This is at the beginning of the book "Sceulta Mhicil Uí Mhuigheasa Ó'n Rinn." I can understand most of it, but because when you look up certain words in the dictionary they seem to have quite a variety of meanings, so it isn't always that easy understanding them or the nuances between them. Of course the translation here is as close to the original as is possible.

D'réir úird Aibhighitir na Teangan as ar fháisceadh é. Is it the man himself being 'compressed (fáisceadh) into alphabetical order here?

A - Aoibhinn é a sheanchus, - Delightful he (in) his storytelling/knowledge of folklore ?

B - Buaidh cuimhne 's cabaireacht - Excellence/talent of memory and loquacity ?

C - Ceann-dána ceannasach, 'n a chroidhe 'gus 'n a mheóin; - Headstrong (and) commanding, in his heart and in his mind/temperament ?

D - Diadhanta 'n a aigne, - God-gifted in his character/mind ?

E - Earáideach mar a thaithigh sé - Erroneous as (in the way) he practises ?(I don't understand this line)

F - Faobhar 's faghairt 'n a labhairt, agus binneas 'n a ghlór; - Sharp and fire in his speaking and sweetness in his voice ?

G - Gleacuidhe gaoismhear gasta, - Trickster shrewd/wise fast/clever ?

I - Iomodamhail ar chleasa, - Numerous at tricks ?

L - Liomhtha (Líofa) ar a theanga - Fluent/glib at his tongue ?

M - Méam dé'n t-sean-phór; - Mouth of the old breed ?

N - Nimhneach le'n a namhaid, - Venomous/spiteful with his enemy ?

O - Oireamhnach (Aireamh) le'n a charaid, - Harmonious with his friends ?

P - Plámásach, gan ganguid (gangaid), - Flattering, without bitterness/spite ?

R - Righ-Ghaedheal mar is cóir; - King of Gaelic as is (right and) just,

S - Sár-fhear ar scéalta, - A great man at stories,

T - Tláth-lag (tláthach) san mBéarla, - Weak in English,

U - Uathbhás (Uafás) ceart chun éithig, 's na céadtha ar a thóir. (I don't understand the meaning of this at all).

De réir oird Aibitír na Teanga as ar fáisceadh é = Acc. to the order of the alphabet of the language out of which it was squeezed.



Is aoibhinn é a sheanchas = His storytelling is delightful. (é isn't "he" here, it is just a subsubject agreeing to "a sheanchas")



Sea.



Sea



diadhanta = devout, pious







Sea.



a wise and clever trickster



Sea.



a puff of the old breed?



Sea.



oiriúnach, respectable with his friends



Sea.



rí is just a reinforcing prefix: a very Gael






Weak and wan in English



A vast amount of right for lying and hundreds waiting for it?

Go raibh maith agat, a chara.

But that would be an t-uafás cirt. I'd say that ceart here is the adjective 'right, proper, real' - not the genitive plural of the noun. Uafás ceart, to me, means 'a real terror/awe'. It can't be 'terror of lying' since roimh would be the appropriate preposition there. I'm thinking it might mean something like 'wonderful, awesome(!) at lying.

And hundreds in pursuit/search of it.

This is what I was saying at the beginning. When you look up - uafás - on Teanglann, it has three meanings : -
(1) Horror, terror
(2) Cause of astonishment
(3) Vast, astonishing number, amount

and in Dinneen - uathbhás - means :- terror, horror, dread, dismay, as well as - astonishment and surprise.

So perhaps it might mean - an astonishing amount (of stories) that hundreds (of people) are waiting (to hear) ?

My previous post was only half-complete when you replied - I somehow managed to omit half when editing. It's now complete - with my translation attempt. 'I'm not saying it 's right. More context would help.

Your translation 'an astonishing amount (of stories)' ignores ceart and chun éithigh. You've missed my point. I disagreed with Labhrás's version - 'a vast amount of right' - because that would have to be an t-uafás cirt. Check the dictionaries. When uafás is used idiomatically to mean 'an awful lot (of something)', it's always, as far as I know, an t-uafás (+ genitive of noun).

Yes of course. Is - ceart - used here as an intensifier ? and - éithigh ? would that be - falsehood ?- as storytelling is sometimes referred to telling lies ?

1- ceart: As I said in my first post , I think this is the adjective, not the genitive plural of the noun - same form for both, of course. You could call it an intensifier, I suppose: amadán ceart mé - 'I'm a right/real/proper fool'.

2- éithigh: this is the genitive singular of the noun éitheach - lying/lie/falsehood. Chun takes the genitive, hence chun éithigh - 'to lie/for lying/at lying' (often easier to translate it with the verb in English). I have no idea whether or not there's a connection with storytelling. I assume there's no more context. I did ask.

Yes, "a real horror at lying" makes much more sense.

At the end of the alphabet, there's this line - "Mise annso agus fios agam" LIAM Ó MÍODHACHÁIN - but that doesn't add very much information, I'm afraid. This is what is on the preceding page, if that's any help:-

DO'N LÉIGHTHEÓIR

SEO dhá cheann deug des na sceulta simplidhe bhíonn
á innsint ag Micil Ó Muirgheasa dos na scoláirí
thagann go dtí Iol-Scol na Mumhan gach samhradh.
Tá siad lán de ghreann agus de mhagadh, agus má
bhainid oiread gáire as an léightheóir agus bhainid as
na daoine bhíonn ag éisteacht le Micil á n-innsint,
bead'sa lán t-sásta.

Tá sceulta fiannuidheachta a bhfuil caint chruaidh
chasta ionnta ag Micil leis. B'fhéidir, le congnamh
Dé, go bhfuighbhimís amas ar chló do chur orra lá
éigint.

Tá Micil trí bliadhna deug a's trí fichid, agus ní
fiú a rádh go bhfuil aon Bheurla aige. Tá a chlú
agus a cháil mar sceulaidhe leathta ar fuaide na
hÉireann. Gura fada buan in ár measc é chun
Gaedhealg do leathdh agus gáire do bhaint as
lucht foghlumtha na teangan.

AN FEAR MÓR

lá fhéile pádraig,
1923.

It's available on Internet Archive, if you want to read it in full, though I've managed to get a copy of my own.