Sraith scéalta bailiúchán
Déanann Taisclann Dhigiteach na hÉireann (DRI) a cion féin chun oidhreacht dhigiteach na hÉireann a chumhdach trí bhailiúcháin dhigiteacha shóisialta agus chultúrtha a bhuanchoimeád agus a fhoilsiú. Is bailiúcháin iad seo a bhíonn á nginiúint ag taighdeoirí in Éirinn agus á gcoinneáil ag institiúidí Éireannacha, nó is bailiúcháin iad ina bhfuil ábhar digiteach a bhaineann le hoileán na hÉireann le fáil.
Sa tsraith blaganna nua seo ‘Scéalta bailiúchán’, tá áthas orainn eolas níos doimhne a fháil ar chuid den ábhar bailiúcháin fíorshuimiúil atá ar fáil i dTaisclann Dhigiteach na hÉireann lena iniúchadh. Is é aidhm na sraithe seo ná teacht ar na scéalta atá taobh thiar de na míreanna sna bailiúcháin, raon na mbailiúchán a leathnú, agus béim a chur ar na buntáistí a bhaineann le sonraí oidhreachta cultúrtha agus eolaíochtaí sóisialta a oscailt chun an fhionnachtain agus an athúsáid is mó a bhaint astu.
Mar cheiliúradh ar Sheachtain na Gaeilge (1–17 Márta), tá béim á cur ar an mbailiúchán Gaeilge – Taifeadtaí Fuaime Logainm – arna dtaisceadh i dTaisclann Dhigiteach na hÉireann ag an Dr Brian Ó Raghallaigh (OCBÁC) agus an Dr Pádraig Mac Aodhgáin (atá ina Mhaor Sonraí Taighde i gColáiste na hOllscoile, Corcaigh anois) trí thacaíocht ón gClár Píolótach um Shonraí Taighde Oidhreachta a Bhuanchoimeád, faoi stiúir Thaisclann Dhigiteach na hÉireann i gcomhar le Sonraí – Líonra Maoirseachta Sonraí na hÉireann.
Maidir le tionscadal taighde Logainm, Bunachar Logainmneacha na hÉireann
Is tionscadal taighde de chuid an ghrúpa taighde Gaois, Fiontar agus Scoil na Gaeilge, Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath (OCBÁC) é an tionscadal taighde Logainm, Bunachar Logainmneacha na hÉireann (Logainm). Is é an Dr Brian Ó Raghallaigh[3] an Príomhthaighdeoir ar an tionscadal Logainm agus rinne sé maoirseacht ar an tionscadal taifeadta fuaime. Is iad príomhchuspóirí an tionscadail (1) teicneolaíocht den scoth a chur ar fáil chun taighde an Bhrainse Logainmneacha (Rialtas na hÉireann) a éascú agus (2) sonraí logainmníochta an Stáit (logainmneacha Gaeilge go háirithe) a scaipeadh trí logainm.ie. Cuimsítear i dtacar sonraí lárnach Logainm thart ar 125,000 mír áite, lena n-áirítear thart ar 95,000 logainm Gaeilge lena ngabhtar faisnéis chomhthéacsúil. Tá an-luach ag baint leis ó thaobh cultúir agus teanga de. Tá an tionscadal á mhaoiniú ag an Roinn Turasóireachta, Cultúir, Ealaíon, Gaeltachta, Spóirt agus Meán, le tacaíocht ón gCrannchur Náisiúnta. Cuireadh tús leis an tionscadal in 2007 agus seoladh an chéad leagan de shuíomh gréasáin an tionscadail phoiblí in 2008.
