Transcript

Bhí rí a tháinig ins an áit[1] s'againne agus bhí aon níon[2] aige agus bhí sí ar an scoil in mo chuideachtasa insa leabhar liom, agus bhí sí... bhí sí ansin... mac[3] gréasaí bróg. Ba mhaith leis[4] níon[5] an rí mac[6] an ghréasaí bróg seo a fháil le pósadh agus d'iarr sé ar an ghréasaí bróg dá dtiocfadh leis a chomhairle a dhéanamh suas eatarthu.

Ach bhí sin maith go leor. Nuair a chuaigh (mac) an rí a dh'iarraidh níon an ghréasaí bróg bhí siad... (d'iarr)[7] an gréasaí bróg leis gurb é an rud ab fhearr dó a dhéanamh choil[8] agus ceird a fháil sula bhfaigheadh sé a níon de. Ach sé an rud a happenáil, cha rabh ceird aige, agus na tríú[9] cuaird a tháinig sé a dh'iarraidh níon an ghréasaí bróg chan fhuair sé í agus d'imigh sé ag gol an uair seo. Nuair a d'imigh sé ag gol bhí sé ag siúl ar an bhóthar i rith tamall fada go dteachaigh sé go dtige coillidh, agus nuair a chuaigh sé go dtige an choillidh casadh seanfhear de[10] ag gearradh slatacha. Agus tháinig sé amach roimhe.

"A bhuachaill óig," ar seisean, "caidé seo an t-ábhar atá (ort i do fhear) comh breá leat a bheith ag goil thart ag gol?"

"Ó tá, níon gréasaí bróg de fhear bocht nach bhfaighinnse le pósadh agus mé ina fhear[11] shaibhir."

"Maith go leor," ar seisean, "goidé an t-ábhar atá ciontach leis seo?"

"Tá, mar nach bhfuil ceird agam."

"Bhuel, cha bhímse i bhfad ag fáil ceird duid. Bhfuil scion[12] phóca agat?"

"Tá, maise," ar seisean.

"Bhuel, tar isteach anseo liomsa."

Fuaidh siad isteach 'na[13] coilleadha[14] do bhaint slatacha. Agus nuair a bhí siad ag baint na slatacha sé an cheird a d'fhoghlaim sé de[15] ag déanamh bascáidí.

Bhí sin maith go leor. Nuair a fuair sé an cheird tháinig sé ar ais agus d'iarr sé níon an ghréasaí bróg agus fuair sé í mar bhí an cheird seo aige, ag déanamh bascáidí. Ach tamall 'na dhéidh tháinig soitheach isteach agus chuir sí síos ancaire ar an Mhaoil Rua. Agus chuaigh siad suas i láthair an chaisleáin. Agus nuair a chuaigh an caiftín agus a chriú suas 'na chaisleáin a chuartú im agus uibheacha chonaic siad an ainnir uasal thuas anseo agus bhí bród ar an chaiftín a leithéid a fheiceáil. Dúirt sé lena chriú gur mhaith leis í seo do ghoid agus gurb é an dóigh a dtiocfadh leis sin a dhéanamh comhairle a thabhairt orthu theacht ar bord aigesan, agus nuair a (gheobhadh) sé astoigh sa chábán iad gurb é an rud a bhí ag an chriú le déanamh an slabhradh a ligint ar shiubhal mar nach dtiocfadh leofa é a thabhairt ar bord a thairbhe go dtógfadh siad raicí(n), agus bheith faoi chodladh comh tapaidh agus a thiocfadh leofa, agus gan a dhath a dhéanamh ach go bhfaigheadh siad amach ar an aibhléis mhór.

Bhí sin maith go leor. Rinn siad mar a d'iarr sé (orthu) agus thug sé comhairle orthu 'na chábáin agus fuaigh siad isteach ansin. Ach nuair a bhí siad a ghairm traidhfil ' laethaibh amuigh chuir sé isteach i(n) mbairille an rí óg. Agus chaith sé amach é agus an (t-éadan) insa bhairille. Bhí an rí seo ag goil ó thoinn go toinn leis an bhairille go dtige lá amháin stad sé de léimnigh. Pholl an duine bocht amach lena scion phóca agus bhí sé astoigh ar an oileán seo agus nuair a fuair sé... mheasaigh sé go rabh sé ar an oileán pholl sé amach agus bhris sé an bairille (is) fuair sé amach. Fuaigh sé ó áit go háit fríd an choillidh a bhí ar an oileán seo, ag gearradh slatacha, ag déanamh bascáidí, á ndíol, ag iarrraidh a bheith ag coinneáil an duine bhocht é féin ó ocras. Ach go dtí go dtáinig sé go dtige baile mór agus bhí cúirt ann, nó caisleán dá bheireann muidinne air ins an áit seo. Agus fuaigh sé suas (in achar) an chaisleáin agus d'fhiafraigh sé don tsearbhóntaí an chaisleáin an rabh an ainnir uasal seo astoigh. Dúirt sé go rabh. Dúirt sé gur mhaith leis ainnir uasal ar bith dá mbeadh in gcaisleán[16] a fheiceáil. Agus tháinig sí amach agus d'fhiafraigh sé daoithe an gceannóchadh sí bascáid, mar nach rabh a fhios aige cé bhí roimhe.

