Donn PIatt's Gaelic Dialects of Leinster (1933)

Updated:
18 April 2024 (link to full Piatt pdf and South Armagh Irish via Ciarán Ó Duibhín)

Any student of the Irish dialects of Leinster will sooner or later encounter the remarkable and valuable work of the self-taught idiosyncratic amateur local historian Donn Sigerson Piatt (1905-70). I urge you all to read Lesa Ní Mhurgaile’s excellent summary of Piatt’s unusual life here.

In the second and into the third quarters of the twentieth century Piatt played a vital role in contributing to academic research into the few remnants of the Gaelic dialects of Leinster – at a time when the urgent focus of dialectology in Ireland was instead on tracking down the few isolated remaining speakers in the west, north and south of the country, stranded by old age in the Galltacht.    

Piatt’s strongly-held opinion was that what remained of Irish in Leinster could still be collected and studied with a view to identifying its manifold dialect characteristics, by focusing on local memory and the Hiberno-English dialect in Leinster. Piatt was undoubtedly driven to do so by the antipathy he felt for what he (and others) felt to be the Munster chauvinism inherent in T F O’Rahilly’s Irish Dialects Past and Present. In short, Piatt sought to defend the dialects of Leinster by providing more detail as to what they had been like – in particular, Piatt was (like many others) highly opposed to O’Rahilly’s controversial position that the dialects of the Northern Half had been unduly influenced by Scottish dialects, particularly in matters of stress.

The absurd irony here is that we actually owe to this dispute – which embodies bitter parochialisms of its era on O’Rahilly’s part at least – a debt, because if O’Rahilly had not been so unnecessarily strident and petty in his chauvinism he would not have provoked such fine dialectological responses afterward. Piatt took such umbrage with O’Rahilly that he set out – entirely untrained – to gather word-lists and dialect information from as many sources as he could throughout Leinster, with a special focus on Old Leinster, in order to rebut O’Rahilly’s specific arguments.

The result of Piatt’s energetic efforts was the self-published (!) pamphlet Gaelic Dialects of Leinster (1933), issued in very, very few copies just one year (!) after O’Rahilly’s work.

While Gaelic Dialects of Leinster is disordered, often all-too frustratingly tantalising, and beholden to superficial anecdote and a tendentious urge to defend Leinster’s dialects against O’Rahilly’s charges rather than displaying dispassionate academic rigour, Piatt’s pamphlet remains a key work in study of Leinster dialects, and is rightfully a standard reference work used by more recent academics in the field, such as N.J.A. Williams.

Gaelic Dialects of Leinster is very short – just 33 pages – and a jumble of dialectological word-lists, amateur sleuthing, rhetoric, second-hand sources and even educated guesswork, but Piatt deserves eternal credit and praise for his ingenuity and drive in recording a great deal of valuable information. While Piatt is often either wildly optimistic or wildly pessimistic in his assessments of the retreat of Irish from an area, and his work must be approached with the greatest caution due to some of the idiosyncratic flights of fancy therein, the core of Gaelic Dialects of Leinster remains a robust contribution to our knowledge of the Irish dialects of the south-eastern quarter of Ireland.

I am happy to now at last be able to offer an easily downloadable scan of Gaelic Dialects of Leinster in its entirety here, courtesy of Ciarán Ó Duibhín's outstanding and voluminous Gaelic resources homepage, which everyone should visit here (thank you immensely to both Ciarán and an anonymous visitor who reminded me to provide these links). Let me also point out that Ciarán has also recently been able to offer a scan of Alf Sommerfeldt's very rare South Armagh Irish, which has been repeatedly requested of me by visitors to this blog. Please do visit Ciarán's site for many more dialect resources!

I hope that Donn Sigerson Piatt’s hard work and good intentions will finally receive due appreciation. We owe an immense debt to Donn Piatt, and to amateur local historians like him; it is a rare honour to at last be able to share Gaelic Dialects of Leinster in full with visitors to this blog, and I am deeply grateful to Ciarán Ó Duibhín for his efforts in making Piatt's work, among many others, more easily available to as many readers as possible. 

Goidhilg, gaoidhilg and goidhealg

 

This is just a short post to address a very superficial point of terminology that some people may have wondered about.

It has come to my attention that some visitors to this blog may be uncomfortable with the way this blog uses the terms ‘Irish dialects’, ‘Gaelic dialects’ and ‘Irish’ and ‘Gaelic’ interchangeably.

Some people may argue that the correct name of the language which calls itself Gaeilge – and many variants besides (see below) – should always and exclusively be ‘Irish’ in English. To refer to it as anything else, they might say, is ignorant at best and insulting at worst, as it risks implying that Gaeilge is somehow not the language proper to Ireland.

While I understand this point of view, as a researcher of Gaeilge as a Goidelic (Gaelic) language in its Goidelic (Gaelic) dialect continuum context, I use both ‘Irish’ and ‘Gaelic’ as synonyms in an attempt to broaden understanding of the existence and nature of that continuum – a continuum and a linguistic closeness that has always been there, and always will be there, no matter how observers and speakers of these languages attempt to close themselves off from this fact and from one another. 

Referring to Irish as ‘Gaelic’ is a simple linguistic fact – because Irish is a Gaelic language and its dialects are always Gaelic dialects, called such by their speakers. Scottish Gaelic is also a Gaelic language by simple linguistic fact, called such by its speakers. Manx (Gaelic) is also a Gaelic language by simple linguistic fact, called such by its speakers. It would of course be cumbersome and repetitive to refer to Gaeilge as Irish Gaelic in every instance on this blog.

The entire point of this blog is to put the Irish Gaelic dialect once spoken in county Dublin – one irony being that people rarely have any socio-political difficulties with terms like ‘County Dublin’ or any of the other counties, despite their historical origins – in its wider sociolinguistic and dialectological context from Cape Wrath to Cape Clear. That point will not change regardless of what sort of terminology is used.

Another irony here is that limiting our thinking to ‘Irish’ rather than ‘Gaelic’ wilfully obscures the possible closeness of the Irish Gaelic of Dublin – and the dialects of South East Ulster (which include Louth in a linguistic and historical sense, incidentally) and of Meath for that matter – to for example Manx. If you are interested in the Irish Gaelic of Dublin, I would hope you are also interested in what might have been closest to it linguistically – even if such dialects lay outside the island of Ireland. 

We can of course play a game of wishful thinking in which we limit ourselves to the Irish language in Irish Ireland, and imagine a hermetically sealed set of dialects which could have been standardised based on the Irish of Athlone or of north Offaly, historically the most central dialects; conversely, if we wish, we can go the other way, with a pan-Gaelic central point in East Ulster Irish – probably the dialect of Down, in fact. But such mental exercises, while fun, are futile; the sad irony is that the surviving dialects in Ireland are separated from one another by hundreds of kilometres, and seem so inconveniently different to one another today because the dialects once linking them have vanished. This is tragic, but it was not historically the case, and this blog attempts to fill in some of those ahistorical gaps.

