Transcript

D'éirigh mé maidin nuair a bhí mé i mo bhrian óg ar scór a ghoil a dh'iascaireacht. Threabhaigh mé síos 'na[1] chladaigh agus tharraing muid isteach an bád. Agus threabhaigh muid ar na ceithre mha-... Chuir muid amach na ceithre mhaide agus fuaigh muid a (dh'éileamh) baoití fá choinne braeisíní[2] agus feannlógaí.[3] Bhí muid ag treabhadh linn go rabh muid... go bhfuair muid beagán ar scór a ghoil a dh'iascaireacht. Bhuel, dúirt an dá shean-nduine[4] a bhí insa bhád gur chóir dúinn a ghoil a mharbhadh na mbraeisíní agus na bhfeannlógaí.

Rois siad na dorgaí agus bhí siad, na braeisíní agus na feannlógaí, le fáil go líonmhar. Bhuel, (chuach siad... muid ina gceann) agus bhí an bhraeisí go dtí beirt, go dtí triúr, le fáil go líonmhar a'inn agus bhí muid ag goil fríofa ansin go rabh sé (ag) teannadh eadar a haon agus a dó a chlog. Arsa fear den bhunadh óg liom féin, "Nár chóir dúinn a bheith ag tarraingt ár (...) rud íneach[5] dinnéara?"

Arsa an fear den bhunadh aosta, de na sean-ndaoiní, "Caithfidh sibh[6] tilleadh baoití murlas a fháil fá choinne an tráthnóna."

"Maith go leor," arsa mé féin ag labhairt.

Tharraing muid isteach na dorgaí agus chuir muid amach na rámhaí agus chuaigh muid a threabhadh na dtonna agus chuir na sean-ndaoiní amach an dá dhorga ar aist[7] agus bhí siad ag iarraidh... fuair siad beagán baoití. Agus nuair a bhí siad ag tarraingt isteach na ndorgaí dúirt fear acu go mb'fhearr dúinn a ghoil a dh'iarraidh braeisíní aríst. Bhuel, tarraingíodh[8] isteach na rámhaí agus chuaigh muid a dh'iarraidh na mbraeisíní agus na bhfeannlógaí aríst. Agus dá mbeadh dhá dhuán... trí dhuán amuigh aghad bheadh trí bhraeisí ná trí fheannlóg leat 'ach aon iarraidh.

Bhuel, bhí sé ag teannadh déanach go maith sa lá agus bhí an t-ocras ag teacht orainn.

"Bhfuil iomrá ar bith ar... ar a ghoil 'na bhaile?" arsa mise le fear den bhunadh aosta.

"Níl," arsa seisean.

"Bhuel," arsa mise. D'amhanc mé ar mo chromrádaí[9] a bhí taobh thuas domh agus bhí an dath ag athrú air. "Rachaidh tú abhaile," arsa mise, "nuair a bheas tú mall."

"Fan," arsa seisean. "Bíodh foighde a'd," arsa seisean, ag cur a lámh siar ina bhrollach (nó ina) phóca.

Translation

When I was a young man I got up one morning to go fishing. I went down to the shore and we pulled the boat in. And we headed towards the four oar-... We put the four oars out and we went looking for bait for sea-breams and whiting. We were ploughing along until we were... until we got enough to go fishing. Well, the two old men who were in the boat said that we should go killing breams and whiting.

They unravelled the fishing lines and the breams and the whiting were plentiful. Well, we gathered around them (?) and the breams were plentiful, coming in twos and threes to us and we were going through them then until it was nearing one or two o'clock. One of the young fellows said to me, "Shouldn't we be (...) some dinner?"

One of the old men said, "You have to get more mackerel bait for the evening."

"Fine," I said.

We pulled in the fishing lines and we put out the oars and we went ploughing the waves and the old men put the two lines back out and they were trying... they got some bait. And when they were pulling in their lines again one of them said that we should go looking for breams again. Well, the oars were put in and we went looking for breams and whiting again. And if you had two hooks... three hooks out you would have three breams or three whiting each time.

Well, it was getting late enough in the day and we were getting hungry.

"Is there any intention of going home?" I said to one of the old men.

"No," he said.

"Well," I said. I looked at my companion who was above me and he was changing colour. "You will be going home late," I said.

"Wait," he said. "Have patience," he said, putting his hand into his breast pocket.

Footnotes

Commentary

This narrative does not seem to contain any particular folk motifs or be based on any legend or folktale, and is likely to be a chronicate, or personal anecdote, based on the author's experience.