Transcript

Bhí baintreach ins an áit so is thóg sí triúr mac.
Deir duine acu léithe maidin amháin,
"Tá do chuid talamh ró-chaol a'inne[1] thriúr.
Tuitfidh sé ar dhuine a'inn a choil[2] i bhfad ar siúl.
Má bhíonn tusa sásta liom, tá mise sásta mé féin a bheith ina shagart[3]."
Bhí an bhaintreach bhocht so sásta a leithéid a theacht ina chionn.
"Dhéanfaidh[4] mise mo dhíchealt chun cuidiú leat."
Nuair a bhí seacht... Rinn siad réidh ansin é, chuir siad chun coláiste é.
Nuair a bhí an seacht mbliana thart ansin tháinig sé 'na mbaile[5] , ar ais 'na mbaile.
Bhí an chomharsain uilig 'lig lúcháireach.
Tháinig na cailíní is na buachaillí a dh'amharc air.
Beirt agus triúr ag goil ar a'n[6] iúl ag amharc ar an tsagart dheas so.
Bhí lady gallta[7] ins an áit so, dúirt sí lena athair,
"(Geabhfaidh)[8] mise a dh'amharc ar an tsagart dheas so.
Fora[9] dteachaigh[10] sé 'na coláiste bhí sé ar scoil ar a'n iúl liom,
Bhí mise agus eisean sa leabhar amháin."
Chóirigh sí í féin suas in léine amach
Go rabh sí comh cóiriste[11] leis an bhanríon.
Thug a athair ordú don fhear cóiste í a thiomáint.
Nuair a tháinig siad chuig an toigh bheag[12] an tsagairt
Bhí céad míle fáilte aige daoith'.
Thug sé isteach ins an toigh bheag ansin í,
An áit a thug siad ithe agus ól daoith'.
Bhí cluadar fada acu araon.
(Dúirt) sí leis an tsagart dheas so,
"Tá mise ag tabhairt comhairle ortsa in am.
Resignáil as anois, resignáil as in am.
Tá saol bocht cruaidh aige[13] sagart.
Nárbh fhearr dó pósta ar lady inteach?
Pós mé féin, glac mé féin mar sheasaim,
Tá a fhios a'd go bhfuil mo chrodh go mór.
Tá deich gcéad insa bhliain agus dúthaigh a'm."
"Dá mbeadh fiche céad insa bhliain a'd agus dhá dhúthaigh fost',
Cha phósaimsa lady go brách.
Glacfaidh mise leis an saol bocht cruaidh so atá a'm."
Nuair a bhí sí eitiste[14] amach
D'éirigh sí 'uig a cosa ag goil 'na mbaile.
D'iarr sí póg nó beirt air.
Dúirt sé nach rabh cead aige ladies a phógadh.
"Cé atá cun tú a stopadh anois?"
"Cha phógaimsa lady go brách
Ach bhéarfaidh mise duitse rud nas[15] fhearr,
Bhéarfaidh mise duitse mo sheacht míle mbeannacht."
D'imigh sí 'na mbaile mar (a bheadh) an ghaoth ann.
Ina sé mhí ina dhéidh sin fuair sé litir, Litir fhada uaidhe[16].
Dúirt sí insa litir go gcaithfeadh (sé) í phósadh,
Nach rabh sí go maith.
Maidin a thrial rachadh sé go dtí do chroí
Ag amharc ar a dheartháir beag is a mháthair bhocht,
An bheirt insa tsneachta ag teacht cosnochtaithe chuig a thrial.
Nuair a scairteadh ar aghaidh a thrial ansin deir na fir uaisle leis,
"Ná nach bhfuil tú ag goil a phósadh an lady so?
Goidé atá ionatsa ach mac mná boichte atá bocht is mean.
(Nach n-éadfá) onóir mhór a (shaoilstint) a leithéid de lady a fháilt?"
"Char úirt[17] mé ariamh go bpósfainn í. Cha phósaim í go brách.
Glacfaidh mise leis an saol bocht cruaidh so atá a'm."
"Ó nach bpósann tusa an lady so, bhéarfaidh mise duitse fios:
Cionn seacht mbliana transportóchaidh mé thú ar shiúl as an áit,
An áit a bheas tú transportáilte (ionsair) beidh tú go brách."
"Dona go leor," arsa an sagart deas. "Bhí rudaí comh dona leis sin.
D'éag ár Slánaitheoir ar an chrois.
Chan ar shon a chuid peacaí féin a d'éag sé.
Níl fianaise ar bith a'msa anseo inniu.
Scairtim ar Dhia na Glóire,
(Taispeánfaidh) Sé mo chása-sa daoibhse uilig go glan."
Labhair an sagart so aríst is dúirt sé, "Níl fianaise."
Cha rabh na focla so labhairtiste[18] i bhfad nuair a tháinig fear ag marcaíocht mar an ghaoth,
"Scairt ar aghaidh an trial so aríst. Cha rabh mise anseo in am.
Mise athair an pháiste in áit an sagart deas.
Ársóchaidh mise daoibhse bha[19] is a thug sí domhsa deich gcéad punta,
Gheall sí deich gcéad eile domh ach gan trácht air,
Ach a fear a dhéanamh den tsagart dheas."
Labhair an sagart so aríst is dúirt sé lena mháthair,
"Realeaseáil Dia do pháiste, theispeáin sé an cás go glan.
Tá an ruifín goite[20] guilty is an sagart deas so free."

