Irish-Language

The Bluffer poses the question that all daydreamers ask themselves

<b>NOUVEAU RICHE:</b> Winning Euromillions won&rsquo;t turn you into Brad Pitt or Sophia Loren overnight and it won&rsquo;t make you any younger so work out carefully what you want to do with all those spondoolicks
NOUVEAU RICHE: Winning Euromillions won’t turn you into Brad Pitt or Sophia Loren overnight and it won’t make you any younger so work out carefully what you want to do with all those spondoolicks NOUVEAU RICHE: Winning Euromillions won’t turn you into Brad Pitt or Sophia Loren overnight and it won’t make you any younger so work out carefully what you want to do with all those spondoolicks

How’s it going, daydreamers and feet-on-the-grounders, you’re all welcome to the Bluffer’s Guide to Irish.

The Bluffer is often given to falling into spells of dreamy meditation and fanciful musing.

Bruadair are daydreams or reveries, the type we all indulge in during those “there must be more to life than this” moments.

Brionglóid is a dream, the type you have at night, whereas an aisling is a vision and can be a girl’s name or a type of poetry developed during the late 17th and 18th century i bhfilíocht na Gaeilge - in Irish language poetry.

In this type of poem, Ireland usually appears to the poet in the form of a woman.

Now, this doesn’t happen very often in the Bluffer’s daydreams – he’s more into asking himself cad é a dhéanfá dá mbainfeá Euromillions? - What would you do if you won Euromillions?

It shows how boilsciú - inflation has changed people’s desires in that ní leor é milliún punt - a million pounds isn’t enough, people now dream of winning sums of over £100,000,000 which would get you into the Sunday Times Rich List.

Which all begs the question, what would you do with a fortune?

If you are from a humble background who enjoys nothing better than a night at the bingo or playing pool with your mates, would you be happy hob-nobbing with your fellow millionaires at the golf club?


Caviar instead of a fish supper?

An mbeifeá ar do chompord  - would you be comfortable living in a gated property, away from your friends from the housing estate?

An mbeifea sásta i d’árasán beag - would you be happy in your wee flat when you could afford homes in the fanciest capitals of Europe but, on the other side of the coin, an mbeadh cumha ort - would you be lonely living in an elegant Parisian apartment singing I’m just a bird in a gilded cage and knowing your former friends are buying curried chips after a beezer night at the 70s disco?

Decisions, decisions.      

Now the Bluffer is of a philanthropic disposition so after buying all the usual luxuries that money can buy, he would set up a fondúireacht daonchairdis - a philanthropic foundation to help various cúiseanna fiúntacha - worthy causes such as carthanachtaí do pháistí - children’s charities, Trócaire, Medecins Sans Frontieres addiction services, suicide support groups and so on. 

However, he would be conflicted as he sees it as the job of anrialtas - the government to be providing services that look after it’s vulnerable citizens. Rather than cutting services for less well off communities, the government, all governments, should be doing the decent thing and not depend on the benevolence of others.

Having enormous amounts of money should lead you to the big existential questions like cad chuige a bhfuil mé beo? - Why am I alive. 

That’s something the Bluffer would be pondering as he sits by the swimming pool of his secluded mansion, drinking Guinness and eating packets of crisps and reading the Irish News.  

You can take the man out of the ghetto ...

CÚPLA FOCAL

bruadair(brooader) - daydreams

brionglóid(bringloydge) - a dream

aisling(aashling) - a vision

i bhfilíocht na Gaeilge (i vileeakht ne gaylica) - in Irish language poetry

cad é a dhéanfá dá mbainfeá Euromillions? (cadge ay a yanhaa daa mwinhaa euromillions) - What would you do if you won Euromillions?

boilsciú(bwilshkyoo) - inflation 

ní leor é milliún punt(nee lore ay milyoon punt) - a million pounds isn’t enough

An mbeifeá ar do chompord(un mayhaa er daw khompord) - would you be comfortable 

An mbeifea sásta i d’árasán beag(un mayhaa saasta i darasaan big) - would you be happy in your wee flat

An mbeadh cumha ort(un mayoo cooee ort) - would you be lonely

fondúireacht daonchairdis(fondoorakht daynkharjiss) - a philanthropic foundation 

cúiseanna fiúntacha(cooshana fyoontaha) - worthy causes

carthanachtaí do pháistí(carhanakhtee daw fashtee) - children’s charities

anrialtas(un reealtiss) - government

cad chuige a bhfuil mé beo?(ca tee a wil may byaw) - Why am I alive?