I am a re-enactor in the Southern California area. My group has asked me to have a phrase translated from English to Gaelic for our motto.

We would like "Cherish the memory" translated into Gaelic. Any help is greatly appreciated.

Direct translation : Muirnigh an meabhair - cherish the recollection.

Unfortunately, that goes directly back into English as "caress the mind" or "cuddle the intellect".

I think "Cothaigh an chuimhne" is closer to the mark: nourish / sustain / hold tight the memory.

Cothaigh, in my dictionary, means feed: sustain(financially) support (trouble etc.) but you are correct about muirnigh, it also means caress/cuddle but it is listed with cherish. There is also another one, which is even better, caomhnaigh - preserve/keep safe/protect/guard. So maybe "caomhnaigh an meabhair" nó "na meabhair" (the memories).

Slán go foill,
Bernadette.

meabhair does not mean memories (the contents of your memory), it means that in which you keep your memories.
Cuimhní would be memories i.e. the things you remember.

But basically to get a good translation we need to know the context.

I assume "Cherish the memory" refers to the memory of *someone* or *something* or (probably, given the group) *some era* - so what it is trying to convey is "think back lovingly on X.

So what about
"Cuimhnigh le grá" - remember with love
"Cuimhnigh le bród" - remeber with pride
as alternatives to Dennis' translation which comes closest to the literal meaning of the phrase.

Bernadette - dictionaries are dangerous things, since the words are almost always out of context! Context matters!

Well, with all of the various possibilities, it's been suggested to change the phrase to "Honor the memory," or possibly "Honor the history." "Cuimhnigh le bród" might have hit the nail on the head.

I can't thank all of you enough for your help. We've had quite a time trying to get help on this.