Sir, – Terence Killeen’s article on the Joyce copyright issue (Home News, December 31st) reminds us about the approaching 70th anniversary of the writer’s death on January 13th 1941.
The event was marked at the time in The Irish Timesby that other great Irish writer Brian Ó Nualláin (alias Myles na gCopaleen, alias Flann O'Brien). In his column Cruiskeen Lawn on January 25th, 1941 Myles wrote the following comment in Irish (I have modernised the spelling): "Is cúis doilís agus trua dúinn gur éag an sár-éigeas Éireannach Séamus Seoige. Fágann a bhás gág do-líonta 'san saol ealaíona. Ar a bhealach féin chuir sé i bhfeidhm ar fud an domhain mhóir an stuaim liteartha is dúchasaí de threibh na tire seo. Ní raibh an saothar a rinne sé indéanta ag éinne ach ag Éireannach agus ar an ábhar sin tá an lítríocht a d'fhág sé 'na dhiaidh níos Gaelaí ná a lán atá againn ó dhaoine nár thuig focal Béarla. Tiocfaidh méadú ar chlú an scríbhneora seo le himeacht aimsire agus 'sa tír seo tiocfaidh meas air do réir mar thuigtear don choitiantacht cad is litríocht ann.
“Nuair a bheas údar inchurtha leis ag scríobh i nGaeilge, beidh an teanga mhathartha as baol agus ní bheidh go dtí sin. Ins an mheántráth, beidh an saothar cuanna mínmheilte sin againn – Séadna. Agus Niamh, An Béal Beo, An Mháthair, maraon lena lán trachlaise eile atá chomh bréagach mí-ghaelach is tá sí suarach.”
(The death of the great Irish writer James Joyce is a cause of sorrow and regret to us. His death leaves a great void in the world of arts. In his own way he displayed to the wider world the literary genius most native of the tribe of people who inhabit this country. His work could not have been created by anyone except an Irish person and on this basis the writings he has left us are more Gaelic than many of those we have from people who never understood a word of English. With the passage of time this writer’s fame will grow and in this country respect for him will increase as the generality of people come to understand what literature is.
Not until there is a comparable author writing in Irish will the mother tongue be out of danger. In the meantime we will have that comely finely-ground work Séadna. And Niamh, An Béal Beo, An Mháthair, as well as a lot of other rubbish that is as false and as ungaelic as it is contemptible. ).
This fascinating piece reminds us of the complex relationship between our bilingual heritage and our bilingual literatures as reflected in the lives and works of our great writers. It is also a reminder of the continuing relevance of the Irish language to a fully inclusive understanding of our cultural inheritance. This is a point which I think was missed in your special supplement (published on October 1st, 2011) to mark the 100th anniversary of Ó Nualláin’s birth. – Yours, etc,