Seo mise aríst !

Just this evening myself and some (foreign) friends decided to try the new chipper in An Cheathramha Ruadh. The place is called 'Bia anois'. We all were speaking Irish up to that point.

You can imagine our consternation when we discovered that none of the staff could speak Irish !

First guy came to me and asked in English what I wished to order. When I replied in Irish he looked at me as if he had never heard the language before ! Possibly he hadn't. When I insisted, he scurried off to get the only Irish staff member on the premises (at least I think he was Irish) When he came out it soon became obvious that he had no Gaedhilge either !

There I was, facing two east Europeans and one Irishman, without a word of Gaedhilge between them !
I suspect the Irish guy had some school Irish, although he said to me that he hadn't any. He probably thought I'd give in and speak English, as the locals probably do. The locals in the shop were all speaking English, both to each other, and to place their orders. They actually looked at me as if I was some weird guy trying to upset everyone elses day !

We finally got our fish and chips. Before leaving I asked the Irish staff member about the large lettering on the wall inside the shop. It read 'Fáilte go An Cheathrú Rua'. When I pointed out the botún in this, he told me that I was the first to ever point it out !

By the way, the chips and fish were obviously heated from frozen, and tasted as such, this in a fishing village !

The whole deal was one big disappointment. Bad food, not cheap, no Gaedhilge. What more could one ask for ? I wonder who owns the place ?

Bheadh a fhios ag Bríd seo 'ainne, b'fhéidir. (Agus áit níos fearr le n-ithe ann agus Gaeilge acu? ) Tá sí ina cónaí sa gceantar.

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

Caithfidh muid castáil ar a chéile lá éicint a Sheaghan.

That place was originally meant to be an Italian restaurant, then it changed hands, and eventually after a long time opened as a chipper. I've never been inside it, but I have had two crappy take-aways from it (a friend bought for me). From those two experiences I diffinitely wouldn't recommend the food.

In the Chinese restaurant Ben told me he ordered a "seacht suas" and the Chinese girl understood him. Good food there too.

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It is recommended that you always wait for three to agree on a translation.
I speak Connemara Irish, and my input will often reflect that.
I will do an mp3 file on request for short translations.
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