Hiya!

I'm planning on getting a tattoo to commemorate my time I've lived in Dublin. I am taking Irish for beginners so I hoped to use that for help, but we just haven't learned very much yet.

I found the phrase after some googleing and loved that it is a kind of thank you. So it is like me thanking Dublin for my time and wishing it to prosper. The only issue is that there are two forms that I found and I don't know what the difference is:
- Nár laga Dia do lámh
- Ná lagadh Dia do lámh

Also, if you know of any other short phrases that are meaningful (embodiment of Irish culture/history, thanks, nice well wishing) please let me know!

Thanks a million!
Addie

The first is better.

The difference is one is a wish (the first) "May God not weaken your arm", the other is a command "Let God not weaken your hand", with the "Let" here being like "Let me see it". To be honest I don't know who you'd be commanding with the second one, where as the sense of the first one is clear to me.

_________________
The dialect I use is Cork Irish.
Ar sgáth a chéile a mhairid na daoine, lag agus láidir, uasal is íseal

I'm not sure that either one is right. The two versions I know are:

Nár lagaí Dia do lámh
Nár lagaidh Dia do lámh

Wait for more input. We always say on this forum that 3 or more people should agree on a translation before it can be trusted.

_________________
Táim ag foghlaim fós. Fáilte roimh gach aon cheartúchán.

"lagaí" is the standard form alright (from 'lagaigh' - 2nd conjugation), but 'laga' seems to be okay too. In FGB 'lag' is given as a variant of 'lagaigh', so presumably it would belong to the 1st conjugation, hence 'laga'?

addiejewell, Nár lagaí/laga Dia do lámh is fine. A shorter form of this is Nár lagaí Dia thú (literally 'May God not weaken you', i.e. 'more power to you'). As An Lon Dubh suggests, while the version with 'lagadh' is grammatically correct it wouldn't be used.

Mick, would 'lagaidh' be the pre-spelling reform version?

Ó Dónaill's dictionary has Nár lagaí, so I think that settles the matter as far as Standard Irish is concerned. But if addiejewel is looking for traditional spelling or wants to know what people actually say in the Gaeltacht, then that's another matter.

Nár lagaidh is in the Cork dictionary, so at least I know I didn't make it up. Maybe it's Cork dialect, or maybe it's pre-reform, since nár lagaidh would be pronounced "nár lagaí" in some dialects (I think?)

_________________
Táim ag foghlaim fós. Fáilte roimh gach aon cheartúchán.

It's a matter of spelling rather than pronunciation I think. Not the biggest of deals either way, it seems your version is correct in such a case.