The Daniel O’Connell Heritage Trail
Guím Slán go UÍbh Ráthaigh
Fonn: Eoghan Cóir
Guím slán go hUíbh Ráthach go bhfillfir
A bhile de ras nan Gael
Den ráibfhuil dob fhearr ar bith sioladh
Ó Chonall geal Cearnach caomh!
Tá an t-ádh leat go brách is an ghoirm
Ó rithis go hard sa réim
Sin mAdh ‘gat ó Chlár a dhein cluiche
IIs do rugais id láimh
Do dheálramh I gcáile ní fheicim,
Ní chluinim a dtásc a méin,
San áitreabh sin Clár Luirc mar ritheann,
Is thar tonnaibh don Spáinn dá dtéann-n
Tá báidh ag an Ard-Mhac led shlite,
A bhile bhoig, álainn, sh eimh;
Is tú pátrún Phádrraig is Choilm
Fuair goirm in Oileán na Naomh
Is chomharsana, Comhairle dhibh tugaim,
Agus tógaig go háirithe é;
Bigi cóirithe I gcóir is I bhfoirm
Ag cur guithe I lAthair [Mhic] I Dé;
Bhur gCoróin Mhuire ghlórmhar bíodh agaibh,
Is an salm brae fós á léamh,
Ar son Dónaill ghil chróga mhic Mhurchaidh
D’fhilleadh is a námhaid go tréith!
(Translation)
May you return safely to Uíbh Ráthach
o scion of the Gaelic race
of the finest heroic blood that was ever sown –
from bright noble Conall Cearnach!
Luck and acclaim have been with you
since you rose high in your power.
The trump-card from Clare made the game yours
and you took the laurels in your hand.
Your likes for fame I do not see,
I hear not their report [nor][1] their disposition,
in that place called the Plain of Luirc[2] where I am
and [even] if I went over the waves to Spain.
Christ is sympathetic to your ways,
o soft, beautiful, gentle man of distinction;
you are the patron/model[3] of Patrick and Colm[cille]
who receive[s][4] acclaim in the Island of Saints[5].
O neighbours, I give ye this counsel,
and take particular note of it;
be correct in your behavious and your form,
praying to the son of God;
Conduct your glorious rosaries,
and read, still, the fine psalms,
that bright, brave Dónal, son of Murchadh
will return and his enemies laid low!
[1] I infer this word, although it is missing. I think there was probably the word 'ná' in this line originally, so it would originally have been: “Ní chluinim a dtásc ná a méin”.
[2] i.e. Ireland
[3] Either meaning of the two – or both – is possible here.
[4] It's not clear whether this line refers to Patrick and Colmcille or to Ó Conaill, possibly all. Hence the English must allow for the plural.
[5] i.e. Ireland
Tomás Ruadh Ó Súilleabháin (1785–1848), schoolmaster and poet in Irish, was born in Bán Ard, Derrynane, Co. Kerry. His father was a relation of Eoghan Rua Ó Súilleabháin. What little is known of his early life has been gleaned from his songs, which indicate that he travelled throughout Munster and spent time in Killarney, Cork, Limerick, Kilkenny, north Kerry, Dingle, and Dublin. Tomás received his earliest education in a school in Gort na Cille. He appears to have received patronage from the O'Connell family; according to Séamas Ó Fiannachta, sometime after 1818 he was sent by Daniel O'Connell to a teacher training college in Dublin, possibly that of the Kildare Place Society. O'Connell was a member of the Society's board until 1820. During Tomás's third year in college he contracted tuberculosis and was sent to the sanatorium on Cork St. by Seán Ó Riordáin, MD, a relation of O'Connell. While there he composed his best-known hymn, ‘A Rí an Domhnaigh’, in which he called on God and the Blessed Virgin to come to his assistance. After leaving Dublin he taught in various Co. Kerry schools including Caherdaniel, Portmagee, Aghatubrid, Ballinskelligs, Waterville, Cill Péacáin, Poll na nGeatairí, Drom Caor, Glenbeigh, and Séipéal an Chomhaid.
His compositions provide us with a tantalising insight into his own life and also in to contemporary life in Iveragh. Tomás was an enthusiastic supporter of Daniel O’Connell and wrote a number of songs in his honour, including two on the occasion of O'Connell's election as an MP for Co. Clare in 1828: ‘Guím slán go hUíbh Ráthach’ and ‘Is é Donall binn Ó Conaill caoin’.
He regularly attended social gatherings, accompanying his songs with a tune on the fiddle. An enthusiastic supporter of Daniel O'Connell, Another of Tomás Ruadh’s compositions that has survived in the area is, ‘An Gheadach á crú sa Ghleann’. He composed this after the confiscation of local widow’s cow in lieu of payment of tithe.
Ó Súilleabháin never married and died in 1848. He was buried in Achadh Mhór near Doire Fhionáin. A memorial plaque was erected on his grave in 1928.
References
Séamus Ó Fiannachta - Amhráin Thomáis Ruaidh (1914)
Máire Ní Shúilleabháin, Amhráin Thomáis Rua (1985);