Mairgneach fá Chaisleán na Glasdromainne/Ag Bruach Dhún Réimhe

Dhúisigh mé ar maidin agus chuala mé smólach ag ceiliúradh. Níl fhios a'm an t-ábhar leis seo, ach tháinig an dán/amhrán seo le Art Mac Cumhaigh i m'intinn. (Íomhá an smólaigh, is dócha!) Nuair a rinne mé cúrsa ar fhilíocht na haislinge ar an ollscoil, b' é Art Mac Cumhaigh an file is ansa liom. Tá sé suntasach gur tháinig seo chugam, óir táim gafa le traidisiún Oirialla agus Gaeilge Uladh fá láthair...

Ag bruach Dhún Réimhe ar uaigneas lae,

Ba shnuamhar géaga bláth-gheal,

Chualas géimneach chuantaí Éireann,

Agus fuaim sa spéir in áirde;

Bhí na duile 'teitheadh 's a gcúl le chéile,

Is gnúis na gréine báite,

Is slua na n-éan ag fuagradg scéil,

Le gruaim gur éag na cága.

Nár choíte mé 'mo luí i bpéin,

Go bhfuighinnse scéal an ábhair,

Nó an é críochnú an tsaoil mar mhíníos cléir,

A bhí 'triall ar Ghaeil an lá sin?

Bhí uafás gaoithe is fuaim san aer,

Le síor-chur laidhg is táirneach,

'S na hualaí éisc le gruaim gur éag

'Na gcuail ar thaobh na trágha.

Tráth chonaic mé an spéir 's gach ní faoin ghréin,

Is an saol faoi éiclips ábhal,

'Sé smaoineas féin gur mhithid damh teitheamh

Go dún na gcraobh 's na fáilte,

D'éirigh an smaolach cumhra le béalbhinn,

Aníos ar ghéagan láimh liom,

Is ba bhinne ná téada milse Orphéus

Ceiliúr an éin dob' áille.

“A smaolaigh chléibh, ó tchí tú féin

Gur cloíodh Sliocht Gael san áit seo,

Tabhair éirí léim i lúb an aeir,

Is beir sitheadh i gcéin thar sáile;

Mar 'bhfuighidh tú fréamh de ghaol Uí Néill

I dtíorthaibh tréan na Spáinne,

Agus aithris don mhéid a mhairfeas ón éag

Gur scaoil a n-aolchloch álainn.”

Tráth chualaidh an t-éan mé a' lua Síol Néill,

Le gruaim gur éirigh in áirde,

Bhí a sciatháin scaoilte síos go féar leis,

Is bhuail sé a thaobha go cráite,

Is dúirt gur buartha baoth mo scéal,

Ó chuaigh faoi liagaibh sparrtha,

Is má chuartaír féin na tuambaí céanna

Gurb ualach cré 'gus cnámh iad.

D'fhiafraíos féin de phlúir na n-éan,

Dob úire d'éanlaith phárthais,

Nár fhuagair sé an dún ba saibhre –

Creagán na gcraobh – le gárthaibh,

Nó an gcualaidh na tréanfhir dob uaisle 'Shíol Néill

Gur tuairngeadh saothar a lámhaibh,

'S iad a ruaigfeadh an méid seo uainn as Éirinn –

Sluaite Shéaghan is Mháirtín.

'Eoghan Rua, mo léan thú fuar i gcré,

'S tú ruaigfeadh an cheithearn ghallda,

'S gur fuadaíodh Féilim uasal tréitheach,

Go Cúigeadh Laighean dá bhású,

Tiarna Uíbh Éathach bhí ar uaislibh Gael,

Nó gur chríonaigh an t-éag a chnámha,

'S cá bhfuighfear a léithid arís chun féidhme,

Ó síneadh an méid seo i gclárthaibh.

“Go Tír Eoghain má théir, gheobhair pós is céad,

Is treorú an scéil go dáimhiúil,

Mar a bhfuil na laochra is dílse méin

Tá líofa tréitheach láidir”:

“Tá'n cháin seo réidh chun sásamh an té

'Bheir smál ar Ghaeil an lá seo,

Is a phlúir na n-éan, na humhlaigh don éag,

Nó go dtiofaidh Sliocht Néill dod thárrtháil.”

