"Our guttural muse / was bulled"

 “I’m wishing that she won’t be having a beef with me.” – “No, indeed, no, I’m certain.” This exchange was heard between a local young man and a local young lady who were crossing the Greenway bridge with me.  I find myself eavesdropping on conversations to try and pick up the phrasing. They were walking, as young people do, much quicker than me. I wish I could have heard more, but they were soon out of ear shot.  “No, indeed, no” is something I hear often, as is “God willing” and Thanks God.”  I say, “I’ll see you later” and the response is “God willing.” I say, “It’s a beautiful day” and the response is “Thanks God.”  I’ve heard some people using “sound” instead of “thank you” or “that’s good.”  “Are you alright?” they might ask at the pub.  The response is “Pint of Guiness.”  When the pint is served, they say “Here’s you.” The response might be “Sound.” It is a unique way of communicating that is essentially Irish. 

I also like phrases like “how is himself?” and “your man, there” and “I’m after going for a coffee,” and “he does be a bit dense.” Again, this doesn’t follow convention, or should I say the conventions of others. The poem “Traditions” by Seamus Heaney starts “Our guttural muse / was bulled long ago / by the alliterative tradition” (1-3).  The word “bulled” is interesting here because it is a word that isn’t much in use anymore, but it is much like bullied, or being pushed, I think. I also do believe that the alliterative tradition, like the alliterative revival, is seen as a bit of an easy way to construct poetry, and could certainly be tied to English rather than Irish wordsmiths. Heany might see it as a bit lazy, or uninteresting.  But the Irish way of phrasing things defies English grammar and pushes back against the expectations of outsiders. Maybe it is a language of resistance, or, at least, maybe it is a language that doesn’t want to be constrained by rules.  Makes sense.