Daol
beetle
jet-black
with buail, sharp sting, sudden fit, e.g.:
Bhuail daol caointe í, she took a sudden notion to cry (lit. a weeping beetle hit her)
deargadaol: devil’s coach-horse
•••••
FÁSACH: waste, desert; deserted place; luxuriant growth
•••••
Bealach na Spáinneach le Liam Mac Cóil
•••••
teann (noun): strength, stress, support, assurance, authority
teann (adj.): tight, taut (filled), strong, established, emphatic, severe, strenuous
teann (verb): tighten, distend, inflate, press, ply
teannas: tension
teannta: predicament; support; foothold
teanntás: audacity
•••••
Cion
affection; esteem; effect, (cur i gcion) assert, (dul i gcion) influence; (cur ó chion) ruin, (dul ó chion) degenerate
share (amount)
offence, blame
•••••
Sáraigh
violate; thwart, confute; overcome, get the better of; harass, exhaust; (with ar) be too much for (fail)
•••••
miotóg: mittens
miodóg: dagger
•••••
callach: constraint, compulsion
•••••
Diongbháilte:
worthy, steadfast, solid, self-assured
(past participle of diongaibh: repel, cope with, be a match for)
•••••
Cat Mara:
lit. “sea-cat”; angelfish
calamity
•••••
Griog:
(n.) slight irritating pain
(v.) tease, tantalize; irritate, annoy
•••••
falcaire: old seed-potato; deceptive person
•••••
cros céasta: crucifix
croscheistiú: cross-questioning
•••••
toice: hussy, wench; wealth, prosperity
•••••
taibhse: ghost, specter; appearance; ostentation, pretension, pride
•••••
Bleaċtaire, a milker, a dairyman, a milk-dealer; a wheedler; a detective (rec.)
(Foclóir Gaeḋilge agus Béarla, le Pádraig Ua Duinnín)
•••••
Aire libh. Síos leis an saghas éard seo.
Careful now. Down with this sort of thing.
(The Passion of Saint Tibulus)
•••••
seachaid: deliver
seachain: shun, avoid
•••••
Níl siad ag treabhadh le chéile.
They aren’t plowing together. (They don’t get along.)
•••••
Athbhrí: renewed vigor; ambiguity
•••••
ladar: ladle
cur do ladar i ...: intervene in something (put your ladle in)
•••••
graosta: (adj.) lewd, obscene
grásta: (noun) grace
•••••
Fearadh: bestowal, provision; excretion, excrement
•••••
CAINT, BÉARLA, LABHAIR
Talk, Speech, Speak
•••••
oighear: ice
oigheann: oven
•••••
Rí na Sióg
(‘Der Erlkönig’ le Goethe a aistrithe le Eoin Mc Evoy)
•••••
Ní breac é go raibh sé ar an bport.
Don’t count your chickens before they hatch.
(It’s not a trout until it’s ashore.)
•••••
LEATH
Side, part, direction.
Ar leith: apart, particular, ≈
Faoi leith: separate, distinctive
Do leith: on the side of
Don leith amuigh, istigh, thall, theas, thiar, thíos, thoir, thuaidh, thuas →
lasmuigh, laistigh, lastall, laisteas, laistiar, lastoir, lastuaidh, laistíos, lastuas
i leith: in the direction of, towards, in favor of,
resorting to, depending on, regarding; hither; thenceforth (onwards)
i leith is go: as if
Half, equal, portion.
go leith: and a half
(verb) Spread, open wide, become indistinct, perish, diminish.
•••••
Múineann gá seift.
Necessity is the mother of invention.
(Need teaches resourcefulness/expedience.)
•••••
fóideoga a bhaint
to cut strips of turf
to broach a subject
fóideoga cainte
big words, jawbreakers
fóidín mearaí (nó mearbhaill)
place where led astray, cause of confusion
•••••
Deoir: tear(drop)
Deoraíocht: exile
(According to MacBain’s 1911 etymological dictionary of Gaelic, the latter is not actually derived from the former, however poetically apt it may be, but from dí-brugh, un-manored.)
•••••
Is í an roinn éadach cnis is mó na hÉireann, a thuigim.