“Ó bhreoigh tú mé le glór do bhéil,

'S nach bhfoghthar le leigheas ón bhás mé,

Go Cóigeadh Laighean is cóir dúinn gléas,

Go Dún Uí Néill ar mársáil”;

“Ór na Gréige is stór na hÉiphte,

Is ceol na dtéad ar chlársaigh,

'S ní fhóirfeadh an méid sin, is foghaim go léir é,

A stóir, mura n-éagfainn láimh leat.”

Art Mac Cumhaigh 

An file ag caoineadh toisc go bhfuil Caisleán Uí Néill ar lár agus óigfhir an teaghlaigh thall sa Spáinn.
Príomháras mhuintir Néill an Fheadha a bhí i gCaisleán na Glasdromainne. Is cosúil nár tógadh é go dtí deireadh an 16ú haois. Rinneadh damáiste mhór dó i rith an chogaidh i 1642 agus chaill Sir Éinrí Ó Néill seilbh air i 1655. Tháinig an caisleán i seilbh Thomas Ball, an plandóir is mó de lucht leanúna Chromail a fuair talamh sa cheantar.
Sa bhliain 1711 fuair Pádraig Ó Murchú as Béal Coitín i nDeisceart Lú léas ar an Ghlasdromainn agus scrios sé an caisleán. I dtús na haoise seo is é an traidisiún a bhí beo gur úsáid sé na clocha le teach a thógáil agus píosa de bhóthar a dhéanamh. Sin an t-am a chum Séamas Mac Cuarta a dhán léanmhar, ag caoineadh "áras na seirce". Ní féidir go bhfaca Mac Cumhaigh níos mó ná fothracha an chaisleáin i 1750-70. Bhí siad ina seasamh go fóill sa chéad leath den 19ú haois agus tá siad luaite ag Donaldson, Upper Fews (1838) agus Nelson, MS. History of Creggan (1840). Níl rian ar bith den chaisleán a fheiceáil inniu, ach bhí sé suite ar an talamh carraigeach os cionn an locha.

(as Art Mac Cumhaigh: Dánta, eag. Tomás Ó Fiaich, An Clóchomhar, 1973)

SOPA Ireland -- How much more can we take?

Anti-ACTA (Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement) -- information on legislation about to be written into "law" that will affect personal liberties and civil rights, freedom of speech, the sharing of information and will introduce censorship and surveillance.

SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) is the name of a piece of US legislation that has now hit Irish shores -- our own ministers are about to sign this legislation into law WITHOUT IT BEING VOTED ON IN THE OIREACHTAS.

If you want to protect your rights as an intellectual being, then please sign the online petition against SOPA. I was going to recommend visiting http://www.anti-acta.com but it seems to be down. (Huh, I wonder why...) Here's the article from the Irish Sunday Business Post explaining the situation here in Ireland. We are not happy about this, and we will not let it get through. But we only have TEN DAYS to let ourselves be heard.

Think about it; we have passed down information like stories, songs, recipies, proverbs through word of mouth, as "folklore". Modern online communications have allowed us to share our knowledge with people all over the world. Twitter, for me, is a tool for modern folklore. If this legislation is passed, the progress that we have made in communication and knowledge-sharing will become redundant. 

Ever since print was introduced, modern society has become obsessed with the ownership of knowledge and 'originality' in creativity. THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS ORIGINALITY. GET OVER IT. Have you ever heard of intertextuality? Every type of human expression is not isolated, is not 'original'; it is an extension of everything that has come before, everything that is contemporary, and believe it or not, everything that is to come. This is intellectual freedom, not this slapping a copyright label on something and restricting its uses. Our ancestors were more progressive than we are -- we need to get with it, and stop trying to own everything. We all own everything and nothing.

Happy Yule!

<--- My Yule log :)

I had a conversation recently with someone about my paganism, and they asked me if I practiced, i.e. did magic. It turns out they were like myself -- we both read about our faith and its pratices, but didn't get around to being active about it. I've decided it's time for me to become a pagan of action!

I thought I had read somewhere about the wee ritual that I've undertaken tonight, but it actually must have come from my own devices. None of my sources have this simple gesture amongst their 'spells' or rituals. I must have tapped into the symbolism that we all share instinctively (whether folk listen to it these days or not...), and drew upon this reflection on the dark coming back into the light. All you need is a black candle, a white candle, a bit of peace, and yourself. You light the black candle, watch it burn, and reflect on whichever of these that suits (or all if you want!): a) qualities that have been dormant and hidden in you for too long; b) personal concerns or worries that you try to bury; c) events of the past year, good and bad (I know that the new year technically starts at Samhain, but you know what I mean...). You can do this all on one night, or on each night from the 20th-22nd. Then you light your white candle from the flame of the black, to signify the transition from the reign of darkness to light. Leave both lighting for a while as you visualise in your mind the transition, and figure out what it means for you. Then blow out the black candle, as the god of darkness has been defeated, and focus on the white, the victory/rebirth of the god of light. Reflect on the following in correspondence to your reflection(s) on the black candle: a) visualise the possibilities of your dormant qualities and talents, and putting them into practice; b) look forward to the days of light and imagine yourself overcoming current difficulties; c) think on what you want to achieve in the coming year. You can light your white candle for the following nights as a physical reminder of the positive outcome from your reflections.

