Seanchas ón dTrá Bheag, Lios Póil Roibeard Ó Cathasaigh Páidí ‘Fitz’ Mac Gearailt (87) agus Tommy Evans (91) ag comhrá le Roibeard Ó Cathasaigh, 19/7/’20. Dheineas an taifeadadh seo d’Fhís na Féile a shruthaigh Coiste Pobail/Féile Lios Póil ar 1 Lúnasa 2020 ar www.liospoil.com. Baineann an tríú mír sheanchais leis an dTrá Bheag chomh maith, Seán Ó Súilleabháin (múinteoir Pháidí) a bhailigh ón Dhaid ceithre scór bliain ó shin, geall leis. 1.
him to come down into the tide, and faith, he realized what was going on, and he with his horse and car, he didn’t get out of the car, and he didn’t follow the beautiful mermaid, but he put his hand in his pocket and he took out his penknife, and he stuck it her, and she vanished. Anyway, he went home. Next day he took out his pipe to have a smoke – his pipe was empty. He got his half quarter of tobacco, and his penknife – but there was no penknife in the pocket, and he remembered what he was after doing with it, and he came straight down to the Áthán Buí to see if his penknife would be anywhere, and there it was stuck in a big frog, and he got his penknife back. Sin é an scéal – sin é mar a dúirt an múinteoir Seán Ó Súilleabháin linn é ar scoil, agus má tá bréag ann bíodh, mar, ní mise a chum ná a cheap é, ’sé Seán Ó Súilleabháin a cheap é!
T: Well, I saw – that was most unusual, I didn’t see it before then, and I didn’t see it since, but then again I don’t be there too often – back at The Carraig at the mouth of the Short Strand, at turn of tide, there was a flood in the river first of all, and they were waiting for the spring tide to turn up – salmon – fine big salmon jumping all over the place, waiting to move up with the tide. I have never seen a shoal of salmon – they were there by the hundreds, I’m not adding to it, they were there by the hundreds, God only knows how many were there. And the minute the tide started to turn, you could see them moving up along the shore – one way passage for a lot of them, I’d say! R: Agus ar deireadh, tá seanará agat dúinn. T: ‘Tóg nuair a gheobhair, mar b’fhéidir, nuair a loirgeoir ní bhfaighir.’
R: Ardfhear, gura míle míle maith agat, a Pháidí.
R: Gura maith agatsa as an méid atá tugtha agat dúinn, agus táimid ana- bhuíoch díot.
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T: Fáilte romhat! *Féach Pádraig Ó Siochfradha, P., Triocha-Céad Chorca Dhuibhne (Baile Átha Cliath 1939), lch. 155: ‘An tÁthán Buidhe. Cuid den bhóthar iseadh é fé bhun tighthe An Tobair. Éirigheann taoidí rabharta go hard ós cionn an bhóthair ann.’ I gcomhrá le Breandán Ó Cíobháin i dtaobh an datha atá luaite leis an logainm úd, dar leis, gur minic go mbaineann an dath a áirítear le logainm le cáilíocht fé leith nó le tabhairt fé ndeara ag am nó tráth áirithe a thugann bonn don ndath, sa chás seo ‘buí’ a dh’éireodh, b’fhéidir, as sní an iarainn in uiscí an phortaigh a d’fhágfadh scáil bhuí ar chlocha ghrinneall an átha.