Therefore, one must understand that ‘Gaelic’ is not and should never be an offensive term. It is a helpful synonym that originates in the one single word that unites speakers of all these dialects, despite its many forms: Gaeilge, Gaelainn, Gaeilg, Gaeilig, Gaedhlag, Gaeilic etc. At no point did they (or do they) call their language Éireannais, so I fail to see why it is so important that we should.

Given all this, I hope there is now understanding as to why this blog uses ‘Irish’ and ‘Gaelic’ and ‘Irish dialects’ and ‘Gaelic dialects’ more or less interchangeably – as a simple statement of underlying linguistic reality. There are no plans to change this approach, either.

And should anyone wonder, up in all this, what the speakers of Irish in Dublin actually called their dialect, the answer is that the great Tadhg Ó Neachtain (c. 1670-1752) refers to his language variously as goidhilg, gaoidhilg, goidhealg and gaoidhiolaic – yes, without a capital letter. (I will be returning to what we can learn from Ó Neachtain's dialect in a future post.)

It will however no doubt come as a great surprise – it did to me – that in his 42 600 word dictionary from 1739 (which Ó Neachtain himself understandably calls 'The Tedious and troublesome Labour of Thaddeus Norton'), Ó Neachtain also gives the following glosses for the name of his language:

sgot—a scott 

sgotbhearla—the Irish tongue

sgotbhearlach—a speaker of Irish

sgotbhearlacht—speaking Irish

Finally, in the same dictionary, Ó Neachtain also refers twice to Scottish Gaelic, calling it 'hilland Irish' (i.e. Highland Irish) each time, ironically enough. 

The Gaelic world. Or Irish, Scottish and Manx worlds. Both are correct. (Coiste na bhFocal Nua)

Wicklow Irish

The baronies of Wicklow, 1900. Click to zoom. (Source: Wikimedia Commons)

Updated:
19 September 2022 (reference to nineteenth century Irish speaking)

15 August 2022 (Detailed information about Wicklow Irish from the Leabhar Branach, see below)
12 September 2020 (Eighteenth century Wicklow, see below)
10 January 2017 (the sounds of Wicklow Irish, see below)

The Irish of Co. Wicklow

I was recently contacted by two correspondents asking about the Irish dialects historically spoken in what is now Co. Wicklow. 

Wicklow, like North Kildare, is an area of particular interest to this blog as it is likely that the dialects spoken in Co. Wicklow – especially its northern half – were at once quite similar to and yet appreciably different to the (sub)dialects spoken in Co. Dublin. In particular the dialects of the far south of Co. Dublin (e.g. Glenasmole, Brittas) and the far north of Wicklow (e.g. Glencree, Powerscourt) were likely to have been substantially the same. By the same token, the Irish of South Wicklow almost certainly shared a great many features with the Irish of North Wexford, whilst that of West Wicklow probably shaded gradually into the Irish once spoken in South Kildare and Carlow.

Here, we will take a brief look at the decline of Irish in Wicklow and then discuss some of its key features.

How did Irish die out in Wicklow?

Elsewhere on this blog it was pointed out that Irish seems, rather inexplicably, to have retreated more quickly in Wicklow and parts of Wexford, Laois, Kildare and Carlow than in parts of Co. Dublin. Even the well-known dialect investigator Donn Piatt, who is very much given to maximising (or even exaggerating) the potential survival of pockets of traditional Irish in his 1933 booklet The Gaelic Dialects of Leinster strikes an uncharacteristic note of caution when it comes to parts of Co. Wicklow, viz.: 

Until a very recent date, some in the county spoke Irish, but the mines of Tigroney, near Avoca, and the Glendalough mines caused a strong immigration from surrounding counties, and it must be remembered that districts such as North Kilkenny, North Wexford, South Dublin, and quite near, were intensely Irish-speaking [sic!] at O'Donovan's time [i.e. the Ordnance Survey Letters], a century ago. This creates the absolute need of verification of the origin of every old man or woman in Wicklow claiming to have known Irish, dating 1830, 1848, etc. (p. 10)

Wicklow seems nevertheless to have been the first county to lose its Irish: Fitzgerald’s 1983 study of minimum levels of Irish speaking at the barony level – extrapolated backwards from levels of Irish speaking recorded amongst the oldest age groups in the 1881, 1861 and 1851 censuses – states that as little as one per cent of the Wicklow population born in 1771-1781 and 1801-1811 may have been Irish speaking (although the unreliable nature of the data, with many not wanting to return themselves as Irish speakers, means the actual proportion may have been a little – although not much – higher).

Eighteenth century Wicklow

Like most of Ireland, Wicklow was predominantly monolingually Irish for centuries. That Wicklow was the first county to lose its Irish almost entirely – apparently during the eighteenth century – should not obscure the fact that this process happened gradually in Wicklow, just as it did everywhere else in Ireland. The demographic retreat of the Irish language in Wicklow – as in every other county – would have resembled a receding tide, with stranded remnants of Irish-speaking communities in remote and mountainous areas before they too, in time, ultimately succumbed to English as well.

In this context, it is illuminating to consider a description of Wicklow sketched in the curious piece The Pretender’s Exercise (1727), quoted in Bliss' highly recommended Spoken English in Ireland 1600-1740 (1979: 159-161). The Pretender's Exercise is a Trinity College-produced propaganda piece which portrays Irish-speaking conscripts in the Jacobite Army abroad being drilled in pidgin English by an officer who is clearly meant to be a native speaker of Irish just like them. One recuit is from Glenmalure, and this conscript’s dialogue with the officer is based upon criticism of the conscript’s poor English (the butt of the joke apparently being that the officer’s English is just as bad).  

Question. Fat Name upon you dere?

Answer. My Name Byrn.       

Quest. Fer vash yo[u] Born?  

Ans. County of Killamountains.      

[Quest.] De Tivil take you, can’t you call him Countys of Wicklows? I make English upon you, you make English upon me again, and be hang’d you Tief. Fere dere?              

Ans. Glanmalora. It ish a good Plashe, a bad Name, all von for dat.

Quest. Fat Relishion?    

Ans. A Roman Catalick.        

[Sergeant.] Very vell. To de Right, put in your Toe, put out your Heel, shit ub strait!

While the intent of The Pretender’s Exercise is mockery, the piece nevertheless shows genuine first hand knowledge of Irish (grammatical constructions, idioms, Killamountains < Cill Mhantáin) and of the area (its seditious reputation; the local surname Byrne) and is thus a plausible insight into the sociolinguistics of at least part of Wicklow c. 1720-1730: it confirms that Glenmalure was an Irish-speaking area; that people from Glenmalure at that time had particularly poor English, perhaps indicating that English had yet to make serious inroads there; and that it is thus likely Irish persisted in Glenmalure for at least a couple of generations after 1730 (if a generation is thirty years, and the recruit was a teenager, we can surmise that Irish continued to be spoken in Glenmalure at least until 1775 at the very earliest). This actually matches very closely the dates from Glenmalure and Derrybawn described below.

