Go mbeannaí Dia daoibh and hello to Belfasters young and old – and everyone else of course – you’re all welcome to the Bluffer’s Guide to Irish.
I bumped into an old friend - bhuail mé le seanchara liom - and we had a cappuccino in Nine Squared in Sráid na Banríona - Queen Street.
Bhain an comhrá leis an cheol - the conversation was about music agus leis an pholaitíocht - and with politics and on leaving, the friend, Fergus Ó hÍr, asked what building used to be ar an taobh eile den tsráid - on the other side of the street, the scene of many demonstrations in the past.
The Bluffer couldn’t remember until he was reminded that it was where Consalacht na Stát Aontaitathe - the US Consulate stood.
Demonstrators against the Vietnam War and other US wrongdoing would gather there to protest on a fairly regular basis in the 1970s.
But Queen Street was famous for other matters.
By a happy coincidence both the Bluffer and Fergus had the same book in their málaí droma - backpacks.
The bilingual English and Irish book is called An Ghaeilge agus Lár Bhéal Feirste - The Irish Language and Central Belfast and was written by north Belfast man and Professor of Modern Irish at Maynooth, Dr Fionntán de Brún.
The building beside where the Bluffer and Fergus stood was known between 1913 and 1915 as An Ardscoil Ultach - the Ulster High School but is now the excellent Golden Thread Gallery at number 27 Queen Street.
At 49, Queen Street, The Belfast Branch of the Gaelic League – which was formed at 32 Beersbridge Road in 1895 – had a céilí and a meeting where the poet and native Irish speaker from Donegal, Pádraig Ó Beirn described his recent trip to New York promoting Irish.
Fionntán’s book is full of surprising facts and great stories about Belfast city centre’s unacknowledged Gaelic heritage.
The Bluffer didn’t know, for example, that the man who designed the Robinson and Cleaver building as well as the Scottish Provident building and the Ocean Buildings at the corner of Donegall Square East was also Leas-Uachtarán - Vice-President of Cómhluchd Chlanna Ghaoidhil or the Philo-Celtic Society in Belfast.
Fionntán writes that at the start of the 20th century, the Gaelic League ran a campaign to get service in Irish from the major shops in Belfast at the time, including Robinson and Cleaver.
Meanwhile, in College Square North, the Philo-Celtic Society ran Irish classes for women in the Old Museum and in the same street, The Belfast Naturalists’ Field Club had a class in the rooms of the Belfast Natural History and Philosophical Society.
I didn’t know that Marcus Ward was the driving force behind the Philo-Celtic Society. Marcus Ward Street is bedside where the Movie House cinema used to be.
There is so much to learn from this slim volume, beautifully produced by An Sagart, An Ghaeilge agus lár Bhéal Feirste is available from An Ceathrú Póilí at anceathrupoili.com
CÚPLA FOCAL
bhuail mé le seanchara liom (wooil may le shankhara lum) - I bumped into an old friend
Sráid na Banríona (sridyge ne banreena) - Queen Street
Bhain an comhrá leis an cheol (win un cora lesh an kyawl) - the conversation was about music
agus leis an pholaitíocht (agis lesh un folitcheeakht) - and with politics
ar an taobh eile den tsráid (er un teeoo ella den triydge) - on the other side of the street
Consalacht na Stát Aontaitathe (consalacht na staat aynteeha) - the US Consulate
málaí droma (maalee druma) - backpacks
An Ghaeilge agus Lár Bhéal Feirste (un gaylig agis laar vayl farshta) - The Irish language and central Belfast
An Ardscoil Ultach (an ardskull ultakh) - the Ulster High School
Leas-Uachtarán (lass-ookhtaraan) - Vice-President
Cómhluchd Chlanna Ghaoidhil (coe-lukht khlana gayl) - the Philo-Celtic Society