Local History
Pilib Barún is ainm domMy name is Philip Barron (Ainm.ie, 2016)
Pilib Barún: Stair BheachtPhilip Barron: A Brief History (Daithí de Paor, 2009)
Rugadh Pilib Barún i bPort Lairge i 1803. Ball de chlann saibhir ab ea é go raibh taillte acu i bPort Mhór, Port Láirge. Thug sé tacaíocht do Chumann na gCaitliceach ag Dónall ó Chonaill agus bhunaigh sé nuachtain ag tacú le fuascailt na gCaitliceach i lár na 1820idí. D’fhoilsigh sé alt áfach a thug míchlú ar iarthóir freasúra toghcháin agus tar éis cás cúirte gearradh pionós airgid air agus bhí ar eirí as an bhfoilsitheoireacht nuachtáin.
Born in 1803, Philip Barron came from a wealthy family based in Ferrybank, Waterford. As a young man he supported O’Connell’s Catholic Association. Involved in newspaper publishing, he was sued by a political opponent of O’Connell for slander and the resultant legal fines and costs brought his newspaper career to an abrupt end.
Bhí taillte aige i Seafield, Bun Machan taobh leis na mianaigh copair. Bhí daonra mór bailithe sa cheantar de bharr na deiseanna fostaíochta a bhí ar fáil sna mianaigh céanna agus b’í Gaeilge teanga na cosmuintire ann a bhí gan oideachas. Mar thionscnamh dá dheoin neamspeách féin agus gan aon chúnamh ó thogra scoileanna naisiúnta an stáit do bhunaigh sé scoil a mhúin na hábhair ar fad trí mheán na Gaeilge. Thóg sé foirgneamh galánta tríspuacah agus d’fhoilsigh sé sraith leabhartha caighdeánaithe léitheoireachta agus iris sheachtainiúl Ancient Ireland.
His family owned land in Seafield, Bonmahon on the Copper Coast in Co. Waterford and it was to this estate that he devoted his energies. The area was a large centre of population at the time as copper mining was a thriving enterprise drawing Cornish miners to work along side poor Irish-speaking labourers.
Bhí a mheoin féin aige maidir le Gaeilge. Nior thacaigh sé le Ó Conaill agus go leor dá lethéid a chaith anuas ar Ghaeilge agus a mhol an Béarla mar theanga nua-aiimseartha a thabharfadh buntáiste eacnaimíochta dóibh siúd a labharfadh é. Chreid sé go raibh saibhreas sa Ghaeige agus go mba choir go dtabharfaí deis ag lucht a labhartha a ghnó a dhéanamh agus a oideachais a fháil trí mheán na Gaeilge. Rinne sé beart de réir a bhriathar idir na blianta 1834-35.
Philip did not share O’Connell’s views on the Irish language, seeing its preservation as a cause worth fighting for. A man of action, he undertook the construction of a three-spired college on his land and he published a series of easy Irish primers and a weekly magazine during a brief period from 1834-35. His aim was to teach all conventional subjects in his college through the medium of Irish.
Mana Philib Barún: Beidh an Ghaodhailigh fá mheas fós
His slogan was: Irish will yet be in great esteem
Ní raibh rath ar a scoil mar bhí sé ag freastal ar phobal gan airgead agus le costaisí foilsitheoireachta agus tógála ídíodh a mhaointe go sciopaí. Ní bhfuair sé tacaíocht óna chomhuaisle mar ar nós Uí Chónaill bhi an tuairim láidir ann ná raibh todhchaí ag an nGaeilge. Theip ar an gColáiste agus theith Pilib is cosúil óna chreidiúnaithe. Is beag eolas atá againn faoi ina dhiaidh ach deirtear go bhfuil sé curtha i bPáras na Fraince.
Without state financial support and in light of the cynicism of his peers Philip’s revolutionary education project, although decades ahead of its time, was unfortunately doomed to fail. Within months it had closed and he fled his creditors to the continent, subsequently dying in Paris.
Tá Gaelscoil Philib Barún, sa Trá Mhór ar an gCósta Copair tiomsaithe dá oidhreacht.
Gaelscoil Philib Barún is proudly dedicated to the legacy of a lone visionary who was true to his ideals.
Pilib Barún: Fear MistéirePhilip Barron: Man of Mystery (Dóirín Ni Mhurchú, 1976)
Is alt fiorshuimiúl é Pilib Barún: Fear Mistéire go bhfuil ardmheas air mar bheatháisnéis. Scríofa ag Dóirín Ní Mhurchú i 1976 don sraith ag The Old Waterford Society agus athscríofa go digiteach agus aistrithe do shuíomh Ghaelscoil Phlib Barún.
Philip Barron: Man of Mystery is a fascinating and highly regarded account of the life of Philip Barron. It was written by Dóirín Ni Mhurchú in 1976 for the The Old Waterford Society’s “Decies” series and has been digitally transcribed especially for the Pilib Barún website.
Peats Burns: An Cainteoir Dúchas Deireanach?Pats Burns: The Last Native Irish Speaker? (Breandán ó Cathbhuaidh, 2009)
San eagrán is deireanaí den leabhair an Linn Bhuí tá alt suimiúl scríofa ag Breandán ó Cathbhuaidh ar Peats Burns, seanchaí, a mhair i nDún na mBreatain, siar ó Fhionnúr go dtí deireadh na seascaidí. Bhí Gaeilge ó dhúchais aige agus neart scéalta is amhráin déiseach ar eolas aige. Arbh é an cainteoir dúchais is deireanaí in Oir-Dhéise? Is féidir an t-alt ina iomlán ag Breandán Ó Cathbhuaidh a rochtain anseo.
In the 2009 edition of An Linn Bhuí: Iris Ghaeltacht na nDéise, Breandán ó Cathbhuaidh has contributed an article on Pats Burns of Dunabrattin, west of Fenor, who could have been the last native Irish speaker in the area. We have received permission to reproduce the article here for those interested.
Pats Burns lived in a cottage on the Coast road and and farmed the acre of land that went with the cottage selling vegetables and produce in nearby Tramore. Brendan Coffey, the author, visited him in the 1960’s and recorded conversations with him covering local lore and history. Pats spoke of stories he heard of the poet Donncha Rua and the songs of the Déise. What is interesting to note is that having listened to a recording of a traditional singer from Ring, Pats said he had never been to what we now regard as the only Gaeltacht in Waterford. He was an echo of a world and tradition forever lost, as the article’s author puts it- Oisín i ndaidh na Féinne, Oisín after the Fianna. Alas, Brendan’s tapes of Pats have not survived but he has been recorded by RTÉ. It is hoped that the tapes can be found in the archive and we will yet hear a native of the area speak the language and dialect so dear to Philip Barron.
