Gaeilge Thar Lear

In Part Two, we arrive at the end - and at the verdict.

It is April 2019, and I have just moved to Bonn. Season Eight is airing week by week, and every Monday, while my girlfriend is at work, I am on the sofa with my NowTV pass, going back to Westeros one last time. What I thought of what I found there - and why - is what this episode is about.

We talk about Season Eight, about where it went wrong, and when the cracks actually started. About rewatchability, about what a bad ending does to everything that came before it. And about what made GOT genuinely unique - a collective experience that only happens once, and that no amount of disappointment can fully undo.

This episode was originally released in Irish in May. I had the script ready, and as I am taking a summer break, I thought it was a good opportunity to release the bilingual version for anyone who enjoys a little English alongside the Irish. I am hoping to be back in September with new episodes.

In the meantime, grab a cup of tea and come along for the final chapter.

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Sa dara cuid seo, tagaimid go dtí an deireadh - agus go dtí an bhreithiúnas.

Tá sé Aibreán 2019 agus táim díreach tar éis bogadh go Bonn. Tá séasúr 8 ag teacht amach seachtain ar sheachtain, agus gach Luan agus mo chailín ag an obair, bím ar an tolg le mo NowTV pass, ag filleadh ar Westeros den uair dheireanach. Cad a cheap mé de cad a fuair mé ann - agus cén fáth - sin an méid atá san eagrán seo.

Labhraímid faoi shéasúr 8, faoi cá ndeachaigh sé mícheart agus cathain a thosaigh na cracks i ndáiríre. Faoin rewatchability, faoi cad a dhéanann deireadh olc le gach rud a tháinig roimhe. Agus faoin rud a rinne GOT uathúil i ndáiríre - eispéireas comhchoiteann nach dtarlaíonn ach uair amháin, agus nach féidir le díomá ar bith a chur ar ceal go hiomlán.

Eisíodh an eagrán seo as Gaeilge amháin i mí na Bealtaine. Bhí an script réidh agam agus, ós rud é go bhfuil sos samhraidh á ghlacadh agam, shíl mé gur deis mhaith a bheadh ann an leagan dátheangach a chur amach dóibh siúd ar maith leo beagán Béarla fite fuaite leis an nGaeilge. Tá súil agam a bheith ar ais i mí Mheán Fómhair le heagrán nua.
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Seven years after the end of Game of Thrones, I'm revisiting this essay - this time as a Níos Éasca bilingual (Irish-English) episode.

I'm currently spending some time back home in Ireland with my family, and it felt like a good opportunity to share this bilingual version with new listeners and with anyone who enjoys having a little English alongside the Irish.

In Part One, I return to where it all began — from the first books I read in Cork to the television series that became a defining part of my twenties. It's a personal reflection on the world of Westeros and the characters that shaped conversations, friendships, and different chapters of life.

So, grab a cup of tea, take the dog for a walk, and come along for the journey.

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Seacht mbliana tar éis deireadh Game of Thrones, filleann mé ar an aiste seo arís — an uair seo mar eipeasóid Níos Éasca (Gaeilge agus Béarla).

Táim ar saoire sa bhaile in Éirinn le mo chlann faoi láthair, agus shíl mé gur deis mhaith a bheadh ann an leagan dátheangach seo a roinnt le héisteoirí nua, nó leo siúd ar fearr leo beagán Béarla fite fuaite leis an nGaeilge.

Sa chéad chuid seo, téim siar go dtí an tús — ó na chéad leabhair a léigh mé i gCorcaigh, go dtí an tsraith teilifíse a tháinig chun bheith ina cuid mhór de mo shaol sna fichidí. Seo machnamh pearsanta ar dhomhan Westeros agus ar na carachtair a mhúnlaigh comhráite, cairdis agus tréimhsí éagsúla den saol.

Mar sin, faigh cupán tae, téigh amach ag siúl, agus tar liom ar an turas seo.
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What does "greatness" mean? The answer is not as simple as you might think.

In this episode of Gaeilge Thar Lear, I follow one thread from the All-Ireland Championship... through the World Cup... to the Tour de France... from Joe Canning to Tadej Pogacar... and eventually to a question with no simple answer.

