Dìomhanas

Thathar eòlach air Fionnlagh mar sgrìobhadair dhealbhan-cluiche, no mar fhear-eachdraidh, eadar sgrìobhadh is craoladh, is ùidh aige an iomadh taobh dhen dualchas. Ach ged a chòrd ‘An Cluaisean’ ri daoine anns na 60an, cha robh Fionnlagh cho aithnichte mar fhear sgeulachdan. Mura robh, bithidh tuilleadh. Nochd grunn ann an Gath, ach seo a-nis làn-chruinneachadh. Is abair cruinneachadh: ceithir sgeulachd thar fhichead ann an cainnt bhrìoghmhor, sgaiteach, shiùbhlach, a’ falbh o amannan o chian chun an là a-màireach, cuid drùidhteach le bàs no fulang, feadhainn eile aotrom no aoireil. Cha bhi Cùil Lodair no Mac an t-Srònaich a-chaoidh mar a bha às dèidh seo. Dithis ann an ‘Còmhla’ a’ siubhal tro linntean mòra a dh’fhalbh; coigrich anns ‘An Dachaigh’ air tighinn a sgìre nach aithne dhaibh, is a thiamhaidheachd fhèin an cois sin; is an tè a ghluais a dh’Inbhir Nis riaraichte le beatha cho furasta. Creideamh: grunn thionndaidhean air a’ chuspair sin. Mothachadh air cor bhoireannach. Saoghal nan innealan a tha romhainn, is an Cluaisean fhèin a’ nochdadh a-rithist. Ach gach tè, os cionn gach rud, na deagh sgeulachd, càilear is tarraingeach.

"A significant feature of this book is the quality of the Gaelic in which it is written. The vocabulary is sometimes challenging, and you will not find all of the words in Dwelly, but it transports one back to the days when Gaelic speakers were more fluent and articulate than they are now. Reading these stories I encountered words and expressions that I heard and knew in my own younger days, and I felt ashamed that I had ignored and lost them so thoughtlessly.

Dìomhanas is more than a book. It’s a sparkling gem in the treasury of Gaelic literature. Although most of the stories had been previously published in magazines and other outlets, we had been waiting for a long time to see them in book form and our patience is now rewarded. Finlay has written more than the twenty-four stories that appear in this book. We hope that more of his remarkable writing will be published in a format as pleasing as this one."

Seonaidh Ailig Mac a' Phearsain, Canada, 2008