I know trá means ebb , or decline but does it have another meaning ?

I ask becuase I have this sentence that doesnt make much sense if it is 'ebb'

Dúairt sí go fánaidh sí trá .

and while I am here , I have seen a different spelling for Dúairt , as well , I have seen it written duirt si. is it a tomatoes , tamatoes thing ?

It is, indeed "ebb, subsidance or decline," but it is also "Strand, beach," according to Foclóir Scoile.

I can't explain Irish spellings, yet.

I'm not terribly proficient but I would translate this to say:

She said that she wandered the beach.

I've seen trá used more for "beach" or "strand" than I have for ebb.

Le meas,

James

This looks like a misspelling of "tráth", a while or period.

trá and tráth sound very alike.

Dúairt is a misspelling of Dúirt.

I fully agree with Aonghus. "Dúirt sí go fanfaidh sí trá" makes no sense. In some dialects, the pronunciation of trá and tráth is identical. In Munster there is no such word as "trá", we say "tráigh", pronounced with a slender "g" at the end.

So one interpretation of this could be ' she said she would stay a while' ?
the sentence that follows it may put it more in context

Is a shúile ag bheannú slán , which by my reckoning should be ' as her eyes were bidding farewell '

Where are you getting this stuff, Poblachtach?

That last sentence seems to have been translated from english.

In a way it has been

I asked someone to translate a song I had written into Irish and he came up with some interpretated lyrics but I was doing a dictionary search and some of the words didnt quite make sense to me , which is why I asked on here

Ah. How about giving us the song? Between us we ought to get something good. Translation is difficult, translating poetry very difficult.

I dont mind posting it but it is a bit long , The chap who helped me with it said that in Irish meter there is a certain mode to be followed on how the lines scan and that this was more important than rythme or exact translation .

What I would like is to post his translation here and see how you translate it back to english as that would allow me to see how faithful to the original it managed to be.

LEANNÁN NEAMHSPLEÁCH

Dúairt sí go fánaidh sí trá
Is a shúile ag bheannú slán
Ní fhéadfá an fírinne folú
Na macallaí istigh ina croí

Do mhionnaigh sí fán ar mo thaobh
Ach bí a croí ag tnútán slí eile
Go cheann scríbe i bhfad ó mo chroí
Is gan mise ar ghualainn linne

Curfá

Is leannán neamhspleácht mo chailín
Le croí saor istigh ina n-ucht
Gan cúram í féin ná a theaghlaigh
Ach leanúint an bhóthair gan scáth

Béidh bailtí is gamalaí eile
A chuirfidh an síbhean faoi dhraíocht
Go dtuigtear nach bhfuil ag an chailín
Ach croí crua agus gar dí féin

Curfá

Annsin béidh cuis aiféala orthu
Ar an lá a bhuaile siad léi
Nuair a thugann sí bealach an bhóthair
Gan tráct ar briseadh an chroí

(Message edited by Poblachtach on October 11, 2004)

What language is that, above?

criticism is fine .just make it contructive please

The nuachtoire mistake is my fault because , I originally called the song

Freelance lover , and I made the mistake of exchanging the freelance translation with that of the freelance bit , i realise now it should have been neamhspleách , I pasted the uncorrected version ( I have edited out the nuachtoire bit now )

(Message edited by Poblachtach on October 11, 2004)

I agree with Poblachtach, criticism should be constructive. At the same time, I understand Fear na mBróg - it's easier to point out what's right than what's wrong in that translation. Unfortunately I'm rather busy at the moment so I don't have the time to go through it all right now.

Actually, I was suggesting that Poblachtach should post the original English Lyrics becuase my feeling is that the translation is too literal, and we would get snarled up in trying to fix something which can't be fixed.

The grammar and usage of the translation is quite flaky.

For example:
Is a shúile ag bheannú slán

Beannaigh means to bless, or to greet. You cannot greet farewell, it doesn't make sense.

Is a súile (she is feminine!) ag fágail slán agam.

Jonas if you do find the time to give me some pointers on this I would be grateful .

I could try, but as Aonghus said, it would be much easier if we could have the English original to see what the text is meant to say. It isn't always clear from that version above.

I agree with Aonghus, the original English would be best, but also traslating from English to Gaelic with out being too literal is very hard especially for poetry unless you have a very good understanding of idioms. Unfortunately I only have a rudimentary understanding of idioms, but I do wish you luck with this. I'll be seeing how it goes and perhaps it will help me with my own translations.
Slán go fóill!
Cáit.