Coimeádaíithe Ár Scéal / The Keepers Of The Flame
Fonn: The Bantry Girls’ Lament
Údar: Dave Barron

Coimeádaíithe Ár Scéal / The Keepers Of The Flame
Fonn: The Bantry Girls’ Lament
Údar: Dave Barron

Ó am na Féine ’sé béaloideas a shabháil seanchas sinsear,
I dteallaigh dearg a lasadh cultúr breá an tine;
Ghlach na comharsain is an clann teas ‘gus gean an tine,
Ghlach iad uilig an cultúr céanna, cultúr breá na hÉireann.
Ár gcultúr úr, ó ghlúin go glúin, trí choimeádaithe ár scéal.

In am ghlachadh an cultúr i gcuile áit in Èirinn,
Ár gcultúr a shú isteach an Lochlann is Normáin;
Seanchaí is baird a chlaonadh sean dúchas is oidhreacht:
Chan siad scéalta an cinne Gaelach, na laochra is an draíocht.
Ár gcultúr úr, ó ghlúin go glúin, trí choimeádaithe ár scéal.

Thuig Liza is a cúirt go maith páirt tabhachtach na baird,
Nuair a scrios a impireacht cultúr Éireann le dlithe is a harm.
Ach cois teallaigh le bothánaíocht bhí ár gcultúr beo is tréan:
Ba amhránaí is Fear an Tigh coimeádaithe ár scéal.
Ár gcultúr úr, ó ghlúin go glúin, trí choimeádaithe ár scéal.

Conus an cultúr a chaomhnaigh inniu le nua teichneolaíocht,
Le brú an cnaipe tá eolas uilig ó AI go zó-eolaíocht.
Ach tá breis ag teastáil ná fíricí, sin é fráma cultúrtha
Tá gá géar anois do’n sean oidhreacht, an dúchas is cultúr.
Ár gcultúr úr, ó ghlúin go glúin, trí choimeádaithe ár scéal.

Bhí Fear an Tigh i sean Cluain Mhór, McDonald ab ainm dó,
B’é a dhúil cultúr a chaomhnú, ní glóir is ní clú.
Coimeád a Theach Bothánaíocht an oidhreacht bríomhar, beo,
Ach tá Eddie anois sa cruinniu mór le Coimeádaithe ó fadó.
Tá Eddie anois le Slua na bFhlaitheas le Coimeádaí ár scéal.
Ár gcultúr úr, ó ghlúin go glúin, trí choimeádaithe ár scéal.

Féach ar ‘The Keepers of the Flame’ do’n leagan Béarla.

Long, long ago ancestral lore was passed on orally;
The spark to light the Cultural Fire was lit in family
And local neighbours and the clan, all warmed to that same Flame
And so all came to act the same, all Keepers of the Flame.
Ár gcultúr úr, ó ghlúin go glúin, trí coimeádaithe ár scéal.

That Cultural Fire, fanned into flame, became our Irish Way,
So strong it burned Norse and Norman adopted Irish ways;
Seanchaí and Bard, they were the stars who tended to the Flame;
They told the stories of our race, the Keepers of the Flame.
Ár gcultúr úr, ó ghlúin go glúin, trí coimeádaithe ár scéal.

Queen Liza knew the part they played, how Bards maintained the Flame;
Her empire tried to quench our Flame, to their eternal shame;
But by fireside on Rambling Nights our Culture still was safe:
The Singers and the Fear an Tigh, all Keepers of the Flame.
Ár gcultúr úr, ó ghlúin go glúin, trí coimeádaithe ár scéal.

How can we keep the Flame today, with new technology?
The button we press will answer all quests, from AI to Zoology;
But AI and facts need more than that: they need a cultural frame:
We need to maintain our Cultural Flame and the Keepers of the Flame.
Ár gcultúr úr, ó ghlúin go glúin, trí coimeádaithe ár scéal.

In old Clonmore lived such a man, McDonald was his name;
He aimed to keep the Fire aflame, not glory and not fame;
There Eddie Mac and his Rambling House all kept the Fire aflame,
Now Eddie’s gone, he’s joined the throng, the Keepers of the Flame.
Yes, Eddie’s passed to Heaven’s host of Keepers of the Flame.
Ár gcultúr úr, ó ghlúin go glúin, trí coimeádaithe ár scéal.

Anois níos mó ná riamh teastaíonn Creat Cultúir an OT agus iad siúd a choinníonn beo é. Déanann an t-amhrán machnamh ar an Traidisiún Béil sin agus ar an tábhacht a bhaineann leis, go háirithe san aimsir seo ina bhfuil na meáin shóisialta ag tabhairt tionchair idirnáisiúnta ar ár n-óg, chun dochar dár luachanna cultúrtha traidisiúnta. Cuimhníonn sé go háirithe ar Eddie MacDonald as Cluain Mhór, Contae Cheatharlach, a d'éirigh leis traidisiún Theach na Rambling a chur chun cinn agus a chothabháil. Ar dheis Dé go mbeidh anam uasal Eddie.

Now more than ever we need the Culture Framework of the OT and those who keep it alive. The song reflects on that Oral Tradition and its importance, particularly in this time of social media bringing international influences on our young, to the detriment of our traditional cultural values. It particularly remembers Eddie MacDonald of Clonmore, County Carlow, who successfully promoted and maintained the Rambling House tradition. Ar dheis Dé go mbeidh anam uasal Eddie.