Is cóip chartlainne de na taifeadtaí fuaime ón tionscadal seo é Bailiúchán Taifeadtaí Fuaime Logainm, arna mbuanchoimeád i dTaisclann Dhigiteach na hÉireann in 2024 mar chuid den Chlár Píolótach um Shonraí Taighde Oidhreachta a Bhuanchoimeád, a thacaigh le taighdeoirí trí oiliúint shaincheaptha a chur ar fáil dóibh ar bhainistiú sonraí taighde agus cruthú bailiúcháin, mar aon leis an deis a gcuid sonraí oidhreachta a bhuanchoimeád i dTaisclann Dhigiteach na hÉireann i gcomhair rochtain fhadtéarmach. Rinne an Dr Brian Ó Raghallaigh agus an Dr Pádraig Mac Aodhgáin é a chruthú ar chúiseanna buanchoimeádta agus athúsáide.
Agallamh
Taisclann Dhigiteach na hÉireann: Dia duit, a Bhriain, go raibh maith agat as a bheith linn don agallamh seo. An féidir leat beagán a insint dúinn faoi bhailiúchán Taifeadtaí Fuaime Logainm?
Freagra: Is cóip chartlainne de na taifeadtaí fuaime ó Logainm é bailiúchán Taifeadtaí Fuaime Logainm. Mar chuid de thionscadal Logainm, rinneamar iarracht an fhoirm oifigiúil Ghaeilge agus Bhéarla a thaifeadadh le haghaidh fo-thacar de chatagóirí logainmneacha (barúntachtaí, paróistí sibhialta, toghranna, ionaid daonra agus mórghnéithe nádúrtha, chomh maith le príomhshráideanna Bhaile Átha Cliath agus foirm Ghaeilge na mbailte fearainn i gceantair Ghaeltachta) sna 32 contae ar fad. D’éirigh linn dul trí na 26 contae sa Deisceart agus, le cabhair ár gcomhghleacaithe i dTionscadal Logainmneacha Thuaisceart Éireann, rinneamar 3 cinn de na 6 chontae sa Tuaisceart. Ar an drochuair, níor éirigh linn dul go Doire, Fear Manach ná Tír Eoghain.
Roghnaíodh cainteoir amháin le haghaidh gach contae, duine a tógadh sa chontae agus a raibh cur amach aige ar na logainmneacha. Roghnaíodh cainteoirí dúchais Gaeilge i gcontaetha ina bhfuil ceantar Gaeltachta. Roghnaíodh cainteoirí Béarla a bhfuil Gaeilge líofa agus eolas ar fhuaimniú foirmeacha Béarla na logainmneacha acu sna contaetha eile. Rinne taighdeoirí ó Ollscoil Chathair Bhaile Átha Cliath maoirsiú ar na taifeadtaí agus thug taighdeoirí ón mBrainse Logainmneacha comhairle maidir le fuaimniú na logainmneacha. Mar chuid de Chlár Píolótach Thaisclann Dhigiteach na hÉireann um Shonraí Taighde Oidhreachta a Bhuanchoimeád, rinneadh taifeadtaí Chontae na hIarmhí a ionghabháil isteach i dTaisclann Dhigiteach na hÉireann (le cead an chainteora, an Dr Aengus Finnegan), agus próiseáladh na contaetha eile agus déanfar iad a ionghabháil in am trátha.
Taisclann Dhigiteach na hÉireann: An féidir leat an scéal nó an tábhacht atá taobh thiar de cheann de na míreanna sa bhailiúchán a insint dúinn?
