I have been searching all over the internet and have still yet to find a definitive translation in Irish Gaelic of the word "passion". I have found some translations, but they refer more to lust or rage. I am wondering if anyone knows a translation more in reference to love and a passion for life.

Lauren a chara,

If you have any doubt about 'mian' as in 'Is é mian a chroí .... a dhéanamh', you need not worry. 'Mian' is quite acceptable.
'Is é a fhor is a fhónamh a bheith ag ...' is also acceptable in many contexts. The religous sense of 'passion' as in the Crucifixion, is carried by 'páis'.

Rather than us typing out a litany of such phrases, it may be no harm to share the translations that you have received already and some of us here may be able to help you with them.

Ádh mór.

Lauren, a chara,

To say that I am passionate about food, I would say "Tá dúil anama sa bhia agam" - dúil anama being the phrase I'd use to express passion in this context.

But to be on the safe side, I'd wait for other more experienced speakers to contribute their ideas.

Le meas,

Larry.

The translations I have found are:
páis
ainmhian
racht tea saiocht
paisean
grá - love
díograis - zealous enthusiasm
paiseain

but I am not sure if any of these have the meaning for which I am looking.

Lauren, a chara,

Take Seosamh's guidance on this. I'm only a student myself and he's much more qualified than me to answer your query. He's a regular contributor to these discussions offering very valuable guidance...

Le meas,

Larry.

Go raibh maith agat a Lochlainn/Larry. Feicfimid tuilleadh beag eile cén passion go díreach atá uaithi anseo.

GRMA - thanks for getting back so quickly Lauren. Looking at what you received:

páis (religous)

ainmhian (the word I have given you but with a negitive prefix)

racht (a fit of emotion)

teasaíocht (strong emotion, be it sexual, intellectual and such in it's own context)

paisean (you can see where this came from; I often shun p-initial words!)

grá - love

díograis - zealous enthusiasm

paiseain (genitive of the fourth one up)

>> but I am not sure if any of these have the meaning for which I am looking.

You may like to hint us in some way here Lauren. 'Mian' may be just what you're looking for.

Maith go leor?

Tharla muid ar aon bhuille, cén áit ar domhan a bhfuil an bheirt agaibh a chairde?

In what part of the world are you both? Tá mé féin anseo le taobh Luimneach na Long cois abhainn na Sionainne. Bhí fearthainn bhog againn ar ball. - Limerick anseo.

What does "main" mean?

'mian' (note the spelling Lauren) translates as 'desire', 'wish'.

Seosamh

oops, that's what I get for typing too fast!...ok, so I think the translation for "teasaiocht" is what I am looking for then if it refers to 'strong emotion'

Thank you very much...I am glad I found this forum!

Is maith sin - That's good. But watch out for the pitfalls of language along the way. 'Teasaíocht' does have connotations of youthful overexuberance and temper, you may be warned. But if you like it, use it indeed.

They felt passionate about each other > Shíl siad an dúrud dá chéile.

You may be working from De Bhaldraithe. If you get a chance to glance at the Ir-Eng. dictionary of Ó Dónaill, you can check out words like 'te' = hot, warm : an bhean is teo le mo chroí = 'the woman dearest to my heart', and so on. The list is endless in any language, so keep an open mind. 'mian croí' was the quickest to mind, but there shall be others along the way.

The site is good indeed. Bring your friends along! Tá fáilte romhat agus romhaibh.

Ádh mór.

A Sheosaimh, a chara,

Agus tá an seic sa post... tá??

Le meas,

Larry.

oops - chaill mé an ceann sin... gabh mo leithscéal a Sheosaimh...

Tá mé féin i Sasana.

Le meas,

Larry.

Sea Larry, tá a fhios agam go bhfuil go leor buíonta Gaeilge agus ranganna sách fairsing sa tír chéanna. Tá gréasán fairsing acu. Castar dom roinnt mhaith Éireannach, atá fostaithe thall, agus Sasanach thart anseo sa samhradh agus iad ag baint taitneamh as a gcuid Gaeilge, sin, nó ag cur snas uirthi. Feicim fear Learphoill, Tony Birtill, ag scríobh go seasta do Beo.ie.

Ádh mór.

Ba mo mhúinteoir Tony Birtill nuair a bhí mé ag ranganna oíche in aice le Learpholl ar feadh trí bliana mar sin tá aithne agam ar Tony. Bím ag léamh a alt san iris idirlín Beo gach mí freisin.

Le meas,

Larry.

Castar na daoine dá chéile ach ní chastar na cnoic ná na sléibhte! - A small world, go deimhin. Tá aithne agam ar Tony as na turasanna go Gleann Cholm Cille sa samhradh.

Le gach dea-ghuí,
S.

A small world indeed, mo chara! It gets smaller every day. Mention me next time you see him and I'm sure the next round of drinks will be on him!!

Larry.

Déanfaidh mé sin an samhradh seo chugainn Larry.

Seosamh

someone here said the word "mian" was the word for desire...what does the word rágús mean?

gavin

Gavin, a chara,

Ragús (note the only vowel with the fada) means 'urge' or 'fit' in some contexts. I'm not familiar with 'rágús'

Le meas,

Larry.

Sorry for taking so long to respond,

Yeah it was a typo on my part...I saw the word in an advertisement for a video from Western Ireland showcasing local music such as singing and dancing. The ad was in an Irish travel magazine so there isn't much for info on it.

How ever it does say that "Ragús coming from the Irish meaning desire..." so I just wanted to know if anyone here agreed with it, or knew why they choose that word?

Gavin

Gavin,

What you most likely saw was an advertisement for a production group in Ireland. They have a performance in Dublin and another on Inis Mór. The Inís Mór production is seasonal, I believe.

My wife and I had the opportunity to see this amazing performance (the Inís Mór version) about 2 years ago. Absolutely incredible experience. They give their performance in the Halla Ronín and there is absolutely nothing glitzy or theatrical about it. It's just raw séan nós talent. I sat there with a constant lump in my throat---the music, the lyrics...simply amazing. I bought one of the CD's and to this day the songs evoke some wonderful memories.

If you have the chance to see them, by all means, do it. If you can buy the CD, do it. As far as the video .... I don't think it'll do justice to the live performance but you may be suprised.

There was a web-site for the group but I believe it has been recently closed. You might still try a search, just to see.

Le meas,

James