Transcript

Feilméaraí a phós bean. Cailleadh í sul má rabh sí sé mhí póstaí aige, (sul má rabh sí) sé mhí póstaí aige. Phós sé aríst sul má rabh sí mí cailltí. Bhí buachaill aige sa teach shul má cailleadh an chéad bhean. Bhí tóir mhór aige ar imirt chárdaí agus ar dhamhsa agus ar phléisiúr.

Fuaigh... fuaigh sé amach. Agus casadh teach leis ins an áit nár cheart dó teach a chasachtáil leis. Agus... Ach fuaigh sé isteach insa teach, agus an méid a bhí astoigh, seanfhear agus seanbhean. Las sé a phaíopa. Thairg sé an phaíopa dhon tseanfhear agus níor... ní chaithfeadh an seanfhear é. Thairg sé dhon tseanbhean é agus (deir) an tseanbhean g(...). Shuigh sé síos ansin ag amharc ar an tseanfhear agus ar an tseanbhean agus ba gearr nó go dtáinig cruinniú mór isteach chun an toighe. Leag siad bord agus thoisigh siad... thoisigh siad ag ithe agus ag ól. Nuair a bhí a sáith ití acu thoisigh siad... ghlan siad na boird. Thoisigh siad ' damhsa agus ag (...).

Agus an chéad bhean a bhí ag an fheilmhéaraí, cé a bhí i measc an chruinnithe[1] ach í. D'éirigh an buachaill nuair a thoisigh an damhsa agus rug sé uirthi agus thoisigh sé ag damhsa léithi. D'iarr sí air gan a ligint amach nó go mbíodh na... chor ar bith. Agus choinnigh sé a ghreim uirthi agus nuair a bhí chuile shórt thart d'iarr sí... d'iarr siad air a bheith ag goil amach. Agus dúirt sé nach ngabhfadh sé amach go mbíodh an bhean seo leis. Agus dúirt siad go gcaithfeadh sé a ghoil amach gan an bhean a bheith leis. Agus ar deireadh thiar lig siad an bhean leis amach. Choinnigh sé a ghreim uirthi nó go dteachaigh sé, gur thug sé leis abhaile í go teach an fear póstaí. Nuair a tháinig sé go dtí an doras d'iarr sé ar an fhear astoigh gan an solas a lasadh nó go dtéadh sé isteach. (Agus) d'éirigh an fear agus lig sé isteach é. Agus chuaigh sé suas agus shuigh sé ar an stól, é féin agus a bhean. Lasadh solas. Agus nuair a dhearc an fear amach cé a chonaic sé ach a chéad bhean amuigh ansin. D'éirigh an bhean a bhí taobh thiar dhó agus dhearc sí amach agus cé a chonaic sí ach an chéad bhean ansin. Agus d'éirigh sí aniar as an leabaidh.

"Tá sé in am agamsa a bheith ag éirí amach as seo."

An bhean a bhí taobh amuigh, dúirt sí, "Fan ansin, a bhean. Nuair nach rabh foighid aige fuireacht go cionn sé mhí le ligint do mo chnámhase fuaradh insa talamh gabhfaidh mé abhaile 'uig m'athair agus 'uig mo mháthair féin ar ais."

Translation

A farmer who married a woman. She died before he was married six months to her. He married again before she was dead a month. He had a boy in the house before the first woman died. He had a great interest in playing cards and dancing and enjoyment.

He went out. And he come upon a house in a place where he should not come upon a house. And... But he went into the house, and all that was inside was an old man and an old woman. He lit his pipe. He offered the pipe to the old man and the old man would not smoke it. He offered it to the old woman and the old woman said (...). Then he sat down looking at the old man and at the old woman and it wasn't long until a big crowd came into the house. They set a table and they started... they started eating and drinking. When they had eaten their fill they started... they cleared the table. They started dancing and (...).

And the farmer's first wife, who would be amongst the crowd but she. The boy got up when the dancing started and caught her and he started dancing with her. She asked him not to let her go (?) until... at all. And he kept hold of her and when everything was finished she asked... they asked him to to leave. And he said that he wouldn't until this woman was with him. And they said that he would have to go out without the woman. And in the end they let the woman out with him. He kept hold of her until he went, and he brought her home to the married man's house. When he came to the door he asked the man inside not to put on the light until he was inside. And(?) the man got up and he let him in. And he went up and he sat on the stool, himself and his wife. A light was lit. And when the man looked out who did he see outside there but his first wife. The woman who was behind him got up and she looked out and who did she see there but the first wife. And she got up out of the bed.

"It is time for me to be getting out of here."

The woman who was outside, she said, "Stay there, woman. When he didn't have the patience to wait six months for my bones to cool in the earth I will go back home to my own father and mother."

Footnotes

Commentary

This story appears to be based on a common legend about a woman who is abducted by the fairies, and is rescued from the otherworld. Motifs include F322.5 Rescue from fairyland, and F322 Fairies steal man’s wife and carry her to fairyland. It is a well-known theme, and can be found in early Irish literature. See Tom Peete Cross, Motif-index of early Irish literature (Bloomington, Ind., 1952). The second part of the story, where the woman reproves her husband for remarrying so quickly, is likely related to narratives that are common in Irish oral tradition about testing the faithfulness of a spouse. Motifs such as T231 The faithless widow and T231.1 Faithless widow betrothed anew at husband’s funeral are likely to have been influential on the narrative. It is also related to stories about a wife's return from the dead to reprove her husband. Possible motifs include E221 Dead spouse’s malevolent return and E221.1 Dead wife haunts husband on second marriage. See Stith Thompson, Motif-index of folk literature (rev. and enlarged ed., 6 vols, Bloomington, Ind., 1955-8).