Ní dócha go mbeadh oiread ratha ar an úrscéal 1984 dá mba rud é gur chloígh an t-údar George Orwell lena rún ‘The last man in Europe’ a thabhairt air. Ach don té a thugann cuairt ar Chnoc an tSabhail ar Oileán Diùra na hAlban an áit inar scríobhadh an leabhar cáiliúil úd, ba dhoiligh smaoineamh ar theideal níba fhóirsteanaí dó. Óir roghnaigh Orwell dul i mbun pinn i gceann de na háiteanna is scoite amach ar cheann de na hoileáin is iargúlta san Eoraip.
EXPLICO ALGUNAS COSAS Pablo Neruda PREGUNTARÉIS: Y dónde están las lilas? Y la metafísica cubierta de amapolas? Y la lluvia que a menudo golpeaba sus palabras llenándolas de agujeros y pájaros? Os voy a contar todo lo que me pasa. Yo vivía en un barrio de Madrid, con campanas, con relojes, con árboles. Desde allí se veía el rostro seco de Castilla como un océano de cuero. Mi casa era llamada la casa de las flores, porque por todas partes estallaban geranios: era una bella casa con perros y chiquillos. Raúl, te acuerdas? Te acuerdas, Rafael? Federico, te acuerdas debajo de la tierra, te acuerdas de mi casa con balcones en donde la luz de junio ahogaba flores en tu boca? Hermano, hermano! Todo eran grandes voces, sal de mercaderías, aglomeraciones de pan palpitante, mercados de mi barrio de Argüelles con su estatua como un tintero pálido entre las merluzas: el aceite llegaba a las cucharas, un profundo latido de pies y manos llenaba las calles, metros, litros, esencia aguda de la vida, pescados hacinados, contextura de techos con sol frío en el cual la flecha se fatiga, delirante marfil fino de las patatas, tomates repetidos hasta el mar. Y una mañana todo estaba ardiendo y una mañana las hogueras salían de la tierra devorando seres, y desde entonces fuego, pólvora desde entonces, y desde entonces sangre. Bandidos con aviones y con moros, bandidos con sortijas y duquesas, bandidos con frailes negros bendiciendo venían por el cielo a matar niños, y por las calles la sangre de los niños corría simplemente, como sangre de niños. Chacales que el chacal rechazaría, piedras que el cardo seco mordería escupiendo, víboras que las víboras odiaran! Frente a vosotros he visto la sangre de España levantarse para ahogaros en una sola ola de orgullo y de cuchillos! Generales traidores: mirad mi casa muerta, mirad España rota: pero de cada casa muerta sale metal ardiendo en vez de flores, pero de cada hueco de España sale España, pero de cada niño muerto sale un fusil con ojos, pero de cada crimen nacen balas que os hallarán un día el sitio del corazón. Preguntaréis por qué su poesía no nos habla del sueño, de las hojas, de los grandes volcanes de su país natal? Venid a ver la sangre por las calles, venid a ver la sangre por las calles, venid a ver la sangre por las calles! * * * MÌNICHIDH MI RUD NO DHÀ Le Pablo Neruda (Eadar-theangaichte le F. MacFhionnlaigh) Bidh a' cheist agaibh: Càite bheil na liathchòrcran? Agus a' mheatafiosaig loma-làn de chrom-lusan? Agus an t-uisge a spairteas fhaclan gan tur-lìonadh le tuill agus le eòin? Innsidh mi dhuibh gach uile nì a thachair. Bha mi còmhnaidh ann an iomall baile Mhadrid còmhla ri gleocaichean is cluig is craobhan. Bhon siod chìteadh aodann tioram Chastilla mar mhuir leathair. Is e taigh nam blàth a chanadh iad rim thaigh-sa, oir às gach cùil spreadh geiréiniaman: is e taigh snog a bh'ann le coin is cloinn, A Raùil, eil cuimhnead? Cuimhnead, a Rafaeil? A Fhederico, a bheil cuimhn' agadsa is tu fon talamh, cuimhne air mo thaigh le for-uinneagan far am bàthadh solas an Ògmhios blàthan nad bheul? A bhràthair, a bhràthair! Cha robh ann ach guthan àrda, salann marsantachd, cruachan measgte de dh'aran plosgartach, margaidhean m' iomall de Arguelles le ìomhaigh mar sheas-dubh glas-neulach fo smùid na mara: an ola cur thairis air a chuid spàinean ladarna, frith-bhualadh domhainn chasan is làmhan a' lìonadh nan sràid, meatairean is liotairean, brìgh gheur na beatha, èisg laghach air an càrnadh, co-inneach mhullaichean fo ghrèin fhuair anns am bi an gath-sìde a' fàs sgìth, màrmor grinn air mhire a' bhuntàta, a lìon tomàto is tomàto chun na mara. Agus madainn a bha seo cha robh ann ach lasraichean agus madainn a bha seo siod tùrlaichean a' leum às an talamh gus daoine a shlugadh, agus bho sin a-mach teine a' bhuidealaich bho sin a-mach, agus bho sin a-mach fuil. Slaightearan le itealain is eich, slaightearan le fàinnean is bana-diùcan, slaightearan le sagartan dubha beannachadh thàinig iad tro na speuran a chur às do chloinn, agus tro na sràidean siod fuil na cloinne a' ruith gu sìmplidh, mar fhuil chloinne. Seacalan air an dèanadh seacal tàir, clachan nach teumadh cluaran gun smugaid, viopairean a chuireadh gràin air viopairean! Fa ur comhair chì mi fuil na Spàinne càrnadh an-àirde gus ur bàthadh le aon tonn a-mhàin de dh'àrdan is sginean! A sheanailearan cealgacha: seallaibh air mo thaigh marbh, seallaibh air an Spàinn mhillte: ach às gach taigh marbh thig meatailt loisgeach an àite fhlùraichean, ach às gach leanabh marbh thig isneach le sùilean, ach às gach eucoir beirear peilearan a lorgas là air choireigin cuspair ur cridhe. Theid fhaighneachd carson nach ann a-mach air aislingean agus duilleagan a tha a chuid bàrdachd, agus air beanntan-teine tìr a bhreithe? Thigibh is faicibh an fhuil anns na sràidean, thigibh is faicibh an fhuil anns na sràidean, thigibh is faicibh an fhuil anns na sràidean! (Eadar-theangaichte dhan Ghàidhlig le Fearghas MacFhionnlaigh 2015) ***