What I love about paganism is that everyone has the power; I smiled to myself as I lit my candles on their brass candlesticks, thinking about how people feel the need to turn to priests and ministers in order to contact the divine. Nonsense -- organised religion removed people from the power that they already had, herding them into churches and removing from the real divinity of Nature.

Look at the solstice at Newgrange nowadays -- we used to be able to watch it on telly, then it went online with presenters that were also hooked up to the radio. Now it's merely a live video online with no commentary or pomp whatsoever. I suppose we should be grateful that we get to see it at all! Why have we become increasingly alienated from our heritage and our humanity? People need to realise that they have to take back their traditions and their spirituality for themselves, and not let people manipulate them and make a fortune out of their souls.

Cabaret Craiceáilte

Nuachtlitir déanta ag Tomaí Ó Conghaile - an-fhont!

So bhí mé thuas (nó thíos -- dar le Nicholas Williams...) i nGaoth Dobhair ag an deireadh seachtaine -- den chéad uair ariamh! Yep, chuala tú i gceart mé. Ní raibh mé i dTír Chonaill (ceart) ariamh. N'fheadar cén fáth... Ceapaim anois gur chóir dom bheith ann fada fada ó shin! Táim cairdiúil le roinnt Conallaigh, agus bíonn muid ag caint is ag comhrá ar Twitter agus araile. Bím ag éisteacht le Rónán Beo, agus bhí mé ag caint ar an gclár féin faoi bhlagadóireacht na Gaeilge ar ais i mí Dheireadh Fómhair. Cloisim an-chuid tráchtanna ar Thigh Hiúdaí már lár-ionad na nGael, agus bíonn roinnt plotáil á dhéanamh ag daoine ann ar son na cúise -- Réabhlóid na Gaeilge! (Tá muid i mbun na Ruabhlóide anois freisin, ach ní féidir mórán a rá faoi sin nó beidh orainn tú a mharú -- t' fhios agat a' bharraíocht cheana!) Chuir cara liom ón gciorcal comhrá i Sligeach scairt orm chun mé a chur ar an eolas go mbeadh an Cabaret ar siúl, agus bhraith mé gur mithid dom freastal air. Ní raibh mé go maith le gairid, bhí croí trom agus spiorad lag a'm, agus bhí spraoi ag teastáil uaim. Agus bhfuil fhios a'd, b' é an Cabaret díreach an rud a bhí de dhíth orm! 

Cé gur newbie Craiceáilte mise, bhraith mé díreach "sa mbaile" i measc an chomhluadair bhreá a bhí ann -- cuireadh fáilte mhór Chonallach romham, agus táim an-bhuíoch as. :) Bhí mé ag caint leis na carachtair áitiúla, agus thug siad aire dhom agus ba mhinic i rith na hoíche go ndúirt fear acu liom "'Bhfuil tú alright?" Aww. Ní raibh aire ag teastáil, óir b' oíche ar dóigh faoi stiúir Rónáin a bhí ann, leis an gceol agus daoine ag casadh amhrán; Na Bonny Men, An Crann Óg, Bríd Ní hIcí agus Doimnic Mac Giolla Bhríde ina measc. Cheannaigh mé an ceirnín nua ag Doimnic ag an gCabaret actually -- déanann sé cóiriú spéisiúil ar na hamhráin, lena ghuth traidisiúnta féin, na píobaí agus téaduirlisí. Cheapfá gur meascán aisteach é, ach oibríonn sé! Ar nós rud eicínt as an 19ú haois. Tá sé deacair dhom é a mhíniú... Feicim íomhánna i m'intinn agus mé ag éisteacht le ceol, agus samhlaím áit lom, gruaimeach dorcha, ach tá tinte á lasadh ann... Oícheanta Geimhrí. Boladh na móna. Corrdhuine amuigh, ach daoine eile i bhfolach i dtithe. Ha, rud eicínt cosúil leis "The Darkling Thrush" ag Thomas Hardy. Fánach, t' fhios a'm. Táim ag éisteacht leis an gceirnín anois agus mé ag clóscríobh. T' fhios a'd go bhfuil grá, scéalta agus amhráin le fáil sna tithe sin i mo shamhlaíocht... An saol ag leanacht ar aghaidh faoin dorchadas. In ainneoin an dorchadais. Grianstad an Gheimhridh inniu, tá an stuif sin ar m'intinn. Pééééé scéal é...

