okay...how do you know if something is on you at you before you or anything else? sadness is on you, fear is before you etc... How would you say each of the following (ie I'm happy, I'm angry etc):
happiness
anger
fear
sadness
boredom
excitement
interest
awe
caution
confidence
shame
guilt
frustration
jealousy
hope
loneliness
shock
surprise
suspicion

Happiness
Tá áthas orm (áthas is a noun)
Tá mé áthasach (áthasach is an adjective)

Anger
Tá fearg orm (fearg is a noun)
Tá mé feargach (feargach is the adjective)

Fear is not before you!
You can be afraid of something, that uses roimh (before)

Tá eagla orm roimh an dorchadas - I am afraid of the dark.

For the rest, I suggest a good dictionary!

Could somebody give me examples of the usage of the verb 'meall' its not one that I remember from school! I do remember díomá

Go raibh maith agaibh do gcuid cabhair

Ón bhFoclóir Beag: http://www.csis.ul.ie/scripts/focweb/Exe/focloir.exe

Is foirm de mealladh atá i meall.

mealladh [ainm briathartha][ainmfhocal firinscneach]
aoibhneas a chur ar dhuine (cuideachta a mhealladh le ceol);
bréagadh (mheall sé leis sinn);
cluain a chur ar dhuine (ná mealltar thú le caint mar sin).

Aonghus...yeah...i looked closer the sentence "fear was before him" was referring to others being afraid of him, not that he was afraid of anything...

what is the difference between using them as nouns or adjectives? It seems that adjectives would be the simplest way to express the idea...is there a meaning or usage difference?

The noun usage is commoner meaning "now, this minute", i.e. I'm more likely to say "Tá fearg orm" than Tá me feargach; the latter might mean I'm angry all the time. But, as usual, it depends heavily on the context.