Ach d'aithin sise eisean agus ar sise, "Ceannóchaidh. Ach tar anseo amárach le ceann níos deise."

Agus bhí fáinne aige (dar) bhris sé féin agus í féin ag a bpósadh agus d'fhiafraigh sí de agus dúirt sé go rabh. Agus d'aithin sé ansin lá harna mhárach cé a bhí aige.

"Anois," ar sise, "téigh síos insa teach sin agus fág sa lóistín é is cuir ort culaith mhaith éadaigh agus amárach beidh féasta againne nuair a thiocfas an caiftín isteach agus bhéarfaidh muid méara an bhaile mhóir anseo agus iarrfaidh mise scéal nó amhrán do inse. Agus nuair a beidh[17] sin déanta tífimid muid... bhéarfaidh mise mo iarraidh - mo dhíchealt - leis an scéal seo a inse go bhfeice muid goidé mar rachas."

Dúirt seisean go rabh sin maith go leor. Rinn siad mar d'iarr sé agus nuair a bhí an suipéar agus an tae thart acu ins an oíche seo tháinig an caiftín isteach agus dúirt sé nuair a bhí méara an bhaile mhóir (...).

Translation

There was a king who came to our place and he had a daughter[18] and she was in the same class as me at school, and she... she was there... the son[19] of a cobbler. The daughter[20] of the king wanted to marry the son[21] of the cobbler and he asked the cobbler if they could make a suitable arrangement.

Well, that was fine. When the king's son went to ask for the cobbler's daughter they were... the cobbler told him the best thing to do was to go and learn a trade before he could have his daughter. But what happened was that he didn't learn a trade and the third time he came to ask for the cobbler's daughter he didn't get her and he went away crying this time. When he was crying he was walking along the road a long time until he came to a wood and when he went into the wood he met an old man who was cutting sticks. And he came out to him.

"Young boy," he said, "why is a fine young man like you going about crying?"

"Oh, there's a poor cobbler's daughter I can't marry and I'm a rich man."

"Very well," he said, "what's the reason for this?"

"It's because I don't have a trade."

"Well, I won't be long getting you a trade. Do you have a pocket knife?"

"Indeed I do," he said.

"Well, come in here with me."

They went into the wood cutting sticks. And when they were cutting sticks the trade he learned was basket-making.

That was fine. When he had his trade he came back and asked for the cobbler's daughter and he got her because he had this trade, basket-making. But a while afterwards a ship came in and put down anchor in Mulroy Bay. And they went up to the castle. And when the captain and his crew went up to the castle for butter and eggs they saw the beautiful young woman up there and the captain was delighted to see a beauty of her kind. He told his crew he wanted to steal her away and that how he would do this was to advise them to come aboard his ship, and that when he had them in the cabin what the crew had to do was throw away the anchor because they couldn't bring it on board because it would make a racket(?), and to go to sleep as soon as they could, and not to do anything until they were out on the deep water.

That was fine. They did as he asked them and he advised them to go into the cabins and they did. And when they were out a couple of days he put the young king into a barrel. And he threw him overboard with the lid on the barrel. This king was rolling from wave to wave in the barrel until a day came when it stopped moving. The poor fellow made a hole with his pocket knife and he was on an island and when he... thought he was on an island he cut through and he broke the barrel and he got out. He went from place to place through the wood that was on this island, cutting sticks, making baskets, selling them, trying to keep himself from starving. All until he came to a big town and there was a court there, or a castle as we call it here. And he went up near the castle and he asked the castle servant if there was a beautiful young woman inside. He said there was. He said he wanted to see any beautiful young woman who might be in the castle. And she came out and he asked her if she would buy a basket, because he didn't know who he had before him.

But she recognized him and she said, "I'll buy one. But come here tomorrow with a nicer one."

And he had a ring that they had when they got married and she asked him if he had it and he said he did. And then the next day he recognized who she was.

"Now," she said, "go down into that house and put it in safekeeping and put on your finest clothes and tomorrow we will have a feast when the captain comes in and we will bring the mayor of the town here and I will ask that a story be told or a song be sung. And when that is done we'll see... I'll do my best to tell this story and we will see how it goes."

He said that was fine. They did as he asked and when supper and tea were over that night the captain came in and he said when the mayor of the town was (...).

Footnotes

Commentary

Although the narrative appears somewhat confused in this text, it is clearly an example of an international folktale, ATU 888A The basket maker. The standard international form involves a young man who must learn a trade in order to support his wife. She is taken away by a sea captain, but years later she recognises her husband by the baskets he makes. It is a particularly popular tale in Slavic countries, North Africa and the Middle East. See Hans Jorg Uther, The types of international folktales: a classification and bibliography (3 vols, Helsinki, 2004). There is a large number of versions recorded from Ireland, concentrated in the west and south, with a few examples from Ulster and one from Leinster. See Seán Ó Súilleabháin and Rieder Th. Christiansen, The types of the Irish folktale (Helsinki, 1968).

This story is transcribed also in Róise Ní Bhaoill, Ulster Gaelic voices: bailiúchán Doegen 1931 (Belfast, 2010), 142-7.