Manchán’s rich haul of endangered sea words

Writer and documentary maker Manchán Magan visited coastal communities of Galway, Mayo, Sligo and Donegal last February collecting forgotten sea words and maritime terms as part of a project for Galway 20202.

He recorded hours of conversations with folklorists, fisherman and linguists for Sea Tamagotchi: Foclóir Farraige, a unique venture which celebrates endangered sea words and maritime terms that were once common in Irish.

During the Spring lockdown, he edited his findings and made sound clips of those individual sea words – alongside their English translations.

More recently, Manchán focused on Connemara and Inis Mór, and this Autumn he visited people connected to the sea in both places in his bid to gather maritime words that are gradually fading from consciousness.

These words offer a rich insight into give into coastal practices, navigation systems, seasonal calendars, the psychological aspects of sea life, migratory routes and fishing techniques, he explains. And they matter, because losing them can result in the transfer of knowledge from generation to generation being disrupted.

“These words should make clear how ancient languages that have been spoken for thousands of years provide keys to unlocking the secrets of nature, because they arose from cultures that had learnt over millennia to live sustainably in their environments,” he says.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.

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