Go n-ithe an cat thú, is go n-ithe an diabhal an cat.

May the cat eat you, and may the devil eat the cat.


. .

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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, go raibh maith agat.
Can you tell me what dialect or subdialect is the soundfile
go n-ithe sounds as if there is an initial long i as in '' go neeha
cat sounds like ''kut"
diabhal sounds like ''dowl"
My own pronunciation is for the most part Munster where ''diabhal" would be pronounced "dee-ul"
Séamus

My dialect is Conamara. Very similar to Cois Fharraige.

Yes, we say "cat" as "kut", and "diabhal" as ''dowl".

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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.
___________________________________________________________

Oh! I've been wondering about this phrase for quite some time. Is it actually a curse or a blessing? I've seen some people on the net saying it's a kind of a blessing with the meaning "if someone harms you, may the devil harm them in return". Others say it's a curse, and the meaning is more obvious.

It's the kind of 'blessing' I could do without!

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This first part shows you that it's definitely not a blessing.

That's what I initially thought, but got confused by some other opinions. Thanks for clarification!

Since devil-related curses are being discussed, I can't resist adding my favorite one:

Go ndéana an diabhal dréimire de chnámh [do dhroma/bhur ndroma]
is é ag piocadh úll i ngairdín Ifrinn!

May the devil make a ladder from the bones of your back
while picking apples in the garden of hell!

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I'm not a native (or entirely fluent) speaker, so be sure to wait for confirmations/corrections, especially for tattoos.

A Chaoimhín a chara, I seem to remember that you gave us quite a long list of curses once -

Bodhradh is balbhadh ort/oraibh
Dalladh is caochadh ort/oraibh
Droch-chríoch ort/oraibh
Fuil agus gráin ort/oraibh
Go stróca tú/sibh is go stialla tú/sibh
Imeacht gan teacht ort/oraibh
Marbhfháisc ort/oraibh - srl and Fiairefeadha gave us -
Lot leidhe gan leasú ort - May your hide rot without curing (which he thought might have been a reference to leprosy)
Loscadh is dó ort
Bádh is toirneach ort
but the one I like the best is - Go mbeidh tochais siorraí ar do mhagairlí (May you have an eternal itch in your testicles)
and Bríd Mhór gave us - Go dtachta an diabhal thú - May the devil choke you.
(Dála an scéil, I hope I'm not hijacking your post a Bhríd)

Not at all Franc

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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.
___________________________________________________________