Ní neart go cur le chéile
The word Irish word 'neart' has lots of uses, and is a great word to know!
You may already have heard the seanfhocal 'ní neart go cur le chéile' (there is no strength without unity) but there are many other useful expressions in Irish that you can learn which contain the word 'neart'.
Strength
First of all, neart can be used to mean strength:
His strength failed him at the end of his life / Theip ar an neart aige ag deireadh a shaoil.
He fell off the bike due to the strength of the wind / Thit sé den rothar de bharr neart na gaoithe.
And then there is the verb ‘neartaigh’ - strengthen:
The wind strengthened overnight / Neartaigh an ghaoth thar oíche
Glory Days!
When someone is at the top of their powers, at full strength, you can say that they are ‘ina neart’ (in their strength):
She was a great footballer in her day / Ba pheileadóir breá a bhí inti nuair a bhí sí ina neart.
From strength to strength
'Ó neart go neart' and 'ag dul i neart' are very common expressions in Irish to say that things are on the up!
Things are going from strength to strength! / Tá rudaí ag dul ó neart go neart!
Things are improving. / Tá cúrsaí ag dul i neart.
Abundance
We often use ‘a lán’ or ‘go leor’ to mean that we have plenty of something in Irish. But the word ‘neart’ can also be used to indicate an abundance of something.
Take it easy, we've loads of time! / Tóg go réidh é, tá neart ama againn!
There will be plenty of other opportunities if you don't succeed this time. / Beidh neart deiseanna eile ann mura n-éiríonn leat an uair seo.
You've plenty of money! Don't be so stingy! / Tá neart airgid agat! Ná bí chomh sprionlaithe!
You won't be idle; there's plenty to be done around here. / Ní bheidh tú díomhaoin; tá neart le déanamh thart anseo.
Ability
The word ‘neart’ is used also to talk about ability to do something….in fact, it’s very frequently used to talk about lack of ability or control over something:
I can't help it / there's nothing I can do about it / Níl aon neart agam air. (lit. I have no strength over it).
Don't be complaining! I have no control over the weather! / Ná bí ag gearán! Níl aon neart agam ar an aimisir!
Relax! You've no control over the decision that they will make. / Lig do scíth! Níl aon neart agat ar an gcinneadh a dhéanfaidh siad.
To hell with it! There's nothing that can be done now! / Bíodh an diabhal aige! Níl neart air anois! (lit. let the devil have it, there's no control over it now).
And, to finish…
Ní neart go cur le chéile
There is no strength without unity (lit. there is no strength until coming together).
In this seanfhocal 'cur le chéile' means 'togetherness' or 'coming together'; and 'go' means 'until'.
By the way, the 'ní' at the start of this seanfhocal is the negative form of the copula, and means 'there isn't'.
How to learn Irish
Using proverbs in Irish / seanfhocail like the example given in this blog post is a great way to learn Irish. Here are a few more seanfhocail that you might like to learn:
Is fearr an tsláinte ná na táinte
Ní féidir leis an ngobadán an dá thrá a fhreastail
Ar mhaith leat go mbeadh do chuid Gaeilge ag dul ó neart go neart? Tá neart agat air sin, ar ndóigh….cláraigh le haghaidh ranganna ar líne le All About Irish!
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