Just trying to consolidate some of the work our translators have done over the years, one of which was the often requested "Irish Blessing":
May the road rise up to meet you,
May the wind be ever at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face
And the rain fall softly on your fields
And until we meet again,
May God hold you in the hollow of his hand.There are probably as many variations in the English original as there are in the Irish translation. Here are a few grammatically correct versions (they were no doubt the work of many hands but I will provide acknolwedgement for the last known translator to tweak them):
CaoimhínSF wrote:
Go n-éirí an bóthar leat
go séide an ghaoth i gcónaí ar do chúl
go dtaitní an ghrian go bog bláth ar d’aghaidh,
go gcuire an bháisteach go bog mín ar do ghoirt,
agus go gcasfar le chéile sinn arís,
go gcoinní Dia i mbois a láimhe thú.
Literal back translation:
"May your journey be successful (often given as: "may the road rise [with/to meet] you"),
may the wind always be at your back,
may the sun shine warm [light as a flower] on your face [forehead],
may the rain fall softly upon your fields,
and until we meet again,
may God keep you in the palm of his hand."
kokoshneta wrote:
Go n-éirí an bóthar leat
Go raibh an ghaoth go brách ag do chúl
Go lonraí an ghrian go te ar d'aghaidh
Go dtite an bháisteach go mín ar do pháirceanna
Agus go mbuailfimid le chéile arís,
Go gcoinní Dia i mbos a láimhe thú.
There are a few synonyms swapped in (and other substitutions are possible). For instance, I've also seen
ar do chlár éadan instead of
ar d'aghaidh in the third line.