Go mbeananaí Dia daoibh agus bhur gcéad fáilte isteach chuig The Bluffer’s Guide to Irish.
Phew! You’ve managed to get through your teenage years relatively unscarred and now it’s time to be the 20-something you’ve always wanted to be. But what kind of person is that?
Cad é an cineál duine thú/é/í? - what kind of person are you/is he/she.
If you asked someone (and ask yourself the question) what kind of person they would like to be they would mostly go for the same qualities.
Ba mhaith liom a bheith sona - I’d like to be happy is usually top of the list but different people have different criteria for what makes them happy.
Tá mo shaith airgid agam - I have enough money is a phrase never used by anyone is the history of mankind and we could all do with a bit more but wouldn’t it be great to have no money worries?
That could be the case if you have a good job.
Ba mhaith liom a bheith rathúil - I’d like to be successful is something else we strive for in life, whether it’s as a ceoltóír - a musician, an ailtire - an architect or a bríceadóir - a bricklayer.
Having pride in what you do and knowing you do it well will bring its own rewards and can lead to contentment if not huge piles of cash.
Spondoolicks are very important of course if you want a house with beautifully coiffured lawns out in the burbs.
The structure is a bit complicated but if you want to say you’d like to have something, you’d say ba mhaith liom teach mór a bheith agam - I’d like to have a big house and you could add i dtuaisceart an Dúin - in north Down if you were that way inclined.
We’ll discuss walk-in wardrobes, swimming pools and wine cellars some other time!
Some people are obsessed by comharthaí stádais - status symbols, artefacts that make them feel good about themselves and, more importantly, better than their neighbours.
The have the flashy carr - car outside the double garage, the uaireadóir - watch that adorns their arms is a Rolex which, unlike yours, wasn’t bought from a bloke in Santa Ponsa, an fíon a ólann siad - the wine they drink was bought directly at the château – and it wasn’t three for a tenner.
Everyone hopes to be folláin - healthy when they are in their 20s, even chomh folláin le breac - as fit as a fiddle or literally as healthy as a trout, although not everyone is blessed with good health throughout their lives.
For a lot of people, it isn’t the flashy material trinkets in life that appeal to them but simple things like a walk in the mountains or playing with the kids or talking to friends, the things you can do if you are a prince or a pauper.
Different things made different people happy and/or successful.
Ag cuidiú le daoine eile - helping other people is the raison d’etre of a lot of people.
As the late American religious leader, Gordon B Hinckley once said: “By and large, I have come to see that if we complain about life, it is because we are thinking only of ourselves.”
So go enjoy.
CÚPLA FOCAL
Cad é an cineál duine thú/é/í? (cadge ay un kinyil dinya hoo/ay/ee) - what kind of person are you/is he/she
Ba mhaith liom a bheith sona (ba why lum a vay sunna) - I’d like to be happy
Tá mo shaith airgid agam (taa maw hi aragidge ugum)- I have enough moneyBa mhaith liom a bheith rathúil(ba why lum a vay rahool) - I’d like to be successful ceoltóír(kyawl tore) - a musician ailtire (altchira) - an architect bríceadóir (breekadore) - a bricklayer ba mhaith liom teach mór a bheith agam(ba why lum chakh more a vay ugum) - I’d like to have a big housei dtuaisceart an Dúin (i dooishkart un doon) - in north Downcomharthaí stádais (corehee staadish) - status symbols carr(caar) - car uaireadóir (ooradore) - a watchan fíon a ólann siad (un feen a awlan shade) - the wine they drink folláin (folaan) - healthychomh folláin le breac (khoe follaan le brak) - as fit as a fiddle