Page 1 of 2
Tha a' seinn bh' Èirinn / A song from Ireland
Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 2:15 pm
by EowynAnduin
Bha ann an mo ceann seo dh ùine. A bheil ceart seo?
This has been in my head for a bit. Is this right?
O Brìghde cluinn m' ùrnaighean
O' Bride hear my prayers
Beòthaich, mo solas
Light my light
Beòthaich, mo bheatha
Light my life
Tapadh Leibh
Kim

Re: Tha a' seinn bh' Èirinn / A song from Ireland
Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 6:56 pm
by Seonaidh
Who's Bride? Seriously, I did once know an Irish woman called - we never saw it spelt - Breda: presumably it was Bríde. And yes, in Gaelic this would be Brìghde as in MacGilleBrìghde and so on.
Would the light bit not be "Beòthaich mo sholas"? Literally, "Enliven my light", of course.
As for stating that something is of Irish provenance, it's more usual to use "à" than "(bh)o", so "A sonf from reland" would usually be "Òran à Èirinn". If you wanted to use "(bh)o" for some reason, you could always miss out (or, indeed, NOT miss out) the bit in brackets (bh), but not really the "o". What usually happens, with place-names, is that it tends to become "a" and, indeed, behave in the same way as the "a" than come from "do" or "dha". This means that "from Ireland" would be "a dh'Èirinn" - identical with "to Ireland" or "for Ireland" and deducible (if there is such a word) from the context.
Not that I imagine you're greatly fascinated with this, but "Èirinn" was originally the prepositional (dative) case of Ireland - just as you still sometimes see the dative/prepositional case of "Scotland" (Albainn): you'll be familiar with the subject case (Alba) and the genitive (Alban), no doubt, though even the genitive's now rare (Banca na h-Alba rather than Banca na h-Alban). The old subject case of Ireland is probably remarkably similar to the modern Irish for it - Éire - though ir may have been Eriu.
Re: Tha a' seinn bh' Èirinn / A song from Ireland
Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 8:17 pm
by Níall Beag
EowynAnduin wrote:Bha ann an mo ceann seo dh ùine. A bheil ceart seo?
This has been in my head for a bit. Is this right?
O Brìghde cluinn m' ùrnaighean
O' Bride hear my prayers
Beòthaich, mo solas
Light my light
Beòthaich, mo bheatha
Light my life
Tapadh Leibh
Kim

It's unlikely that you would give an order in a prayer.
If you look at the Latin originals of many modern Christian prayers, what looks like a command in Modern English is actually a wish or request (in the "subjunctive", if you're familiar with the term). The traditional Gaelic structure is to use a "gu/gun/gum" clause.
You may have seen "gura math a thèid leat" -- that it be good/well that goes with you.
Consider that the English "Have a good night"/"enjoy your night" isn't a command, but a shortened form of "
I hope that you have a good night/enjoy your night." In Gaelic, the full form is "Tha mi 'n dòchas gun còrd an oidhche riut" and the short form is "Gun còrd an oidhche riut" -- "Enjoy the night"
Re: Tha a' seinn bh' Èirinn / A song from Ireland
Posted: Thu May 31, 2012 8:23 pm
by Níall Beag
Lighting a flame uses the verb "las". I've heard "las suas" -- I don't know if that's a traditional form or an anglicism.
Re: Tha a' seinn bh' Èirinn / A song from Ireland
Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 12:19 am
by akerbeltz
It's unlikely that you would give an order in a prayer.
I beg to differ ...
thoir dhuinn ar n-aran?
Re: Tha a' seinn bh' Èirinn / A song from Ireland
Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 7:01 am
by poor_mouse
I think that though "Gun còrd an oidhche riut" is a wish and not a command, but there may be both wishes and direct entreaty in prayer, i.e. subjunctive and imperative.
Re: Tha a' seinn bh' Èirinn / A song from Ireland
Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 8:43 am
by Níall Beag
Oops. Indeed, looking at the French version of the Pater Noster, there's several imperatives in there...
Re: Tha a' seinn bh' Èirinn / A song from Ireland
Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 9:29 am
by GunChleoc
à Èirinn = from Ireland
a dh'Èirinn = to Ireland
Re: Tha a' seinn bh' Èirinn / A song from Ireland
Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 10:27 am
by poor_mouse
Níall Beag wrote:Oops. Indeed, looking at the French version of the Pater Noster, there's several imperatives in there...
Tha an aon rud san Ruisis

