New York sanitation worker wins scholarship to study Gaelic in Ireland

Ah ha hah haargh! A happy fool is better than a sad fool like you, a Horse’yeh GeeDee. Bown nut and bunny’s noches git. (Pardon my foolish French and Spanish!) Oíche mhaith do Ceann Mhara a sheacht.

jacers: Since you don't know Irish, or at least only have a rudimentary knowledge of it, by what craziness do you presume to claim there are "errors" in my Irish? If I write in French or Spanish will you also have the stupidity to claim to be able to detect "errors" in these other languages that you don't know? What a numbskull you are, jacers. You're an utter fool.

While mamaginnty and many others might feel there is little point in debating with George, I have to say that while I wouldn’t stoop so low as to be as derogatory as George, I do find he often speaks the truth, however unpalatable it may be. And anyway, isn’t it Irish Central’s policy to be controversial enough to provoke debate?

Apologies to Georgieboy for misreading the word ‘naimhde’ in his Irish post. I really should go to Specsavers because I read the word as a bad spelling of ‘naire’ (the letter ‘m’ looked like two ‘r’s to me). In fact, there are a few mistakes in his post that I ignored but was able to get the gist of what he was saying through Irish. The Irish he used was so different from what I once knew that I thought it might have been Ulster Irish, maybe Scots Irish in some words. In contrast, kinvara7’s post was much more fluent and I understood it pretty well compared to Geogieboy’s. I would also agree w/ kinvara7’s figures for Irish speakers – the Central Statistics Office (2002) says over 1.5 million people in Ireland have the ability to speak Irish while 2.2m don’t. The statistics also show that the number of people able to speak Irish has consistently and steadily grown since the foundation of the Irish State. Nach iontach sin!

kinvara: There's nothing to be ashamed about if your Irish is less than perfect. Is fearr Gaeilge bhriste na Bearla cliste. If you're just learning the language that's fine, kinvara. We all had to start somewhere. But by what stupidity do you claim to correct me? Where is my Irish incorrect, kinvara? Apparently you spotted mistakes; well why don't you point them out and discuss what is incorrect so that everyone here can see what a hopeless liar and idiot you are.

Where is my Irish incorrect George? Apparently you spotted mistakes; well why don't you point them out and discuss what is incorrect so that everyone here can see what a hopeless liar you are. I had to laugh when you said ‘expressed in his incorrect Irish, but we'll let it pass’. George, when do you ever leave anything pass? The only reason you are doing so here is because you have been caught out. You’re entertaining though, so keep up the posts. Deireadh seachtaine deas agat!

Kinvara7, push for the job as interpretor yourself, a lot of us would love to learn more.

Aw Jacersagain, kitchen sinks and smoking, a nono. Yes I get into a bad mood with GoergieD, he is such a liar. I mentioned unemployment only ONCE. I DO NOT back importing foreign labour. Tis himself who mentions foreiners in Ireland again and again. I am, as well as most of the people who joined I.C. fed up with HIS HATRED OF FOREIGNERS. Every comment he makes has at least one line added about foreigners. He just can't help himself, it's a sickness to carry so much hatred, plus his attacks on everyone else who make a comment. I am going to ignore him as others have done, he is just not worth the effort.

Among the nonsense Kinvara offers us in his pidgin Irish is the lunatic suggestion that "at least a million Irish" (expressed in his incorrect Irish, but we'll let it pass) are able to communicate in Irish. What do you mean by "communicate", Kinvara? Use Google translator like you do? But that only produces gibberish--such as you are offering here. What you are able to write, kinvara, is Pig English, it's not Irish. You disrespect the ancient language by abusing it as you do. Obama, who learned three Irish words, now knows three more words than most Irish people, and that probably includes you, kinvara. Anyone who knows Ireland and doesn't live in Leprechaunland as kinvara does realizes that the proposition that at least a million Irish can communicate in Irish is stupidity to the nth degree. If you live outside Ireland and therefore don't know what's going on there, aren't you even capable of reading and understanding the various reports that have come out on Irish language proficiency, you dope kinvara? If anyone is interested I can offer a bibliography, though I would be wasting my time with an amadan such as kinvara. You may try to get your nonsense past the rest of the American readers, kinvara, but you won't get it by me.

Just to expand on my comment below for those not familiar with Irish: George it is nice that you make an attempt to write in Irish; naturally I ignored the spelling mistakes and the type of grammatical mistakes that Google Translator generates (but sure don’t I ignore your spelling mistakes in English too). Finally, you talk about having ‘enemies’ on this site, (perhaps you’re being a little bit vain) if you do, all you need to do is look back over your previous posts. You need to calm down a small bit, and display a little bit more courtesy and a great deal more common sense. Is mise le meas, Kinvara7.

