Liam O’Neill

Liam O’Neill lives and works in Galway City.  He has been published in The Irish Times and has been shortlisted for the Hennessy Prize 2018.  Liam has a non-fiction ebook on Amazon UK entitled All the Days of Winter – a true story of one person’s search for their mother.

Yola is a language once spoken in Wexford, Ireland, that died out 150 years ago.

 

Aar’s Dhurth a Heighe                                               Bad Weather Above

(An Gleezom Aloghe)                                                  (And Joy Below)

 

Huck nigher, huck nigher,                                          Come near, come near,

lidge w’ouse hi near ee vire                                        lie with us by the fire,

aar’s sneow apa greoune,                                            there’s snow on the ground,

aar’s dhurth a heighe.                                                  there’s bad weather above.

 

Huck nigher, huck nigher,                                          Come near, come near

an theene a dher                                                           and close the door

thou liest well a rent,                                                   for you know very well

caules will na wullow to-die.                                     horses will not tumble today.

 

Lidge w’ouse hi near ee vire                                       Lie with us by the fire,

wou’ll leigh out ee dey.                                                 we’ll idle out the day,

Th’ valler w’speen here,                                                the more time spent here,

th’ lass ee i loan.                                                              the less working in fields.

 

a chy o’usbaugh,                                                              A little bit of whiskey,

a chy o’breed,                                                                   a little bit of bread,

an hele an greve apa thee,                                            and health and wealth to

tell ee zin, go t’glade.                                                       you until the sun sinks low.

 

© 2018 Liam O’Neill