An episode about memory, about time, and about the person you were when you witnessed greatness. About why it is objective and subjective and everything in between — and about the uncomfortable questions that sometimes come with it.

Post-Production Notes

This episode falls in a weird space where the story came to me and was then developed (pulled at) at the start of July and then written down over a couple of days... the episode itself took a while to record - again over maybe three or four days - so yes, this easily could have explored "Mayo 4 Sam", Limerick hurlers in more detail, more on the World Cup, and more with Tadej and the Tour. Those are the difficulties when writing and responding to "current" events, while also "bulk recording"...

The idea with Tadej is that he has been truly exceptional - a bolt from the blue - since the very start of his career, whereas typically in the history of cheats they take some time to fall into that pattern - riders have said it takes "1000 days of losing" before you resort to the "dark arts" - so three years - in comparison, Pogacar won his first Tour in 2020 in his second professional season as a 21 year old... Furthermore, he races and wins everything throughout the year - from February to October - typically dopers would have downtime to get their blood bags, etc., organised - he does not follow that pattern. I do not think I outlined it all that well when I listened back to the pod, so hopefully this explainer makes it a bit clearer.

Aspects of this could have been improved and explained better - the thread is not perfect - but I thought it was better to get it out there rather than endless rewrites.... so it is not perfect, but sure what is?

Anyway, I hope ye enjoy this one.

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Cad is brí le "greatness"? Ní hé an freagra atá chomh simplí agus a cheapfá.

San eagrán seo de Gaeilge Thar Lear, lean mé snáth amháin ó Chraobh na hÉireann... tríd an gCorn na Domhanda... go dtí an Tour de France... ó Joe Canning go dtí Tadej Pogacar... agus ar deireadh go dtí ceist nach bhfuil freagra simplí uirthi.

Is eagrán é faoi chuimhne, faoin am, agus faoin duine a bhí tú nuair a chonaic tú greatness. Faoin difríocht idir í a fheiceáil agus í a mhothú — agus nach ionann an dá rud i gcónaí. Agus faoi na ceisteanna crua a thagann léi uaireanta.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Cad is brí le "greatness"? Ní hé an freagra atá chomh simplí agus a cheapfá.

San eagrán seo de Gaeilge Thar Lear, lean mé snáth amháin ó Chraobh na hÉireann... tríd an gCorn na Domhanda... go dtí an Tour de France... ó Joe Canning go dtí Tadej Pogacar... agus ar deireadh go dtí ceist nach bhfuil freagra simplí uirthi.

Is eagrán é faoi chuimhne, faoin am, agus faoin duine a bhí tú nuair a chonaic tú greatness. Faoin difríocht idir í a fheiceáil agus í a mhothú — agus nach ionann an dá rud i gcónaí. Agus faoi na ceisteanna crua a thagann léi uaireanta.

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What does "greatness" mean? The answer is not as simple as you might think.

In this episode of Gaeilge Thar Lear, I follow one thread from the All-Ireland Championship... through the World Cup... to the Tour de France... from Joe Canning to Tadej Pogacar... and eventually to a question with no simple answer.

An episode about memory, about time, and about the person you were when you witnessed greatness. About why it is objective and subjective and everything in between — and about the uncomfortable questions that sometimes come with it.
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

There was something about the 2000s. I cannot quite name it - but you knew it when you were in it. A shared language. A clear image of what it meant to be young. A world that felt like it was going in one direction.

And then, slowly and surely, it was gone.

In this episode of Gaeilge Thar Lear, I am thinking about that world - about what was there, about what went with it. And about the strange feeling that comes when the algorithm returns something to you that you were not looking for.

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Bhí rud éigin ann sna 2000í. Ní féidir liom ainm cruinn a chur air — ach bhí a fhios agat nuair a bhí tú ann. Teanga chomhroinnte. Íomhá shoiléir de cad a bhí i gceist le bheith óg. Domhan a bhí ag dul i dtreo amháin.

Agus ansin, go mall agus go cinnte, d'imigh sé.

San eagrán seo de Gaeilge Thar Lear, táim ag smaoineamh ar an domhan sin — ar cad a bhí ann, ar cad a d'imigh leis. Agus ar an mothúchán aisteach a thagann nuair a chuireann an algorithm rud ar ais os do chomhair nach raibh tú ag lorg.
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