New web forum using old Irish Script

brianhere

The People's Movement (one of the Lisbon No campaign groups, chaired by Patricia McKenna) Midlands branch is launching a new web forum which provides the option of reading and writing messages entirely in old Irish script. Its at http://antilisbongroups.proboards.com .

For those who don't know, untill the 60s in Ireland Irish was written much like it had been for 1 and a half millenium. This was in a very distinctive unique script, it was only after the 60s that they wrote Irish using the usual English or Latin scripts. So an attempt has been made here to use the new font-face web technology to bring out the first web forum that can be viewed in this script. Also there are special buttons provided to allow people to post the dotted consonants which are an essential part of the old writing.

Anyways all are welcome to post there, and you don't have to register to post, but the idea was that it could be used particularly by the various groups that opposed the Lisbon treaty. In otherwords its an attempt to bring those groups together a little, at least locally in the Midlands, because it would be a pity not to keep together the groups that so passionately fought the No campaign.

Btw if you don't like the old script just register (thats 'clárú') and in your profile settings use the 'default' profile not the 'Ireland' one. This script should work in the newer versions of most browsers but it will only work on Firefox if you download, and install on your PC, Seamus Brógáin's Gadelica script which is available here: http://www.iol.ie/~sob/gadelica/ .

Grudaire

7 years lurking!?

Hardcore

brianhere

sheesh i didnt realise it was that long, I should be called the quiet man by right........lol

Jay Pentatonic

Wow, I didn't know it was changed in the 60s, I thought it was a lot ealier than that.
It sure looks nice though.

brianhere

No I think its the early or mid60s that is the crunch date here, although in fact some journal publishers were dropping it as early as the late 40s and the 50s.
It was adopted as the standard for Irish education in or around 1960, but it was still in use in Irish exams in 1966 (because they phased it out gradually).
By 1963 there were proposals that the Irish govt should insist on books in Irish to be published in the modern script ( http://historical-debates.oireachtas.ie/S/0056/S.0056.196303280003.html ).
Btw the modern script is known as Cló Rómhánach and the old script Cló Gaelach.
Its generally taken that the demise of the Three Candles Press in Dublin - which used to publish books in the old script - marks the end of that printed era in Irish script. This wasn't untill 1989 but Colm O'Loughlinn - its founder - had died in 1972 so probably about that date would be the date people are referring to as the end as it were. For example there is this reference:
"Nuair a d’imigh Comhartha na dTrí gCoinneall as, ní h-amháin gur cailleadh an cló nua, ach cailleadh leis thart ar fiche cló eile, de shaghasanna éagsúla. Bhí deireadh ré tagtha – deireadh le ceithre chéad bliain de chlóghrafaíocht na hÉireann."
( http://services.spd.dcu.ie/testlib/newlib/IrishSite/Collections/fourcenturiesG4.html )
The last typeface drawn up for printers at that time was Nua-Rómhánach by Liam Miller and used for a book by Myles na gCopaleen in 1964 (but that doesn't mean that that was the last book in the old script, because some printers may have continued to use old Irish typefaces).

In any case thats changed now because some new books are using the old script at least in the Irish language part of their texts, e.g. on p.73 et seq. of 'An Creideamh': http://books.google.ie/books?id=Pk21SdVd7skC , which uses Bunchló Ársa by Vincent Morley.

conor.hogan.2

Pointless on so many levels.

brianhere

Well fire away, tell us why you think its pointless?

conor.hogan.2

it is in english but in the old irish script ....

seriously - no but seriously?!?

brianhere

Anybody can write what they like in Irish though, and then obviously the info will change. Meanwhile all the icons etc are in Irish - as well as in the old script - when you are looking at it using the 'Ireland' skin, these all change back to English if you use the other skin.