Freagra: Dar linne, is iad iriseoirí agus léitheoirí nuachta is mó a úsáideann an t-ábhar taifeadta fuaime ar Logainm agus iad ag tuairisciú ar scéal réigiúnach, gan bheith cinnte conas logainm áitiúil a fhuaimniú. Is acmhainn iontach iad sonraí Chontae na hIarmhí chun na críche seo toisc go bhfuil go leor samplaí ann d’áiteanna áitiúla agus d’ionaid daonra nach bhfuil an fuaimniú (i mBéarla na hÉireann agus/nó i nGaeilge) intuigthe i ndáiríre ón litriú. Mar shampla, fuaimnítear an sráidbhaile Bealin mar “ˌbay-ˈLIN”, fuaimnítear an sráidbhaile Finnea mar “ˌfin-ˈAY”, agus fuaimnítear an bharúntacht Moygoish mar “ˌmoy-ˈGISH”. Ar an mbealach céanna i gcás logainmneacha Gaeilge, is féidir linn a chloisteáil go bhfuaimnítear an bharúntacht Cill Chainnigh (i gCo. na hIarmhí) mar“ˌcill-ˈCHEANN-aí”, fuaimnítear an baile An Muileann gCearr mar “an ˈMUIL-eann ˈgCEÁRR”, agus fuaimnítear an sráidbhaile Baile Fhobhair mar “ˈbaile ˈFHÓIR”. Do dhuine ar bith a bhfuil spéis ar leith aige i logainmneacha Chontae na hIarmhí, mholfainn dó cuairt a thabhairt ar shuíomh gréasáin an Dr Aengus Finnegan. Cuirfear i bhfad níos mó seoda mar seo ar fáil de réir mar a fhoilseoimid na sonraí ó na contaetha eile.
Taisclann Dhigiteach na hÉireann: A Phádraig, cén fáth ar bhraith tú go raibh sé tábhachtach bailiúchán Taifeadtaí Fuaime Logainm a bhuanchoimeád go digiteach i dTaisclann Dhigiteach na hÉireann i gcomhair fionnachtain agus rochtain fhadtéarmach?
Freagra: Toisc gur gníomhaíocht é an buanchoimeád digiteach a fhéachann le rochtain a choinneáil ar mhíreanna digiteacha i ndiaidh shaolré an óstaigh nó iomarcaíocht na formáide meán, ligeann sé dúinn ár sócmhainní digiteacha luachmhara a chumhdach go ceann tréimhse éiginnte. Is áit úsáideach é an Gréasán Domhanda chun faisnéis a fháil agus chun comhaid meán a rochtain, ach d’fhéadfadh sé a bheith ina áit éagobhsaí chomh maith. Tagann agus imíonn suíomhanna gréasáin, agus is minic a dhéantar acmhainní a bhí ar fáil dúinn go héasca ar bhonn rialta a bhaint nó a chailleadh gan fógra. Sin an chúis a bhfuil sé tábhachtach dúinn machnamh a dhéanamh ar bhuanchoimeád fadtéarmach a dhéanamh ar acmhainní tábhachtacha, go háirithe na haschuir ó thionscadail a bhfuil tábhacht náisiúnta ag baint leo, amhail Logainm.
Ach ligeann sé dúinn chomh maith machnamh a dhéanamh ar conas is féidir linn cur síos a dhéanamh ar na hacmhainní seo do dhaoine eile nach mbeadh cur amach acu ar an gcomhthéacs inar cuireadh an tionscadal i gcrích an chéad lá riamh, mar a cheadúnaítear na hacmhainní, cé a bhí freagrach as an obair, agus cé hiad na teagmhálaithe reatha. Ligeann obair na bainistíochta sonraí agus an bhuanchoimeádta dhigitigh dúinn díriú ar na gnéithe seo go léir den tionscadal.
Taisclann Dhigiteach na hÉireann: Go raibh maith agaibh beirt as bhur gcuid ama a roinnt linn inniu. Sula gcríochnóimid, an bhfuil aon rud eile ar mhaith libh a rá faoin mbailiúchán?
