I've been looking everywhere for the full text in Irish and stumbled upon your website. Ta si go halainn, by the way! I learned Irish in school until I moved to Canada in 74. can still read and understand a fair bit of what is written here!

anyway, if anyone can reply with the full blessing in Irish I would be thrilled.

Go n-éirí an bóthar leat.
Go raibh an chóir ghaoithe i gcónaí leat.
Go dtaitní an ghrian go bog bláth ar do chlár éadain,
go gcuire an bháisteach go bog mín ar do ghoirt.
Agus go gcasfar le chéile sinn arís,
go gcoinní Dia i mbosa a láimhe thú.

translation courtesy of www.IrishGaelicTranslator.com

Méabh,

I've also wanted the Irish version of this blessing, but could never find it - thanks for posting it!

Does anyone know the origins, including when it first appeared, of this blessing?

Unfortunately there are a couple mistakes in the version above. (We've been meaning to get it fixed in the "Freq translations" on IGT, but that part of the site is broken right now.)

Mac_léinn, this is just a translation from the English. We did one (I say "we," but it was well before my time on that site) and included it in the FAQ simply because people kept asking and asking and asking about it.

I've never seen an Irish version claiming any particular historical provenance. My pet theory - and it's no more than that - is that the thing was composed in English, with just the first line based on Irish.

quote:

the thing was composed in English, with just the first line based on Irish

Tá mé cinnte go bhfuil an ceart agat, Abigail.

A Abigail a chara,

That sounds like a good theory if there is no evidence of it being in Irish originally.

Beir bua agus beannacht

Scríobh Abigail: Unfortunately there are a couple mistakes in the version above.

Thanks for pointing that out Abigail. I would be interested in seeing the revised version, but since people have been asking and asking and asking about this thing [blessing] already, it sounds like there's been too much asking goin' on already, so I'll give it a try myself.

Tá mé cinnte go bhfuil an ceart agat, Abigail.

Looks like there's at least one person who thinks your theory is actually a theorem. I wonder if there's any positive evidence to support such a claim. Or is it due to a perceived abundance of negative evidence, or, is it possible that sufficient research hasn't been done to determine the true history of this blessing?

(Message edited by Mac_léinn on March 22, 2007)

Looks like there's at least one person who thinks your theory is actually a theorem.
Ní hea! An bhfuil a fhios agat cad is "teoirim" ann? Caithfear idirdhealú a dhéanamh idir é agus "tuairim." Dúirt Dennis gurb é a bharúil go bhfuil an míniú sin ceart, ní go bhfuil sé cruthaithe.

Mar go bhfuil suim agat ann, seo leagan den ní a bhfuil an ghramadach beagán níos fearr ann.
Go n-éirí an bóthar leat.
Go raibh cóir ghaoithe i gcónaí leat.
Go dtaitní an ghrian go bog bláth ar do chlár éadain,
go dtite an bháisteach go bog mín ar do ghoirt.
Agus go gcasfar le chéile sinn arís,
go gcoinní Dia i mbois a láimhe thú.

Bain taitneamh as!

quote:

i mbois a láimhe

Seems a little redundant. Ach is féidir "ar chroí a bhoise" a rá.

quote:

is it possible that sufficient research hasn't been done

Déan thusa an taighde mar sin. Níl an t-am agam chuige inniu.

Níl an t-am agat chuige inniu, dáiríre píre? Déan thusa an taighde mar sin amárach. Beidh sé ceart go leor.