It’s Ireland’s biggest lingerie section, I understand.
(A Christmassy Ted)
•••••
samhnas: nausea, disgust
sámhnas: ease, respite
•••••
Ní mar a shíltear a bhítear.
Ní mar a shíl sé a bhí sé.
Things aren’t as one thinks. It wasn’t as he thought.
•••••
stiúgtha leis an ocras, an tart: perished with hunger, thirst
leata leis an ocras: perished (laid out) with hunger
caillte leis an ocras: perished (lost) with hunger
slabhra leis an ocras: slave to (chained by) the hunger
spalptha leis an tart: parched with thirst
spalptha ón ngrian: parched from the sun
calctha leis an tart: parched (chalk) with thirst
préachta leis an bhfuacht: perished with cold
stromptha le fuacht: perished (stiff) cold
conáilte: perished with cold (frozen)
éagtha: perished
•••••
praiseach: pottage, thin porridge; mess
•••••
freagra: answer, response
freagracht: responsibility
comhfhreagras: correspondence
•••••
Aiste: peculiarity, essay, composition;
aiste bia: diet; tá aiste ar an iasc: the fish are rising
Aisteach: strange; surprising; droll
Aistear: journey; inconvenience;
turas in aistear: a journey in vain
Aistreach: roving
Aistrigh: translate
Aisteoir: actor
•••••
Néal: cloud; state of gloom; nap; swoon
Néal gréine: burst of sunshine
•••••
Fadúda
(Fá [faoi] dtaobh de; maidir leis)
(about/concerning it, Ulster dialect)
•••••
dath: color
a dhath: any, anything
•••••
teannta: predicament; support
i dteannta: along with
teanntaigh (verb): put in a fix, hem in; support, prop up
•••••
I dTír Strainséartha le Liam Mac Cóil
•••••
Flaith: prince, chief
Flaitheas: sovereignty, kingdom
Na Flaithis: Heaven
Flaithiúil: generous
•••••
Sléacht
noun: slaughter
verb: kneel, genuflect
•••••
Fioghuil: charcoal
(pronounced like “fuel”)
•••••
Greann: mirth; love (affection)
Greann: bristling hair or appearance
Greannach: bristly, combative, irritating
Greannú: irritation, taunt, defiance
Greannúil: funny, loving
•••••
Ait: pleasant, fine, comical, queer
•••••
Fan: stay, wait, remain
Fán: wandering
Fanacht: staying
Fánach: straying
Fána: downward slope
Fánlach: open plain
Fánas: gap
Fannaigh: weaken
•••••
ceilteach: secretive
Ceilteach: Celtic
•••••
Foghlaí: marauder, trespasser
Foghlaim: learning
•••••
Dúradh rud eile agus phléasc siad amach ag gáire. Rinne Lúcás gáire in éineach leo ach ní raibh tuairim aige céard a dúradh nó aon chuid den chomhrá ina dhiaidh sin. Ach níor ghá dó. Thaitin ceol na cainte leis, na hardáin is na hísleáin bhoga a bhí le sonrú ar gach abairt. Agus bhí sé sásta go raibh sé in ann corrfhocal a thiscint.
Something else was said and they burst out laughing. Lúcás laughed along with them but he had no idea what was said or any part of the conversation after that. But there was no need for it. The music of the talk pleased him, the rises and soft falls that defined each sentence. And he was happy that he was able to understand an odd word.
(I dTír Strainséartha le Liam Mac Cóil)
•••••
Leann: beer
Léann: learning
Leannán: lover
Lionn: (bodily) humor
•••••
D’fhéadfadh an Sionnach é a dhéanamh.
D’fhéadfinn é sin a dhéanamh.
“Daydukh an shinnukh eh a yaynuv.”
“Daydeen eh shin a yaynuv.”
(nice little examples of Irish phonetics)
•••••
Leacht: liquid; grave-mound
•••••
Aiteall: fine spell between showers
•••••
Tráigh: ebb (v.)
Trá: beach (n.)
•••••
Úir: soil (n.)
