive recording (ID LA_1209d3, from a shellac disk stored at the Royal Irish Academy) is 00:25 minutes long. Archive recording (ID LA_1209d3, from a shellac disk stored at the Royal Irish Academy) is 00:25 minutes long.
Second archive recording (ID LA_1209b3, from a shellac disc stored in Belfast) is 00:25 minutes long. Second archive recording (ID LA_1209b3, from a shellac disc stored in Belfast) is 00:25 minutes long.
User recording (ID LA_1209d3, from a shellac disk stored at the Royal Irish Academy) is 00:24 minutes long. User recording (ID LA_1209d3, from a shellac disk stored at the Royal Irish Academy) is 00:24 minutes long.