Looking towards Glenmalure. (Wikimedia Commons)

Wicklow was nevertheless undoubtedly the county in Ireland with the lowest proportion of Irish speakers by the nineteenth century. By 1831-1841, this proportion was even less than one per cent and Irish must have stopped being passed on at all (the figures for Kildare and Wexford are not very much higher; by contrast, in Dublin at least seven per cent of the 1771-1781-born cohort was Irish speaking, and even two per cent of the 1861-1871-born cohort in Dublin was Irish speaking, although some of this latter cohort must have been the children of Irish speakers from elsewhere).

This to some extent matches the otherwise exaggerated observations of the Statistical Survey of Wicklow (1801), namely: ‘It is very remarkable, that although the Irish language is common in all the counties around, in the county of Wicklow the Irish language is unknown. Nor did I find any of the natives of this county, even in the most remote vales in the midst of the mountains, accustomed to speak the Irish language’ (see Ó Cuív 1951: 81). The Irish language was certainly not ‘unknown’ in Wicklow, and it was scarcely likely that it was ‘unknown’ ‘even in the remote vales in the midst of the mountains’ given that O’Donovan on his Ordnance Survey travels encountered ‘[a] few old people who [spoke] Irish’ in Kilcommon parish (Arklow barony) nearly forty years later in 1839. 

(I recently found a curious but plausible source [Wolf 2014: 156] stating that courts in Wicklow still felt it necessary to employ interpreters in 1807. There are two main possibilities here: either 1) there were a sufficient number of local monoglots, or more likely persons weak in English, in the extreme south of Wicklow in 1807 in order to justify such an otherwise avoidable expense; or 2) interpreters were felt to be necessary due to sufficient demand from monoglot migrants to mining areas. It is even possible that a third possibility, namely that there was sufficient demand for interpreters due to both local Irish speakers - presumably elderly people who spoke better Irish than English, but were not monoglots - and migrants.)

What is certain, though, is that compared to neighbouring counties in the early nineteenth century, Wicklow was the most English-speaking (and the least Irish-speaking) of them all; that pockets of Irish were almost impossible to find, and that there were very, very few Irish speakers – including bilinguals – left in the county, even before the Famine.

Glendalough, 1890s. (Wikimedia Commons)

Nineteenth century survivals and semi-speakers

Nevertheless, isolated speakers (or in some cases semi-speakers) could still be found in Wicklow well into the nineteenth century. Piatt (1933: 6) reports that ‘Andrew and Hanna Byrne of Glenealy, who both died in 1830, are the last absolutely authentic native speakers I can find in that area’ and claims the grandmother of a Mr John Byrne of Cloneen ‘dead about the Famine period, knew Irish’ (ibid, p. 2) – probably a semi-speaker. A grandson of Irish-speaking Connacht immigrants to Glenmalure told Piatt that Irish was still spoken in that area when his father, who died in 1884, was a boy, i.e. around 1810. 

In his masterpiece Labhrann Laighnigh (2011, p. 140-141), Ó hÓgáin relates an 1875 report of a ‘carman from Wicklow, a Mr Murphy of Derrybane [i.e. Derrybawn] near the Seven Churches’ who ‘[u]pon being asked whether there was any Gaelic or Irish spoken by the people in the surrounding valleys, he said no, but that he himself had when young learned [some] rhymes from his grandmother, which he supposed was Irish, for he did not understand one word of it.’ Again, Mr Murphy’s grandmother sounds like a semi-speaker, and it thus seems Irish had actually disappeared as the community language of Derrybawn during her parents’ generation, around 1795. All these examples broadly match Fitzgerald’s data above.

Glenmalure, Co. Wicklow (Wikimedia Commons)

Where was Wicklow Irish last spoken?
 

At an even more local level, Fitzgerald (2003) further extrapolated Famine-era Irish-speaking by working backwards from the 1911 census returns: by looking at the proportion of those aged over 60 years in 1911 who returned themselves as Irish speaking, Fitzgerald calculated the relative strength of Irish at the district electoral division (DED) level circa 1851: i.e. if five per cent of those over 60 years of age said they spoke Irish in 1911, it would be reasonable to assume that that DED was at the very least five per cent Irish-speaking sixty years previously.

In Co. Wicklow, Fitzgerald could identify only two DEDs in which a proportion of those aged 60+ in 1911 spoke Irish and where Irish had thus possibly been a community language at the time of the Famine: Kilpipe, where five per cent of those over 60 in 1911 were returned as Irish-speaking, and Aughrim, where three per cent of those aged over 60 were Irish-speaking in 1911. Both of these are in the south of the county: indeed, Aughrim (the northernmost of the two) and Kilpipe (to the south) are scarcely 5km apart, and lie roughly 5km north of the Wicklow-Wexford county border in the barony of Ballinacor South (see map above).

Unfortunately, Fitzgerald’s methodology in this instance seems mildly compromised by precisely the concerns raised by Piatt in 1933: namely that Fitzgerald apparently did not check the counties of origin of those aged 60+ in 1911. Specifically, in the Kilpipe DED, one of the three elderly Irish speakers – Moses Doyle (72 years) of Toberpatrick – is recorded as originally being from Co. Wexford. (The same methodological flaw also means, for example, that Fitzgerald overstates the Famine-era status of Irish in North Kildare and the Meath-Kildare border.)

Of course, Mr Doyle’s parents may have been from Wicklow; but a cross-check of counties of origin is necessary to prevent Irish speaking migrants to Wicklow, of which there were many, skewing the already extremely low levels of statistical Irish speaking in the county in 1901 and 1911 – as Piatt rightly warned.

Interestingly, of Aughrim Piatt writes – based on local knowledge passed to him – that ‘[i]n the Aughrim area Irish seems to have lasted nearly to the Famine’ (1933: 7), raising the question of whether Piatt, unusually, was actually under-estimating rather than exaggerating the survival of Irish in an area. In any case, any Aughrim ‘speakers’ in 1911 may only have had memories of semi-speaker Irish (i.e. they were not fluent themselves, and neither had their parents been).

Nevertheless, the available evidence strongly suggests that Irish survived longest and strongest in a broad area west of Avoca, as that is where most mentions of Irish survivals and last speakers (and semi-speakers) in Wicklow cluster. 

