A study of the Irish text
breith do thabhairt air do réir na bprínsiobal is inleanta ag na Coimisinéirí Ioncuim’ in s8(5) of the Finance Act, 1924. ‘Casual vacancies shall be filled in accordance with the foregoing principle of selection’ is translated as ‘is le roghanaíocht ar an gcuma san thuas a líonfar foth-fholúntaisí’ in s65 of the Courts of Justice Act, 1924. Finally, ‘The voting at a Seanad election shall be on the principle of proportional representation’ is translated as ‘Is do réir ionaduíochta cothromúla a déanfar an vótáil i dtoghachán Seanaid’ in s9(1) of the Seanad Electoral Act, 1928. Turning to modern Acts, ‘The Bank shall … keep the Minister … informed of the general principles which guide the Bank’ is translated as ‘Déanfaidh an Banc … an tAire … a choinneáil ar an eolas maidir leis na prionsabail ghinearálta a bhíonn mar threoir ag an mBanc’ in s66(2) of the Central Bank Act, 1989. The noun ‘directive’ is translated as ‘treoir’ in the Acts – see s2(1) of the National Agricultural Advisory, Education and Research Authority Act, 1977, for example, where ‘whether for the purpose of implementing any directive of the European Economic Community or otherwise’ is translated as ‘chun aon treoir ó Chomhphobal Eacnamaíochta na hEorpa nó eile a chur i bhfeidhm’. Note that ‘imthreorán’ is given in Foclóir Oifigiúil, without source. Commenting on a draft of the direct translation below, where ‘Directive Principles of Social Policy’ was translated simply as ‘Prionsabail Threoracha Bheartais Shóisialaigh’, Professor Máirtín Ó Murchú questioned the grammatical correctness of this phrase, recalling the earlier ‘ábhair nóis imeachta’. Professor Ó Murchú recommends ‘Prionsabail Threoracha faoi Bheartas Sóisialach’. a ceapadh ‘Mean, intend’ is given as one of the senses of ‘ceap’ in Ó Dónaill, citing ‘sin é a bhí ceaptha acu a dhéanamh, that is what they intended to do’. Dinneen includes ‘intended’ among the senses of ‘ceapuighthe’, the past participle of his headword ‘ceapaim’, translated in Téarmaí Dlí solely as ‘I appoint’. See the commentary on Articles 6.1, 13.1.1o, 15.10 and 34.4.5o regarding ‘ceap’, respectively expressing ‘designate’, ‘appoint’, ‘attach’ and ‘direct’. While the Irish verb ‘ceap’ may mean ‘design, conceive’ (Professor Máirtín Ó Murchú cites ‘seift a cheapadh’ as an example of that sense), and could be interpreted as having that meaning in the present instance in the literal English translation above of ‘bunrialacha a cheapadh’, as Professor Ó Murchú remarks, the English text makes clear that ‘ceap’ must here be taken to have the meaning ‘intend’ (Máirtín Ó Murchú citing ‘sin é a cheap sé a dhéanamh’ as an example of that sense). Looking at ‘intended’ in the early Acts, ‘any warehouse or other premises of any person engaged in the business of warehousing goods intended for export’ is translated as ‘aon stóras no áitreabh eile le héinne i mbun gnó stórála earraí le heasportáil’ in s4(1)(d) of the Agricultural Produce (Eggs) Act, 1924. ‘Any particular class of goods intended for human food or drink offered for sale on stall-traders … stands’ is translated as ‘aon tsaghas áirithe earraí a bheidh ceaptha mar bhia no mar dhigh do dhaoine agus a tairgfar le díol … ar sheasáin stalla-thrádálaí’ in s6(1)(f) of the Street-Trading Act, 1926, with ‘all expenses incurred in the seizure, removal, storage, and any intended or attempted sale of the goods’ being translated as ‘gach costas a bhain leis na hearraí do thógaint, d’aistriú agus
