Good Afternoon!

My name is Sarah Kinne and I am in desperate need of some translation help! My fiancé's name is John McGrath, and he is very proud of his Irish heritage. He has followed in the same career path as his father, working as a police officer for the last three years. It is a career that he was born for, and is a true part of who he is as a person. Since the first shift he ever worked, I have constantly told him to "come home safe" as he walked out the door. Unfortunately, our schedules are completely different now, and I am not able to say this anymore. I am getting a tattoo this Friday, February the 7th, to honor his service as an officer, and I would love to have it include an Irish Gaelic saying that means as close to the same thing as possible. This tattoo will be placed on my ribs near my heart, and therefore, will hopefully keep him safe, even when I can't say "come home safe" to him personally. I realize that I am asking for a lot, as Friday is right around the corner, but I have been looking for a trusted forum for weeks, and just came upon your site. I apologize. Any and all help would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much for your time.

Sincerely,

Sarah Kinne

Hi Sarah,

One of the things that comes immediately to mind, as it's often said when saying goodbye to someone in Irish, is Slán Abhaile...literally "Safely Home." As it's usually said to someone who is on his way home, however, I'd wait for others to weigh in on whether it could work in the sense you mean.

Do wait for more input. And tell your fiancé thanks for the service he and other police officers provide!

Redwolf

I remember on the old forum that a firefighter posted a request for a translation of a slogan he said was used by many firefighters, and this was the translation offered:

Tagann gach duine abhaile
Everyone comes home

Using that as a basis for your request, you might use:

Tar slán abhaile
Come home safe

I'm not 100% sure about the placement of the word slán (as opposed to Tar abhaile slán), but as with any tattoo, we suggest waiting for the agreement of at least 3 people before inking anything.

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

I thought about this as well, but like you, was uncertain as to the placement of "slán." I was inclined to place it where you did, so we've got the same instincts working anyway!

Redwolf

The Irish actually say "Safe home" to each other in English too, but as Redwolf surmises it usually used when someone is on their way home. Bríd (or Braoin, etc.), would it make any sense to say it before the person left the house?

In some songs about lovers going off to war (such as Siúil, a Rún), the expression Go dté tú slán "May you go safely" is used. I think it is taken as a given that if the person makes it through safe they will try to come home or back to their loved ones.

Other songs (such as Fill, Fill, a Rún, Ó) use the verb fill "to return". So another option would be:

Fill slán abhaile "Return home safe."

However, this might feel more like a call or prayer to someone who has already left.

Fill slán ar ais "Come back safe" might work too.

To me, Go dté tú slán "May you go safely" has the best fit for the context, wherever you both are at the time.

Await input from others ...

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

That a perfectly ok literal translation, and also used naturally in Irish.




I recommend this one.




Slán Abhaile - Like you said that is used for saying goodbye to a person leaving to go home to his own house. But if you wanted it to mean "come home safely" I suppose it could mean that too.

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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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Wow! Thank you so much for the input. I definitely think that the consensus is that Slan Abhaile is not necessarily the best choice for the context in which I am using the saying. I will definitely continue to keep my eye on this forum, as with every suggestion, I am learning a ton! Thanks again!

-- Sarah

With Bríd behind it, I would go with "Go dté tú slán." If you want initial capitals, it would be "Go dTé Tú Slán" (that "d" in "dté" will always be lowercase, regardless of the case of the other letters).

Redwolf

Good point there, Redwolf.

Sarah, if you are interested in old script, here it is with initial caps:

Go dTé Tú Slán

And without initial caps:

go dté tú slán

Notice that the lower case s is very different from the upper case one.

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

I would also agree with
Tar slán abhaile
for
'come home safe' (to one person)
and then no harm to mention:
Tagaigí slán abhaile
'come home safe' (to more than one person)

or the very commonly said:
Slán abhaile
'safe home!'

and
Go dté tú slán
'may you go safely' or 'may you be safe as you go' (to one person)
and no harm to mention:
Go dté sibh slán
'may ye go safely' or 'may ye be safe as ye go' (to more than one person)

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Bí cinnte de go nglacfaidh triúr le gach aistriúchán a thabharfar.
Be sure to get three in agreement with a translation given.