tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post5812549369054969747..comments2023-10-11T07:29:17.985-07:00Comments on Steinbeck's Redemption: Booley huts and booleying on the CommonsPhilip Robinsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08266929629062158843noreply@blogger.comBlogger17125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post-79447282835872870452022-01-20T19:13:32.631-08:002022-01-20T19:13:32.631-08:00Great Read. I'm a descendant of some tenant fa...Great Read. I'm a descendant of some tenant farmers from Raloo County of Antrim!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02280110701074939354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post-77262612893764601812017-10-27T07:41:36.655-07:002017-10-27T07:41:36.655-07:00Seana, your assertion as to Adrian's relations...Seana, your assertion as to Adrian's relationship is rubbish.<br />Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00623307632178474818noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post-36583454531502107472010-12-29T08:09:23.325-08:002010-12-29T08:09:23.325-08:00Gorges,
Glad you're up and running again - I e...Gorges,<br />Glad you're up and running again - I enjoyed your post about the computer saga. Hope the wife has forgiven you and you both had a good Christmas breakPhilip Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266929629062158843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post-52735687795079113742010-12-28T17:48:50.602-08:002010-12-28T17:48:50.602-08:00Well, Philip, with a computer on my desk again, I&...Well, Philip, with a computer on my desk again, I'm finally getting caught up on my blog reading. Yours is fascinating, as always.Gorges Smythehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08777621500611603786noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post-29955099197124577182010-12-13T03:40:11.320-08:002010-12-13T03:40:11.320-08:00Adrian,
You have it spot on - depending on the per...Adrian,<br />You have it spot on - depending on the period - but only with spoken (not written) language. English was used a bit more widely than the castle - certainly in was dominant over gaelic in the town and "county" of Carrickfergus at the height of Bryan O'Neill's tussles in the 1570s. I hesitate to mention Edward The Bruce's time in east Antrim centuries before, as Braveheart's depiction of his brother Robert is so off the mark. The epic poem "Barbour's Bruce" written in 14th century Scots has 11 pages set in east Ulster!<br /><br />The Gaelic that survived in the Glens until the 19th century was closer to Scots Gaelic than "modern Irish" - in fact I have some lovely stories about how the locals near Cushendun couldn't understand the "school" Irish being taught in the 1830s in the Glens, because the teacher was from county Louth. Indeed, the Parish Priest there prevented the Catholic kids from attending because the only Irish textbook available was a "Protestant" bible translation. A delightfully Irish situation!<br />Ulster-Scots came with the Scots settlers and was virtually the universal spoken tongue in east Antrim (except for Carrick and the coastal strip of Belfast Lough towards Belfast) from about 1600 on.<br />This is turning into a post! Must contain myself. Thanks for the suggestion about Swift, My mind is working on it already, but in the meantime checkout an early post here on "The early Yahoos at Kilroot".Philip Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266929629062158843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post-22188167833673741232010-12-11T20:26:44.593-08:002010-12-11T20:26:44.593-08:00Phil
What languages would have been spoken in the...Phil<br /><br />What languages would have been spoken in these areas? <br /><br />I'm guessing up in the glens they still spoke Gaelic, in the Castle they'd be speaking English and in the area around Carrickfergus Ulster Scots? <br /><br />...<br /><br />I know you dont do requests but I'd really like a post about the landscape and people Jonathan Swift found himself in when he was at Kilroot.adrian mckintyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03349942973907386269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post-83534664453475458802010-12-08T07:34:25.501-08:002010-12-08T07:34:25.501-08:00I did not know of Brian Moore's Belfast connec...I did not know of Brian Moore's Belfast connection, though I have to admit that I haven't really read him. He's recommended a lot, though.seana grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03774794086733027289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post-41246754890188902162010-12-08T01:54:41.558-08:002010-12-08T01:54:41.558-08:00Seana,
I did see your reply to the fungible commen...Seana,<br />I did see your reply to the fungible comment - intermediately after posting the above comment!<br />Fergus isn't that common in Ireland, more so in Scotland. In the South it tends to be Fergal, but for obvious reasons I knew 3 Fergus's in Carrick when I was a boy, and of course my own son nowadays.<br />Probably the best known fictional "Fergus" is in Brian Moore's book of the same name. Although he later lived in Canada, he was born and raised in Belfast.Philip Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266929629062158843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post-79068077596952715812010-12-07T15:49:08.738-08:002010-12-07T15:49:08.738-08:00Thanks, for the clarification,Philip. I was just r...Thanks, for the clarification,Philip. I was just reading a story today by Arlene Hunt in Gerard Brennan and Mike Stone's Requiem for the Departed anthology in which a Fergus figured very prominently, but he wasn't a king or a leper, more of stablehand. Fergus is one of the many Irish names that didn't seem to make the Atlantic passage very often, or didn't take once it got here. I don't know why. <br /><br />I did see your fungible comment--thought I replied, but maybe I didn't post it right.seana grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03774794086733027289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post-50926428445618176502010-12-07T02:14:43.421-08:002010-12-07T02:14:43.421-08:00Gary,
