Sean-fhocail that we all learnt long ago

Jean's Journal, with Jean Farrell

As it was Saint Patrick’s week, and we were celebrating being Irish, I am remembering the sean fhocail that we learnt in school. They are as true today as they ever were. I find that they often come to mind.

‘Bíonn blas ar an mbeagán’ is one. ‘A little is tasty.’ How true! Last November I went on yet another big diet, no biscuits, no wine, no cakes, no treats at all! Night after night I sat and yearned for even one biscuit. Half a glass of wine would have been delightful, a slice of cake heaven!

Christmas came and I was off my diet. Presents arrived, tins of biscuits, a crate of wine, cakes galore. Was I in Heaven? Did I devour all? No! I didn’t particularly want any of them. Why? I don’t know why. And that sean-fhocal came to mind, ‘Bíonn blas ar an mbeagán.’ One small glass of wine and a little slice of cake in the middle of November would have been much much more welcome.

It made me think! Maybe if we suddenly got all the things we think we want so badly, perhaps we wouldn’t want them at all! Who knows! So enjoy the little treats in life that come our way and remember ‘Bíonn blas ar an mbeagán!’

‘Ni thagann ciall roimh aois’ is another sean fhocal, I remember. ‘Wisdom does not come before age’. Again, how true. A mother and her teenage daughter were looking through the list of wonderful career choices, in the CAO book. The mother knew well which course would suit the young girl. However, her daughter would not be told. The courses she wished to study were based on foolish immature notions of life. In fact, I don’t think that you know what you want to be when you grow up until you are at least 40! Sense only comes with age!

‘Ni bhionn in aon rud ach seal’ is another sean-fhocal, ‘Nothing lasts more than a while.’ A story, from an old school-book, often comes to mind. A man was granted one wish. He thought long and hard about what to wish for. He was a very wise man who knew well that, ‘Ni bhíonn in aon rud ach seal.’ Would he wish for loads of money? No, he was wise enough to realise that it wouldn’t necessarily bring happiness. What he could buy he’d tire of eventually.

Would he wish for very good friends? No, that wouldn’t necessarily guarantee happiness either. For a while it would be grand but he’d tire of them too, sooner or later.

What to wish for then? After much thought he wished that he would be happy no matter what! What a wise wish! He wasn’t waiting for his world to be right so as he could be happy. He was happy, therefore his world was right!

‘Bionn adharca fada ar na ba thar lar,’ is another sean fhocal. ‘The cows overseas have long horns’ is the literal translation, or, the more usual English one, ‘Faraway hills are green!’

How very easy it is to think that others are better off! I remember watching ‘Dallas’ as an impressionable young girl. How we envied Sue Ellen with her swimming pool outside the backdoor, (we’d never heard the word ‘patio’ at that stage!) How impressed we were with the ‘bar’ inside the house where Sue Ellen could have her pre dinner gin and tonics. How happy we’d be if only we could have a lifestyle like that!

I wonder are whole lives wasted wishing for others things. However, everyone everywhere has his or her own troubles, whether in Dublin or Dallas, as we soon found out regarding poor Sue Ellen. She had all the icing, but no cake! She didn’t have the inner strength to carry her through the storms of life.

Another sean-fhocal you may remember is ‘Briseann an dúchas trí shúile an chait.’ There are various translations of this. ‘Nature breaks out through the eyes of a cat,’ is the literal meaning. As we age don’t we see this clearly all around us, in our grandchildren and various young relations of people we know well? Genes will out, without a doubt!

‘Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí,’ we heard too, long ago. And it also is very true. However, praising children wasn’t the done thing when we were young. ‘You think you’re great,’ was an insult, a put down.

Remember, ‘Ní hé lá na gaoithe lá na scolb,’ ‘The windy day is not the day for thatching.’ Choose your time to act wisely.

‘Ní neart go cur le chéile,’ ‘Team work is best.’

‘Níor bhris focal maith fiacail riamh,’ ‘A good word never broke a tooth.’ True.

‘Tús maith leath na hoibre,’ ‘A good start is half the work.’ I often think of this one!

‘Tír gan teanga tír gan anam.’ This means, ‘A country without a language has no soul.’

As I walk around Athlone, these days, I hear Ukrainians speaking in their own language. I hear Polish people speaking Polish, as well as various Africans talking to each other, in their various languages. And I think, what an awful pity it is that we aren’t speaking in our own language, too. I have always loved Irish and often talk to my grandchilden, using a little of it.

I’m very glad that the Irish language is still alive. I’m glad that it continues to be taught in our schools. I’m glad that TG4 is going strong. Long may it all be so.

jeanfarrell@live.ie