Clannad song Harry's Game

mediaeval

Two questions. Ceist a haon: the opening lyrics to this song as detailed in Máire Ní Bhraonáin's autobiography "The other side of the rainbow", are "imtheochaidh sior 's siar, A dtáinig ariamh An ghealach is an ghrian". What is the meaning of the word "imtheochaidh"? It's not in any Irish dictionary I can find.

Ceist a dó:
She says that the source of the lyrics was a book of proverbs possessed by her grandfather. Does anyone know the name of this book?

Insect Overlord

Probably an old spelling of the verb imigh. I'll look into it in more detail later if you don't get another answer between now and then.

Insect Overlord

mediaeval wrote: »

Two questions. Ceist a haon: the opening lyrics to this song as detailed in Máire Ní Bhraonáin's autobiography "The other side of the rainbow", are "imtheochaidh sior 's siar, A dtáinig ariamh An ghealach is an ghrian". What is the meaning of the word "imtheochaidh"? It's not in any Irish dictionary I can find.

It was as I expected!

I will go east and go west
from whence came
The moon and the sun
The moon and the sun will go

It would be "imeoid" in Munster Irish or "imeoidh mé" in Conamara and the Caighdeán Oifigiúil. "Imeochaidh mé" would be the Ulster dialect, which makes sense if it's Moya Brennan's book.

No idea about your second question, unfortunately!

mediaeval

Having done a little digging, I'm guessing the proverb came from the books Slí an Eolais and Eagna an Ghaeil, both published in the 1920s, and recently republished as one volume.

"Slí an Eolais ( The Way of Knowledge ) is a collection of terms, proverbs, expressions, literary fragments and folklore, all thematically classified (for example, the human body, health, time and weather, children and family). Eagna an Ghaeil ( The Wisdom of the Gael ) is a companion to Slí an Eolais, which explains of the majority of the proverbs in Slí an Eolais as well as elucidating many expressions and observations on various aspects of life. "

Máire Ní Bhraonáin gives the meaning of the lyric as (as opposed to the translation), "Everything that is and was will cease to be...everything is meaningless, the sun and the moon, youth and beauty, everything will pass"

An gal gréine

Yes, it's the Ulster dialect and pronounced something like im-a hee.
I wouldn't go along with Máire's "everything is meaningless", if that's what she wrote. I's more that everything has their time, even someone with a big reputation's time will come to an end.

Maidhci

An gal gréine wrote: »

I wouldn't go along with Máire's "everything is meaningless", if that's what she wrote. I's more that everything has their time, even someone with a big reputation's time will come to an end.

Go díreach!

Cinnteacht agus Éiginnteacht na Beatha -

Tá a ionú féin ag gach uile ní agus tá a thráth ann don uile ghnó faoin spéir:

tráth breithe, tráth báis,
tráth curtha síl, tráth bainte fómhair,

agus arile.

An gal gréine

Sin é, a Mhaidhcí. Mar a chuala mé ó Chiarraíoch, tráth.
"Ní bhíonn in aon rud ach seal"

mediaeval

I've done a little more digging and the proverb didn't come from the book Slí an Eolais and Eagna an Ghaeil like I had thought. I also took a look at Seanfhocail Uladh and Seanfhocail na Muimhneach (partially available online through Google Books), but it's not there either. I located those book titles by going to abebooks website and typing in the word seanfhocail, and then I went through each of the books provided there (there weren't many). So, not sure what that book might have been. I had high hopes for Seanfhocail Uladh, ach níl sé ann.

An bhfuil aon leagan Gaelige eile seachas "seanfhocal" ar an bhfocal "proverb"?

An gal gréine

Nathán/Natháin.
Nathán cainte