In the north of Wicklow, the last place where Irish was spoken natively may have been Glencree, directly adjacent to the last Irish-speaking area of South Co. Dublin, Glenasmole. Piatt (1933: 6) reports that around 1900 ‘people in the hills near Glencree knowing a little Irish, prayers, snatches of songs, etc., but not fluent’ implying a situation remarkably like that of Derrybawn in 1875. We may therefore assume a similar four-generation time span and that Irish had died out around Glencree circa 1820 at the latest.

Art's Lough, Co. Wicklow. (Wikimedia Commons)

Claimed (improbable) monolinguals, 1901

The 1901 census records 18 Wicklow-born people from Co. Wicklow returned themselves as speaking only Irish. Of these, seven were over 50 years of age: four belonged to one household (the Merrigans of Laragh West, Brockagh) and two to another (the Lynches of Ballinroan Lower, Eadestown). It is extremely unlikely these people actually were monolingual in Irish, although they may have known some Irish.

Claimed bilinguals, 1901         

In 1901, there were 273 Wicklow-born people returned from Co. Wicklow as speaking both Irish and English. Of these, 29 were 50 years of age or over (cf: Fitzgerald’s methodology above). These 29 Irish speakers were however scattered throughout 16 DEDs: four belonged to one household alone (the Coogans of Clogh Upper, Baltinglass, where all were returned as speaking both Irish and English) and three to another (the Butlers of Ballard, Ballinaclash, similarly all returned as speaking both languages). 

Four other older bilinguals were recorded living separately from one another in Bray; at least one of whom – Daniel Butler (aged 60, a grocer) – is stated as having been born locally (in Callary). Luke Cuddy (aged 50), returned as a bilingual, is recorded in Brockagh about a kilometre away from the Merrigan household mentioned above.

Two Byrnes (a John Byrne aged 60 in Bray and a second John Byrne aged 71 in Drumgoff, Ballinacor) and one Toole (aged 80, Ashford) were the only specifically Wicklow surnames among the 29 oldest bilinguals. Merrigan is perhaps also a Wicklow surname.

Claimed bilinguals, 1911        

A decade later, in the 1911 census, 571 Wicklow-born people returned themselves as bilingual in both Irish and English. Of these, 15 were 60 years of age or over (and hence belonging to the Famine generation) yet only two individuals – Joseph John Lambert of Tinnakilly Upper, Aughrim (returned as 49 in 1901, but 62 in 1911!) and Bridget Nolan of Bray (aged 65 in 1901, 78 in 1911) – were recorded as knowing Irish in both censuses. 

None of those who returned themselves as Irish-speaking monolinguals in Wicklow in 1901 returned themselves as monolinguals in 1911. It is clear both the 1901 and 1911 census data was characterised predominantly by revival Irish.

   

Glenmalure, Co. Wicklow (Wikimedia Commons)

 

So, what did Wicklow Irish actually sound like?

As with the Irish of all other counties, it is extremely unlikely that the Irish of Co. Wicklow was a single homogeneous dialect: the Irish of South Wicklow would have had similarities with the Irish of Wexford and Carlow; the Irish of North Wicklow with the adjacent dialects spoken in South Co. Dublin and North Kildare; and the Irish of Mid- and West Wicklow most likely shared features with neighbouring dialects in South Kildare.

Nevertheless, we can from a number of sources identify some general yet key features of the Irish dialect(s) of Co. Wicklow. A great many of these come to light through spelling mistakes in texts in Irish written in Wicklow whilst Irish was still the spoken language of the area, which reveal the pronunciation of the writer (primarily the Leabhar Branach or Book of the O'Byrnes, a book of poems composed in Glenmalure between c. 1550 and 1630); secondly, other idiosyncrasies of local pronunciation have been preserved in place-names (the place-names of Wicklow were painstakingly studied by the late Dr. Liam Price until his death in 1967); lastly, we can infer a great deal about the dialect(s) in question from the few Irish words that have survived in the Hiberno-English of Wicklow, primarily collated by the late Diarmuid Ó Muirithe.

The sounds of Wicklow Irish

-adh, -amh and -abh
As in South Dublin and Offaly (at the very least), the endings -adh, -amh and -abh in e.g. déanamh 'do', talamh 'land' etc. were invariably pronounced the same throughout Wicklow, namely as -a (i.e. most likely as a schwa sound like the -a in Eng. sofa). This is perhaps the most quintessentially Leinster feature of the Wicklow dialect (and of the dialects of South Dublin and Offaly, and probably Kildare too); the rule elsewhere in Ireland is to differentiate between -adh, -amh and -abh. Very generally, north of this area these are pronounced -ú (as in Ulster, although this feature was the norm at least as far south as Athlone, Longford Town and South Meath), and southeast of it -amh is pronounced -av, -adh (in nouns) as -a, and -adh (in the past tense) as -ag (as in Ossory and Munster). The Leinster dialect, of which the Wicklow dialect was a central member, was thus particularly distinct in this regard.

-igh, -aigh
As in the rest of Old Leinster, -igh was probably pronounced -e and -aigh was probably pronounced -a in Wicklow. I strongly suspect that in Wicklow (as in Dublin as far as I can tell) these two sounds had in fact fallen even further together as a schwa sound i.e. [ə] identical to -a above. This leads to the extraordinary situation of -adh, -amh, -abh, -igh and -aigh all having been pronounced as a neutral vowel (i.e. as -a in Eng. sofa) in Old Leinster (including Wicklow). How this may have affected comprehension I cannot say.

-cn, gn
Three-quarters of Ireland habitually pronounce(d) initial cn- and gn- in words such cnoc 'hill' and gnóthach 'busy' as if cr- and gr- respectively; this change took place in the Middle Ages (Williams dates it to before the thirteenth century). Almost everywhere north of a line from Clare (where both forms were used) to South Kilkenny, cr- was (and continues to be) the norm; south of this line, i.e. in parts of Clare, West Kilkenny and all of Munster, cn- and gn- remained cn-. Wicklow was no exception to this rule and throughout the region cn- and gn- were nearly always cr- and gr-, disagreeing with Munster but agreeing with all other dialects.

ao
This spelling, in e.g. gaoth 'wind', is generally pronounced either [i:] i.e. í in Connacht, [ɯ] i.e. a close back unrounded vowel in parts of Donegal (and historically throughout most of Ulster and Louth), or as [e:] i.e. é in Munster and Ossory. In Wicklow (and South Dublin) ao was probably pronounced [e:] i.e. é with Wicklow (and Old Leinster) disagreeing with Connacht and Ulster but agreeing with Munster in this regard, e.g gaoth > gaéh.

-ch, -cht
Neilson (1808), in his introductory grammar on Irish, claimed that 'ch, before t, is quite silent in all the country along the sea coast, from Derry to Waterford' - presumably thereby including the coast of Wicklow. O'Rahilly, in his masterpiece Irish Dialects Past and Present (1932: 112) also states that -ch was silent in (presumably the coastal part of) Wicklow right up to the eighteenth century. There is, however, no conclusive evidence of this that I have seen; on the contrary, there is persuasive evidence that in Wicklow both -ch and -cht were fully pronounced in all positions, as they were in all of the country outside Ulster and Louth. The question is more one of whether -th was pronounced as -ch, as in parts of Wexford and Ossory.

