Labhair an t-iriseoir Tara Maher le Róise Nic an Bheatha féna scannán Ghàidhlig-Gaeilge bunaithe ar an ngaol idir bheirt móidín sacar i nGlaschú.
Tá gaol an scríbhneora, Róise Nic an Bheatha, le Gaeilge na hÉireann agus Gàidhlig na hAlban, mar thionchar bunúsach ar a saothar. Tá tionchar an dá theanga tar éis teacht le chéile i scannán a scríobh agus a stiúraigh sí, leis an teideal díreach sin féin, 'Le Chéile'. Insítear an scéal seo i gcomhthéacs an seana-iomaíocht Old Firm idir foirne sacar Celtic agus Rangers, Ghlaschú. Cíorann an ghearrscannán téamaí éagsúla idir cairdeas, seicteachais agus teanga. Tá béim ar leith ann ar ról theangacha mionlaigh i ndomhain comhaimseartha an lae inniu, rud a thiomáineann saothar Nic an Bheatha i gcoitinne.
Cé gur tógadh le Gaeilge i nDoire í, bhog a muintir go Dún Éideann agus í ceithre bhliain déag d'aois, áit a ndeachaigh sí i dtaithí ar Ghàidhlig na hAlban. Uaidh sin chuaigh sí i mbun Litríochta na hAlbain in Ollscoil Ghlaschú. Níor chaill sí riamh, áfach, a suim sa Ghaeilge féin agus cuairteanna rialta á thabhairt aici ar a muintir i mBéal Feirste agus Tír Chonaill. I ndiaidh na hOllscolaíochta chaith sí seal ag obair le comhlacht PR in Inbhir Nis ach thig sí go raibh a croí i ndáiríre ag lorg na cruthaíochta.
Thosaigh sí i mbun saoririseoracht le hirisí ar nós Artificial Womb Zine, The Poetry Foundation, Association for Scottish Literary Studies agus a blag féin á scríobh, leis, theramblingcelt.com. Tá sí anois tar éis a céad gearrscannáin a scríobh. Dhá nóiméad déag ar fhaid, castar sinn in Le Chéile ar mhóidín Albanach Rangers agus móidín Éireannach Celtic a chasann lena chéile ar aistear bhus abhaile. Tuigtear don bheirt go bhfuil talamh slán eatarthu toisc na teanga dúchasacha acu.
An sprioc a bhí ag Nic an Bheatha ná scrúdú a dhéanamh ar chumas mionteangacha teacht timpeall ar fallaí chultúrtha. Cuairt ar Alban agus í an-óg a spreag í. "I must have been around 10 or 11, but we had a school play, which was written by Seamus Keenan, who's quite a famous writer from Derry, but it was translated into Irish. We took this play and toured it all around Ireland. It was about the life of Colum Cille. We got funding from Colum Cille which is an organisation that funds projects between the two countries and they took a massive group of kids from the Bogside and took us over to Glasgow and Edinburgh."
Is cuimhin le Róise mar a d'fhás dlúthchairdeas idir dhaltaí na scoile Gàidhlige leis an ngrúpa drámaíochta Gaeilge. "Thuigeamar a chéile," arsa Nic an Bheatha, "ach chomh luath agus a luaigh sacar, bshin deireadh leis an gcairdeas.
Bhí sé chomh haisteach mar go raibh na mionteangacha seo á labhairt againn, ach bhí difríochtaí cultúrtha agus difríochtaí peile eadrainn. Bshin íomhá a dfhan i mo chloigeann." Gan ach buiséad ana-bheag agus gan mórán tacaíochta ón earnáil, thóg sé tamall an togra a sheoladh. Tharla, cuí go maith, gur chuir Colm Cille maoiniú ar fáil di agus chuir sí a cuid airgead féin leis sin.
The short’s protagonists, who were portrayed by Róise's cousin, Sean McConville, and Daibhidh Moireasdan, who played the Celtic and Rangers fans respectively, received plaudits for their performances and for bringing their own personalities to the roles.
"I was very keen for them to be like their personalities … I wanted the Rangers supporter to be a bit more subdued and the Celtic supporter to be kind of a bit more your typical Belfast person … It came naturally."
Post production was taken on by Sarah Kivlehan, another Gaeilgeoir from Derry. Foireann iomlán ban a bhí ina mbun, cé is moite den bheirt aisteoir.
Cé gur dhírigh Nic an Bheatha tar éis críoch a chur leis an scannán ar na bhféiltí éagsúla - cinn clúitiúla baile i Corcaigh, an Feabhal - agus gan easpa muiníne in Cannes agus na BAFTA's. Níor chuala sí a dha uatha. Rith sé léi gur saothar in aisce a bhí ann an t-am, an t-airgead agus an iarracht. Ach choinnigh sí uirthi. Ghlac Toronto Irish Film Festival leis. Thug sin ugach di agus don scannán féin. De réir a chéile bhí sé á thaispeáint i bhféiltí éagsúla in Acaill, Raghnallach agus i mBéal Feirste féin. Bé Féile na Meáin Cheilteach an bhuaic di, deis 'Le Chéile' a thaispeáint dá gcomhaoisigh.
With Le Chéile now making a name for itself, Róise has been approached for the film to be included as part of the curriculum for an Irish language school, something she is very proud of.
Róise is a proud speaker of both languages but has seen how differently they are treated in their respective countries. The Irish language holds a dominant power in modern Irish culture, but the same can’t be said in Scotland. Kneecap appearing on The Jimmy Fallon Show and Cillian Murphy speaking as Gaeilge on the Oscars stage, it is now considered quite cool to be able to speak our native tongue, and to speak it regularly. With the backing of Government grants, the Irish language's status is constantly strengthening but the same can’t be said for 'Le Chéile’s other tongue. "People speak the language but there's not the same infrastructure for Gàidhlig within Scotland in the same way that there is in Ireland. In comparison (to Ireland), there's no support for the Gàidhlig language."
Tá súil ag Nic an Bheatha Le Chéile a fhoilsiú ar Youtube go luath.
