The Secrets of Irish Spelling

Part 1

Illustration of an ancient Ogham stone being carved.
The Ogham Alphabet

Without a doubt, one of the most difficult aspects of Irish for beginners is its spelling system. There are logical reasons for how and why Irish writing evolved as it did, mostly stemming from the lack of sufficient letters in the Latin alphabet to represent all the sounds in Irish. Like magicians, medieval scribes devised certain spelling conventions to bridge those gaps. Read on to unlock the secrets of Irish spelling!

Short and Long Vowels

Vowels in Irish are classified as either “short” or “long.” An accent mark called a síneadh fada (or simply a fada) indicates a long vowel. In some cases, vowel length can change the meaning of a word. For example:

short:

sean

∕shan∕
old

long:

Seán

∕shawn∕
Seán (name)

Here are some additional examples of short and long vowels:

short:

bean

∕ban/
a woman

long:

bán

/bawn/
white

feis

∕fesh/
a festival

féasóg

∕’fey∙sōg/
a beard

ridire

∕’rih∙dʲih∙ruh/
a knight

rí

∕ree/
a king

bocht

∕bokht/
poor

bó

∕bō/
a cow

turas

∕’tuh∙rus/
a journey

túr

∕toor/
a tower

Broad and Slender Consonants

In the examples above, notice the different ways the letter S is pronounced. Sometimes it sounds like the English “sh” and sometimes it does not. This is because every consonant in Irish (except H) has two variations, referred to as broad and slender. In Irish spelling, they are indicated when positioned next to so-called “broad” or “slender” vowel letters, which are:

broad:

a  á  o  ó  u  ú

slender:

e  é  i  í

Saoirse Ronan, lead actress in
Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird (2017)

Chances are you already know some examples of broad and slender consonants from popular Irish names like Seán /shawn /and Sinéad /shih∙’neyd/. The first letter in both names is a slender S because it’s positioned next to the slender vowel letters E and I. In contrast, the name Saoirse /’seer-shuh/ begins with a broad S, because it’s followed by the broad vowel letter A, while the second S is slender.

This spelling pattern is known as caol le caol agus leathan le leathan, or “slender with slender and broad with broad.” It is present throughout Irish spelling. As with vowel length, a difference in consonant type alone can change the meaning of a word. For example:

broad:

bó

/bō/
a cow

slender:

beo

/bʸō/
alive

Here are some additional examples of broad and slender consonants:

broad:

coill

/kol/
a wood, a forest

slender:

ceol

/kʸōl/
music

dún

/doon/
a fortress

deoch

/dʲokh/
a drink, a potion

gal

/gal/
warlike valor, fury

geal

/gʸal/
white, bright

lón

/lōn/
lunch

leon

/lʸōn/
a lion

má

/maw/
a plain

meall

/mʸal/
to beguile; beguiling

naomh

/neev/
a saint

niamh

/nʸeev/
brightness, luster

púca

/’poo∙kuh/
a pooka

pionta

/’pʸun∙tuh/
a pint

solas

∕’suh∙lus/
light

sí

/shee∕
a fairy mound

túr

∕toor∕
a tower

tír

∕tʲeer∕
a country

Regarding the Phonetic Transcriptions

Due to dialectical differences, there are various ways to pronounce Irish correctly. The transcriptions provided here are consistent with the “neutral” or “core” pronunciations, as described in the “Phonetic Preface” of Foclóir Póca: Irish-English / English-Irish Dictionary (An Gúm, 1986, 1993). For a more detailed description of Irish phonetics and phonology, see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Help:IPA/Irish.