-bh-, -mh-
In the Leabhar Branach medial -bh- and -mh- are typically deleted and the preceding vowel lengthened, so that e.g. leabhar 'book' > leár. In so doing Wicklow concurs with Ossory and Munster and disagrees with Connacht and Ulster.

cad
We can confidently assign Wicklow in its entirety to the zone that used g- interrogatives (i.e. goid~gad < cad), as Labhrann Laighnigh (p. 170) records the mixed form Goidé an chaoi athá tú from Carlow, to the south east of Wicklow. Wicklow was thus surrounded to its west and north (Dublin also used goid and gad; see Labhrann Laighnigh p. 26-27) by g-forms and it is thus highly likely that Wicklow used them too, meaning the isogloss ran fairly cleanly from Tobercurry, Sligo (LASID pt. 61) to the Barrow. North Kilkenny (LASID pt. 6) also has goidé.

Detailed information about Wicklow Irish from the Leabhar Branach

The Leabhar Branach ('the Book of the O'Byrnes') is a collection of poems addressed to the chieftains of the O'Byrne family of Co. Wicklow during the period 1550-1630. Seán Mac Airt (1918-1959) published these poems for the first time while at the Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies. Mac Airt's work deserves great praise for the thoroughness and meticulousness of its annotations, and for its breadth, which affords us a detailed look into the Gaelic social life and culture of Wicklow in the second half of the sixteenth century and the first half of the seventeenth century - and, most importantly for this blog, into the Wicklow dialect of Irish. (I urge anyone interested to purchase a copy of the Leabhar Branach directly from DIAS here - you will not be disappointed.) 

What is of particular interest linguistically in Mac Airt's masterpiece is the (unfortunately) very short appendix in which Mac Airt - inspired by O'Rahilly - summarises the key features of the local dialect used in the poems, using the traditional (and highly productive) Irish dialectological method of textual analysis in which spelling mistakes and grammatical errors inadvertently reveal the speech norms of the writer. 

As this appendix is so short and its content is so relevant to the content of this blog, after some years of prevaricating I have decided to post screenshots of the summary. I hope those of you who are interested find it useful. Please note that these images were taken with a mobile phone camera and not a scanner, so the quality is necessarily (very) low; put simply, buy the book if you want better quality! 

Appendix C. Mac Airt, Seán (ed.) Leabhar Branach: The Book of the O'Byrnes.
Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1944. 

 

Essential sources for Irish dialect study II: Doegen

Oileán Thoraí, radharc as Machaire Robhartaigh. (Wikimedia Commons)

Updated: 10 January 2017

Doegen: hundreds of recordings of native speakers - online

As mentioned earlier here, we are truly fortunate to have - in the form of the Royal Irish Academy's Doegen Records Web Project - direct, free online access to around 400 sound recordings of 136 different speakers from 16 counties, made between 1928 and 1931. This is an enormous amount of rare source material which is now, thankfully, available for all to study or simply enjoy, rather than sitting locked away half-forgotten in a university archive.

The Doegen material - which includes stories, songs and simpler texts - is extremely valuable not merely because it gives us the precious opportunity to hear the actual Irish speech of counties where the language is no longer spoken and where little was recorded phonetically (e.g. Cos. Derry, Leitrim, Cavan and Roscommon), but also because it is so extensive geographically and content-wise. Doegen offers us sound recordings of speech from areas within counties which were Irish-speaking until recently and which are otherwise relatively well-studied (e.g. Urris in Inishowen; Co. Clare). It offers a wealth of material concerning the Irish of 85 years ago - also for areas within the contemporary Gaeltacht. 

I have noticed, however, that the Doegen Records Web Project website was not designed with comparative dialectological research in mind. The browse function works well if you wish to directly locate the recordings of a named speaker, but if you are seeking to compare speakers within a certain geographical area you must take a circuitous route via individual speakers' biography pages here, finding out which townland they are from, noting it, and moving on to the next speaker, and so forth. 

A shortcut for dialect research using Doegen

Therefore, I have below prepared a list of shortcut links based on general geographical areas within the 16 counties for those who may wish to compare dialect features. The shortcut will take you to the speaker's information page, on which you can read more about them and listen to all the tracks on which they were recorded.

The list is arranged very roughly north to south by county (this is why Armagh and Louth come after Sligo), and within each county by very general dialect area. Thus far speakers are identified by surname (in alphabetical order if there is more than one person recorded at the location), first name; townland or location of origin (in English); civil parish; barony and county. Wider dialect areas and dialectal relationships are sometimes clarified in parentheses. Spellings are the official English forms used by Placenames Branch of the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and may depart from colloquial versions.

Where relevant I have also included suggestions for further (usually but not always academic) reading, including some downloads where possible. The suggestions for further reading are in no way meant to be exhaustive (for that, start here), but merely to provide a useful overview for researchers and students who may wish to discover or become more acquainted with key resources.

All links are tested and active as of 10 January 2017.

Further dialect resources - including more from some of those included below - will be discussed in later posts. A key overview of Irish dialects in general and historical perspective (including those of Leinster and Meath) is Williams, Nicholas. 'Na Canúintí a Theacht chun Solais' in McCone et al. Stair na Gaeilge: in ómós do Phádraig Ó Fiannachta. Maigh Nuad: Roinn na Sean-Ghaeilge, Coláiste Phádraig (1994).

Donegal (28 speakers)
Mac an Bhaird, Séamus, Tory Island, Tullaghobegly, Kilmacrenan, Donegal

Mac Giolla Cheara, Diarmuid, Urris, Clonmany, East Inishowen, Donegal
Mac Giolla Cheara, Phil, Letter, Clonmany, East Inishowen, Donegal

For more on the dialect of Urris, see Evans, Emrys. 'The Irish Dialect of Urris, Inishowen, Co. Donegal' in Lochlann 4 (1969, p. 1-130. This is intended as a supplement to Wagner, Heinrich (ed). Linguistic Atlas and Survey of Irish Dialects (hereafter LASID; four volumes; 1958 onward).

Nic Conaglaigh, Nóra, Glashagh, Clondavaddog, Kilmacrenan, Donegal (Fanad)
Mac Conaglaigh, Pádraig, Ballincrick, Clondavaddog, Kilmacrenan, Donegal (Fanad)

For more on the dialect of Fanad, see Evans, Emrys. 'A Vocabulary of the Dialects of Fanad and Glenvar, Co. Donegal' in Zeitschrift für celtische Philologie 32 (1972), p. 167-265 (a supplement to LASID). There are also a great deal of excellent downloadable resources relating to Fanad, and Donegal and Ulster (including East Ulster and Oirialla) in general, available at Dr. Ciarán Ó Duibhín's brilliant site here, including his personal view on the Doegen recordings here. 

