No, no, there is a myth going around that somehow there was NOT a magic dragon who lived by the sea – where do people get these silly ideas?

At last I can upload again!!

The Notes

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The dialect I use is Cork Irish.
Ar sgáth a chéile a mhairid na daoine, lag agus láidir, uasal is íseal

Ana-mhaith ar fad!

Manx Sheep

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It is recommended that you always wait for three to agree on a translation.
I speak Connemara Irish, and my input will often reflect that.
I will do an mp3 file on request for short translations.
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A Bhríd, bíonn adharca fada ar na caoire thar lear!

Impressive!

I think it would be ar na caoiribh, right?

Caoiribh the dative plural, is optional nowadays, in fact you would rarely hear it.

The exceptions being:

1. When using the ceann system of counting, common for animals:
Trí nó cheithre cinn de chaoiribh = Three or four sheep.

2. In Cork it can still used after prepositions, again mainly in the names of common
animals, in certain fixed expressions.
D'éiríos as na caoiribh = I gave up the sheep = I stopped rearing sheep.

A good few Munster speakers use it in writing though. One note if you want to use it, it doesn't
lenite an adjective like a slender nominative plural would:
Fir mhóra = Big men (Nominative)
Fearaibh móra = Big men (Dative)

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The dialect I use is Cork Irish.
Ar sgáth a chéile a mhairid na daoine, lag agus láidir, uasal is íseal

I know that proverb is usually: tá (or bíonn?) adharca fada ar na buaibh thar lear - but as far as I am aware the dative is of more particular reference than the nominative.

Leis na daoine - people in general
Leis na daoinibh - a particular group of people

Of course, proverbs have calcified language, and this proverb was probably "set" at a time when dative usage was always adhered to.

But by the 19th century, there was a nuance (as described above).

And I think caoire is right here - while it is only referring to sheep abroad - it is the sheep in general being referred to.

Of course, as An Lon Dubh pointed out, there are only a few instances where the dative plural would be heard nowadays.

Of course there are the prepositions like: i gcoinnibh - where you have the dative.

Go raibh maith agat as an eolas san, a Loin Dhuibh – Duine eolgaiseacha is ea tú!

Bíonn adharca fada ar na buaibh thar lear
I thought that "ar na caoiribh" would possibly be a better way to paraphrase "ar na buaibh".

Well, yes, you're right. If one has the dative plural in, it's neater if we replace it with a dative plural. So yes - caoiribh, then.