Re: Tha a' seinn bh' Èirinn / A song from Ireland
Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 1:30 pm
by CairistionaNicD
A Sheònaidh,
Brìde was a goddess figure in Irish mythology, the daughter of the Dagda and one of the Tuatha de Danann. She's the same as Brigid (that's what Wikipedia has her listed under) or Bridget.
Re: Tha a' seinn bh' Èirinn / A song from Ireland
Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 4:33 pm
by EowynAnduin
To quickly give some contextual information I will write in English
While in Ireland last year we spent time with the Bridgetine Nuns. They taught us a few of their songs/chants. This is one of them. We we're celebrating Bridget at the time of La Feile Bride.
As noted by CairistionaNicD she is seen as such. There are many "stories/tales/myths/legends" surrounding "Brigid/Bride/Brighde/Bridget/Mary of the Gaels" as there are ways to spell her name.
The song has come up again as I am preparing to visit. There are many sites Brigid visited in Scotland. Some of them I have on my plans. Hense my curiosity with how to sing the song in Gaidhlig
[Edit]
A bit more.
The song is soft. It is an 'asking' to light life/light. Like a kindling or spark.
Re: Tha a' seinn bh' Èirinn / A song from Ireland
Posted: Fri Jun 01, 2012 7:07 pm
by EowynAnduin
Mòran Taing na h-uile.
Thank you Everyone
Òran à Èirinn - Tapadh leat Seonaidh
Nìall Beag you have the feel for it. That is what I was attempting to convey. Tapadh leat
I am going to review it all again on Monday and see what I can come up with. I have issues, with myself, attempting to do this (edit/answer/rework) too quickly while heading out the door. Word order, and feeling are not to be rushed. A bit more studying is in order

Let's see what I can do
Kim
Re: Tha a' seinn bh' Èirinn / A song from Ireland
Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 9:48 am
by jjb362
My own thought about the bit at the start, where you are expressing that this has been in your head for a bit and asking if it is correct, would be to say
Tha seo air a bhith 'nam cheann car ùine. Am bheil seo ceart?
If you use bha, it implies to me that it was in your head and has now gone - the use of tha and air show that it has been and still is. Also, remember that mo lenites, and car ùine or car greis is Gaelic for "for a while". Also seo, is the subject of your question, so it has to come immediately after the verb.
Seumas
Re: Tha a' seinn bh' Èirinn / A song from Ireland
Posted: Sat Jun 02, 2012 7:59 pm
by Seonaidh
CairistionaNicD wrote:A Sheònaidh,
Brìde was a goddess figure in Irish mythology, the daughter of the Dagda and one of the Tuatha de Danann. She's the same as Brigid (that's what Wikipedia has her listed under) or Bridget.
Aidh, ken. Did I not quote the surname MacGilleBrìghde (son of the servant of Brìghde)? I have actually read the Book of Invasions (Lebor Gabála Érenn - Leabhar Gabhalaichean na h-Èireann). I was being a bit facetious - maybe thinking "bean-bainnse"...
Re: Tha a' seinn bh' Èirinn / A song from Ireland
Posted: Mon Jun 04, 2012 7:31 pm
by Níall Beag
jjb362 wrote:My own thought about the bit at the start, where you are expressing that this has been in your head for a bit and asking if it is correct, would be to say
Tha seo air a bhith 'nam cheann car ùine. Am bheil seo ceart?
If you use bha, it implies to me that it was in your head and has now gone - the use of tha and air show that it has been and still is. Also, remember that mo lenites, and car ùine or car greis is Gaelic for "for a while". Also seo, is the subject of your question, so it has to come immediately after the verb.
Seumas
In fact, I believe you could even just use the present, as most of Europe does. Using "air a bhith" is a recent borrowing from English.
Tha seo nam cheann bho chionn ùine. or
le ùine