Ó Siadhail, Pádraig, Ardbane, Mevagh, Kilmacrenan, Donegal (Ros Guill)
Ó Gallchobhair, Doimnic, Derrycassan, Mevagh, Kilmacrenan, Donegal (Ros Guill)

Ó Conaglaigh, Seán, Carrowcanon, Raymunterdoney, Kilmacrenan, Donegal (Falcarragh)
Ó Cuirreáin, Séamus, Gortahork [Gort a' Choirce], Tullaghobegly, Kilmacrenan, Donegal
Ó Dubhthaigh, Aodh, Gortahork, Tullaghobegly, Kilmacrenan, Donegal
Mag Fhionnlaoigh, Séamus, Gola Island, Tullaghobegly, Kilmacrenan, Donegal

Mag Grianna, Éamonn, Rinnafarset [Rann na Feirste], Templecrone, Boylagh, Donegal
Mag Grianna, Feidhlimidh, Rinnafarset, Templecrone, Boylagh, Donegal
Ní Mhuireadhaigh, Áine, Rinnafarset, Templecrone, Boylagh, Donegal
Ó Domhnaill, Séan, Rinnafarset, Templecrone, Boylagh, Donegal
Ó Baoighill, Pádraig, Loughanure [Loch an Iúir], Templecrone, Boylagh, Donegal
Ó Conacháin, Pádraig, Tor, Tullaghobegly, Kilmacrenan, Donegal
Nic Cumhaill, Róise, Stranarwa, Tullaghobegly, Kilmacrenan, Donegal

Ní Dhomhnaill, Maighréad, Adderwal, Inishkeel, Boylagh, Donegal (Central Donegal)
Mac Meanman, Seán, Kingarrow, Inishkeel, Boylagh, Donegal (Central Donegal)
Ó Baoighill, Domhnall, Classy, Inishkeel, Boylagh, Donegal (Central Donegal)

Ó Creag, Mánus, Tawnawully, Donegal parish, Tirhugh, Donegal (South Donegal)
Ó Gallchobhair, Tomás, Ardara, Killybegs Lower, Tirhugh, Donegal (South Donegal)

For more on the dialect of this area, see Quiggin, E. C. A Dialect of Donegal (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1906), available to download here.

McConnell, Nellie, Laconnell, Inishkeel, Banagh, Donegal (South West Donegal)
Campbell, Patrick, Meenadreen, Glencolumbkille, Banagh, Donegal (South West Donegal)
Mac Giolla Chearr, Seán, Teelin, Glencolumbkille, Banagh, Donegal (South West Donegal)
Ó Caiside, Séamus, Teelin, Glencolumbkille, Banagh, Donegal (South West Donegal)
Mac Seagháin, Tomás, Cappagh Upper, Banagh, Donegal (South West Donegal)

For more on the dialect of South West Donegal, see Wagner, Heinrich. Gaeilge Theilinn (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1958), available to buy here.

Antrim (2)
Mac Amhlaoibh, Brian, Clonreagh [Glenariff], Ardclinis, Glenarm Lower, Antrim (Glens of Antrim)
McKiernan, Michael, Knocknacarry, Layd, Glenarm Lower, Antrim (Glens of Antrim)

For more on the dialect of the Glens of Antrm, see Holmer, Nils. 'On Some Relics of the Irish Dialect Spoken in the Glens of Antrim' in Uppsala Universitets årsskrift 7 (1940). I am hoping to digitise this resource soon, as it is very rare.

Further information on the dialects of Rathlin Island and the Glens of Antrim is available at Ciarán Dunbar's Rathlin and Glens Irish blog here. You can also download Holmer, Nils. 'The Irish Language in Rathlin Island, Co. Antrim' (Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1942), the comprehensive and detailed linguistic overview of Rathlin Irish, via Ciarán's blog here.

Derry (1)
Ní Chleircín, Eilis, Glengomna, Ballynascreen, Loughinsholin, Derry (South Derry)

Tyrone (4)
Nic Ruaidhrí, Jane, Leckin, Bodoney Lower, Strabane Upper, Tyrone (Muintir Luinigh)
Ó Cianáin, Eoin, Formil, Bodoney Lower, Strabane Upper, Tyrone (Muintir Luinigh)

The standard work on the Irish of Muintir Luinigh is Ó Tuathail, Éamonn. Sgéalta Mhuintir Luinigh (1932), which is available for download at Ciarán Dunbar's Gaeltacht na Spéiríní blog here. See also, however, Stockman, Gerard, and Wagner, Heinrich. 'Contributions to a Study of Tyrone Irish' in Lochlann 3 (1965), p. 43-236, a supplement to LASID.

McDaid, Máire, Tullycar, Termonamongan, Omagh West, Tyrone (West Tyrone)
Ó Gallchobhair, Pádraig, Tulnashane, Termonamongan, Omagh West, Tyrone (West Tyrone)

Leitrim (1)
Feely, Anna, Cleighragh [Glenade], Rossinver, Rosclogher, Leitrim

See Ó Ceilleachair (1967-8) below (Sligo).

Cavan (1)
Mag Uidhir, Seán, Legnagrow, Templeport, Tullyhaw, Cavan (Glangevlin)

For more on the dialects of Cavan, see Ó Tuathail, Éamonn. 'Seanchas Ghleann Ghaibhle' supp. Béaloideas 4.4 (1934) and Ó Tuathail, Éamonn. 'Gleanings from Lough Ramor' in Béaloideas 7:2 (1937). The first deals with Glangevlin; the second with the Irish of South East Cavan (Carrigabruse and Clonkeiffy).

Sligo (5)
Ó Coisdealbha, Seán, Moneygold, Ahamlish, Carbury, Sligo (North Sligo)

Ó Cearbhaill, Tomás, Letterbrone, Kilmacteige, Leyny, Sligo (South Sligo; cf: East Mayo)
Ó hEadhra, Pádraig, Letterbrone, Kilmacteige, Leyny, Sligo (South Sligo; cf: East Mayo)
Mac an Déisigh, Seán, Culdaly, Kilmacteige, Leyny, Sligo (South Sligo; cf: East Mayo)
McEvey, Brigid, Curry, Achonry, Leyny, Sligo (South Sligo; cf: East Mayo)

For more on dialects of Sligo, se Ó Ceilleachair, Stiofán. 'Canúint Mhuintir Chionnaith agus Chlann Fhearmaighe' in Breifne 1967-8 (also includes information the dialects of North Leitrim, West Cavan and East Mayo).

