I Leabhar Gabhála na hÉireann i samhlaíocht ár sean, bhailigh Fénius Farsaid plúr na dteangacha eile le chéile ag Túr Bhaibil sa tSean-Tiomna – agus as an chuid is fearr de na teangacha eile chruthaigh sé féin agus a gharmhac, Gaedhel Glas, An Ghaeilge. I samhlaíocht phobal Chathair Ard Mhacha, tá an obair a thosaigh Fénius Farsaid in aimsir an tSean-tiomna ag leanstan ar aghaidh inniu le tógáil Aonach Mhacha.
A aíonna ionúin agus a phobal na páirte, ar dtús, ba mhaith liom buíochas a ghabháil le mo chomhthaistealaithe ar an turas seo go háirithe, Áinín Uí Chaiseide, Seán Ó Maoilsté agus Gearóid Ó Machail anseo, draoi na fiontraíochta sóisialta. Bhí triúr seo mar a bheadh deartháireacha agus deirfiúr le dhá bhliain déag anuas, buíochas lenár dteaghlaigh, lenár gcairde uilig a thug tacaíocht iomlán agus buíochas lenár maoinitheoirí ar fad.
I Mí Iúil 2011, bhí muid in Iúr Cinn Trá le Stephen McClellend agus bhí orainn pictiúr d’Aonach Mhacha a tharraingt – tháinig an sofheicthe ón dofheicthe. Seo an pictiúr a tharraing muid an lá sin agus atá díreach cosúil le hAonach Mhacha mar atá againn inniu – idir an dá ardeaglais – nótaí ceoil ag teacht amach as na fuinneogaí, trí leibhéal – Ach an rud is suntasaí faoin phictiúr seo, nuair a tarraingíodh é bhí muid ag díriú ar láithreacha eile ar fad – ar sheanstóras Dunnes nó ar Uimhir 1 Na Seachtar Deirfiúcha – Tharraing muid an pictiúr seo cúpla bliain sular dhírigh muid ar an láthair seo – áit a bhfuil muid inniu, an sean-stáisiún dóiteáin. Ritheann ceist mhór liom – Cé nó cad é a tharraing an pictiúir seo? Cén chumhacht chiúin a bhí taobh thiar dínn agus a raibh fios an bhealaigh aici sula raibh a fhios againn go fiú? B’fhéidir go bhfuil sé fíor an méid a scríobh WH Auden sa bhliain 1939, ‘We are being lived by powers we pretend to understand.’
Baile na Gaeilge i gCathair Ard Mhacha agus don cheantar máguaird an fhís a bhí agus atá againn d’Aonach Mhacha; Eamhain Mhacha don aonú haois is fiche. I 2008, bhí pobal na Gaeilge ag éilimh cúltúrlainne anseo in Ard Mhacha mar a bhí acu i mBéal Feirste agus i nDoire agus bhí fíorú na físe sin ag bráth orainn; leithéid Ghearóid, Sheáin agus Áinín anseo. Cuireadh cloigneacha le chéile, cuireadh gualainneacha le chéile agus cuireadh croíthe le chéile.
Leoga bhí crá croí go leor, bhí castachtaí go leor agus bhí coinníollacha go leor – ach Festina Lente, deifir a dhéanamh go mall – Festina Lente. Cinnte leag muidne gach rud amach agus rinne muid ár ndícheall an oiread píosaí a chur in ord agus ab fhéidir . Ach minic go leor bhíodh orainn imeacht a chodladh agus dul sa tseans go mbíodh cuiditheoirí amuigh ansin réidh le teacht i gcabhair orainn agus arís agus arís eile thagadh siad mar a thagadh na síogaí chuig an ghréasaí agus a bhean chéile san fhinscéal;
Phelim Maguire mar shampla, Caoimhín Mac Giolla Mhín, Antoine Ó Coileáin, Tomás Mac Gabhann, Aodán Mac Póilín agus Róise Ní Bhaoill, Sarah Cargill, Breandán Ó Cuireáin, Mark Curran, Réaltán Ní Leanáin, Mark and Conor Reilly, Brian Vallely, James Prunty, Sighle Fitzgerald agus na céadta eile agus ní bhíodh le déanamh againn ach spás agus am a thabhairt dóibh ar nós na síogaí sna finscéaltaí.
