Blessings & Good Wishes

Ar-dot·raib bennacht co brath!

(may-be-before-you * blessing * until * doomsday)

May blessings await you always!

Like "Rop lir do chlann", this blessing is found in a poem in a genealogy in the manuscript Rawl. B 502 (fol. 87r) which is held in the Bodleian Library at Oxford.

Rop lir do chlann gainim lir!

(may-be * as numerous * your * offspring * as sands * of sea)

May your progeny be as numerous as the sands of the sea!

This blessing is put in the mouth of Saint Patrick in a poem in "Genelach Conmaicne", which is found in the MS Rawl. 502 (fol. 87r) in the Bodleian Library, Oxford.

Rop réid rémunn cech n-aimreid!

(may be * smooth * before-us * every * unsmoothness)

May every rough spot before us be smooth.
May every difficulty before us be easy.

This is a line from "Hymnus S. Colmani Mic Ui Cluasaigh" in the Irish Liber Hymnorum, edited by J. H. Bernard and R. Atkinson (London, 1898).

Sonus lomma is lenna lir,
buáid comairle in cech caingin,
búaid comperta, clú co mbail,
búaid creiche adiu, buáid slúagaid.

(luck * of milk * and * of ale * plentiful
victory * of counsel * in * every * affair
victory * of conception * fame * with * prosperity
victory * of raid * from here * victory * of military expedition)

Luck of milk and of plentiful ale,
successful advice in every matter,
success in procreation, fame with prosperity,
success in raiding hence, and victory in war.

A blessing from St. Colmán in Betha Colmáin maic Lúacháin, edited by Kuno Meyer in Todd Lecture Series, No. 17.

Bendacht duine, bendacht Dé,
robet ort ule 'malle,
fort chlaind, fort chiniud cen cess
nachus·tarla anfaitchess.

(blessing * of man * blessing * of god
may-they-be * on-you * all * together
on-your * children * on-your * offspring * without * sorrow
not-to-them · may-happen * calamity)

Man's blessing and God's blessing,
may they all be on you together,
on your children, on your offspring unscathed,
may no calamity befall them.

A blessing bestowed by St. Colmán in Betha Colmáin maic Lúacháin, as edited by Kuno Meyer in No. 17 of the Todd Lecture Series.

Sét no·tíag,
téiti Críst;
crích i mbéo,
bith cen tríst.

(path * that I go
Christ * goes;
land * in * which I am
let it be * without * curse)

The path I walk,
Christ walks;
The land I am in,
let it not be blighted.

This is the first stanza of a poem attributed to Colum Cille, edited by James Carney in "Three Old Irish accentual poems" in Ériu, xxii (1971).

Trí bás úaim rohuccaiter!
Trí áes dom dorataiter!
Secht tonna tacid dom dorodailter!

(three * death(s) * from me * may they be taken
threee * age(s) * to me * may they be given
seven * waves * of good fortune * to me * may they be poured out)

May three deaths be taken from me!
May three ages be given to me!
May seven waves of fortune be granted to me!

These lines are part of a much longer prayer for long life which begins "Ad·muiniur secht n-ingena trethan" ("I invoke the seven daughters of the sea"). Kuno Meyer edited and translated it for the first time in "Miscellanea Hibernica", where he attributed it to Fer fio macc Fabri. P. L. Henry also edited and translated it in "Dánta Ban".

For another portion of this "ortha" (poem or incantation), see "Ropo chétach cétblíadnach" in this collection.

Ropo chétach cétblíadnach, cech cét diib ar úair.

(may I be * hundredfold * hundred years * each * hundred * of them * by * time)

May I live for a hundred times a hundred years, each hundred of them in turn!

This supplication comes from a longer "ortha" (poem or incantation) for long life which begins "Ad·muiniur secht n-ingena trethan" ("I invoke the seven daughters of the sea"). Kuno Meyer edited and translated it in "Miscellanea Hibernica" and attributed it to Fer fio macc Fabri. P. L. Henry edited and translated it again much later in "Dánta Ban".

For another selection from this "ortha" , see "Trí bás úaim rohuccaiter" in this collection.

Rath fortsu dano 7 for fir t'inaid ina lóg sin, 7 nirab écen iarfaigid fir t'inaid do grés in cach airiucht i mbia.

(good fortune * on you * then * and * on * men * of your place * in its * reward * that * and * may there not be * need * of protection * of man * of your place * for * ever * in * every * assembly * in * which he will be)

Prosperity on you then and on your successors in reward for that, and may the protection of your successor be forever unnecessary in any assembly in which he is!

Lí Bán delivers this effusive blessing in exchange for the offer of a purple cloak in "Aided Echach Meic Maireda" (LU 3114-15). For other examples of the use of the "fir t(h)'inaid" in blessings and curses, see "Dolma n-aithisc for fer th'inaid do grés" and "Sonus ocus degfhéth tria bithu d'fhir th'inaid do grés" in this collection.

Sonus ocus degfhéth tria bithu d'fhir th'inaid do grés.

(prosperity * and * good healthy condition * through * ages * to men * of your position * for * ever)

Good fortune and good health throughout the ages to your successors forever!

This blessing is found in the Leabhar Breacc (p. 236 B, line 51).

A more long-winded blessing on a man's successors, in which "fer th'inaid" makes two appearances, is found in "Betha Colmáin" (§70), where the saint says:

"Búaid n-échta 7 áithesa for fer th'inaid 7 cen a marbad ind 7 ní muirfidter nech ele úait a ndigail Conaill co brath 7 gurab é fer t'inaidh goires gairm ríg Temrach co brath!"

And in "Acallam na Senórach" (4183) Saint Patrick greets a regal looking young man surrounded by horses with:

"Uaitne rig umut, a maccaeim, ocus ac fir th'inaid it degaid!" (The support of kings around you, young man, and around your successors after you!)

For still more examples of the use of the "fir th'inaid" in blessings and curses, see "Dolma n-aithisc for fer th'inaid do grés" and "Rath fortsu dano 7 for fir t'inaid..." in this collection.