Armagh (1)
Ní Arbhasaigh, Máire, Clonalig, Creggan, Fews Upper, Armagh (Oriel; cf: Louth)

For more on the dialect of South Armagh, see Sommerfelt, Alf. 'South Armagh Irish' in Norsk Tidsskrift for Sprogvidenskap 2 (1929). I am hoping to digitise this resource soon, as it is very rare.

Further information about the dialect of South Armagh can be found at Ciarán Dunbar's Ráidhteachas an Fheadha blog here.

Louth (3)
Ní Chaslaigh, Brighid, Drummullagh, Carlingford, Dundalk Lower, Louth (Oriel; cf: Armagh)
Mac Cuarta, Brian, Ardaghy, Carlingford, Dundalk Lower, Louth (Oriel; cf: Armagh)
Ní Ghuibhirín, Cáit, Ardaghy, Carlingford, Dundalk Lower, Louth (Oriel; cf: Armagh)

For more on the dialect of Oirialla (including South Armagh and East Co. Monaghan), see Dunbar, Ciaran. Cnuasach Focal as Oirialla. (Dublin: Coiscéim, 2012), which is available to buy here. Ciarán's blog is an extensive supplement to the book. 

On the dialect of East Co. Monaghan (specifically Inishkeen, Farney) see LASID  Vol. 4 p. 4-13.

Mayo (17)
Ó Dubhagáin, Mícheál, Curraunboy, Kilcommon, Erris, Mayo
Ó Neachtain, Seán, Muingnabo, Kilcommon, Erris, Mayo

Ó Monacháin, Seán, Ardmore, Kilmore, Erris, Mayo (Belmullet)

Breathnach, Pádraig, Inishkea North, Kilmore, Erris, Mayo

Mag Uidhir, Pádraig, Doohooma, Kilcommon, Erris, Mayo (Gweesalia)

McGinty, Frank, Ballycroy, Kilcommon, Erris, Mayo
Mac Meanman, Pádraig, Claggan, Kilcommon, Erris, Mayo

Ó hInnéirghe, Mícheál, Inishbiggle, Kilcommon, Erris, Mayo

For more on the dialect of Erris, see Mhac an Fhailigh, Éamonn. The Irish of Erris, Co. Mayo. (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1968), available to buy here.

Mac Giolla Bháin, Séamus, Cloghmore, Achill parish, Burrishoole, Mayo (Achill)

For more on the dialect of Achill, see Stockman, Gerard. The Irish of Achill, Co. Mayo. Belfast: Queen's University of Belfast (1974).

Ní Mháille, Brighid, Rosturk, Burrishoole parish, Burrishoole, Mayo
Ó Móráin, Liam, Rosturk, Burrishoole parish, Burrishoole, Mayo
Ó Ceallaigh, Tomás, Rockfleet, Burrishoole parish, Burrishoole, Mayo

Ó Ceilleacháin, Aindréas, Carrowbeg, Kilmovee, Costello, Mayo (East Mayo; cf: South Sligo)
Ó Dubhthaigh, Tomás, Lurga Lower, Kilbeagh, Costello, Mayo (East Mayo; cf. South Sligo)

For more on the Irish of East Mayo, see Lavin, T. H. 'Notes on the Irish of East Mayo' in Éigse 9 (1957) p. 10-17; Dillon, Myles. 'Vestiges of the Irish Dialect of East Mayo' in Celtica 10 (1973), p. 15-21 (Kilmovee); Mhac an Fhailigh, Éamonn. 'Notes on a Mayo Dialect' in Celtica 12 (1977), p. 171-184 (Rinnananny); and Ó Ceilleachair, Stiofán. 'Canúint Mhuintir Chionnaith agus Chlann Fhearmaighe' in Breifne 1967-8 (Kilmovee; mainly focused on Sligo, Leitrim and Cavan).

Ó Meadhra, Pádraig, Toormakeady, Ballyovey, Carra, Mayo (cf: Leenaun, Galway)
Ó Murchadha, Éamonn, Cahernagollum, Ballinchalla, Kilmaine, Mayo
Ó Gioballáin, Seán, Kildun, Cong, Kilmaine, Mayo

For more on the dialect of South Mayo, see de Búrca, Seán. The Irish of Tourmakeady, Co. Mayo. (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1958), available to buy here.

Roscommon (2)
Ganley, Thomas, Cloonmaul, Tibohine, Frenchpark, Roscommon (North Roscommon)

Sarsfield, Mary Ellen, Cloonfineen, Kiltullagh, Castlereagh, Roscommon (South Roscomon)

Galway (35)
Ó Maoilchiaráin, Labhrás, Lisheennaheltia, Boyounagh, Ballymoe, Galway (East Galway)
Ó Lócháin, Tomás, Camderry, Kilbegnet, Ballymoe, Galway (East Galway)
Mullrooney, Eileen, Lissavruggy, Killian, Galway (East Galway)

Ó Caodháin, Seán, Leenaun, Ross parish, Ross, Galway
Ruddy, Sally, Leenaun, Ross parish, Ross, Galway
Ó Máille, Peadar, Munterowen, Ross parish, Ross, Galway
Breathnach, Mícheál, Maum East, Ross parish, Ross, Galway
Ó hAllmhuráin, Pádraig, Knockaunbaun, Ross parish, Ross, Galway
Breathnach, Tomás, Cloughbrack, Ross parish, Ross, Galway
Ó Ceithearnaigh, Máirtín, Cloughbrack, Ross parish, Ross, Galway
Breathnach, Séamus, Cornamona, Cong, Ross, Galway
Brún, Séamus, Cornamona, Cong, Ross, Galway
Ó Súilleabháin, Pádraig, Cornamona, Cong, Ross, Galway

In 'The Irish of Leenane, Co. Galway', Celtica 7 (1966), p. 128-134, Seán de Búrca states that the dialect of Leenaun at least was substantially the same as that of nearby Tourmakeady (see above).

A very interesting overview of a dialect with features transitional to both North Galway and South Mayo - that of Derryvoreada - is Nilsen, Kenneth E. 'Some Features of the Irish of Bun a' Cruc, Recess, Co. Galway' in Proceedings of the Harvard Celtic Colloquium Vol. 3 (1983), p. 91-106. Nilsen chose to study this dialect because it fell between two isoglosses on the LASID map and had not been studied before.