Úire: freshness
•••••
Tuarisc Leabhair Big: An Litir le Liam Mac Cóil
(a little book review)
•••••
Ghlac sé nóiméad ag breathnú air ag lorg an bhriathair, ansin an tuiseal ainmneach, agus ag faire amach don ochslaíoch, an casus ablativus. Ansin thug sé faoi.
He took a moment to look it over for the verb, then the nominative case, while keeping a lookout for the ablative. Then he went at it.
(An Litir le Liam Mac Cóil)
•••••
Mórtasach: proud, boastful, joyous
•••••
Cruinn: round, gathered, exact, coherent, concentrated, frugal
Cruinne: globe, universe, roundness, dew-drop (poetic)
•••••
Mar sin ní thig leat gan a aithint gur duine atá eolach ar cheird an leighis a rinne an darna bean a oscailt agus a fhuáil ar ais le chéile?
Then can’t you at least acknowledge that it was someone with a doctor’s knowledge who opened up the second woman and sewed her back together?
(Fuaiscailt an Iriseora le Michelle Nic Pháidín)
•••••
Agus cuimhnigh, gheobhaidh foighne agus géarchúis an fhir ráipéir an ceann is fearr ar aon duine eile ach an troid a bheith cothrom.
And remember, the swordsman’s patience and intelligence will have the advantage over any other if the fight is fair.
(An Litir le Liam Mac Cóil)
•••••
Cion:
love, affection; esteem; influence.
share (amount).
offence, blame.
•••••
Saoilim, Smaoinim, Measaim, Machtnuigim, Samhluighim, Braithim, Meabhruighim
•••••
Sáigh: thrust, stab, prod
Saighid: incite
Saighead: arrow
Saighdúir: soldier
Sáite: stuck
•••••
Cantaireacht: chanting, singing, murmuriing, complaining
•••••
Séan: omen, prosperity; deny, refuse
•••••
Taise: dampness, humidity, weakness, tenderness, compassion; apparition (ghost), relic
•••••
Plásanta: bland, plausible
•••••
Spoch: castrate, expurgate, tease
•••••
Mealltach: enticing; disappointing
•••••
Daor: slave, convict, condemned person; high-priced (adj.)
•••••
Tréith: trait, accomplishment, prank; weak (adj.)
•••••
Samhnas: nausea, disgust
Sámhnas: ease, lull
•••••
chomh fada siar is atá siar ann
as far back as you can go
(lit. as far back and back that is in it)
•••••
Líbín: dripping wet object.
•••••
Tocht: mattress, deep emotion (fit), intestinal obstruction.
•••••
Cumha: reward, bribe, condition.
Cumha: loneliness, homesickness, nostalgia. grief.
Cumhach: lonesome, homesick, nostalgic.
Cumhacht: power.
Cumhachtach: powerful; magician.
Cumhachtaigh: empower.
Cumhal: bondmaid.
•••••
Trácht: comment, mention; traffic, traveling; sole, base.
•••••
Altán: streamlet; ravine; hillock.
Altán scine: sharp knife.
•••••
Bíonn caidreamh agus caint eatarthu seo a bhíonn ag caitheamh le chéile.
There is intimacy and conversation between those who are smoking together.
(Fuaiscailt an Iriseora le Michelle Nic Pháidín)
•••••
de ghlanmheabhair: by memory
rud a chur de ghlanmheabhair: memorize something
glan as a mheabhair: completely crazy (clean out of his mind)
•••••
Ní chuirim aon cheo ar an méar fhada. Fanaim go dtí an nóiméad deiridh d'aon turas ionas go mbeidh mé níos sine, agus dá bhrí sin, níos críonna.
I don’t put anything off forever. I deliberately wait until the last moment so that I will be older, and therefore, wiser.
•••••
Léirigh:
make clear, illustrate; arrange; produce (as a play); finish up.
beat, subdue.
•••••
Forbairt: development; annoyance
Dúil: nature; desire, fondness; expectation, hope.
Cabóg: toothless woman; precocious child.
Meall: entice; disappoint.
•••••
Cian:
long time, distant place.
sadness, melancholy.
•••••
Masa brec gaċ dan suad, is brec brat ’s as brec biaḋ,
’s as brec an doṁan uli, ’s as brec fos an duinecriaḋ.
