I came accross this phrase in Lá:

"Ag caint ar laethanta fada, dúirt an príomhoifigeach toghcháin go mbeadh gá le machnamh a dhéanamh ar an gcomhaireamh láimhe".

Can someone translate it?!

Thanks.

blah blah blah [in past], the head election officer said there would be a point in considering making a hand count

Oh but I was seeking the blah blah blah ("Ag caint ar laethanta fada") translation!!!

Thanks

I understand this sentence completely other way around:

Speaking on the days long gone, the head election officer said that ONE MUST REMEMBER (recollect) of a counting by hand [in those days].

Of course, only context would clarify if my interpretation is correct

Machnamh = reflection.

Going back to DavidME's original phrase above, would a fair translation be

and commenting on the long day, the chief election officer said that we must remember that it was a manual count

I don't think that "machnamh" can mean "memory"/"remembering"...

Agreed; as far as I know it only means reflecting on, considering, thinking about.

I think Suaimhneas is right, though, that the phrase "laethanta fada" simply refers to "long days," not "long-ago days."

"Ag caint ar laethanta fada, dúirt an príomhoifigeach toghcháin go mbeadh gá le machnamh a dhéanamh ar an gcomhaireamh láimhe".
Speaking of long days, the head election official said that the hand count would need some thinking about.
(or more formally "that it would be necessary to devote some thought to the hand count.")

Interesting how the initial clause seems to sematically color the rest of the phrase, throwing people off. Cant wait to do an MA in pragmatics!

OK so what the hell is a long day? A day during the summer when it's bright for 16 hours?

The metaphorical meaning of Lá fada might be a day filled with much activity. A person who has done many things in the course of a day might day bhí sé lá fada. We do it in English; I'm assuming the same implication applies to Irish.

That's right Pádraig, it does. I think one would say "ba lá fada é," "ba fada an lá a bhí ann," or "bhí an lá fada." That's what he means here: if the votes are to be hand-counted, it will be another one of those long days.

"Bhí sé ina lá fada" would be correct too, and is probably what you had in mind.

As béal Phádraig

quote:

Bhí sé lá fada

No comment.

I know, in the English language, if someone has had a hard day doing mechanics or whatever, they'll say that they had a "long day" -- but we're talking about Gaoluinn here.

quote:

That's right Pádraig, it does. I think one would say "ba lá fada é," "ba fada an lá a bhí ann," or "bhí an lá fada." That's what he means here: if the votes are to be hand-counted, it will be another one of those long days.

Along those lines, I found in Ó Dónaill's Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla:

Lá fada a dhéanamh, to put in a long day.

I know this is a basic question for many, but I still have trouble understanding how to employ this kind of phrase from Ó Dónaill. That is, how do I make lá fada a dhéanamh into a sentence? For example, if I wanted to say I put (past tense) in a long day, would it,

Rinne mé lá fada?

Go raibh maith agaibh.

(Message edited by mac_léinn on July 21, 2007)

I've heard "chuir mé isteach lá fada."

As béal Phádraig
quote: Bhí sé lá fada
No comment.

Gabhaim pardún agat. Once again this neophyte has failed to use the copula as is appropriate.

Ba lá fada é agus tá traochadh orm. Tá a'naoscaireacht go leor agam fosta.

Sorry that I'm popping up again, but if it's really SPEAKING OF LONG DAYS wouldn't the preposition be FAOI????

No.

"ag caint ar" is diiomatically correct.

A Mhic,
it seems no one knows the answer -of they're not telling...

"Ag caint ar laethanta fada, dúirt an príomhoifigeach toghcháin go mbeadh gá le machnamh a dhéanamh ar an gcomhaireamh láimhe".

"While we are on the subject of long days, the Chief Returning Officer said it would be necessary to (re)consider (the question of) manual counts".

The stuff in brackets is implied.

quote:

For example, if I wanted to say I put (past tense) in a long day, would it be,

Rinne mé lá fada?

Yes.


BTW: something which has being going on for a long time would be "le fada an lá"

Ar can mean of while faoi means about, right?

Beir bua agus beannacht

The way I see it is that there differing levels of abstractness:

an ostensible level: faoi =under

an idiomatic level: faoi =about

a derived level: faoi choinne/faoi a coinne =for her


Or you could do a scheme of literal vs idiomatic and simple vs complex

literal simple: faoi =under
idiomatic simple: about

literal complex: faoi choinne ="under meeting"
idiomatic complex: faoi choinne bainne a fháil =for to get milk (for purposes of)

(Message edited by bearn on August 10, 2007)

Correction: for her is faoina coinne, not faoi a coinne.

In Ulster, "faoi" is "fá" when it means "about", and "faoi" when it means "under". In most compound prepositions, we use "fá": fá dtaobh do, fá choinne, etc.

Fá choinne is what I learned for 'for' in Glenfin, and I was going to put it in, but thought it dialectical

Hello All. I found this site today and am impressed by its mission to keep the beautiful Irish language alive.

Anyway, can someone experienced translate this phrase into Irish: "Our Beloved Son." I am thinking of putting it on his grave marker.

Any and all help is appreciated.

Thanks
Paul

A Bhirn, "fá choinne" is dialectal, it's Ulster Irish only. But does "faoi choinne" exist in other dialects, or is it only a standardisation of the Ulster expression? I dunno.

Probably is -not that it means much, but I never heard of faoi choinne, nor was it very popular in Google

Paul,

Our Beloved Son

Ár Mac muirneach

Ní maith liom do thrioblóid. Ar dheis lámh Dé go raibh sé.

Aonghus.

Your help is appreciated.

Thanks
Paul