Ag aistriú an Carmina Gadelica ón Gàidhlig go Gaeilge.
Nuair atá siad críochnaithe, ba mhaith liom déanfaidh
comparáid idir iad agus na rudaí bailithe sa
mBailiúcháin Béaloideas na hÉireann.
Níl mo chuid Gaeilge an-laidir, mar sin,
béidh ceartúcháin Gàidhlig & Gaeilge fáilte!
Blag eile: Le-Gliondar
i got super tired of being bombarded with ads here on tumblr, and if neocities starts using ads, i'll move to somewhere else again. life's too short to spend it being advertised at, while trying to participate in your hobbies!
the link's here, and i'll leave this tumblr up for a while, but anything new will be added to neocities instead.
the new version is also fully in irish, since the main reason i began the translation was to help improve my irish.
Ceaṫair ḋuilleoga na lorga díreaċ,
Cúig na lorga díreaċ as fréaṁ na meanglán céad,
A ṡeamair óg ġeallaḋ ar Lá Ḟéile Bríde,
Bua 'gus beannaċt ṫú gaċ ré.
Liberties taken
As per uszh, I've changed "Dé" to "Déiṫe" for gaelpol purposes, except when referring to a deity specifically.
The version of this in the Carmina Gadelica is Christian & mentions "Moire shuairce, Máthair Dé", which I've changed to "Bríde ṡuairce, Dé suáilceaċ", again for my gaelpol purposes. Likewise, "Lá Fhéill Moire" was also changed to "Lá Ḟéile Bríde".
"A ṁoṫ-ġil" isn't something I can find in my dictionaries exactly, but I'm guessing it's something like moṫ to mean male and a version of geal to mean bright? Carmichael's translation of it is "peerless one", which isn't particularly helpful. I've used "ḋuine-ġeal" here, but if bright one is way off, please let me know!
"Sonas mhac, is Mhurn mhin-gheal" is translated by Carmichael as "Joy of sons, and Daughters fair". In modern Irish, it'd be something like "Sonas ṁic, 'gus Ṁuirn[ín] ṁín-ġeal", but muirn and muirnín don't seem to be specifically words for daughter, more like darling or beloved. I'm poly & child-free (but not childist!), so used páistí for kids & pluralised the muirnín part to refer to loved ones more generally. YMMV!
is it grand for me to use buailte when typing as gaeilge here?
use 'em, they're cool
ambivalent / want to see results
don't use 'em, they're annoying (pls comment for context!)
don't use 'em, they cause issues (pls comment for context)
Voting ended onMar 15, 2025
is maiṫ liom iad, aċ b'ḟéidir bíonn siad aisteaċ le fís-léiṫeoirí nó rudaí mar sin? má usáideann tú iad nó deiseanna inroċtaine eile, taḃair dom do ṫuairimí, le d' ṫoil! 🙏🫶
136. Brioċt Ḃríde / Sian Bríde / Bríde's Charm - Aistriuċán Gaeilge
See the original Gàidhlig and English text here! This entry from volume 2 of the Carmina Gadelica is a cool charm petitioning Bríde to keep animals safe. With lambing season upon us already, this seems like the best time for translating this. :)
Charms like this tended to be rooted in the local landscape, referring to plants and animals that were found locally, even when they're not naming specific areas or geographical features, like this one does. If you want to make use of a charm like this, I'd suggest substituting in the flora, fauna, and places around you.
Also, RIP to the toġán / fumart / Scottish polecat mentioned here, which is now extinct. The name fumart / foumart comes from "foul marten". Justice for the allegedly somewhat stinky Scottish polecat. </3
Brioċt Ḃríde
Brioċt a ċuir Bríde na bua,
Ar a minsí, ar a caoiriġ, ar a buair,
Ar a capaill, ar a capaill cogaiḋ, ar a buaile,
Moċ 'us amaċ dul aḃaile 'us ó ḃaile.
Gan cuimilt ó ċreagán, ó ċleiteán,
Ó laḋaraċa 'gus ó aḋarca a ċéile,
Ó éin na Creige Ruaidh,
'Us ó Luath na Fèinne.
Ó lannaire liaṫ Creag Duilionn,
Ó eolair riaḃaċ Beinn-Àrd,
Ó ṡeaḃac luaṫ Torr-an-Duin,
Agus fiaċ dúr Creag-a-Bhàird.
Ó ṁadra rua an ċorrġlic,
Ó ṁadra alla a' Mhaim,
Ó ṫoġán tórmaċ,
'Us ó ṁaṫúin udṁall an ṁáis.
Ó gaċ ceaṫairċosaċ sporaḋ,
Agus goraḋ ḋá sciaṫ.
Liberties taken:
I'm often not able to find a word in the Gàidhlig resources I'm using, or the closest matches in Irish don't preserve the rhyming scheme. For anyone who's interested, sin iad na focail that I took liberties with for those reasons, agus/nó the ones that I'm just not cinnte faoi:
> M'a, mise, cual, cathmile, chleitean, lannaire liath, cuireid, na tuide, a mhais.