Más bréag an focal scriofa,
is bréag brat agus is bréag bia,
is bréag an domhan uile,
agus is bréag fosta fear an chré.
If every master’s poem is lie, Your cloak and your food are lies,
The entire world a lie, And even the dead are lies.
(Beṫa Colaim Ċille le Maġnas Ó Doṁnaill, 1532
via Proinsias Mac a’ Bhaird, 2018)
•••••
Deis: opportunity
Deisigh: to repair
•••••
CEAP
shape, invent, compose, devise.
appoint, assign.
think, mean (intend).
block, stop, catch.
Ball a cheapadh, to fashion an article.
Móin a cheapadh, to mould turf (in sods).
Focal a cheapadh, to coin a word.
Dán, ceol, a cheapadh, to compose a poem, music.
Scéim a cheapadh, to devise a scheme.
Cealg a cheapadh, to brew treachery.
Scéal, bréag, a cheapadh, to invent a story, a falsehood.
Duine a cheapadh do rud, to appoint s.o. to sth.
Buille a cheapadh, to ward off a blow.
Ainmhí a cheapadh, to head off an animal.
Liathróid a cheapadh, to field a ball.
Ar cheapadh cluaise, shaped like an ear.
•••••
Dualgas: right; duty
•••••
Spéirbhean: beautiful woman, fair lady (lit. sky-woman)
•••••
TABHAIR
1. give; engage in, spend (time), fail. 2. take, carry. 3. bring, cause.
•••••
Chuaig sí í bhfolach faoin mbord. (She hid under the table.)
Tá an cupán greamaithe den bhord. (The cup is stuck to the table.)
Féach anois mé is mo chúl le balla. (Look at me now with my back to the wall.)
Bhí sé ar leathshúil. (He had only one eye.)
Shatail siad orm. (They trampled on me.)
I measc na bplód gan ainm. (Among the crowds without a name.)
Tá sí i bhfad ó bhaile anois. (She’s far from home now.)
(Beginner’s Irish (Hippocrene) by Gabriel Rosenstock)
•••••
GABH
take, catch, win, gain, put on, take up, take on, accept, receive, conceive be affected by, go;
fit, harness, mesh, fix in position, control, appoint;
arrive at;
sing, recite.
go, undertake (go into), extend, be working (going), fit into, pass through, be going to;
come
GABHÁIL
present participle of GABH.
seizure, capture, catch;
taking over;
acceptance, undertaking;
tolerance;
armful, carrying.
fitting (adjustment), harness, attire;
control, support.
rendering (singing, reciting).
leaven (yeast), barm
•••••
Go mbeire muid beo ar an am seo arís!
May we be alive at this time again!
•••••
Six common mistakes in Irish | Sé bhotún choitianta sa Ghaeilge
•••••
Dóigh: way, means; hope, likelihood; because; to burn
Dóighiúil: handsome
Ar ndóigh: of course
•••••
Ar eagla na heagla: to be on the safe side, just in case.
(lit.: on fear of fear)
•••••
Sionnachuigheann: play the fox (→shenanigan)
•••••
Mair: to live; martha: alive
Mairg: sorrow
Maraigh: to kill; maraithe: dead
•••••
“BAIN: extract, release”
•••••
Athsuan: “wee hours”, lit.: 2nd sleep
•••••
Ceannaire: leader
Ceannairc: revolt
•••••
dán: poem; fate
i ndán: fated
dána: bold
•••••
Áırgead na ór nı ḃfuıl agamsa,
Aċd an ní atá, ḃeırım ḋıḃ
Money or gold I have not,
But what there is, I give to you
(epigraph, English Irish Dictionary, Dublin, 1814)
•••••
“Seacht n-óige na coille, an aeir, na mara, an talmhan”
•••••
míol mór a dhéanamh as míoltóg
to make a whale out of a midge (make a mountain out of a molehill)
•••••
Aisig: restore; vomit
•••••
Feart: miracle; grave-mound
•••••
Breith: birth; judgement
•••••
Paor: laughing-stock; grudge
•••••
Olc don té sin a smaoiníonn ar olc.
