Tá na ceisteanna so ón ochtú caibideal ar fhichid de Niamh:

quote:

D’imigh Murchadh agus Caoilte amach chun na háite ina raibh Dúlainn agus na fir ag feitheamh leo. Ar marcaíocht a bhíodar le himeacht. Marcaigh mhaithe ab ea iad go léir. Marcach álainn ab ea Murchadh agus marcach álainn ab ea Dúlainn. Ach ní raibh aon bhreith ag éinne den bheirt, ná ag aon fhear in Éirinn an uair sin, agus Maeleachlainn Mór féin do chur chuige, ar Chaoilte, chun capaill a mharcaíocht. An stail ba mhó agus ba threise agus ba thréine dob fhéidir a dh’fháil, agus é a bheith ag imeacht fiáin, gan lámh duine do dhul ar a cheann go dtí go mbeadh sé in aois a sheacht mblian, do léimfeadh Caoilte ar a mhuin, gan srian gan iallait, agus dhéanfadh sé é a mharcaíocht treasna na dútha go dtí go mbeadh an stail sin chomh mín le huan caorach aige.

I have two problems with this passage: "agus Maeleachlainn Mór féin do chur chuige" - no one could match Caoilte in horsemanship, and neither could Maeleachlainn if he set about it/tried to do so? I don't really understand this clause.

the other one: "go dtí go mbeadh sé in aois a sheacht mblian" - I haven't seen "in aois+possessive+genitive" before. "In age of his seven years"? Did I parse that right?

quote:

Is lag an bheart dúinne a rá go mbeadh díon agus cosnamh againn á thabhairt do cheannaithibh Lochlannacha in Éirinn, agus ná cuirfimís díon ná cosnamh in áirithe do cheannaithibh Gaelacha thall i dtír Lochlann.

Is lag an bheart do dhuine: this construction isn't in dictionaries. Could an appropriate translation be "it's a poor show for us to give accommodation and protection to Norse traders..." or ""it's rather pathetic of us to..." How would you translate "lag an bheart"?

No man in Ireland, not even Maeleachlainn Mór himself if he set to it.

I'll pass on the grammatical whys and wherefores of the in aois a sheacht mblian; but it is what I'd expect to see.

For the latter question I'd say something like "It is an act of weakness for us" but that is based on the overall sense of the passage.

quote:

I have two problems with this passage: "agus Maeleachlainn Mór féin do chur chuige" - no one could match Caoilte in horsemanship, and neither could Maeleachlainn if he set about it/tried to do so? I don't really understand this clause.

Yes, "even MM if he were to try his hand at it". The construction chur chun ruda, oibre, reatha, etc. is a common one in the sense of "setting about doing something".

quote:

the other one: "go dtí go mbeadh sé in aois a sheacht mblian" - I haven't seen "in aois+possessive+genitive" before. "In age of his seven years"? Did I parse that right?

Yes and again, a common construction. I've heard it on radio also, perhaps slightly more literary and formal: "Tá Tadhg Ó Rudaí, ó Bhundún Mhóire, fachta bás in aos a cheithre mbliana déag is trí fichid".

quote:

Is lag an bheart do dhuine: this construction isn't in dictionaries. Could an appropriate translation be "it's a poor show for us to give accommodation and protection to Norse traders..." or ""it's rather pathetic of us to..." How would you translate "lag an bheart"?

I would translate this as "It is a poor argument on our part to say that we should provide accommodation and protection . . . "

Note that the construction "is [adjective] an bheart . . " is a common one and that "beart" is feminine in the south. In Cléire, there is also "beart", "a ship's berth" which has spread into the idiom "i mbeart ruda", "instead of something", "in lieu of".

Thanks! I have done 28 chapters of 59 of Niamh, but may struggle to do much more this week...

Níl a bhuíochas ort!