> I also just italicised the placenames (after adding back some of the fadas that Carmichael stole!); it'd be weird to translate proper names, imo.
Suggestions/corrections are welcome!
Also, does anyone know of a resource like the draoi gramadach/grammar wizard that Teanglann.ie has, but for Gàidhlig?
The main Gàidhlig resources I use for translation are:
Kevin Scannell's 2016 Foclóir Gàidhlig-Gaeilge, and
LearnGaelic.Scot's Dictionary and Am Faclair Beag. They can do accent-insensitive searches, which is super useful due to Carmichael removing all fadas.
Agus ar an taoḃ Gaeilge:
Focloir.ie and Teanglann.ie are great for looking things up on the Irish side of things & making sure the meaning's still the same, or looking for a synonym that preserves a rhyme, etc.
Teanglann has a "draoi gramadaċ" (grammar wizard) that's a great resource too.
It's Oíċe Ḟéile Bríde anoċt, so ná déanaigí dearmad to leave a brat Ḃríde out on your windowsill tonight, and hang up a criosóg Bríde over your doors!
For my fun Oíċe/Lá Ḟéile Bríde activities, I'll be translating a couple of sayings, verses, etc from the "Genealogy of Bríde" notes page. Many of these had multiple versions; I just picked one from each theme/type.
Féile na Ḃríde, feis na finne.
☾
Bríde binn na boise báin.
☆
A Ḃride ċaoin ċineálta,
Is caoṁ liom anáil do ḃéal,
Úd uair reiḋinn ar m’aineol
Ba tú féin ceann éisteacht mo scéal.
[ Note: I'm guessing 'D in the original is short for Ud / Úd, but I'm lost as to what reiḋinn is, I'm not finding it in dictionaries etc. Please lmk if you know / I'm wrong about the 'd & I'll update the post! :) ]
☾
Ḃríde! Ḃríde! Tar isteaċ,
Tá do ḃeaṫa déanta,
Taḃair caḃair don ḃean
'S taḃ an gin don leanḃ*.
[ Note: *Original version: Triana (Trinity). ]
☆
Inniuḃ Lá Bríde,
Tiocfaiḋ an ríon as an tom,
ní bhainfiḋ mise di an ríon,
ní bhainfiḋ an ríon dom.
[This is the day of Bríde,
The queen will come from the mound,
I will not touch the queen,
Nor will the queen touch me.]
☾
Lá Ḃríde, breiṫ an t-earraċ,
Tagann an ollṗéist* as an tom,
Deirtear "trí-ḃlianaċ" le aġa,
Beirtear gearráin ċun na fonn.
[The Day of Bríde, the birthday of Spring,
The serpent emerges from the knoll,
'Three-years-olds' is applied to heifers,
Garrons are taken to the fields.]
[ Note: *dearrais was translated by Carmichael as serpent, which is maybe related to dearc? IDK an equivalent in Irish, so I used the maybe more literary kind of serpent, "ollṗéist". "Naṫair" could be used for a more mundane literal type of snake, either! ]
☆
Lá Ḟéile Bríde daṫúil,
Cuntaistear spré ar móinteaċ.
Cuir fiaċ ċun an nead,
’S cuir aríst rúcaċ.
[ On the Feast Day of beautiful Bride,
The flocks are counted on the moor.
The raven goes to prepare the nest,
And again goes the rook. ]
☾
Upcoming post:
In the second volume of the Carmina Gadelica, there's a lovely charm petitioning Bríde to keep animals safe, which I think would also be timely. The sheep have just come back into the fields around where I live, and the lambs will be about soon!
Original from the Carmina Gadelica in Scots Gaelic and English here!
Aistriúchán Ghaeilge:
An t-ainm Áine an ghrás',
An t-ainm Lugh Samhaildánach,
An t-ainm Manannán Mac Lir agus a' ghealach ag fás,
O! an t-ainm na trí atá d’ ár díon 's gach cás,
Má's maith a fuair sibh sinn anocht,
Seacht fearr go bhfága sibh sinn gan locht,
A Ghealach gheal an tráth,
A Ghealach gheal an tráth.
The next new moon for 2025 is on Wednesday the 29th Jan, so this is coming up soon! Carmichael also describes a few customs like bowing to the moon, turning silver in one's pockets, turning rings, making a wish, etc. Entries in Dúchas.ie talk about turning your hat and/or coat inside out when you first see the new moon, so you'll get something new before the next new moon, and/or that whatever's in your hand when you first see the new moon, you'll have plenty of before the next new moon.
This one named the Christian trinity, so I've subbed in some Tuatha Dé Dannan for gaelpol purposes. Even if hypothetically, these were some remnants of pre-Christianity, it'd be impossible to be certain of which specific deities and figures would be called on for each occasion, and there would surely be regional (and possibly individual) variations as well. I'm not sure who'd be the most associated with the moon, so I tried to go with folks who are somewhat related to fire/creativity/the sea, which I personally connect with the moon, but I'd love to hear from folks who associate different Tuath Dé and/or different characteristics with the moon! :)
A hopefully handy index of everything already translated from the Carmina Gadelica into Irish, as I work my way through these!