Honi Soit Qui Mal Y Pense.
(Evil to he who thinks evil.)
(Mac an Easpaig by Liam Mac Uistin)
•••••
‘Tá aiféala orm nach raibh deis agam an Ghaeilge a fhoghlaim,’ a dúirt Muireann.
‘I regret that I didn’t have the opportunity to learn Irish,’ said Muireann.
(Mac an Easpaig by Liam Mac Uistin)
•••••
Is crann saol. Fástar, spréitear, lobhtar, titear.
Life is a tree. We grow, we spread, we rot, we fall.
•••••
Meabhrach: mindful, thoughtful, intelligent, aware, conscious
Meabhlach: deceitful, treacherous, illusory, beguiling
•••••
Fonn: desire; melody
•••••
Is ár scéalta ár gcuimhní, a bhfuil iad a tógáil i ndíoltas nó i ndíolghadh.
Our memories are our stories. We can construct them in the spirit of vengeance or forgiveness.
•••••
Grá: love
Gráín: cuddling
Gráin: hatred, ugliness, terror
Anghrá: eroticism
Gránna: ugly
Crá: torment
•••••
An Mhaiġdean Óg
Dá dTéiḋinn-se Siar
(songs from Abhráin Grádh Chúige Connacht, 1893)
•••••
Dá mbeinn chomh saibhir is a bhí mé anuraidh
Thógfainn tigh mór ar an chnoc údai thall,
Fíon agus ór ’siad a bhéarfainn do mo stór,
Is bheinn ag gabháil ceoil le mo chailín rua.
If I were as rich as I was last year
I would build a big house on the yonder hill,
Wine and gold I would give to my love
And be making music with my red-haired girl.
•••••
BRÉAG: (n.) lie, falsehood.
(v.) cajole, coax, soothe
Bréagán: toy
•••••
Greann: fun; mirth; jesting.
greann a thabairt do chailín: to fall in love with a girl
(lit.: to give fun to a girl)
Greannmhar: humorous; queer; loving
Greannaigh: irritate; beard, challenge; taunt
Greannach: hairy, bristly; bristling, ruffled, irritated; rough, combative, defiant
•••••
DUAIS: Gift, reward, prize.
Gloom, dejection; trouble, sorrow; travail, distress.
•••••
FEAR etc.
•••••
Bean/Beann/Binn/Beannacht
•••••
Bhí fonn orm cic sa tóin a thabhairt dó!
I wanted to give him a kick in the ass!
(Gruaig Fhinn by Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin)
•••••
GREIM:
grip, grasp, hold; bite; stitch
•••••
Coir (crime, transgression, harm)
Cóir (justice, equity, suitable arrangement, etc.)
(the words are, of course, pronounced very differently)
Coir (verb: tire, exhaust)
•••••
Tá fo-éadaí an-chostasacha á gcaitheamh agat.
You’re wearing very expensive underwear.
(An Geall by Liam Mac Uistín)
•••••
“CATHÚ: conflict, temptation, regret”
•••••
Laethanta na bó riabhaí.
Brindle days.
After a story about a brindle cow who, reveling in the nice days of April, went on too much about how awful March was, so March took over a few days of April to teach her a lesson, causing such awful wintry weather it killed the poor thing.
•••••
Tiománann Máire an bus a bhuail a seanathair.
Mary drives the bus that hit her grandfather.
(The Irish People: Irish Lesson 123)
•••••
i measc na bhfroganna
in the midst of the frogs
(The Irish People: Irish Lesson 83)
•••••
•••••
I measc laochra na nGael go raibh a anam dílis.
Among Irish warriors his soul was true.
(Gerry Adams on Martin McGuinness)
•••••
An rud nach féidir, ní féidir é.
What can not be, can not be.
•••••
Ná bac le mac an bhacaigh is ní bhacfaidh mac an bhacaigh leat.
Don’t bother the beggar's son and the beggar's son won’t bother you.
•••••
Scaoil amach an bobailín.
Cut off (set free) the pompom. (Go for it.)
•••••
Thug mé mo mhallacht do Chaisleán Bhaile Átha Cliath agus amach liom.
