Forgive me for barging into your learned forum. I am a regular traveller to Ireland, absolutely love the land and its people. My exposure to an gaeltacht has been minimal so far. But I would like to give our house an Irish name. My thought was "ag an aill" - by the cliff. Would you improve on this, or is it correct? Many thanks,

Frido

Nah, much too literal. But close. You're looking for something like

Cois Aille

Wait for confirmation.

Hi Frido fáilte go dtí'n bhfóram. Congratulations, your our 1,000 member, unfortunately there's no spot prize

ag an aill or ag an (aige'n) bhfaill (Munster) at the cliff

there's loads of ways to say by the cliff;

here's one to get the ball rolling:

le hais na (f)aille by the cliff

Wait for confirmation or more input

Cian

crossed with Gumbi's very nice alternative

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Please wait for corrections/ more input from other forum members before acting on advice

Thank you Gumbi, thank you Cian! The house is near the top of the cliff, so would you say ag an aill is plain wrong? It sounds nice to my ears, as a name for a house…

Yay! míle!

Frido

Personally I think "ag an" is too literal. It's not as nice anyways Le hais or Cois are equally as good in my view.

brilliant. Cois aille it is then. Thank you both again.



Frido

Just to throw another one in there:

Bruach na hAille Cliff's Edge

Or, if you fancy a bit of alliteration:

Bruach na Binne

I worry a little (perhaps needlessly) about "cois," because if I were to hear "cois aille," I'd think of something near the base of the cliff rather than at the edge. But perhaps I'm over-thinking that.

Wait for more.

Redwolf

That's an interesting assumption, and one with which I sympathise. But I think it still works fine. Bruach I would immediately associate with "bank" (of a river). I haven't seen it used to mean edge before.

It's also used to mean "brink." As in "bruach na carraige."

Redwolf

I agree with Redwolf.

cois (áite) means primarily "at the foot of (a place)", especially for objects that have a top and bottom, and only secondarily "along, beside" (with objects that have a less elevated profile):

cois cnoic "at the foot of a hill"
cois balla "at the foot of a wall"
cois carraige "at the foot of a rock"
cois abhann "beside a river"
cois cladaigh "beside a shore"
cois cuain "beside a harbour"

In contrast, bruach means primarily "bank" or "brink" (meaning "the edge of a high part"), though it can also mean "fringe" or "margin":

bruach abhann "bank of a river"
bruach aille "brink of a cliff"
bruach poill "edge of a hole"
bruach coille "margin of a wood"
bruach cathrach "fringe of a city"

It also appears in the meaning of "brink" in the song Ar Bhruach na Carraige Báine.

I think cois aille would more likely be interpreted as "near the base of the cliff", than "near the top of the cliff".

(Although binn is usually "a peak or hill", it can also mean "cliff".)


So, I'd go with either of Redwolf's proposals:

Bruach na hAille "The Brink of the Cliff"

or
Bruach na Binne "The Brink of the Cliff"



(Crossed with Redwolf)

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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).