Tras-scríbhinn

Chuir sé suas an balla mar a bhí aroimhe. Agus nuair a tháinig a bhean abhaile dúirt an Fear Beag Riabhach Rua, "Tá an páiste caillte." Agus theip air a fháilt. Thoisigh sí ag cuartú agus níor féidir daoith' é a fháil. Rinne siad dearmad ar an gasúr go dtí ceann cúpla bliain. Aon lá amháin bhí an sagart ar turas sa teach agus cruinniú mór istigh, agus é ag léigh' an Aifrinn ar an bord a bhí faoi an fuinneog. Go díreach i lár an Aifrinn thoisigh na braonta fola ag titim anuas ó barr na fuinneoga ar leabhar an Aifrinn. Bhí ionadh ar gach 'uine agus ar an sagart go háirid. Thoisigh sé ag guibhe agus rinne sé scread trí huaire. Leis an tríothú[1] scread tháinig spiorad an gasúr 'uige agus dh'insigh[2] sé dhon sagart cé dh'éirigh dó cúpla bliain roimhe sin. Rugadh ar an Fear Beag Riabhach Rua. Féachadh é. Cuireadh pionós an-chruaidh air. Hiarradh (air) droichead a chuir ar an gcladach agus teach an phobail a thógáilt in áit an-uaigneach le hais na farraige agus codladh (air) trí oíche. Rinní an Fear Beag Riabhach Rua é seo huilig. Tháinig an fháinleog agus rug sí (ubh air). Bhí sé ina sheanfhear críon liath an uair sin agus is gearr ó sin gur cailleadh é.

Aistriúchán

He built up the wall as it was before. And when his wife came home the Small Red-haired Grizzled Man said, "the child is dead." And he could not be found. She started looking and she couldn't find him. The forgot about the child for a few years. One day the priest was visiting the house while there was a great gathering inside, and he read the Mass on the table which was under the window. Right in the middle of the Mass the drops of blood started falling from the top of the windows onto the mass book. Everyone was surprised, especially the priest. He started praying and he screamed three times. With the third scream the child's spirit came to him and told the priest what had happened to him a couple of years previously. The Small Red-haired Grizzled Man was caught. He was tried. He was given a very harsh sentence. He was asked to put a bridge over the harbour and to build a church in a very lonely place beside the sea and to sleep there(?) three nights. The Small Red-haired Grizzled Man did all of that. The swallow came and she laid an egg on him. He was an old grey man at that stage and he died soon after that.

Fonótaí

Tráchtaireacht

Tagann an chéad agus an dara cuid de seo le chéile mar scéal ina mbaintear úsáid, is cosúil, as an móitíf idirnáisiúnta béaloidis E231 Return from dead to reveal murder. Seo móitíf choitianta ar fud na hEorpa, agus faightear í mar chuid de roinnt finscéalta ar an osnádúr. B'fhéidir go bhfuil móitíf eile sa scéal leis, E443.2.4 Ghost laid by priest. Féach Stith Thompson, Motif-index of folk literature (atheagrán méadaithe, 6 iml., Bloomington, Ind., 1955-8). D'fhéadfadh sé go bhfuil gaol scaoilte ag an scéal leis an tsraith de scéalta idirnáisiúnta béaloidis ATU 780-799 The truth comes to light, a bhaineann go minic le dúnmharú rúnda, agus eachtra neamhghnách éigin a léiríonn an fhírinne. Féach Hans Jorg Uther, The types of international folktales: a classification and bibliography (3 iml., Helsinki, 2004). An eipseasóid ag deireadh an scéil ina mbeireann fáinleog ubh ar an bhfear a bhfuil pionós á chur air, tá sí seo beagán doiléir, ach b'fhéidir go síolraíonn sí ó mhóitíf eile, Q541.5 Penance: staying for ten months rooted to one spot, with eyes closed, while birds build nests in one’s hair.

Tá leagan den scéal seo in Heinrich Wagner, Linguistic atlas and survey of Irish dialects (4 iml., BÁC, 1958-69), iml. 3, 348. Féach leis iml. 1, xviii.