Páidí 'Fitz' Mac Gearailt Grianghraf le Roibeard Ó Cathasaigh Roibeard: Fáilte go ‘Fís na Féile 2020’. Táimid anso cois Trá Bige agus faram tá beirt sheanchara, Páidí ‘Fitz’ Mac Gearailt ón nDroichead ó dhúchas agus Tommy Evans ón dTobar, agus táimid chun mírín scéalaíochta a thabhairt daoibh anois. Tosnóimid leatsa, a Pháidí – conas tánn tú? Páidí: Go maith, buíochas le Dia. R: Is maith san. Anois, tá seanará agatsa a bhaineann leis an dtráigh a mhúin an múinteoir daoibh, abair leat. P: Seán Ó Súilleabháin, fadó fadó riamh. Deireadh sé linn go raibh an Trá Bheag anso: ‘Bíonn trá na ndomhan tuilte nuair a bhíonn tráigh na bhfaoileann tráite,’ sin é dúirt sé linn. R: Tá san ráite go deas – agus mar bharr air sin, tá scéal púcaí agat a bhaineas leis an dtráigh anso, a d’inis sé daoibh. P: (Gáirí) Tá ceann agam mar gheall ar an Áthán Buí* – bhí fear ón dTobar nó Cinn Aird sa mhargadh sa Daingean agus bhí taoscán ólta aige during an lá, agus nuair a bhí sé ag teacht abhaile tháinig sé go dtí’n Áthán Buí – the Áthán Buí anso down at the bottom of Tobar Village, and, at that time the tide used to come into the road – since then the Council raised the road and the high tide don’t come in there any more, but at that time they’d be a couple of foot of water on the road. But when he came to the Áthán Buí there was a mermaid in from the sea coaxing 18 West Kerry Live
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'Ghaibheas Aniar Barra Poill a’ Bháid ...' Rí na Trá Bige! Tommy Evans Grianghraf le Roibeard Ó Cathasaigh Roibeard: Anois, a Tommy, conas tánn tú inniu? Tommy: Ara, ag strácáil, táimid a déanamh maith go leor, buíochas mór le Dia. R: Ar dtúis, cad is aois duit, a Tommy? T: Naocha h-aon, agus cúpla mí leis. R: Well, in those ninety odd years you must have seen many iontas down here in the Trá Bheag, can you recall one or two of them, led thoil. T: Well, I remember this happened in 1942, the biggest gale and high tide I ever saw, I think it was around 1942 or three, there was a spring tide and a gale to the back of it, it did a lot of damage, knocked fences and everything, and it put barra taoide up on tha Áthán Buí that Paudie was telling you about, and in the barra taoide was dead fish – battered off the rocks. I’ve never seen it since, there was a line of fish up on the fence by the Council workers when they were clearing the place. R: And to finish, one other iontas that you saw.
Mír sheanchais a d'eachtraigh Pádraig Ó Súilleabháin (81), Cinn Aird dá mhac Seán Ó Súilleabháin, O.S., 22/8/1941 Pádraig: Ghaibheas aniar barra Poill a’ Bháid lá samhraidh agus chonac amuigh sa loig [hollow] in aice na Srúlach an breac agus a bholg le gréin aige – chomh geal le sneachta, agus gan thar troigh uisce san áit. Chaitheas díom mo bhróga agus ní fada bhíos ar a thí agus d’éalaíos amach. Bhíos ag cuimhneamh go m’fhéidir go raibh sé marbh. Nuair a thánga os a chionn, chonac a sceolbhach ag oscailt agus ag iamh. Chuireas an dá láimh greamaithe ann – lámh thiar ar chaol a eireabaill agus an lámh eile amuigh aigena cheann agus d’fháisceas i gcoinne an talaimh é. Bhíos ag ionfairt is ag aistriú na méireanna amach go bhfuaireas an sceolmhach aige. Ní raibh aon bhaol orm ansan, agus thugas liom den iarracht san é. Bhí cuid mhaith cairteacha gainimhe (LS gainmhí ) ar an eitir [submerged sandbank] agus d’fheicfeá an t-ionadh a bhí orthu – fámaire de bhas gheal a bhí trí troithe ar fhaid. Foinse/Source: CBÉ 1065:86-7; Táim buíoch don Stiúrthóir, An Dr Críostóir Mac Cárthaigh, as cead a thabhairt an t-ábhar seo ó Chnuasach Bhéaloideas Éireann a fhoilsiú anseo.
