Hi there - If someone could help me out I would appreciate it.

I am getting a tattoo with "Not Today" in Irish as part of it. I have been through several life-threatening illnesses in the past five years, and I thought that this quote from George RR Martin was appropriate to commemorate my struggle - but I thought having it in Irish would honor my heritage and make it much more personal to me

The context of the phrase is as follows: "There is only one god, and his name is Death. And there is only one thing we say to Death: Not Today!

My initial thought was that it was "ní inniu" - but I wanted to be sure - my family is from County Cork, so I want to make sure it's in the Munster dialect, etc.

Thanks so much for your help!

I often wondered how such phrases are rendered in Irish because they are frequently used in other languages but - as far as I can say - not so in Irish.
Such phrases (without any addition) are strikingly rare - at least in written Irish.
Ní inniu ... There is something missing. It is an incomplete sentence.

So, I hope someone else can answer your question.

I'd throw an "é" in there.
Ní inniu é

I know it's still not a sentence, and without context other people won't know what it means. But I suppose that's not important as long as the OP knows.

Like I'd say in speech (actually I say it too often ) -
I have to wash the dishes - Caithfidh mé na soithí a níochán
(But) not today - (Ach) ní inniu é

Wow, Labhrás is stumped.

I never thought I'd see that. In that case, I really can't say for sure.

But after some consideration, how about "I won't die today!"?

Ní bhfaighidh mé bás inniu.

or

Is inniu nach bhfaighidh mé bás. (It's TODAY that I won't die.)

I think there is also the option in Munster to use another form instead of "bhfaighidh mé":

"Ní bhfaighead bás inniu."

"Is inniu nach bhfaighead bás."

Wait for more comments.

Tim

Thank you all for all you efforts! I had no idea that this would cause such a stir!

You should see some of the other discussions on here.

Since this is for a tattoo, every one of us feels like you should get the best phrase. Sometimes, unfortunately, it's not so simple. And you may end up with a number of choices, some literal, some less so.

You can see what's been offered so far. Bríd is a native speaker so I trust her judgement. But she also said a phrase with some context might be good as well. So I think more discussion is a good idea especially now that I'm going to throw another wrench in the works.

I was trying to figure out the underlying meaning of "Not today" in this context. It seems that something like "Forget it" may be close although you and others may not agree. ("And there is only one thing we say to Death: Forget it." ?) If it is a possible idea, maybe "Éist leis" or "Déan dearmad air" would work.

I hope you're not in a hurry.

Wait for more comments.

Cheers,

Tim