Failed to transfer Fran Morley's letter from Alabama yesterday but suceeded see below. Harry Gunning was telling me last night that Fran is a writer and Im sure you will agree when you read it.
The local paper has an interesting snippet about two men, a woman , a child and a cow crossing the River Shannon about 1821. Things went wrong and the two men and the woman were drowned but the child escaped by holding onto the cow's tail.
One of the tie break questions in the table quiz last night asked what was Maile Athair. It was an all Irish audience and the answer was Baghdad. Maile is the Irish for bag and Athair is the Irish for father or dad.And there's more.
Brian O Meara who lives on the barge was in Athlone on Tuesday and got some small packs of sugar with his coffee in the Goldsmith Tavern. Each had A Spoonful of Irish printed on the pack.
Glorralonn beirt bothar... Two shorten the road. Beirt = two. Bothar = Road.
Bionn siulach scealach ... The traveller has tales to tell. Scealach = tales.
An rud a lionas an tsuil lionann se an croi... What fills the eye fills the heart. An rud = the thing.
Lion = fill. Suil = eye. Croi = heart.
Sileann do chara agus do namnamhaid nach bhfaighidh tu bas choiche .... Both your friends and your enemy think that you will never die. Chara = friends. Do = your. namhaid = enemy.
Bas = die.
Brian was very impressed with the smoking room attached to the Goldsmith but noted there were seven televisions and background music at work.
Weather - cold and frosty at first. Mainly dry day with sunny spells 9C or 48 F.
Tonight dry at first with groundfrost. Cloud and rain and fresh winds later.
The Library reopens this evening from 7 to 9 pm. You are invited to come along. Please do.
Looking at Jack Quinn's "Through a Small Window" I have found that he composed three poems on Childhood. You have seen Childhood II recently. Await Childhood I.