Irish Dialects

People say there are three main Irish dialects, Munster, Connacht and Ulster, but in truth, that is but a broad brush for the Irish of West Kerry, for example, is not the same as the Irish of Ring even though they are in the same Munster province. That being said, the oversimplification of reducing it to three major dialects is generally accepted.

Roughly speaking the dialect groupings feature as so:

• Munster Irish is spoken in the southwest and south Gaeltachtaí in Cork, Kerry and Waterford.
• Connacht Irish is spoken in Gaeltachtaí in the west of Ireland and Ráth Chairn
• Ulster Irish is spoken in the north of Ireland

You may notice I didn’t mention Leinster, why? Well, this requires a bit more context and the question is answered here by Erisceres.

Different ways to say ‘Irish’ in Irish

I hope to go more in-depth into dialects subdialects but for now, here’s an overview of the main dialects. Incidentally, using Gaelic / Gaeilic etc. is completely ok and we go in-depth into this here.

Image: The original uploader was Angr at English Wikipedia. “Map of the Irish-speaking areas of Ireland, collectively known as the Gaeltacht”. This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.5 Generic, 2.0 Generic and 1.0 Generic license.

What is the Caighdeán Oifigiúil?

The Caighdeán is a standardised form of the language. It is not spoken natively in Gaeltachtaí and is the form of Irish that is taught in school books. It is a written standard not focused on pronunciation and is not considered a dialect.

Munster Irish – Canúint na Mumhan

Irish is still spoken in Munster, particularly in the Gaeltachtaí of Cork, Kerry, and Waterford. While there is evidence and recordings of Irish once spoken in other counties, such as Clare and Tipperary, unfortunately, it is no longer spoken natively in those areas.

When looking at the dialects of Munster they are typically divided into two groups: West Munster and East Munster. These categories best represent the dialects found in the remaining Gaeltacht regions, with the dialects of the Gaeltachtaí in Kerry and Cork belonging to the West Munster group. The Déise dialect, spoken in Ring, County Waterford, is the only surviving dialect from the East Munster group.

Resources:

Teach Yourself Irish, 1961 by Myles Dillon and Donnacha O Croinin is a popular recommendation for learners as it is a solid foundation but also available for free. The PDFs are available with the consent of the publisher. The 1961 edition focuses on the Irish of Muskerry, West Cork.

• Teach Yourself Irish 1961 – Scanned (dialectal Munster Irish)
• Teach Yourself Irish 1961 – Audio (dialectal Munster Irish)
• Teach Yourself Irish 1961 – Retypeset (dialectal Munster Irish)

Note: This book is not to be confused with Teach Yourself Irish by Diarmuid Ó Sé and Joseph Sheils. That is a different book and was published in 2003. That being said, it is also worth noting that Diarmuid Ó Sé has written two useful books An Teanga Bheo: Corca Dhuibhne and Gaeilge Chorca Dhuibhne, both of which are invaluable for learners who wish to focus on the West Kerry dialect.

Ulster Irish – Canúint Uladh

The Ulster dialect is most spoken in West Donegal. Within Ulster, there have historically been two main sub-dialects: West Ulster and East Ulster. Ulster Irish was steadily replaced by English and Ulster Scots due to settlers and the Eastern dialect died out in the 20th century. It is worth noting that Ulster Irish has much in common with Scottish Gaelic and Manx.

Resources:

• Now You’re Talking: This was a TV series produced in the 1990s (hence the colourful attire). It’s an audio-visual course focussing on Donegal Irish. There is an emphasis on communication in this course.
• Below are two videos on the main traits of Ulster Irish:

Connacht Irish – Canúint Chonnacht

Connacht Irish is spoken in counties Galway, Mayo and Meath. You may be confused by Meath as this is not in the west of Ireland, rather it is in Leinster. The dialect of the Rath Cháirn Gaeltacht in Meath is from Conamara. The Gaeltacht itself was founded in 1935 when 27 families from Conamara were settled on land previously acquired by the Irish Land Commission. Around 443 people moved to the area.

Connacht Irish includes the most native speakers.

Resources:

• Learning Irish by Micheál Ó Siadhail is largely considered the best instruction book for Connacht Irish. It focuses on the dialect of Cois Fharraige which is in Conamara.
• Another website I recommend checking out is Gaeilge Chonamara, which solely focuses on the Conamara dialect.
• There is also an extensive list of Connacht references here.
• Below are two videos on the main traits of Conamara Irish:

What Irish dialect should I learn?

Given the distinct differences between the three major Irish dialects, you might wonder which one is best to learn. The truth is, there isn’t a ‘best’. The choice to choose one to learn can depend on factors like your ancestral roots, which dialect sounds most appealing to you, or the background of your Irish teacher.

In the beginning, it doesn’t really matter which dialect you choose though you must understand that dialects exist. Speakers of different dialects can generally understand each other, and most beginners especially in the Irish educational system, start with a blend of dialects.

Image by NakNakNak from Pixabay