Freagra: Ba mhaith liom focal a rá is dócha faoi luach an bhailiúcháin do thaighdeoirí, agus a thábhachtaí atá sé a bheith ar fáil i dTaisclann Dhigiteach na hÉireann. Baineann an-chuid acmhainne le bailiúchán mar seo agus d’fhéadfadh sé go mbeadh sé úsáideach do raon taighdeoirí éagsúla. Mar shampla, bheadh an t-ábhar seo ina ábhar spéise go príomha do thaighdeoirí logainmneacha (ag breathnú ar fhoirm, struchtúr agus dáileadh na logainmneacha), chomh maith le staraithe agus tíreolaithe (ag féachaint ar an topagrafaíocht stairiúil, cuir i gcás). Ar an dara dul síos, d’fhéadfadh sé go mbeadh spéis éigin ag teangeolaithe agus ag canúineolaithe (ag lorg fianaise ar ghnéithe réigiúnacha teanga). Ar an tríú dul síos, d’fhéadfaí an bailiúchán seo a úsáid i gcomhar le meaisínfhoghlaim i dtascanna teicneolaíochta teanga ar nós aithint cainte agus cineálacha réigiúnacha de Bhéarla na hÉireann a ghiniúint. Tá sé thar a bheith luachmhar do thaighdeoirí go ndéantar cur síos agus eagrú maith ar na sonraí seo, agus go mbeidís ar fáil go héasca lena rochtain agus lena n-íoslódáil de réir contae i dTaisclann Dhigiteach na hÉireann. Tá an inrochtaineacht seo tábhachtach toisc go soláthraíonn sé an leibhéal faisnéise comhthéacsúla atá ag teastáil ó thaighdeoirí ar spéis leo na sonraí a úsáid, chomh maith le fáil réidh leis an ngá atá leis an suíomh gréasáin Logainm a bhrabhsáil de láimh.
Déan iniúchadh ar bhailiúchán Taifeadtaí Fuaime Logainm i dTaisclann Dhigiteach na hÉireann: https://doi.org/10.7486/DRI.jd47gr915
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Collection stories – Logainm Sound Recordings
Collection stories series
The Digital Repository of Ireland (DRI) helps safeguard Ireland’s digital legacy by preserving and publishing social and cultural digital collections generated by researchers in Ireland, held by Irish institutions, or digital material pertaining to the island of Ireland.
In this new ‘collection stories’ blog series, we’re pleased to delve deeper into some of the fascinating collection material that can be explored in the DRI repository. The aim of this series is to discover stories behind the objects in the collections, expand the reach of the collections, and reinforce the benefits of opening up cultural heritage and social sciences data for the greatest discovery and reuse.
In celebration of Seachtain na Gaeilge (1–17 March), we’re spotlighting the Irish language collection – Logainm Sound Recordings – deposited in DRI by Dr Brian Ó Raghallaigh (DCU) and Dr Pádraig Mac Aodhgáin (now UCC’s Research Data Steward) through the support of the Legacy Research Data Preservation Pilot, which was run by DRI in collaboration with Sonraí, the Irish Data Stewardship Network.
About the Logainm Placenames Database of Ireland research project
The Logainm Placenames Database of Ireland research project (Logainm) is a research project of the Gaois research group, Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge, Dublin City University (DCU). Dr Brian Ó Raghallaigh is the Principal Investigator on the Logainm project and supervised the sound recording project. The project’s main objectives are (1) to provide state-of-the-art technology to facilitate the research of the Placenames Branch (Government of Ireland) and (2) to disseminate the State’s toponymic data (Irish-language placenames in particular) via logainm.ie. The Logainm core dataset comprises around 125,000 place objects including around 95,000 Irish-language placenames with contextual information. It is of immense value both culturally and linguistically. The project is funded by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, with support from the National Lottery. The project was started in 2007 and the first version of the public project website was launched in 2008.
The Logainm Sound Recordings collection is an archival copy of the sound recordings from this project, preserved in the DRI repository in 2024 as part of the Legacy Research Data Preservation Pilot, which supported researchers by providing them with bespoke research data management and collection creation training and the opportunity to preserve their legacy data in the DRI repository for long-term access. It was created by Dr Brian Ó Raghallaigh and Dr Pádraig Mac Aodhgáin for the purposes of preservation and reuse.
Interview
DRI: Hello Brian, thank you for joining us for this interview. Can you tell us a little bit about the Logainm Sound Recordings collection?
