Hello everyone,

Thank you all in advance for taking the time with a real beginner. I am looking for a translation for both an inscription and a toast to end my best man's speach. The phrase is
"Here's to Us...Damm few of us left!
As I said, I am a beginner so help with pronouncing the phrase would be invaluable. The Grooms family is both traditionally and currently from Dublin so if standard Irish is not the most appropriate I would appreciate suggestions for the best dialect.

Thank you

Some rewording will be needed to fit it into Irish. Here's one approach:

Seo ár sláinte ...
Here's to Us ... [Here's [to] our health]

Diabhal ach scata beag fágtha againn
But devil few of us remain [damn isn't really used in Irish the way it is in English - devil is more common]

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

CaoimhínSF,

Thank you. I like devil better, it has a little more flair I think.

ForGramHealy

I think I'd change the last part to Níl sa diabhal ach rather than just Diabhal ach, but wait for others to comment on that one way or the other ...

Seo ár sláinte ... should be fine.

_________________
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).

Breandán has a better ear for swearing in Irish than than I do
so I'd go with his suggestion, which would leave this (I think he was ok with the rest of it):

Níl sa diabhal ach scata beag fágtha againn

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

Thank you to you both!

Breandán,
How does Níl sa translate into English?

ForGramHealy

Not well if you break it right there.

Níl means "is not".

Níl ... ach means "only, literally "(there) is not ... but"

sa diabhal means "in the devil" and is an intensifier, hence "damn".

Níl ach scata beag againn fágtha. "There is only a small group of us left."

(Sorry to change this again but on reflection I think the againn needs to be right next to the noun to get the "of us" idiom, otherwise it sounds like "we have ..." although that is not without a certain logic as well.)

Níl sa diabhal ach scata beag againn fágtha. "There is only a damn small group of us left."

Would be good if we could get some native input on this ...

_________________
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).

The change makes perfect sense as literally there is only a small group of a larger contingent left in the world, and it is important that the feeling of that come across.
I appreciate your thoroughness in the break down.
If I could continue to ask for your assistance, and point me in the right direction for pronunciation help.

Again, thank you in advance!

I've just asked for a bit of backup from the old site. If we can get more input and/or confirmation then we'll have a sounder translation before we move on to pronunciation.

_________________
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).

Hi, a chairde maith dom mas amadach ar fad mé, ach an feidir ''duainne'' a usaid in ionnad ''againne'' anso.
Crisotóir.