Bhí orm mo chluas a chur i dtiúin leis an mblas Ultach, agus cuireadh iontas orm nuair a chuala mé "Caidé mar atá thu" -- gheallfainn dhuit go raibh mé ag cloisteáil "Ciamar a tha thu" sa nGàidhlig! Dúradh liom go bhfuil an chanúint i nGaoth Dobhair go mór faoi thionchar na Gàidhlige, ach wow, ní raibh fhios a'm go raibh sé chomh láidir sin! Tá nascanna láidre idir an ceantar agus Alban, le daoine ag aistriú idir an dá háit thar na glúine. Bhí an áit feiliúnach dhomsa mar sin, agus bhí Alban le brath. [Osna] Neamh. Actually, bhí an deis a'm labhairt as Gàidhlig le cailín eile ann; bha sinn air ar dòigh ghlan, ach bhí daoine eile ag breathnú orainn sa mhéid is le rá "Céard the fuck a bhfuil sibhs on about?" Ha! Táim ag gáirí anois agus mé ag smaoineamh ar an iar-chóisir a bhí 'ainn! Bhí cúpla duine 'ainn i dtosach, agus ansin, shíl gang mór isteach, randomers agus píobaí uilleann ina measc! Lean leis an gceol, amhráin agus an chaint go maidin. 

An chuimhin leat an blag a scríobh mé i rith an tsamhraidh, agus bhí mé ag gearán faoin scoilt idir Gaeilgeoirí na gcathracha agus muintir na Gaeltachta? Ní raibh taithí iontach mhaith a'm sa nGaeltacht roimhe seo, agus caithfidh mé a admháil anois go raibh cuid de sin mar gheall air m' easpa muiníne fhéin. Bhí taithí i bhfad níos difriúla a'm i nGaoth Dobhair ná mar a bhí a'm sna Gaeltachtaí eile. Nílim ag iarraidh bheith maslach in aghaidh mhuintir na nGaeltachtaí eile, ar ndóigh! Ach... Bhraith mé go raibh muintir Thír Chonaill oscailte agus bhí atmaisféar breá neamhfhoirmiúil lán de spraoi ag an gCabaret. Ní raibh éinne ró-dháiríre agus ní raibh brú ann -- bhí daoine ann chun bualadh le chéile agus ceoltóirí nua a spreagadh, trí mheán na Gaeilge. Sin an aidhm a bhí ag Rónán agus an criú leis an gCabaret nuair a chuir siad tús leis sa mbliain 2008 -- sult a bhaint as an gcultúr atá againn, idir stuif sean-bhunaithe agus stuif nua, agus daoine óga a mhealladh chun na teanga gan an bagáiste a bhíonns ag baint le heagraíochtaí mar Chonradh na Gaeilge. Tá ag éirí leo, dar liom, agus molaim go croíúil do dhaoine óga dul chuig an gCabaret agus gheobhaidh siad misneach iontu féin agus sa teanga (aríst). 

D'fhéadfá a rá go raibh mé ag troid leis an teanga ar feadh píosa, agus bhraith mé chomh... N'fheadar. As áit, ar an imeall? Ó thaobh na Gaeilge dhe. Ach tá Rónán agus an criú th'éis misneach agus dóchas a thabhairt dom aríst.

