Detail from Harry Clarke stained-glass window in the Catholic church, Inishmeain.
I went to see the comedian Des Bishop last week as part of the Galway Arts Festival. The show (which was excellent) centred around his efforts to learn Irish and he switches from English to Irish during the show (not much of a problem for the audience in Galway), and also encourages people to go out and use the language a bit more.
It got me thinking about my trip to Inishmeain earlier in the year. When one is learning Irish as a child, one of the first thing that is taught is how to say hello. In Irish, a greeting is also a blessing – Dia dhuit literally means “God be with you”, and the reply ups the ante with Dia is Mhuire duit – God and Mary be with you. It’s a reflection of just how intertwined were Gaelic and Christian cultures over the centuries.
The thing that stuck in my mind more than anything that weekend in Inishmeain was walking down to the little church on the island and passing by some locals. I greeted them with “Dia dhiabhse” and they replied with “Dia is Mhuire duit” – a simple greeting and yet, an increasingly rare one outside of Gaeltacht areas.
There is another treasure waiting inside the church – a set of Harry Clarke windows.
Detail from Harry Clarke stained-glass window in the Catholic church, Inishmeain.