Menlo does it’s own thing pal. Some great stuff here
[SIZE=6]Menlo – A rich legacy[/SIZE]
A unique dialect of the Irish language has existed in Menlo, Kiloughter and Anglingham since time immemorial, writes William Henry in this week’s Talking History column
William Henry
Wednesday, 25 February 2015
7:55 AM GMT
[LIST][*]Tomás de Bhaldraithe and Tomás Laighléis
T[SIZE=3]here are many extremely important aspects to the history and folklore of Menlo, Kiloughter, Anglingham and related areas in the parish of Castlegar. The heritage of the area is so rich and diverse that one can only look at some of its main features.[/SIZE]
In one dimension alone, that of folk memory, there is manifold evidence of those riches, primarily linguistic, but also historical and some archaeological features that are significant on both local and a national level.
A unique dialect of the Irish language has existed in Menlo, Kiloughter and Anglingham since time immemorial. The Menlo area, resting on the banks of the River Corrib and lake, has contributed, and continues to contribute to the richness of the linguistic and folkloric heritage of the Galway area. The uniqueness of the local dialect of Irish and the riches of local history and folklore – still very much alive among the population of the area – has attracted academic scholars and resulted in many publications over the past 80 years.
From the 1930s onwards, the young scholar Tomás Ó Broin, later to become professor of Irish at University College Galway, collected folklore in the native dialects of Irish from local speakers, notably Seán Rua ÓBeaglach (Anglingham) and Risteard Ó Dúgáin (Menlo). These collections were deposited in archives and academic institutions and were also published in various outlets, notably in the prestigious journal of folkloreBéaloideas. In more recent times, local authors have published interesting memoirs of the area. These include Pádraig Small (grandson of Seán Rua Ó Beaglach) in his book ‘Radharc na nEasgaí’, and JohnConnell of Kiloughter, who has written two books, the most recent of which is titled ‘Kiloughter of My Youth’. These books are extremely important for those who wish to gain an insight into the past.
At a national scale, the cultural riches of the area were highlighted most notably at the highest level of academic interest by one of the most distinguished scholars of the Irish language in the twentieth century, Professor Tomás de Bhaldraithe. This great linguist is probably best known today as the compiler of the standard English-Irish dictionary still in general use. This man recognised the unique character of the dialect of the Irish language spoken in the Menlo. He worked extensively with a local Irish speaker, Tomás Laighléis (Thomas Lawless), who was a superb carrier of this linguistic tradition.
Tomás was born at Menlo in 1895. There were other siblings in his family but most of them died young. He married Nora Craven, also of Menlo, and they had six children - Padraic, Seán (RIP), Mike, Mary, Tommy (RIP) and Brendan.
The original purpose of collaboration between Tomás Laighléis and the linguists was the need to understand the technicalities of the local dialect. However, a fascinating side effect of their academic work was the fact that over a long period of cooperation between the scholar and the seanchaí (local storyteller), a mass of reminiscences was provided by Tomás Laighléis. The result was that a veritable archive of great human interest stories was collected, ranging widely through the history and folklore of the area.
Fortunately for Ireland today, a selection from this invaluable archive of the rich local culture was edited and published by de Bhaldraithe in 1977 in the book ‘Seanchas Thomáis Laighléis’. It also contains extensive, scholarly and definitive comments by the editor. The selection of material in the book was beautifully recorded, and Laighléis’s reminiscences are presented as a long series of short vignettes on a wide range of topics, gleaned from the prodigious memory of the seanchaí. The result is that these vignettes providefascinating glimpses of life in a Gaelic-speaking community on the very verge of Galway city, with a host of insights into the history of Menlo and its surroundings over the past 200 years.
Tomás Laighléis was one of those rare individuals who, as a boy, listened attentively to the reminiscences of his elders, absorbed the contents of their stories, and could recount them with extraordinary accuracy in his adulthood. As a result, the book contains eyewitness accounts of local life going back much further than the accidental burning of Menlo Castle in 1910.
The book is also full of fascinating glimpses of life in and around the big house as it appeared to the tenants, among whom were Laighléis’s forebears. There is an account of Valentine Blake, the ‘Sunday man’ as he was known, who was so debt-ridden that he could not leave his estate at Menlo Castle except on Sundays. This was the only day in the week on which the bailiffs were not permitted to deliver their summonses to him.
We are made aware of a winter so severe that the River Corrib froze over in front of the castle. A piper was summoned from Galway to play at the edge of the river to entertain the ladies of the castle as they went ice skating on the ice. The book continues to tell of how that piper, Stephen Ruane of Shantalla Road was later banned from the area by the local priest.
Through an account from Laighléis’s grandfather, one can catch a harrowing glimpse of the most tragic event in Irish life during the nineteenth century. A graphic picture of the damage done by the Great Famine of the 1840s is seen in an eyewitness description of a cartload of corpses being led down through Galway’s main streets. There are personal reminiscences of the terrible drowning tragedy in 1828 that was immortalised in the famous song Anach Cuain, which was written by the poet Anthony Raftery. The boat was loaded with people on their way from Annaghdown who were bringing their sheep to the market in Galway. Tragedy struck them approximately mid-river near Menlo. Tomás Laighléis’s family were involved in the aftermath of the accident in that his grandfather was one of the first people to arrive at the scene.
This book of stories and folklore is an invaluable repository of Galway’s cultural and heritage. It is a jewel of folklore and a first-hand narrative of Galway life. In fact, the only way to do it justice would be to recount some of the vignettes from this most interesting and delightful book. It is a fascinating publication and one that is still in print and as far as I am aware is available from Cló Iar-Chonnacht.
Tomás died in October 1984, leaving a rich legacy that was passed down through generations of people about their own place; a place once described as one of Ireland’s guarded secrets. When one considers the rich linguistic heritage of the area, it is most bizarre that an application to UNESCO has not been made to add these areas to its list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. At least two ringforts were identified through aerial photography in the Kiloughter during the 1980s. One of them was re-discovered by Tom Small and Jacqueline O’Brien some 12 years ago. It was not surveyed but was large by Ringfortstandards. They are possibly overgrown with wild vegetation today.
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