Published on Jan 1, 2014 Cuirtear síos sa tsraith seo ar scéal an aonaid mhíleata "The Irish Brigade", scéal nár insíodh riamh cheana. Bhí an t-aonad seo ar cheann de na haonaid a b'fhearr i gCogadh Cathartha Mheiriceá. Sa dara clár (dhá cuid measctha le chéile .. níl ann ach sliocht), bíonn an Ginearál Thomas Francis Meagher trína chéile de bharr uafáis an chogaidh. Bíonn fir an Irish Brigade ag ullmhú do na cathanna ríthábhachtacha Fredericksburg agus Gettysburg. This docudrama reveals the untold story of one of the greatest military units of the American Civil War: The Irish Brigade. This episode starts with Antietam, Maryland, where the legend of the Irish Brigade began. The Irish Brigade. In the second episode (both episodes joined, but some missing) of Fág an Bealach, the American Civil War reaches its bloody climax. As General Thomas Francis Meagher is overcome by the horror of war, the men of the Irish Brigade prepare for the crucial battles of Fredericksburg and Gettysburg which will decide their fate. In April 1861 the most destructive conflict in American History, the Civil War, began. Across the American continent, thousands of Irish men and women were caught up in the nationalistic fever that gripped both northern and southern states. The phrase "Fág an Bealach" means 'Clear the Way' (anglicised 'Faugh a ballagh'). It was the battle cry of the Irish Brigade. The phrase echoed across the bloody battlefields of Virginia, Maryland and Pennsylvania. Here, the legend of the 'Fighting Irish' was born. At the centre of the Irish Brigade's story is its founder, the controversial and charismatic General Thomas Francis Meagher. Meagher, or "Meagher of the Sword", is the one of the most famous Irishmen in Civil War America. Meagher created the Irish Flag, the tricolour that decades later would fly above the GPO during the 1916 Easter Rising. In 1848 he was sentenced to death for his part in the Young Irelander's rebellion but, with public pressure, he was instead exiled to Australia. In 1852 he made a daring escape to America, where he was lauded as a hero. Yet he had a dark side, leaving his pregnant wife in Australia and later struggling with alcoholism. Meagher is a hugely colourful, conflicted and enigmatic character. Tile Films cast leading Irish actor Don Wycherley (Rásaí na Gaillimhe; Ondine; Perrier's Bounty) in the pivotal role of General Thomas Francis Meagher. Fenian, Donegal man James McKay Rorty played by Irish actor Jonathan Byrne (8.5 hours; Primeval) rose through the ranks of the Irish Brigade to become a captain of artillery at Gettysburg. Captured at the famous battle of Bull Run, he makes a bold escape to fight at other epic battles of the Civil War. Irish priest Fr. William Corby played by American actor John Neely (Gettysburg; the speech that saved America) gave up a comfortable teaching post to minister to the men of the Irish Brigade and in the process became the most famous priest in America. He became known as the 'Fighting Chaplain' and no spot on the battlefield was too dangerous or too exposed to the fire of the enemy for this priest. Irish-American Peter Welsh, played by Colin D. Farrell (The Ghosts of Duffy's Cut; Death or Canada) found himself caught up in the tide of war and provided a personal, gripping account of battles such as Fredericksburg, where the Irish Brigade was all but decimated. New York socialite and Irish Brigade fundraiser Maria Lydig Daly, played by Lesa Thurman (Thor; Gift of the Magi), chronicles life on the home-front. The participation of these Irish people in the war was crucial for the creation of modern Irish-America, as they proved their loyalty to their adopted homeland. Filmed on location in Ireland and in the U.S.A., this two part HD Docudrama series, FÁG AN BEALACH, was a 2011 Tile Films co-production for TG4 / Smithsonian Channel. ____________________
Clár faisnéise TG4 30-bomaite faoi Eoghan Ó Duinnín, Éireannach a throid in éadan an fhaisisteachais i gCogadh Cathartha na Spáinne sna 1930í. Bhí sé ina bhall den Bhriogáid Idirnáisúnta. Léann Brendan Gleeson sleachta as beathaisnéis Downing. Cf, Leabhar, "La Nina Bonita agus An Róisín Dubh: cuimhní cinn ar Chogadh Cathartha na Spáinne" (An Clóchomhar, 1986)
_________ The story of Eugene Downing, working class Dublin Gaeilgeoir and left wing radical who joined the International Brigade and fought against Fascism in the Spanish Civil War. Brendan Gleeson reads extracts from Downing's memoirs.
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Clár faoi oidhreacht agus traidisiúin Ghaelacha phobail phrotastúnacha na hÉireann (2011). A programme about the Gaelic heritage and traditions of Ireland's protestant communities (2011).