Mac Confhaola, Seán, Errislannan, Ballindoon & Islands, Ballynahinch, Galway
Ó Niadh, Tomás, Bunnahown [Bun na hAbhann], Moyrus, Ballynahinch, Galway
Mac Con Iomaire, Tomás, Cuilleen, Moyrus, Ballynahinch, Galway

Ó Néill, Pádraig, Ardgaineen, Annaghdown, Clare, Galway (East Galway)
Ó Murchadha, Mícheál, Cahernahoon, Lackagh, Clare, Galway (East Galway)

Ó Colláin, Seán, Corrandulla, Annaghdown, Clare, Galway
Mullryan, Brigid, Montiagh, Claregalway, Clare, Galway
Ó Concheanainn, Mícheál, Montiagh, Claregalway, Clare, Galway

Ó Lonnáin, Séamus, Anglingham, Oranmore, Galway, Galway
Nolan, Thomas, Tonabrocky, Rahoon, Galway, Galway

Costello, Mary, Rosmuck [Ros Muc], Kilcummin, Moycullen, Galway
Ó Mainnín, Pádraig, Rosmuck, Kilcummin, Moycullen, Galway
Ó Niadh, Pádraig, Rosmuck, Kilcummin, Moycullen, Galway
Mac Con Iomaire, Tomás, Camus Oughter [Camas Uachtair], Kilcummin, Moycullen, Galway
Ó Gábháin, Pádraig, Clynagh [Cladhnach], Kilannin, Moycullen, Galway
Ó Direáin, Séan, Lettermullan Island [Leitir Mealláin], Kilcummin, Moycullen, Galway

Conlan, Kate, Ballintaggart [Baile an tSagairt], Moycullen parish, Moycullen, Galway (Cois Fhairrge)
Ó Tuairisc, Seán, Loughaun Beg [An Lochán Beag], Killannin Moycullen, Galway (Cois Fhairrge)

For an overview of the dialect of Cois Fhairrge, see de Bhaldraithe, Tomás. The Irish of Cois Fhairrge, Co. Galway. (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1945), available to buy here.

Ó Fathaigh, Mícheál, Tawin East, Ballynacourty, Dunkellin, Galway (South Galway)

Ó Direáin, Máirtín, Sruffaun, Inishmore [Inis Mór], Aran, Galway (Aran Islands)
Ó Concheanainn, Peadar, Inishmaan [Inis Meáin], Inishmaan parish, Aran, Galway (Aran Islands)

Mitchell, Martin, Tirneevin, Kiltartan, Galway (Galway-Clare border; cf: Aughinish below)

Clare (5)
Mag Fhloinn, Máirtín, Aughinish, Burren, Clare (Galway-Clare border; see Tirneevin above)

Shannon, James, Ballyvara, Corcomroe, Clare (North West Clare)
Ó hEilíre, Stiofán, Ballycullaun, Corcomroe, Clare (North West Clare)
Carún, Seán, Luogh North, Corcomroe, Clare (North West Clare)
Ó Dileáin, Liam, Knockevin, Corcomroe, Clare (North West Clare)

For more on Galway-Clare border dialects, see Holmer, Nils. The Dialects of Co. Clare. (Dublin: Royal Irish Academy, 1962), available for download here.

Tipperary (1)
Ó Liatháin, Séamus, Curragh, Iffa and Offa West, Tipperary

Kerry (12)
Ó Conchúir, Séamas, Ardaneanig, Magunihy, Kerry
Breathnach, Tomás, Coom, Magunihy, Kerry
Ó Cathaláin, Tomás, Fybagh, Trughanacmy, Kerry

Ó Ruairc, Pádraig, Cloghane, Corkaguiny [Corca Dhuibhne], Kerry
Ó hAiniféin, Seán, Lispole, Corkaguiny, Kerry
Mac Gearailt, Mícheál, Dunquin [Dún Chaoin], Corkaguiny, Kerry
Ó Dálaigh, Tomás, Dunquin, Corkaguiny, Kerry

For more on the dialect of Corca Dhuibhne, see Ó Sé, Diarmuid. Gaeilge Chorca Dhuibhne. (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 2000), available to buy here. A shorter and more practical introduction to the dialect by the same author, in the An Teanga Bheo series, is available to buy here.

Ó Gealbháin, Aindréas, Derreennagreer, Dunkerron South, Kerry
Ó Sé, Tadhg, Caherdaniel, Dunkerron South, Kerry

Mac Coluim, Fionán, Spunkane, Iveragh [Uíbh Ráthach], Kerry
Ó Ceallaigh, Pádraig, Ballinskelligs, Iveragh, Kerry
Ó Conaill, Seán, Ballinskelligs, Iveragh, Kerry

Waterford (6)
Ó Cadhla, Labhrás, Ballinamult, Decies-Without-Drum [Na Déise], Waterford
Ó Corcráin, Tomás, Bohadoon, Decies-Without-Drum, Waterford

de Breit, Pádraig, Island, Decies-Without-Drum, Waterford

Ó Cionnfhaolaidh, Mícheál, Ring [An Rinn], Decies-Without-Drum, Waterford
Ó Droma, Seán, Ring, Decies-Without-Drum, Waterford
Turraoin, Mícheál, Ring, Decies-Without-Drum, Waterford

For more on the dialect of Rinn, see Breathnach, Risteard B. The Irish of Ring, Co. Waterford (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1947), available to buy here. A voluminous glossary of Waterford Irish is the study by Archbishop Michael Sheehan (1870-1945), available as Breathnach, Risteard B. Seana-chaint na nDéise II. (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1961), available to buy here.

Cork (12)
Mac Coitir, Diarmuid, Derrynasaggart, Muskerry West, Cork
Ó Cruadhlaoich, Pádraig, Ballyvourney, Muskerry West, Cork
Ó Luineacháin, Diarmaid, Clondrohid, Muskerry West, Cork
Ó Céilleachair, Domhnall, Coolea [Cúil Aodha], Muskerry West, Cork
Ó Loingsigh, Amhlaoibh, Coolea, Muskerry West, Cork

For more on the dialect of this area, see Ó Cuív, Brian. The Irish of West Muskerry, Co. Cork (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1944), available to buy here.

Breathnach, Séamas, Knockadoon, Imokilly, Cork

This dialect and its relationship both to other Cork dialects and to the Irish of Waterford is discussed in detail in Ó Cuív, Brian. Irish Dialects and Irish Speaking Districts (Dublin: Dublin Institute for Advanced Studies, 1951).

Ó Sé, Pádraig, Ardgroom, Bear, Cork
Ó Scolaí, Séamus, Crossterry, Bear, Cork
Ó hArachtáin, Pádraig, Adrigole, Bear, Cork
Ó Súilleabháin, Proinnsias, Adrigole, Bear, Cork
Ó Laoghaire, Mícheál, Cloghfune, Bear, Cork

Ó Síocháin, Conchúr, Clear Island [Oileán Chléire], Carbery West, Cork

For more on the dialect of Cléire, see Ó Buachalla, Breandán. 'Phonetic Texts from Oileán Chléire' in Lochlann 2 (1962). p. 103-121. A shorter and more practical contemporary introduction to the dialect by the same author, in the An Teanga Bheo series, is available to buy here.

Total number of speakers in Doegen recordings: 136

Oileán Chléire. (Wikimedia Commons)