# GAELIGE: Is go dte tu mo mhuirman slan



## HyperHanabi

I watch the film "The Nightingael".
In this scene the girl sings old Irish song.

I wish I were on yonder hill
Tis there I'd sit and cry my fill
And every tear would turn a mill
Is go dte tu mo mhuirman slan
I'll sell my rock, I'll sell my reel

What's that part mean?
I search online dict, it said "My SLAN's marman is"
It doesn't make sense.


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## Stoggler

Siúil, Siúil, Siúil a Rún – a bit of Irish history in a folk song


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## Tegs

Correct spelling: 

_go dté tú_ (may you go, subjunctive tense) _mo mhuirnín_ (my darling) _slán_ (safely).

So, “may you go safely, my darling”.


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## se16teddy

HyperHanabi said:


> *Is* go dte tu mo mhuirman slan


And I suppose _Is_ = _And_. A short form of_ agus _commonly found in songs and poetry.


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## Tegs

se16teddy said:


> And I suppose _Is_ = _And_. A short form of_ agus _commonly found in songs and poetry.


Not in this case, no. Is go dté tú = may you go. “Is” is used in a lot of different constructions, see Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (Ó Dónaill): is.


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## Cork Irish

Tegs said:


> Not in this case, no. Is go dté tú = may you go. “Is” is used in a lot of different constructions, see Foclóir Gaeilge–Béarla (Ó Dónaill): is.


In this case, "is" means "agus" ("and"). There is a word "is", which is the copula, a form of the verb "to be" used in classification/identification sentences, such as is fear mé, "I am a man", but the copula can't be used before go dté tú, as there is no identification/classification going on. There are, as you say, many constructions with "is" in, such as "tuairim is", "timpeall is", and they are listed as meaning 5 (pleonastic uses) under "agus" in Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla, but in such cases the "is" is an abbreviation of "agus" (tuairim agus, timpeall agus).


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## Tegs

You’re right Cork - rereading it I don’t know why I said it wasn’t an ’agus’ when it clearly is. Brainfart moment, perhaps


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