Dála an scéil, ag tagairt don bhlag sin aríst; thug an méid a scríobh mé le tuiscint gur chóir cainteoirí na gcathracha leanacht lena gcaint fhéin, gan bheith buartha faoi chanúintí áirithe toisc nach as na ceantair sin iad agus go bhfuil canúintí nua á gcruthú sna cathracha. Cac iomlán. IS GÁ dúinn uilig aird a thabhairt ar na canúintí a mhaireann, nó beidh siad caillte go deo. Tá an-ghaois le fáil iontu. Admhaím anois (bhuel, bím i gcónaí á admháil seo, ach pé scéal é) go bhfuil an-chuid le foghlaim den teanga a'm fós, agus níl an meon iomlán Gaelach a'm go fóill mar gheall air sin. Tuigim an scéal anois mar gheall ar mo thaithí leis a' Ghàidhlig -- táim chun canúint Earra-Ghàidheil a fhoghlaim, toisc go bhfuil sí i mbaol agus tá sí fíor-álainn. Yum yum i mo bhéal, na fuaimeanna! D'fhoghlaim mé cúpla nathanna nó frásaí agus mé ag caint le Conallaigh, agus is seodra iad! B'fhéidir go dtarraingeoidh mé cúpla tréithe Ultacha isteach. An féidir leis sin a dhéanamh? Sin plé le haghaidh blaga eile! Bhí mé ag smaoineamh go mbeidh sé go maith aistriú go Gaeilge Thír Chonaill mar gheall ar an nGàidhlig... Ach bheadh an t-idirdhealú idir an dá theanga deacair a dhéanamh i m'intinn, agus tá sé deacair go leor mar atá! Nílim chun mo bhlas a athrú, agus braithim go bhfuilim ró-chompórtach anois le Gaeilge Connachtach chun mo rogha de chanúint a athrú. An bhfuil baol ann go mbeidh mé i mo turncoat Ultach? Beidh le feiceáil...

Latha Naomh Anndra sona!

Beannachdan na fèille gam chàirdean an Alba air an latha sònraichte seo!

This is a day of national pride for the Scots, or it should be. It surprises me that St. Andrew's day is not given the proper, official treatment it deserves -- or am I? As a cog in the machine that is the 'United Kingdom' still, how can Scotland claim a day completely for itself, its citizens and its diaspora? A day of national pride is a dangerous thing in a union. However, I would say that on this particular St. Andrew's day, more Scots are thinking of independence, with the notion currently taking such a central position in Scottish political discourse. 

I just thought I'd share my thoughts on this auspicious day. As a person of culture, a student devoted to the Gàidhlig language, literature, culture and heritage, and with a growing curiosity in Lallans too, I'm going to stress how important cultural movements are in the freeing of a nation/people. My background in Gaeilge, Yeats and the Irish literary and cultural renaissance reinforces my conviction that Scotland can have her freedom by entering the Uamh an Oir of her culture and facing the monsters of post-colonial hang-ups. For there to be true independence, the national mind and spirit of the people must be set as free as possible from the shackles of colonialism. Of course, this is a very idealistic proposition. Freedom hasn't really happened fully in Ireland yet; we're still enslaved because we haven't dealt with our collective/native unconscious mind; we still repress the Gaelic side to our nature. Gaeilge is one of those creatures disfigured by colonialism that disgusts most people -- they would rather fight her back into the cave and curse her to eternal darkness. The thing is, neglected parts of the self rise up and revolt in nasty ways and come in many guises, sectarianism being one.

I truly believe that a renaissance and promotion of Scottish culture and heritage is needed, and I'm not alone in my conviction. Hugh MacDiarmid for one clung to this belief passionately. The language movement is already beginning; from what I can see, the Scots are doing really well in their efforts for the new promotion and preservation of their languages, culture and heritage -- Tobar an Dualchais is something that comes strongly to mind here. This centenary year of Somhairle MacGill-Eain's birth has proven to be a point of acceleration towards this ideal; wouldn't it be fitting to carry the burning torch of this year's success into the next, lighting the way for future possibilities?

diaspora* :: blow on the dandelion!

I subscribed to diaspora* just under a year ago, and was left waiting for an invitation from them to create a profile. They sent out the odd email, expressing their gratitude for my interest in the non-commercial, open source social network, and informing me that they hoped to get an invitation out to me asap. In the end, they didn't send me the invite -- two of my friends who succeeded in acquiring the coveted invitation did. I think this sort of gradual rolling out of invites does more damage than good; surely if a social network is to be successful, it needs to be more widely accessible? In fairness, work on the software for the social networking site only began in May 2010, so this gradual influx of its cyber population can be understood. The site is still in 'alpha testing' form, but for the sake of their success, I would urge a swift promotion of the site.