Response: The Logainm Sound Recordings collection is an archival copy of the sound recordings from Logainm. As part of the Logainm project, we attempted to record the official Irish and English form for a subset of placename categories (baronies, civil parishes, electoral divisions, centres of population and major natural features, plus the main streets of Dublin and the Irish-language form of townlands in Gaeltacht areas) for all 32 counties. We managed to get through the 26 counties of the South and, with the help of our colleagues in the Northern Ireland Place-Name Project, 3 of the 6 counties in the North. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to Derry, Fermanagh and Tyrone.
For each county a single speaker was chosen, one who was raised in the county and who was familiar with its placenames. Native Irish speakers were chosen in counties containing a Gaeltacht region. English speakers with fluent Irish and knowledge of the pronunciation of the English forms of the placenames were chosen in the other counties. Researchers from DCU oversaw the recordings and researchers from the Placenames Branch advised on toponymic pronunciations. As part of the DRI Legacy Research Data Preservation Pilot Scheme, the recordings of Co. Westmeath were ingested into the DRI repository (with the permission of the speaker, Dr Aengus Finnegan), and the other counties were processed and will be ingested in due course.
DRI: Can you tell us the story or significance behind one of the objects in the collection?
Response: The sound recording material on Logainm is most often used, we believe, by journalists and news readers reporting on a regional story but unsure of how to pronounce a local placename. The Co. Westmeath data is a fantastic resource for this purpose as there are numerous examples of local places and centres of population where the pronunciation (in Irish English and/or Irish) is not really predictable from the spelling. For example, the village Bealin is pronounced “ˌbay-ˈLIN”, the village of Finnea is pronounced “ˌfin-ˈAY”, and the barony of Moygoish is pronounced “ˌmoy-ˈGISH”. Similarly for Irish names, we can listen to find out that the barony of Cill Chainnigh (in Westmeath) is pronounced “ˌcill-ˈCHEANN-aí”, the town of An Muileann gCearr is pronounced “an ˈMUIL-eann ˈgCEÁRR”, and that the village of Baile Fhobhair is pronounced “ˈbaile ˈFHÓIR”. For anyone with a particular interest in the placenames of Co. Westmeath, I would urge them to visit Dr Aengus Finnegan’s website. Many more gems like these will become available as we publish the data from the other counties.
DRI: Pádraig, why did you feel it was important to digitally preserve the Logainm Sound Recordings collection in the DRI repository for long-term discovery and access?
Response: Because digital preservation is an activity that seeks to maintain access to digital items beyond the lifetime of a host, or the redundancy of a media format, it allows us to safeguard our valuable digital assets indefinitely. The World Wide Web is a useful place to find information and access media files, but it can also be unstable. Websites come and go, and resources that were often freely and regularly available to us can often be removed or lost without notice. This is why it is important for us to think about long-term preservation for important resources, in particular the outputs from projects of national significance, such as Logainm.
But it also allows us to consider how we can describe these resources for others who might not know the context around how the project was initially carried out, how the resources are licensed, who was responsible for the work, and who the current points-of-contact are. The work of data management and digital preservation allows us to focus on all of these aspects of the project.
DRI: Thank you both for your time today. Before we finish up, is there anything else you’d like to share about the collection?
Response: I suppose the value of the collection for researchers and the importance of it being available in the DRI repository. A collection like this has lots of potential and may be useful to a variety of different researchers. For example, this material would be of interest first and foremost to placenames researchers (looking at placename form, structure and distribution) as well as historians and geographers (looking at historical topography, for example). Secondly, it might be of some interest to linguists and dialectologists (looking for evidence of regional linguistic features). Thirdly, it has the potential to be harnessed using machine learning in language technology tasks such as speech recognition and generation of regional varieties of Irish English. Having this data well described, well organised, and easily available to access and download on a county-by-county basis in the DRI repository is of immense value to researchers. This accessibility is important because it provides the level of contextual information required by researchers interested in using the data, as well as negating the need to browse the Logainm website manually.
Explore the Logainm Sound Recordings collection in the DRI repository: https://doi.org/10.7486/DRI.jd47gr915