Bheinn sásta feidhmiú mar eagarthóir ar rannóg Theanga na Gaeilge; Thabharfainn cuireadh duit píosa a scríobh ach bheadh ort do líofacht sa teanga a fheabhsú. Tá sé go hiontach a fheiceáil, áfach, go bhfuil tú ábalta “Google Translator” a úsáid (creidim gur rud maith é, ar a laghad, go bhfuil tú ag déanamh iarracht). Is dóigh liom gur féidir linn go léir aontú gur ábhar díomá é nach bhfuil focal Gaeilge le feiceáil ar leathanach baile shuíomh “Irish Central”. Tá do chuid alt, go ginearálta, amaideach agus is léir é gur cheart duit smaoineamh sula scríobhann tú focal. Deir tú gur fíric é nach bhfuil focal Gaeilge ag Éireannaigh – is seafóid é sin. Chomh maith leis an 130,000 cáinteoir dúchais, tá suas le milliún duine, ar a laghad, atá ábalta cumarsáid a dhéanamh trí mheán na Gaeilge. Tá tuiscint níos fearr ag an gcuid eile den dhaonra ná mar a cheapann siad. Mar chríoch, is mian liom a rá gurb é an éagsúlacht is mó atá eadrainn nó go n-úsáidim loighic agus ciall agus mé ag freagairt ar ailt de chuid IC. Bhéarfaidh tú faoi deara go gcuirimse smaointe úsáideacha ar aghaidh maidir le cur chun cinn na teanga, iompar atá i gcodarsnacht go mór le ton agus ábhar do chuid ailt.

momma Ginnty is a hater. She hates me because I have pointed out her stupidity and hypocrisy--she whines about unemployment in Ireland, but she backs the Irish capitalists' project of importing unlimited foreign labor. As to Jacersagain, I really wish he wouldn't take it on himself to offer a translation of my post. If I want an English version I am the only person able to provide it. In this case, Jacersagain's effort at translation contains several "howlers", as my old Latin teacher used to put it. I won't bore readers by correcting every mistranslation perpetrated by this poster. Let me just mention one, however, because it changes the entire tone of my note. "He (i.e me, GD) finishes by saying that he wouldn’t be able to do such a thing and that he is ashamed for that." What stupid nonsense, jacers. I wouldn't give you even a C- in Irish translation. The phrase you made an utter mess of is "tá an iomarca naimhde agam anseo cheana féin." This was an ironic comment, to the effect that "I have enough enemies already". Your "translation" is a pile of caca. And you compound that imbecility by claiming I said I "wouldn't be able" to handle a site in Irish. More garbage. I never said that, because it's not true. I have better things to do than correct Ginnty's gibberish, however. Please, jacers, your heart is in the right place, but you have to realize that your Irish is much weaker than you had thought. It's certainly not up to translating my prose.

Typical response from mamaginnty, an otherwise lovely kind woman, in a bitchy mood. An' she thinks Irish wimmen shud be totally free of the kitchen sink?? What? What what what? (FYI of others, the quivalent SAM expression is simplified to "huh", a sound usually expressed by heavy smokers, followed by a polite ghuf.. followed by ghuff, ghurrghff guff, followed by aharrrrgh ghoof" and then silence, as cough spits are swallowed). Urrrgh!

His one and only friend did it for him, huh.

Is deas é a léamh cad a scríobhaigh GeorgeDillon (that is, assuming he didn’t get a translator to write it for him *heh heh*). Folks, for once, GeorgeDillon, who, erstwhile would have been George de Leon (ex-blood of the Normans in Ireland who became more Irish than the Irish themselves) has written something nice and good in response to kinvara7 (despite, typical of George, his unique insulting digs thrown in) at 02.45pm and I can understand his heartbreak over the fall-off of Irish language in everyday life in Ireland. Inter alia (oops! That’s Latin!), George asks why Irish Central doesn’t have an Irish/Gaeilge section where people can use the language to debat or comment between themselves. That’s good question, by George! (oops! That’s an English expression! Sorry! Mo bhróin) >> I don’t know what he means in referring to SAM (is that an Irish learning course in the USA or does it mean Stáit Aontaithe Mhéirica - as in Uncle Sam? - George would probably call me an imbecile for asking that question!) Anyways, I would not likely take part in such an Irish language discussion board on Irish Central, though I’d probably read comments on it; my Irish is too rusty now to be an-fhluirseach. Worst of all, there are no Irish scripts available to easily write and post in the Irish language. George also asks why don’t we posters write to ICentral’s owner and say that one of us would be willing to be editor of such section. He finishes by saying that he wouldn’t be able to do such a thing and that he is ashamed for that. George should not be ashamed. His post, written fully in Irish, is a great one. Maith a’ fear tú féin, a Sheoirse! (I love the English sound of that – a Horse’yeh!)