In An Braon Broghach, page 26, the last paragraph:

'Tá sé ina chnap meisce. Is mór an t-ionadh nach...

My question: what sé refers to.

Thanks in advance.

Somebody is completely drunk, I suspect.

can it be also "it's a total drunkness"?!

As in:

Tá sé ina chnap codlata = He is fast asleep.

Tá sé ina chnap meisce = He is fast a-drunk, completely drunk. ??

As in:

Der isch feschte b'soffa.
(Der ist fest besoffen.)

I've dug out the story. (Tnúthán an Dúchais) "Sé" is referring to the hero, who is behaving uncharacteristically - hence the assumption that he is drunk.

I think the English term would be "blind drunk". Although I have on occasion been "as drunk as a lord".

"Ar meisce mar cuach/lacha" deirtear sa Fhionlainn.
Nó "ar tóinmheisce" etc...

Cuach an t-éan?

An t-ean, sea. Cloistear "cearc" ó am go ham freisin faoi mná.

"Bainne éin" atá ar roinnt biotáillí sa teanga labhartha.

(Message edited by curiousfinn on November 07, 2009)

thanks, you've all been extremely helpful.

I'll be extremely grateful to get help in translating this passage from Ó Cadhain's Idir Shúgradh agus Dáiríre, page 48:

Dheamhan baol a bheadh orm uain a thabhairt dó ortsa, murach go bhuil sé ina shórt ceannfoirt eicínt sna hóglaigh seo...

Thanks.

I don't have the book.

I'll give you word for word first
* devil * risk * would be on me * to give him a chance at you * except that he was kind of a commander in those volunteers.

Paraphrasing

I wouldn't have given him a chance to get at you, except that he was an important person (in the IRA)

great. I was stuck with the ortsa word.

Now it's all clearer.

ort emphasized -> ortsa

I know. The meaning of ort (sa) in this context was not that clear.

Tuigim anois.

Again, I need help this time Idir Shúgradh agus Dáiríre, page 55 (I'll put the whole passage here, but I need help only about the last part):

Shiúil sé ar fud na cisteanaí, is thosaigh ag méirínteacht lena stríocacha dearga - suaitheantais an oifigigh.
Nach breá gur chuimhníodar ar iad a chur uirthi, is nach maith go raibh a fhios acu go mba oifigeach é féin, is cén ceann posta a bhí aige!

My questions:
1. what is the meaning of: "chuimhníodar ar iad a chur uirthi"?
2. Isn't GUR the way usually to say "that was" for the copula? because here he uses "go mba"?
and 3. what does "é féin" in the last sentence mean in this context?


Thanks very much in advance.

1) Wasn't it great that they remembered to put them on it
(to put the stripes on the uniform - éide/unifrom is feminine)
2) One for the grammar gurus. I know what he has written is correct, but can't explain!
3) é féin = he himself

Well, I checked in other books, and there also, one can find "go mba". I need to check the nevironments of this phrase, to understand when it's being used.

Thanks for the answers.