Téann fréamhacha Aonach Mhacha siar go domhain sa stair chomh fada siar leis na Ceiltigh ar Bhruach na Danóibe, chomh fada siar le Macha í féin. Téann ár bhfréamhacha soir fosta go dtí an Bhreatain Bheag áit a raibh coilíneachtaí ag na Gaeil idir an 6ú agus 9ú hAois agus áit ar d’fhág siad clocha Ogham scríofa go dátheangach, sa Laidin agus sa Ghaeilge. D’iompar na hÉireannaigh seo a scéaltaí miotais soir leo agus thiontaigh Eamhain Mhacha s’againne go Camelot, thiontaigh Conchúr mac Neasa go Rí Arthur, thiontaigh Cú Chulainn agus Feargus mac Róich go Gawain agus Lancelot, Eimhear go Guinevir agus thiontaigh Bricre go Merlin. Is maith agus is ró-mhaith mar sin go bhfuil an Cór Meibion Caldicot as an Bhreatain Bheag linn inniu. Is maith fosta go bhfuil na ceoltóirí ó Albain linn, Bríghde Chaimbeul agus Ailean Dómhnallach. I samhlaíocht ár sean chuaigh Cúchulainn go hAlbain le healaíon na troda a fhoghlaim ag Scáthach agus ba thall a tháinig Conlaoch, a mhac le hAoife ar an tsaol. Ba ar gharmhac le Fénius Farsaid a bhailigh an Ghaeilge le chéile ag Túr Babel, Gaedhel Glas, a bhí Scota na hÉigipte pósta; Scota, leasdeirfiúr Tutankhamen, agus an banphrionsa a thug a hainm d’Albain. Nach mbheadh Scota na hÉigipte, agus Macha Rua s’againne de chuid Ard Mhacha an-sona go deo le sleachta a sleachta le chéile anseo inniu – col cheathracha Ceilteacha le chéile. Cuireann sé ola ar ár gcroíthe ceoltóirí agus amhránaithe agus oirfidigh eile as Ard Mhacha go cinnte a fheiceáil agus a chloisteáil anseo inniu. Fleadh Bhricreann don aonú haois is fiche a bheas againn inniu gan dabht.
Our feast today will be a gentle feast; no squabbling over the champion’s portion, for that will be evenly distributed. No war of words amongst the women either – but a gentle feast – for was it not Bricriú himself, the most contrary of all, Bricriú of the poisonous tongue, who oft said, ‘Louder to me a whisper than to others a gulder.’
In Aonach Mhacha we will bring like-minded people together to promote our language in creative and innovative ways. We are all, at this very moment, hurtling through what John O’Donohue called ‘the anonymity of space’, at 67K miles per hour and rotating away time at up to 1000 miles per hour. So we need attraction such as Aonach Mhacha that we might have the courage to ‘walk on air’ against our ‘better judgment’ as Heaney suggested; to take risks and to be innovative. Although Aonach Mhacha is of its time, ultra modern, we hope to be informed by the wisdom crystallized in our ancient Gaelic tongue – what James Hillman called our ancient incubation. We will be aware of the revitalising breath of our Gaelic ancients in our own words today. For are not so many of our modern problems as a society here in Armagh and across the globe at least partly due to an all too sudden break with our ancient and traditional wisdom – progress at all costs is not working – we need to slow down – Revisit our ancient ways – not them all but the best of that ancient wisdom in the same way Fénius Farsaid identified the finest parts of all the other languages at the Tower of Babel to make the language of the Gael in the imagination of our antecedents.
The Irish language will continue to grow as we collectively strive to restore and strengthen it and give expression to all its rich heritage in places like Aonach Mhacha – But the truth of the matter is we cannot do this without proper resourcing for the Irish language here in Armagh or throughout this Island.
We invite all who enter Aonach Mhacha to connect with our linguistic and cultural past in the all important present; for a cup of tea and a chat, to buy a wedding gift from Mary’s shop, to speak some Irish or to learn some Irish, to attend a talk or a lecture or to become a much needed volunteer or a business sponsor offering us a lift as we get up and running – Financial philanthropists helping what are these cultural and community philanthropists – Áinín, Seán agus Gearóid.
Aonach Mhacha is to be of the people and for the people always and in all ways – for everyone, irrespective of creed, class or colour. There will be no bosses, a simple old-time co-op model. Our promotion of the Irish language and its rich heritage here is likely to have less in common with theoretical approaches and more alignment with that of Joe Steve Ó Neachtain, or Máirtín Ó Cadhain, or those who set up Gael Linn in 1953 to do the work that the government said it was going to do, and who brought Gael Linn to Armagh. We align with those who set up the Cultúrlanna in Belfast, Derry and Newry. We align with giants such as Pádraig Ó Baoighill – Pádaí Gael Linn, more in line with Monsignor Réamonn Ó Muirí, an academic, a human rights activist, chaplain to the former women’s prison in this city in darker times and who set up The Cardinal Ó Fiaich Library & Archive. We will be in line with Aodán Mac Pólín nach maireann and Linda Ervine and others who have striven to dispel irrational misconceptions about our beautiful, poetic ancient yet modern language and do this in the same way that light does not attack darkness but replaces it. Our 20 yr strategy for the Irish language will be to continue the work of those who have gone before us and are with us today in a deeper way than we may realise and whose breath is in our words.
We thank all, known and unknown helpers and instructors and of course the people of Armagh who have helped weave our dreams together until this morning after a twelve year Odyssey we all woke up, on the 6th of March 2020 and Aonach Mhacha was ready to open its doors – the new centre, the cultural cathedral between the other two cathedrals in the ancient heart of Armagh; the city of Macha.
Áinín, Seán & Gearóid together with all our helpers did indeed finish what they set out to do and now a new and intriguing chapter begins.
In his short poem, Gratitude to Unknown Instructors, in 1932, 88 years ago W B Yeats said it this way;
WHAT they undertook to do
They brought to pass;
All things hang like a drop of dew
Upon a blade of grass.
Buíochas ó chroí libh go léir!
