Nua!! / New!!You can now listen to Liam agus Bairbre - just click on the link at the bottom of this page.Na hAisteoirí / The Actors: Cóilín Ó Floinn (Liam)Eithne Ní Ghallchobhair (Bairbre)Treoir / InstructionsA translation of the dialogue is available further down the page. Even if your knowledge of Irish is very limited, try reading the dialogue initially without looking at the translation – you should be able to guess the meaning of some of the phrases from the context. The Test Yourself! facility will be available again shortly. Once you’re familiar with the dialogue, you can click on the "Test yourself!" button to check your knowledge. Cúlra / BackgroundLiam is twenty-nine years old and lives in the Donegal Gaeltacht. He’s from a mixed farming background but now works as a shop manager in Letterkenny. *Bairbre, who is twenty-eight, is originally from Cavan, but now lives in Dublin, where she works as a nurse. She met Liam while attending an Irish course in Donegal over five years ago. They dated for two-and-a-half years but split up when discovered that had gone back to her former fiancée behind his back. Their separation was not amicable. *

Liam and Bairbre recently met for the first time in three years. They had dinner together and then went back to her place. A few days later, Bairbre explains to a friend what happened next.

Dialogue 38

Bairbre: Cad é mar atá cúrsaí?

Susan: Maith go leor. Cad é mar atá tú féin agus Noel?

Bairbre: Níl caill ar bith orainn ... Leis an fhírinne a rá, Susan, tá géarchéim mhór i mo shaol faoi láthair agus sin an fáth a raibh mé ag iarraidh castáil leat inniu.

Susan: Cad é atá cearr?

Bairbre: Chas mé le Liam den chéad uair le cúpla bliain le gairid.

Susan: Chas tú le Liam! Ach shíl mé go raibh sé ar buile leat.

Bairbre: Bhí ach chuir sé scairt orm agus dúirt sé go raibh sé ag iarraidh castáil liom. Bhuail muid le chéile agus bhí dinnéar againn ...

Susan: Agus cad é a tharla ansin?

Bairbre: Bhí an bheirt againn súgach go maith ag deireadh na hoíche agus bhí fonn orainn deoch eile a ól. Ní raibh seisean ag iarraidh a dhul go teach tábhairne ar bith i mBarra an Teampaill, mar sin thug mise cuireadh dó a theacht ar ais go dtí m’árasán.

Susan: Ní chreidim go ndearna tú é sin! Nach raibh Noel thart don deireadh seachtaine?

Bairbre: Bhí sé ag cluiche sacair i Sasana.Susan: Ná habair liom gur chodail tú leis.

Bairbre: Chodlaigh. Tá náire an domhain orm. Tá mé trína chéile ó shin.

Susan: Glacaim leis nár inis tú an drochscéala do Noel go fóill?

Bairbre: Níor inis. Ní thig liom – beidh sé ar mire liom agus cuirfidh sé deireadh leis an chaidreamh láithreach.

Susan: Ach caithfidh tú insint dó. Ní féidir leat bheith mí-ionraic leis an bhfear a bhfuil tú geallta leis.

Bairbre: Tá praiseach déanta agam do rudaí arís. Níor mhothaigh mé chomh holc seo riamh.

Aistriúchán / Translation

Bairbre: How are things?

Susan: Okay. How are you and Noel?

Bairbre: We’re not bad ... To tell you the truth, Susan, there’s a big crisis in my life at the moment and that’s why I wanted to meet you today.

Susan: What’s wrong?

Bairbre: I met Liam for the first time in a few years recently.

Susan: You met Liam! But I thought he was really angry with you.

Bairbre: He was but he called me and said that he wanted to meet me. We met and had dinner ...

Susan: And what happened then?

Bairbre: Both of us were quite merry at the end of the night and we felt like having another drink. He didn’t want to go to any pub in Temple Bar, so I gave him an invitation to come back to my apartment.

Susan: I don’t believe you did that! Wasn’t Noel around for the weekend?

Bairbre: He was at a soccer match in England.Susan: Don’t tell me you slept with him.

Bairbre: I did. I’m totally ashamed. I’ve been in bits since then.

Susan: I take it you haven’t told Noel the bad news yet?

Bairbre: No. I can’t – he’ll be furious with me and he’ll end the relationship immediately.

Susan: But you’ll have to tell him. You can’t be dishonest with the man you’re engaged to.

Bairbre: I’ve made a mess of things again. I’ve never felt so bad.

Gramadach / GrammarThe adjective mór (big) is lenited because it follows *géarchéim *(crisis), a feminine noun:

mór (big) géarchéim mhór (a big crisis)Words that follow the simple preposition ar are often lenited. When a condition, a state, an emotion or a general location is being referred to, however, there is no lenition:

ar buile (furious)

ar meisce (drunk)

ar muir (on the sea)Most consonants are lenited after the simple preposition + article don, but d, t, s remained unchanged:

fear (a man) don fhear sin. (for / to that man)

but deireadh seachtaine (weekend) don deireadh seachtaine (for the weekend)