Art voish ny pabyryn: Mayrnt 2018

Co-loayrtys rish Ben Ó Ceallaigh, fer-streeuee son Yernish, mysh y chied turrys echey dys Mannin

Jelhein y Chaisht (02.04.2018) bee taghyrtys ec y phossan Gaelgagh noa Coraa ayns Rhumsaa as Shennaghys Jiu fo raad yn un jerrey-shiaghtin. Ta fo Coraa shassoo seose son y Ghaelg as cur coraaghyn noa er nyn doshiaght ayns seihll y Ghaelg, goaill stiagh sleih aegey as Gaelgeyryn noa. Ver eh caa daue jannoo reddyn dy bollagh trooid Gaelg. She sheshaght gyn leeideilee er-lheh t’ayn raad vees dy chooilley nhee reaghit trooid consensus. Ta Coraa laccal troggal kianglaghyn neesht rish gleashaghtyn glare ayns Nerin as Nalbin, chammah as ayns çheeraghyn elley.

            Va caa aym dy loayrt rish fer ass Nerin vees loayrt ayns Rhumsaa mychione y chah son Yernish. Ta Ben Ó Ceallaigh, scrudeyr ashoonagh yn phossan Misneach, er ve gynsagh Gaelg Vanninagh rish tammylt dy hraa nish agh she shoh vees yn chied cheayrt t’eh er ve ayns Mannin.

Vel oo jeeaghyn royd lesh cur shilley er Mannin?

Shickyr dy vel! Ga dy vel mee er cheau traa dy liooar ayns Gaeltaght Nerin as er chur shilley er ny hardjyn Gaelgagh ayns Nalbin cha jagh mee dys Mannin rieau. Ta mee er ve gynsagh y Ghaelg Vanninagh nish son daa vlein as ta mee jeeaghyn roym dy mooar lesh fakin yn çheer as meeiteil rish ny Gaelgeyryn t’ayn!

V’ou uss mastey’n sleih hug yn possan Misneach er bun ayns Nerin. Cre ta Misneach credjal ayn as cre’n aght ta shiu anchasley rish sheshaghtyn Yernish elley?

Ta Misneach credjal my ta shin laccal aa-vioghey Yernish dy lhisagh shin ve jeeaghyn er feyshtyn smoo na polasee glare hene ny lomarcan, er-y-fa dy vel polasee glare kianlt dy mooar rish cooishyn politickagh as sheshoil elley. Ren shin cur Misneach er bun tra va’n creenaghey tarmaynagh feer olk as va shin fakin cre cha olk as va austerity son y ghlare as na hardjyn ayndoo t’ee foast bio, y Ghaeltaght, as va shin laccal streeu noi shen.

Ta ‘Blein yn Yernish’ ayn mleeaney, as bee ‘Blein y Ghaelg’ ainyn ayns 2020. Cre ta Misneach jannoo son y vlein shoh?

Ta ny possanyn oikoil glare gra dy re sorçh dy ard-eailley t’ayn son y ghlare – agh ta shinyn gra nagh lhisagh shin jannoo ard-eailley tra ta Yernish geddyn baase ayns y Ghaeltaght as dy lhisagh shin “blein çhennid yn Yernish” y reaghey. Ayns focklyn giarrey, ta Misneach prowal dy cheau soilshey er-lheh er seaghyn ny hardjyn Gaelgagh mleeaney.

Cre t’ou laccal feddyn magh tra vees oo ayns Mannin? Vel red erbee dy ynsagh voish aa-vioghey yn Ghaelg?

Er-y-fa dy vel mee jannoo PhD mychione polasee glare as cooishyn tarmaynagh ta mee laccal loayrt rish sleih mychione yn chreenaghey ghow toshiaght ayns 2008 as cre va shen cowraghey son y Ghaelg.

            T’eh baghtal dy liooar dy vel ram dy ve ynsit voish Mannin mychione aa-vioghey glare as t’eh treih dou dy vel lane sleih ayns Nerin as Nalbin nagh vel toiggal shen dy kinjagh – agh nee’m pene my chooid share dy chaghlaa shen ta mee treshteil!

Irish language activist Ben Ó Ceallaigh on his upcoming first trip to the Isle of Man

On Easter Monday (2nd April) a new Manx-language group Coraa (‘Voice’) will hold an event in Ramsey to coincide with the Shennaghys Jiu music festival. Coraa wishes to support the language and its speakers, and provide a space for new voices in the Manx scene, including young people and those who learnt the language recently. It will organize events entirely through the medium of Manx. Coraa has no formal leaders and decisions are made by consensus. They also hope to build links with language movements in the wider Gaelic world in Ireland and Scotland as well as further afield.

            I had an opportunity to speak to someone from Ireland who will be talking at the event in Ramsey about the struggle for Irish. Ben Ó Ceallaigh, the national secretary of the group Misneach (‘Courage’), has been learning Manx for a while but this will be the first time he has visited the island.

Are you looking forward to visiting the Isle of Man?

Of course! Though I have spent a lot of time in the Irish Gaeltacht and have visited Gaelic-speaking areas in Scotland, I have never been to the Isle of Man. I have been learning Manx for two years now and I am greatly looking forward to seeing the country and meeting Manx speakers!

You were among the founders of Misneach in Ireland. What does Misneach believe in, and why are you different from other Irish-language groups?

Misneach believes that if we want to revive Irish, we should look at bigger questions than just language policy, because language policy is closely connected to other political and social issues. We set up Misneach when the economic crisis was very bad and we could see how bad austerity was for the language and the areas where it is still alive, the Gaeltacht, and we wanted to fight back against that.

It’s the ‘Year of Irish’ this year, and we will be having a ‘Year of Manx’ in 2020. What is Misneach doing this year?

The official language groups say that it is a kind of celebration of the language – but we say we shouldn’t be celebrating when Irish is dying out in the Gaeltacht, and that we should organize a “Year of the crisis of Irish”. Basically, Misneach is trying to place special emphasis on the struggles of Irish-speaking communities this year.

What do you want to find out when you are in the Isle of Man? Is there anything to learn from the Manx revival?

Because I am doing a PhD about language policy and economic issues I want to talk to people about the crisis that began in 2008 and what that meant for Manx.

            It’s clear there is a lot to learn from the Isle of Man about language revitalization and I think it’s a shame many people in Ireland and Scotland don’t always understand that – but I hope to play a part in the effort to change that!

 

 

Published: Thu, 01 Jan 1970