The diaspora* project was founded by Ilya Zhitomirskiy, Dan Grippi, Max Salzberg and Raphael Sofaer, students at New York University's Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences. Yep, uber-nerds! Apparently, the lads were inspired to start the project by a speech given by Columbia University law lecturer Eben Moglen, who described centralised social networks as "spying for free". I'm inclined to agree -- my dad has always been wary of Facebook, and it's only in recent years that Facebook has come to show its true colours. Information about its users is actually priceless. Now and again, gullible people share the news on their statuses that Facebook plans to charge us for using the service; why would it enforce a fee, when we're already paying dearly for the service? Max Salzberg is reported as saying "When you give up that data, you’re giving it up forever ... The value they give us is negligible in the scale of what they are doing, and what we are giving up is all of our privacy." How right he is. That is the reason why he and his fellow students came up with diaspora*; to give real freedom back to social networking users, and to protect those users' right to ownership and control of their personal information. The Diaspora Foundation stated back in September 2010, "...our distributed design means no big corporation will ever control Diaspora. Diaspora* will never sell your social life to advertisers, and you won’t have to conform to someone’s arbitrary rules or look over your shoulder before you speak." Sounds good to me!

Even the name of the site is more appealing: diaspora, a scattered or dispersed population. Much more intelligent than Facebook. FACEbook. That name is ominous, suggesting a group of spies and informers in a dark room somewhere rifling through files of people's profiles. Have you seen that Take this Lollipop thing yet? Scared the crap out of me. That freaky man stands for greedy corporations, you know. 

diaspora* interface

So far, I can say that the interface of the site is quite close to that of Google+, and slightly like Facebook. Personally, I've been urging my people to abandon Facebook in favour of Google+ or diaspora*, though now I shall be urging more towards diaspora*, as Google want your info too -- they're certainly no angels; they're set on cyber-world domination by the looks of it. Facebook has actually become less user-friendly in terms of navigation in recent times, after their stupid changes to the interface and gradual rollout of the "Timeline". That I don't 'like'. When my friend sent me an invitation for diaspora*, he chose my language as Irish. (Good man!) I noticed this from the random words that appeared in Irish on the diaspora* website. A lot of translation work needs to be done, but all in good time. :) As far as I know, diaspora* are ahead of Google+ in this respect. All I know is that I'd rather translate for free for an open source, non-profit site than for corporation-corrupt Facebook!

You know you're entering non-mainstream territory when you see "stop censorship" slapped on a webpage. Obviously diaspora* are against US proposal for an Censorship Act "against piracy"; what exactly constitutes piracy? Anything that speaks the truth? Any platform that allows true freedom of expression? Any site that undermines corporate power? Diaspora* would undoubtedly be one of their targets. There are some sinister goings on in reaction to diaspora*. Apparently, PayPal froze the Diaspora Foundation funding account in October of this year. The account was unfrozen after much pressure and well-founded threats of legal action, and an apology was given. But no explanation. Dodge City. Apparently Facebook creator Mark Zuckerburg (F*ckerburg, more like!) donated money to the Diaspora Foundation, because "it is a cool idea". I'd mind him, lads! 

On joining diaspora* this evening, I find that co-founder Ilya Zhitormirskiy died on the 12th of November at the age of 22. Unreal. No cause of death has been given at this sensitive time, but don't you know, lack of clarification leads to gossip, and quite a few sources are claiming it was suicide. This would be tragic, for someone so young, so intelligent and so bright, with an innovative vision for cyber society. From his track record, he looks like someone full of the urge to live and to change the world. 

Despite governments' opinion [glares angrily in the direction of Dáil Éireann in her mind], students are the future, and they create the future. This group of lads have proven this. So if I send you an invite, join diaspora* and become part of the growing movement for true liberation of the web, and true freedom. Alternatively, you can sign up here, and wait patiently to be called upon...

Recent reflection

I feel that politics and linguistics have really bullied my spirit for inspiration of late. I feel so strongly about political justice, and yet it doesn’t seem to prompt a creative response in me. I look at Somhairle MacGill-Eain, who wrote fantastic poems of great political conviction and passion, and I feel that my inability to write on the subject is a failing on my part. I would like to take up a ‘bardic’ position, so to speak, in order to give voice to the politically voiceless in this fraud of a democracy. I want to write blistering satires on the perpetrators of political, social and economic injustice. As far as language is concerned, I’m aware that my standard in the minority language that I choose to write creatively in does not satisfy everyone. I feel barbed wire squeezing around my tongue when I attempt an emotional or creative utterance in such a beaten language. I look to the likes of Somhairle for hope, when all I feel is my own failing and lack of inherited tradition in comparison. However, to remain silent is to die. Not only would I have my own death on my hands, but the deaths of ideas, feelings, and the deaths of the languages I choose to write in.