I cursed Dublin Castle and left. (I gave my curse to Dublin Castle and out with me.)
(“An Bhean Caointe” by Pádraic Pearse)
•••••
Éiríonn Meiriceá do náisiún níos fearr nuair bheimis le cheile in ár seasamh agus déarfimis nach mbeidh an ciníochas, an fuath agus an biogóideacht.
America becomes a better nation when we stand together and say no to racism, hatred, and bigotry.
(Bernie Sanders)
•••••
CAILL: lose
•••••
An dtéann tú go dtí an leithreas i gcoim na hoíche?
Do you go to the bathroom in the middle of the night?
•••••
ag tonnaíocht gan mhairg idir beatha is bás
surging without pity between life and death
(“Teacht an Dé” by Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill)
•••••
Leigfeadh fuil fuil ’on gorta, acht ní leigfeadh fuil fuil do dhortadh.
(Modern: Ligfeadh fuil fuil ón ngorta, ach ní leigfeadh fuil fuil do dhoirteadh.)
Blood would let you bleed from the hunger, but blood would not let your blood be spilled.
•••••
Níl uisce beatha ar bith fágtha sa bhuidéal.
There is no whiskey left in the bottle.
•••••
An bealach atá róchrochta suas, tá sé róchrochta anuas.
The way that is too steep going up, is too steep coming down.
•••••
Chun bua go deo.
Hasta la victoria siempre.
•••••
“Fornocht a chonac thú”
“Naked I saw thee” (poem by Pádraig Mac Piarais)
•••••
Tar linne, a Pheigín, agus beidh ‘nua gach bia is sean gach dí’ agat, agus damhsaí is amhráin go leor.
Come with us, Pegeen, and you will have the ‘newest of all food and oldest of all drink’, and dances and song aplenty.
•••••
Óró, ’s é do bheatha ’bhaile
(song lyrics)
•••••
“MARCACH: horseman; EACH: horse”
•••••
“Prepositional Possessive Constructions in Irish”
•••••
Ní bheidh a leithéidi arís ann.
There will not be their like again.
•••••
Nuair is crua don chailleach caithfidh sí rith.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going.
(literally: When it’s hard for the hag, she will have to run.)
•••••
Ní bheidh sé ag cur fearthaine go brách.
It won’t be raining forever.
•••••
“Scríobhann “Myles” na gCapaillín”
•••••
Cuireann síad déistin orm.
They disgust me.
•••••
“CUIR: put, send”
CUR (noun)
•••••
Déan mórán agus can beagán.
Do a lot and speak little.
•••••
“CAITH: wear, wear out, consume, use up, spend, throw …”
•••••
Go saoiraid Dia Éire!
May God free Ireland!
•••••
Bí cinnte go mbíonn a gcúraimí féin ar na rónta. Is gruamach míbhagánta na fir iad.
Be assured that the seals too have their worries. They are the weary gloomy men.
(An Béal Bocht by Myles na gCopaleen)
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An té a bhíonn i bhfad gan práta ní bhíonn sé folláin. …
Ní raibh seasamh maith riamh sa té a bhí i bhfad gan práta.
One who is long without a potato is not healthy.
There was never good standing in one that was long without a potato.
(An Béal Bocht by Myles na gCopaleen)
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A mhicín bhig, is eagal liom nach dtuigeann tú an saol.
My little wee son, I am afraid you do not understand the world.
(An Béal Bocht by Myles na gCopaleen)
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An dóigh leat go bhfuil aon fhóirithint le déanamh orm nó an mbead i m’aonar go lá mo bháis agus mo bhuanadhlactha?
Do you think there is any succour for what is being done to me or will I be alone to the day of my death and my eternal rest?
(An Béal Bocht by Myles na gCopaleen)
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Ba náireach an bheart dá dtógfaí ón saol i mbláth m’óige mé, mar ná beidh mo leithéid arís ann.
It would be a shameful lot if i had been plucked from life in the flower of my youth, because there will not be my like again.
(An Béal Bocht by Myles na gCopaleen)
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Ní haon mhaitheas do dhaoine a bheith ag maireachtáil ar scáth a chéile mura bhfuil acu ach na scáthanna.
