Liam Ó Maonlaí reflects: Bob Marley and me, as Gaeilge

LIAM Ó Maonlaí fretted it wouldn’t work. He loves Irish but, when asked to be involved in a project translating the work of Bob Marley into the language, was immediately wary. Could Marley’s distinctive marriage of the spiritual and the earthy survive conversion to an alien tongue? Ó Maonlaí was concerned the answer might be in the negative.

Liam Ó Maonlaí reflects: Bob Marley and me, as Gaeilge

ā€œI adore the language, the culture, the songs that are part of all of that. But translating [rock lyrics] into the language can be uncomfortable,ā€ he says.

In the end, the sometime Hothouse Flowers frontman let himself be convinced. For one thing, the singer’s passion for reggae comes close to his ardour for Irish. It is a life-long relationship, going back to his youth in Dublin. ā€œI grew up in the 1970s. The punk movement was born around then. It was brilliant — there was a great sense of freedom, absolutely zero class divide. People were playing instruments who would never have played before.ā€

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