Translation

There was a widow here and she reared three sons.
One of them said to her one morning,
"You have too little land for the three of us.
One of us will have to go far away.
If you are happy with me, I would be happy to be a priest."
This poor widow was happy to have him do so.
"I'll do my best to help you."
When seven... They prepared him then, they sent him to college.
When the seven years were up he then came home, back home.
All the neighbours were delighted.
Girls and boys came to see him.
Twos and threes going together to see this handsome priest.
There was a genteel lady in this place, she said to her father,
"I will go and take a look at this handsome priest.
Before he went to college he was in school with me,
We were both in the same class."
She dressed herself up in a dress
Until she was as dressed up as the queen.
Her father ordered the coach man to drive her.
When they came to the priest's little house
He gave her a warm welcome.
He brought her into the little house then,
Where they gave her food and drink.
They spent a good time in each other's company.
She said to this handsome priest,
"I'm giving you some timely advice.
Resign now, resign before it's too late.
A priest's life is poor and difficult.
Wouldn't he be better off marrying some lady?
Marry me, take me as I am,
You know I have a big dowry.
I have a thousand a year and my own land."
"If you had two thousand a year and double the amount of land as well,
I would never marry a lady.
I accept this poor difficult life of mine."
When she was refused
She got up to go home.
She asked him for a kiss or two.
He said he wasn't allowed to kiss ladies.
"Who will stop you now?"
"I will never kiss a lady
But I will give you something better,
I will give you seven thousand blessings."
She went home like the wind.
Six months after that he received a letter, a long letter from her.
In the letter she said that he would have to marry her,
That she wasn't well.
The morning of his trial it would break your heart (?)
Looking at his little brother and his poor mother,
The two of them coming barelegged in the snow to his trial.
When the trial was called then the gentlemen said to him,
"Are you not going to marry this lady?
What are you but the son of a poor woman who is impoverished and mean?
Would you not gain (?) great honour by marrying such a lady?"
"I never said I would marry her. I'll never marry her.
I'll accept this poor harsh life of mine."
"Since you won't marry this lady, let me tell you something:
In seven years' time I'll transport you away from this place,
The place you will be transported to you will stay there forever."
"That's bad enough," said the handsome priest. "Things were that bad.
Our Saviour died on the cross.
He didn't die for his own sins.
I have no evidence here today.
I call on God of Glory,
He will explain my situation to all of you clearly."
This priest spoke again and he said, "There is no evidence."
The words weren't long spoken when a man arrived riding like the wind,
"Call this trial again. I wasn't here in time.
I am the father of the child, not the handsome priest.
I'll tell you how she gave me a thousand pounds,
She promised me another thousand to say nothing about it,
But to make the handsome priest her husband."
This priest spoke again and he said to his mother,
"God released your child, He explained the situation clearly.
The ruffian has been found guilty and the handsome priest is free."

Footnotes

Commentary

This story may be derived from religious exempla, which are medieval tales that were often used to impart some moral message. Two such examples, #648 Girl falsely accuses bishop, and #1460 Deacon falsely accused, may be potential prototypes for this story. See Frederic C. Tubach, Index exemplorum (Helsinki, 1981). Another possible precedent for this story might be found in an international folk motif K2111.6 Girl falsely accuses bishop, which is related to the first exemplum mentioned above. See Stith Thompson, Motif-index of folk literature (rev. and enlarged ed., Bloomington, Indiana, 1955-8). Finally, the possibility of this narrative being based on an episode from an international folktale, ATU 318 The faithless wife, should not be discounted. This plot is more familiarly known as 'Potiphar's Wife', and recounts the story of a woman who attempts to seduce a man, and when he rejects her, she claims he made advances on her. It is a very popular folktale, and is known all over the world, first appearing in the thirteenth century B.C. in Egypt, and even appearing in the Bible. See Hans Jorg Uther, The types of international folktales: a classification and bibliography (3 vols, Helsinki, 2004).

Versions of this story appear also in Nollaig Mac Congáil and Ciarán Ó Duibhín, Glórtha ón tseanaimsir (Gleann an Iolair, 2009), 45-7, and in Gerard Stockman and Heinrich Wagner, 'Contributions to a study of Tyrone Irish,' Lochlann 3 (1965), 43-235: 221-5.