It’s no good for people to be living in each other’s shadow if they are only shadows themselves.
(An Béal Bocht by Myles na gCopaleen)
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Thit an lug ar an lag agam, thit lug eile ar an lag sin, agus níorbh fhada go raibh na luganna ag titim go tiubh ar an chéad lag agus orm féin. Ansin, thit cith laganna ar na luganna, luganna ar na lagannna ina dhiaidh sin, agus i ndeireadh báire tháinig lug amháin mór donn anuas ar mhullach gach ní eile ag cur múchta ar an solas agus fós ag cur stad le réim an tsaoil.
The lowness fell on my weakness, more lowness fell on that weakness, and it wasn’t long that the worms were falling thick on the first lowness as well as myself. Then a shower of feebleness on the lowness, of lowness on the feebleness after that, and at the end of the game a great brown worm came down on top of all the others quenching the light and even stopping the course of life.
(An Béal Bocht by Myles na gCopaleen)
Actually, the Irish is untranslatable, because ‘lug’ and ‘lag’ are idiomatic in the original phrase, ‘thit an lug ar an lag agam’, which means ‘I lost courage’. Na gCopaleen expands on the (almost meaningless) literal sense that ‘the “lug” [lug-worm] fell on my “lag” [weakness]’. cf. “thit an lug ar an lag ar fad ag Lúcás” (Lúcás really lost heart), I dTír Strainséartha by Liam Mac Cóil. (The latter continues: Cúig lá eile den leadrán agus den imní agus den éiginnteacht agus den aineolas agus den luascadh farraige. Five more days of the boredom and the worry and the uncertainty and the ignorance and the rocking of the sea.)
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Thuig sé go mbíonn an dea-Ghaeilge deacair agus an Ghaeilge is fearr beagnach dothuigthe.
He understood that good Irish is difficult and the best Irish almost incomprehensible.
(An Béal Bocht by Myles na gCopaleen)
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Nach dtuigim an obair seo agat ach is iontach an saol atá inniu ann.
I don’t understand this work of yours but life is a wonder today.
(An Béal Bocht by Myles na gCopaleen)
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Is fearr a bheith gan teach ná a bheith gan beatha, agus má bháitear féin ón mbáistigh san oíche sinn is fearr an bás sin amuigh ná an bás eile atá istigh.
It is preferable to be without a house than to be without life, and if we were to drown from the rain in the night, that death outside is preferable to the other death inside.
(An Béal Bocht by Myles na gCopaleen)
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An cruatan, an gátar, an t-anás, an anchaoi, an anacair, an t-anchor, an ainnise, an gorta agus an mí-ádh.
The hardship, the distress, the poverty, the misfortune, the discomfort, the trouble, the misery, the famine, the bad luck.
(An Béal Bocht by Myles na gCopaleen)
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Má caitear cloch níl aon réamhinsint ar an bhfód tíre don chloch sin.
If a stone is thrown, there's no telling the sod it will fall on.
(An Béal Bocht by Myles na gCopaleen)
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Shuíomar go léir chun prátaí.
We all sat for potatoes.
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Céard a dhéanfaimid ar chor ar bith?
What will we do at all at all?
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Smaoiním agus bím. (René Descartes)
Bím mar táim.
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Ach faraor, ní mar a shíltear a bhítear ar an saol seo.
But alas, in this life what would be is not what is thought.
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… cúlsráideanna brónacha salacha …
dirty sad backroads
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“An Milleánach”
“Findtan is Bith is Ladra.”
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Mionshamhlíocht dosheachanta an tsofheicse; fiú an mhéid sin féin intiniocht tré fháisnéis súl. Lorg an uile a bhfuil agam annso le sonnrú, scéag mara, leathach, an tuile i gcuaird, an bhróg úd mheirgeach.
Ineluctable modality of the visible: at least that if no more, thought through my eyes. Signatures of all things I am here to read, seaspawn and seawrack, the nearing tide, that rusty boot.
(Ulysses by James Joyce, translated into Irish by Myles na gCopaleen)
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Bean Pháidín
(song lyrics)