The Ultimate Guide To the Many Accents in Ireland

• People from North Dublin tend to pronounce “th” like “d” and omit the consonant “t” when it’s located at the end of a word.
• South Dubliners elongate their vowels and the speech is a little slower.

Cork accent

The inhabitants of Cork get their fair share of slagging from the rest of the country for their unique sing-songy pronunciation — the pitch of their voice goes up and down very liberally, sometimes even within the same word. But the melodic intonation isn’t the only specific characteristic of the Cork accent. Corkonians tend to blend all their letters together, especially consonants, and elongate their vowels.

If you want to pass for a Corkonian, there are two important linguistic aspects you need to master before the accent:

• Pepper your sentences with “boy” for no reason other than you can.
• Pronounce Cork like “Cark”.

Watch the trailer for the movie The Young Offenders, a comedy set in Cork, and listen carefully to the two young men’s accent:

Donegal accent

County Donegal is part of the Province of Ulster in the north of Ireland, however, it is not part of the country of Northern Ireland. While it is geographically in the north, the Donegal accent is quite different from what you would hear in Derry or Belfast.

Often considered the most beautiful and the sexiest accent in the whole of Ireland, the Donegal accent can be a little difficult to understand for those who are unfamiliar with it.

Get a taste of the Donegal accent in this video by Irish YouTuber Jamie Jay Car:

Mayo accent

Photo: dvlcom – www.dvlcom.co.uk/Shutterstock

County Mayo is located in the west of Ireland and is home to several Irish Gaelic-speaking areas known as Gaeltachtaí.

One very distinctive features of the Mayo accent is the pronunciation of “s” as “sh”.

For a hilarious, yet a little exaggerated rendition of the Mayo accent, check out Alan Clarke’s TikTok below:

@alanclarkeofficial When you don’t think you have a Mayo accent ……. #mayoforsam ♬ original sound – Alan Clarke

Limerick accent

The Limerick accent, like the people of Limerick and the county in general, is often made fun of for being on the rough side. The Limerick accent is nasal and sharp.

The best way to get acquainted with the Limerick accent is to listen to the Rubberbandits, an Irish comedy hip-hop duo from Limerick City. Check out their accent in the video below:

What is the most common Irish accent?

Pronunciation and intonation changes every few miles in Ireland, so pinpointing the most common Irish accent is an impossible task. That said, if we take into account that the most populated part of the country is Dublin and that the most populated area in Dublin is the town of Swords in North Dublin, we could extrapolate and say that the North Dublin accent is the most common. Of course, that kind of reasoning does not take into account that people with different accents, whether from other parts of Ireland, or from other countries entirely, settle in Swords.

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