PSA: I barely have intermediate Gaeilge, and no Gàidhlig, so if any fluent speakers of either have more fitting suggestions for translations, I'm happy to edit any posts/make any corrections! Each post has a hyperlink to the relevant original in the Carmina Gadelica for easy reference :)
I've never translated stuff into Irish from Scots Gaelic before, and because the languages are closely related, I'm running into issues like choosing between a more direct literal translation, or something that's perhaps less faithful but keeps the general meaning while still rhyming and/or using more common/modern Irish.
I'm probably going to skip around the carmina's entries & translate anything related to seasonal changes/festivals/etc first, and tbh I'm a bit at a loss as to how to approach the more overtly christian prayers/invocations to suit gaelpol purposes. I suppose people can swap out specific names and traits to suit their individual needs..?
I don't necessarily believe that these are perfectly preserved ancient prayers where only the names got substituted/christianised. If christianisation just spread a thin layer of christianity over local paganism, then I'm essentially doing the same thing by spreading a thin layer of paganism over some ~125-year-old Scottish christian prayers, rather than undoing the christianisation as such.
But I suppose that's always going to be an issue with reconstructionism. Since so much was lost, we have to use educated guesswork & clues from cultures nearby to fill in blanks, then reassess when any new evidence is discovered!
Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh! I'm skipping ahead to the 67th entry in the Carmina Gadelica's 1st volume, for the week that's in it.
67. Beannú Bliain Úr - Aistriúchán Gàidhlig-Gaeilge
Déithe, beannaígí dom an lá úr,
Nach bhur dturaidh dom roimh ré;
Is ann go mbeannaíod bhur ghnúiseanna,
Thug sibh an uain seo dom, a Dhéithe.
Beannaígí sibhse dom mo shúile,
Go mbeannaí mo shúile mo lé;
Beannóidh mise mo comharsa,
Go mbeannaí mo comharsa mé.
Déithe, tugaigí domsa croí glan,
Ná ligigí as amharc bhur súile mé;
*Beannaígí dom mo ghin 's mo bhean,
'S beannaígí dom mo mhaoin 's mo ní.
*I personally don't have a wife or kids, and this translation doesn't rhyme well (mé with ní), so I made an alternative last two lines, feel free to ignore me taking (more) liberties:
Beannaígí dom mo mhuintir 's mo phobal,
'S beannaígí duinn sláinte 's saoil réidhe.
(Bless to me my people and my community,
And bless to us health and carefree lives.)
Translation - Blessing Of The New Year:
Gods, bless to me the new day,
Never vouchsafed to me before;
It is to bless your own presences,
Ye have given me this time, O Gods.
Bless ye to me my eyes,
May my eyes bless all I see;
I will bless my neighbour,
May my neighbour bless me.
Gods, give me a clean heart,
Let me not from sight of your eyes;
Bless to me my children and my wife,
And bless to me my means and my cattle*.
*mo nearc 's mo nì: all my worldly goods; nì can mean "item/thing/object" as well as "cattle"
Original in Gàidhlig - Beannachadh Bliadhna Ùir:
DHÈ, beannaich dhomh an là ùr,
Nach do thuradh dhomh roimhe riamh;
Is ann gu beannachadh do ghnuis,
Thug thu ’n ùine seo dhomh, a Dhia.
Beannaich thusa dhomh mo shùil,
Beannaicheadh mo shùil na chi;
Beannaichidh mise mo nabaidh,
Beannaicheadh mo nabaidh mi.
Dhè tabhair dhomh-sa cridhe glan,
Na leig a seall do shùla mi;
Beannaich dhomh mo ghin ’s mo bhean,
’S beannaich dhomh mo nearc ’s mo nì.
Suggestions/feedback are welcome, since IDK what I'm doing here tbh. I mostly tried to stick as close to the original Gàidhlig as possible, but pluralised god to gods for my own gaelpol purposes, and had to make a few changes where I wasn't sure that there was a v close fitting Irish equivalent, e.g. changing na chi to mo lé, since chí seems to be v seldom used in Irish. (Mo lé is more like "my field of vision/line of sight", but it does rhyme better with mé, ar aon nós.)
I'm going to merge a load of my interests and translate stuff from the Carmina Gadelica (volume 1 and volume 2) as best I can into Irish, with attempts to reconstruct what prayers/charms/invocations/etc might have been like in pre-Christian Ireland.
I'll post them here as I'm doing so, BUT níl mé líofa ar ċor ar biṫ, táim fós ag foġlaim, so if folks have any suggestions for closer translations, etc., feel free to chime in!
Sin é mo project for 2025, and it might be a nice resource for others to use as a jumping-off point. Aṫḃliain faoi ṁaise daoiḃ go léir!
