Here's the next one -

RÍ NA N-ÉAN : AN DREÓILÍN

Chuíreadar geall éanacha an aéir uiliug le chéile go bhfeicidís
cé acab is áirde a bhí i ndon a dhul ins an aer. Ins an am ar
chruinnigheadar uiliug i dteannta a chéile ar aon chrocán amhain,
bhí an dreóilín chô beag agus nár airigh aon cheann é, nó gur
sháith sé isteach é féin idir dhá ribe clumhaigh ins an iolrach.
D'éirgheadar i n-éinfheacht ins an are, agus chaitheadar cúig
oidhche agus cúig lá a' guil suas díreach. Níor sheas ach cuid
acab an t-achar sin, ach sheas an t-iolrach. Nuair a bhí sé chô
fada agus bhí sé i ndon a dhul dubhairt sé go mba leis féin an
geall, agus dubhairt sé é sin trí huaire i ndiaidh a chéile, agus é
tosuithe a' guil ag ísliú anuas.
Nuair a chonnaic an dreóilín nach raibh sé i ndon níos mó a
dhéanamh d'éirigh sé amach, agus fuaidh sé ceathair nó chúig de
shlata ós a chionn.
"Ní leat an geall, ach liom-sa," adeir an dreóilín.
"Cá raibh tú ?" adeir an t-iolrach, "ní fhaca mise amharc ar
bith ort ag tigheacht."
"Bhí me (sic) an-ghar duit," adeir an dreóilín, "ach níor léir duit
mé."
"Is leat an lá," adeir an t-iolrach, "is tusa Rí na nÉan."
Tá an dreóilín ina rí ó shoin.

It could be Conamara Irish. "Aríst" and "gadhar" are signs too that it is.

tígheacht or tigheacht - I think it's "tigheacht" as in older spelling the GH (G plus punc) in the middle showed the preceding vowel was long(?). Modern spelling is "tíocht" in Conamara, or "teacht" in caighdeánach. Do you want the story written in modern spelling?

No I'm not asking for it to be modernised, it's just that quite often the spelling doesn't seem to be very accurate, so I'm not always sure when it's right and when isn't. The other source that she's using is The Gaelic Journal, which is available on Internet Archive.

I heard the Dreoilín story before.


I think there are accents where there shouldn't be in places, and missing in other places - like the obvious "mé" which you highlighted yourself. I don't know enough about older spelling to correct those errors. The spelling rules weren't as strict in the days before the 50s, mostly written in dialect I think. Nowadays there is no accent on the A before RN and RD, but (somebody correct me if I'm wrong) it was possible before the spelling reform. That's why some people still write Cárna with an accent.

Ceart go leor

Here's the next one - seo an scéal eile.

'Eachtra air an Sgolóig agus air an nGruagach Ruadh' - which has been translated as 'The Adventures of the Farmer and the Red Wizard' by Eileen O'Faolain. It's quite long so if you want to read it, as I said above, it's available on Internet Archive in Volume IV of The Gaelic Journal - pages 7-9, 26-29, 35-38. By the way I'm looking for another story that appeared in Volume VII, but unfortunately that volume isn't on the net, if anyone could help me find a copy, I'd be very grateful. Anyway this one starts like this -

A bh-fad sul ar smuain na Lochlonnaige air theacht go h-Éirinn, (they didn't think of putting a fada on the É !) ná beoir do dhéanamh de scoth an fhraoich, do chomhnuigh i m-Beuladáchab, i n-deisceart Éireann (again no fada on the É) Sgológ bhí saidhbhir go leór, mar budh fear tionnsgantach, coimheadach é ag a raibh cuid mhaith maoine.

I don't understand why there's an A in front of bhfad and between ag and raibh. Could anybody help please?

The English translation goes like this -

Long before the Danes ever thought of coming to Ireland, or of making beer out of the flowers of the heather, there lived in Ballydehob in the south of Ireland a farmer who was middling rich, for he was an industrious, thrifty man who had a fair share of the world's goods.

a bh-fad = i bhfad

Here a = i

ag a raibh cuid mhaith maoine = a raibh cuid mhaith maoine aige

ag a raibh ... = who had ... (lit. at whom was ... )

i.e. a is a relative pronoun.

Ceart go leor - go raibh maith agat.

I found what I was looking for - the RIA have partly transcribed The Gaelic Journal on their website.

An Mac Ríogh na nDeunfadh Comhairle
Sgeul Sheáin Mic Bradáin
Sgeul an Fhir do chuaidh amach le fóghluim criothnuighthe le faitchíos (though in fact this is a translation from Grimm)
An Sluagh Sidhe
An Maidrín Ruadh
Sgeul ar an Dreoilín
and Brionngloid Eoghain Uí Mulreide.

Here's another word I can't find anywhere - bunchrot. It's in one of the headings in 'Traidisiún na Scéalaíochta i gCorca Dhuibhne' by Caoimhín Ó Sé -Dílseacht do bunchrot an scéil.