huadar fé dhéin a n-athar ansan agus is amhlaidh a bhí an duine bocht líonta suas d'fheasóig agus sh'lachar agus do cheirteachaibh. “Airiú athair,” ars' iad-san,”nach olc an driuch é sin ort, nó cad do bheir mar sin tú, nó an aithníeann tú sinn ?” “Ní aithneóchainn a chlann ó,” ars' eisean, “mara mbeadh sibh ag glaoch bhúr n-athair orm agus i dtaobh a bheith sa driuc seo, tá sé maith mo dhóthain dom mar is é thuilleas nár thug áire dom' chlainn agus gan an chailleach úd a phósadh.” “'Seadh a athair,” ars' iad-san,”ná cuireadh san aom mhairg ort anois. Tá ar dtrioblóidi go léir imithe anois agus beidh saol maith agat as seo suas agus mar gheall ar an gcailligh, ní dheanfaidh sí sin a thuille dochair ná diobhála dhuit. Do shocraieamar-na chúntas léi sin agus bhí sé tuilte aici uainn,leis.Dá bhfaghadh sí ní sa mheasa é de bharr na trioblóidi gur chuir sí sinn agus an cor atá tugtha aici duitse. Tá tusa fada do dhóthain ar an ndruich seo ar aon chuma agus téanam ort isteach go n-insean sinn ár gcúrsai d'á chéile.”

23. They went to find their father then and they found the poor man all unshaven, dirty and in rags. “Oh, father,” they cried. “Don't you look terrible ! How did you get like that ?....Don't you recognise us ?” “I don't recognise you, children...but if you are calling me 'father'....And if you are talking about my dreadful state... it's good enough for me. I deserve it, because I didn't give any care to my own family and I married that horrible woman.” “Don't be upsetting yourself about that now father. All the troubles are gone now and you will have a nice life from now on. And, you don't have to worry about that awful old hag – she won't give you any more trouble. We settled accounts with her and she really deserved it from us, even if we had given her a lot worse for the way she treated us and you. You have been long enough in this dreadful condition. Come on now, till we tell each other what happened to us.”

24. Chuadar uile go léir isteach ansan i dteannta a chéile agus chaitheadar an oiche sin go suaimhneach i dteannta a chéile ag innsint a gcúrsai dh'á chéile ó thús deireadh gur rug maidin lá'r n-a mháireach ortha. D'fhág a ndeirfhuir agus a fear slán aca ansan agus d'imthigheadar abhaile go dtí a dtigh féin. Mháir an t-athair agus a chlann agus a chliamhain ar feadh morán blianta 'n-a dhiaidh-san agus níor tháinig a thuille trioblóidi orha go dtí lá a mbáis. Crioch..

24. They all went in together then and spent the night comfortably together, recounting what had happened to them from the beginning to the end until morning of the following day. Their sister and her husband bade them farewell and went off to their own place. The father and his family and the children lived for many years after that The end.

We would like to acknowledge that, because of unavoidable condensing, necessary for fitting this tale into the space available, some alteration in plot has had to be made. We have, however, tried to use our own beautiful West Cork Gaelic as far as possible. Note on our Irish Story-teller Caoimhghin Ó Brolchain is of the 'Tyneside Irish' with ancestry in Mayo and Kilkenny. After a few years as a 'pick an' shovel man', he attended St. Mary's Teacher Training College in Strawberry Hill, London where he qualified as a teacher. During his 30-year teaching career he gained further degrees, including an M,Phil for his work on the Irish Writer, Flann O'Brien, the centenary of whose birth was marked by the issue of a postage stamp not so long ago. Caoimhghin married a German girl (Gerda) in Nurenburg, Bavaria and they have five children Caoimhghin's grá for the Irish language was instilled by an influential teacher, Fr. Joe Lowe, during his stint at the Salesian college, Pallaskenry, Co. Limerick between 1945 and 1952. He recalls writing to old Peg Sayers who had just left the Blaskets for the mainland at that time and heard back from her. Caoimhghin has been a contributor to TREOIR, the Comhaltas magazine for many years. He has also contributed to IRISHPAGE.COM, an internet publication with several excellent short stories with his hand drawn illustrations and several smaller articles in both Irish and English. He won the Irish Post Listowel Writers Prize in 1993. When Vivian took ill last year, Caoimhghin flew over "the pond" to join me on a cruise we could not cancel. At the last island in the Caribbean named Tortola, we missed the boat. The rest of the tale is an Odyssey about finding our way home. We'll leave this for another day. Courtesy of Jack & Vivian, IrishPage.com 2024 Background music Patriot Game sequenced by Taylor. Ar mbuiochas le Caoimhghín Ó Brolcháin ar son a chabhair leis an nGaedhilge

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