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do stóráil agus le haon bheartú nó iarracht ar iad do dhíol’ in s11(3). Finally, ‘Whenever the Commissioners intend to acquire any occupied premises’ is translated as ‘Aon uair a bheidh na Coimisinéirí ar aigne aon áitreabh i seilbh do thógaint’ in s2(1) of the Civic Guard (Acquisition of Premises) Act, 1923, with ‘one month’s notice in writing of their intention so to acquire such premises’ being translated as ‘fógra míosa go bhfuilid ar aigne an t-áitreabh san do thógaint amhlaidh’. Turning to the modern Acts, ‘Whether or not such fish or fishery products are intended for human consumption’ is translated as ‘bíodh nó ná bíodh an t-iasc nó na táirgí iascaigh sin beartaithe lena gcaitheamh ag daoine’ in s32(1)(d)(iv) of the Radiological Protection Act, 1991. ‘Words descriptive of any enactment are intended for convenience of reference only’ is translated as ‘is mar áis tagartha amháin na focail a dhéanann tuairisciú ar aon achtachán’ in s155(8) of the Corporation Tax Act, 1976. ‘It shows, to the satisfaction of the Revenue Commissioners that the goods in question are intended for the use of blind persons’ is translated as ‘go gcruthóidh sé do na Coimisinéirí Ioncaim gur le haghaidh úsáid daoine dalla na hearraí sin atá i gceist’ in s20(2)(b) of the Value-Added Tax Act, 1972. See further the commentary on Article 25.4.1o where ‘a mhalairt d’intinn’ expresses ‘a contrary intention’. amháin ‘Only’ is given as a secondary sense of ‘amháin’ (primary sense ‘one’) in Ó Dónaill, who cites ‘sinn féin amháin, ourselves only, alone’. Dinneen translates ‘amháin’ as ‘only, alone, merely; even’, citing ‘é féin amháin, he alone’. ‘Amáin’ is the Middle Irish form of ‘nammá’, DIL translating this adjective ‘following a noun and limiting it in sense’ as ‘only, and no more, and nothing else’, citing examples from Leabhar na hUidhre (compiled in Clonmacnois c. 1100) onwards, including ‘an ruibér sin amháin eidirdealaiges etorra’ (‘nothing except the river divides them’) from Ó Cianáin’s Flight of the Earls. ‘Nammá’, according to DIL, is a petrified phrase ‘= negative + má’, comparative of ‘mór, már’, literally ‘not more’ – DIL cites ‘a mbecc sin nammá dogníu di maith’ (‘that little good I do’) from the eighth-century Würzburg Glosses on the Pauline Epistles. ‘Exclusive right’ is translated as ‘ceart eisiatach’ in Tearmaí Dlí, ‘eisiach’ being given as the standard form of ‘eisiatach’ in Ó Dónaill – see the commentary on Articles 8.3 and 15.2.1o, ‘aon’ expressing ‘exclusive’ therein. ‘And which, while used for the purposes of the trade, is wholly and exclusively so used’ is translated as ‘agus atá, fad a úsáidfear chun críocha na trádála é, in úsáid go hiomlán agus go heisiach amhlaidh’ in s70 of the Finance Act, 1990. In s29(3) of the Land Act, 1923, ‘the powers of the Court … shall be exercised exclusively by the Judicial Commissioner’ is translated as ‘déanfidh an Coimisinéir Breithiúntais amháin na cumhachta atá ag an gCúirt … d’fheidhmiú’. See further the commentary on Article 15.6.1o where, as in the present Article, ‘amháin’ expresses ‘exclusive’. de chúram The preposition ‘de’ can denote a feature of something, ‘what pertains to something’, Ó Dónaill citing ‘tá sé de chlú air (go), he has the reputation (of)’ and ‘ná bíodh sé de leithscéal agat, don’t have it as an excuse’, for example. Dinneen cites ‘tá sé de bhuaidh, de chéill, de