Mulláin an Chuisleáin / Cushla Downs

Mulláin an Chuisleáin / Cushla Downs

Vocabulary:

mullán [m] = elevated ground, hillock (plural “mulláin” is used in street names and is translated as “downs”)

[please note that there are two mistakes in the word “mulláin”, it is spelled with a single “l” and the length diacritic is missing)]

cuisleán [m] = overgrown stream
mulláin an chuisleáin = hillocks of the overgrown stream
An Cuisleán = Cushla, community within Fearann na Manach (Monksland) in Co. Roscommon

[please note that this is an incorrect name, see below]

Mulláin an Chuisleán = Cushla Downs
[please note that the correct Irish name is Cuisle, cuisle [f] = vein; pulse; forearm, wrist]

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Áth Cliath / Dublin

Áth Cliath (full name: Baile Átha Cliath, abbreviation: BÁC) / Dublin is the capital of Poblacht na hÉireann / the Republic of Ireland.

Vocabulary:

baile [m] = home; town
áth [m] = ford
cliath [f] = hurdle; wattle, lattice
baile átha cliath = a town of a ford of hurdles
áth cliath = a ford of hurdles

Baile Átha Cliath / Áth Cliath = Dublin

poblacht [f] = republic
Éire [f] = Ireland

Poblacht na hÉireann = the Republic of Ireland

Coláiste Chiaráin

Coláiste Chiaráin

Vocabulary:

coláiste [m] = college (secondary school, university)
Ciarán = Kieran, Irish male first name

Grammar:

The noun “coláiste” is a masculine noun from the fourth declension consisting of mostly masculine nouns ending with a vowel and diminutives ending in -ín (also masculine nouns).

The genitive of the nouns from that declension is the same as their nominative. Singular and plural.

coláiste = a college / an coláiste = the college
coláiste = of a college / an choláiste = of the college
coláistí = colleges / na coláistí = the colleges
coláistí = of collages / na gcoláistí = of the colleges

Eastát Tionscail / Industrial Estate

Eastát Tionscail / Industrial Estate

Vocabulary:

eastát [m] = estate
tionscal [m] = industry
eastát tionscail = industrial estate (literally: an estate of industry)

Grammar:

Attributive nouns in Irish are used differently than in English. In English they are put in front of the noun that they modify. In Irish they are put behind the noun they modify and they are in the genitive case.

páirc [f] = park
gnó [m] = business

business park in English
páirc ghnó (literally: a park of business) in Irish

Páirceanna Peile Chuisle / Cushla Park Football Pitches

Páirceanna Peile Chuisle / Cushla Park Football Pitches

Vocabulary:

páirc [f] = field, park
peil [f] = football, ball for football
páirc peile = a field of football, a pitch of football
páirceanna peile = fields of football, pitches of football

cuisle [f] = vein; pulse; forearm, wrist
Cuisle = Cushla, a community within Fearann na Manach (Monksland) in Co. Roscommon (you can come across an incorrect name An Cuisleán)

páirceanna peile Chuisle = football pitches of Cushla

Grammar:

One of the ways to form a plural form are suffixes: -nna, -anna, -eanna and -onna. They are used for short (one-syllable) nouns.

The suffix -nna is used for nouns ending with a vowel “a”, “o” or “ú”:
trá [f] (beach) > tránna
bia [m] (food) > bianna
seó [m] (show) > seónna
ceo [m] (fog) > ceonna
ciú [m] (queue) > ciúnna
brú [m] (hostel; pressure) > brúnna

The suffix -anna is used for nouns ending with a broad consonant or a vowel “e”:
bláth [m] (flower) > bláthanna
dath [m] (colour) > dathanna
tré [m] (triad) > tréanna
ré [f] (period; moon) > réanna

The suffix -eanna is used for nouns ending with a slender consonant:
peil > peileanna
páirc > páirceanna

The suffix -onna is used for nouns ending with a vowel “i”:
brí [f] (vigour) > bríonna
trí [m] (number three) > tríonna

Na Loc-Chomhlaí / The Lock Gates

Na Loc-Chomhlaí / The Lock Gates

Vocabulary:

loc [m] = sluice, lock
comhla [f] = door-leaf; shutter; valve
loc-chomhla [f] = sluice-gate, lock-gate

Grammar:

In compound words hyphen goes always between two vowels (fia-úll = crab-apple), always between two similar consonants (sean-nós = old tradition) sometimes between a vowel and a consonant (alpha-ga = alpha-ray).

Fáilte go Rachra Dr. na Sionainne / Welcome to Shannonbridge

Fáilte go Rachra Dr. na Sionainne / Welcome to Shannonbridge

Vocabulary:

fáilte [f] = welcome
go [prep] to, till, until
Rachra (also Reachra) = Raghra, townland in County Offaly
fáilte go Rachra = welcome to Raghra

droichead [m] = bridge
an tSionainn = (River) Shannon
droichead na Sionainne = a bridge on the Shannon
Droichead na Sionainne (abbreviation: Dr. na Sionainne) = Shannonbridge, a town on the River Shannon in County Offaly on the border with County Roscommon

Ros Comáin / Roscommon

Ros Comáin / Roscommon is a big historical town and a capital of the County Roscommon.

Vocabulary:

ros [m] = woods, wooded headland; linseed, flax-seed
Comán = Irish name, here Saint Coman who was a founder and a first bishop of Roscommon

Grammar:

The diacritics (length accent / síneadh fada) are very important in Irish language. Losing it or adding an extra one can completely change a meaning of the word.

ros vs rós (rose)

Port an Mhuilinn / Millbank

Port an Mhuilinn / Millbank is a street in Athlone, Co. Westmeath

Vocabulary:

port [m] = tune, melody; port, harbour; (river) bank
muileann [m] = mill, grinder; manufactory
port an mhuilinn = a (river) bank of the mill

Grammar:

The masculine nouns in singular genitive are lenited after the definite article “an” and not lenited without it.

an muileann = the mill
an mhuilinn = of the mill

muileann = a mill
muilinn = of a mill

Treo Eile / Other Routes

Treo Eile / Other Routes

Vocabulary:

treo [m] = direction, way
eile = other, another; more, next, else
treo eile = other direction, other way