It takes a writer to see that! I have had it...Gary,<br />It takes a writer to see that! I have had it in the back of my mind for some time but am just letting it grow naturally. This blog started with the completion of my last novel, and the 'trail' has emerged as a natural successor.Philip Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266929629062158843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post-31939756840477215882010-12-06T17:20:55.518-08:002010-12-06T17:20:55.518-08:00The concept of the booley sounds like a great plac...The concept of the booley sounds like a great place for a novel or short story to begin. Perhaps even a novel encompassing several generations, including rustlers and hotheads and conflict between the various subcultures. Very interesting, Philip...Gary Hickshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06113111929518301417noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post-39301214187801357422010-12-06T01:36:02.897-08:002010-12-06T01:36:02.897-08:00Adrian,
Yes I checked the google map out - they al...Adrian,<br />Yes I checked the google map out - they also have 'Gleno Road' into the town - but it is definitely always 'Glenoe' on all my other maps. A bit comforting to know that I'm not the only one to slip up!Philip Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266929629062158843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post-10616098900293253792010-12-06T01:25:46.056-08:002010-12-06T01:25:46.056-08:00Seana
Thanks for that. You are also spot on with K...Seana<br />Thanks for that. You are also spot on with Kragfargus. Carrick means 'rock' in Irish Gaelic, as does Craig or crag in Scots Gaelic (which were both the same language back then anyway). So it is "Fergus's Rock" - the one on which the castle was built - that is the meaning with whatever spelling they used back then.<br />Incidently, "Fergus" was a 5th century Antrim man who established himself in Scotland, and became the first King of Scotland. But he was a leper and came back to Antrim for a cure from a holy well and his ship was wrecked on the rock here and he was drowned! Hence "Fergus's Rock".<br />You may have missed a very belated comment I made recently on one of your older postings on your own blog about "fungible" (June 2010). I had once got a letter addressed to me in "Carrotfungus" - now that WAS a misinterpretation!Philip Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266929629062158843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post-14147618460760350132010-12-06T01:23:43.879-08:002010-12-06T01:23:43.879-08:00Philip
They look like separate places here:
http...Philip<br /><br />They look like separate places here:<br /><br />http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&biw=1276&bih=692&q=glenoe,+northern+ireland&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=Glenoe,+Larne,+UK&gl=au&ei=3qr8TP__MNPCca6PmfUO&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=1&ved=0CBYQ8gEwAAadrian mckintyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03349942973907386269noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post-42021336089847880142010-12-06T01:13:56.712-08:002010-12-06T01:13:56.712-08:00Adrian,
I'm a bit nervous about adding any fur...Adrian,<br />I'm a bit nervous about adding any further comment on your ancestors (beyond what Seana has said), given the fate of some of the characters in your books! Lets just say I have discovered very similar skeletons in my own family tree and we can rest assured that they did what they had to do for the greater good, and not for personal gain ... (why does that not sound convincing?)<br />Gleno(e) is just a typo that I've now put right. So my plan to avoid all mention of the nearby village of Glynn to avoid confusion with Glenoe didn't quite work.<br />Pushing a bike through Eden, up the Tongue Loanen and on past Dalway's Bawn towards Glenoe and Magheramorne was a regular Saturday jaunt for me too. We would have fishing rods tied to the bars of our bikes and poached for trout in the Glynn River between Glenoe and Glynn. Pathetic really, compared to cattle rustling and furthering the cause of the proletariat against a corrupt establishment.Philip Robinsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08266929629062158843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post-7355439415314119032010-12-05T19:29:13.233-08:002010-12-05T19:29:13.233-08:00I'm afraid he is, Adrian.
Nice piece of schol...I'm afraid he is, Adrian.<br /><br />Nice piece of scholarship, there, Philip. <br /><br />So, though I'm probably already supposed to know this, does the fact that that map says Kragfargus mean that Carrick means crag? Or was that a misinterpretation by the mapmaker.seana grahamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03774794086733027289noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8071430214772445370.post-80154429423280606102010-12-05T16:25:13.688-08:002010-12-05T16:25:13.688-08:00What are you saying, my great great great...grandf...What are you saying, my great great great...grandfather was a cattle rustler? <br /><br />I wonder Philip if you could explain the confusion that comes from Glenoe and Gleno - are they separate parts of the same village or what exactly? <br /><br />I used to bike to Glenoe from Carrick along some interestingly named roads: The Tongue Loanen, The Acreback and of course Dalways Bawn Road.adrian mckintyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03349942973907386269noreply@blogger.com