I've been wondering this for a while, and a post by Seosamh Mac Muirí brought it back to mind yesterday.

He said:
"Dúras léi gurbh é mo mheas..."
where I would have expected "Duirt mé..."

I've seen this other places. For example, in a book I'm currently reading (_A Thig Ná Tit Orm_, le Maidhc Dainín Ó Sé), I find:

Rud nár smaoiníos in aon chor air...
Gach lá a thugas ar scoil bhíos ag foghlaim...

These appear to be forms of the first-person past tense of the verb, but so far I haven't seen them in any references I have.

Can somebody explain? Are they part of a specific dialect, are they "old" forms, or have I simply overlooked something?

Thanks!

--Al Evans

It's the Munster Irish form for past tense - I've never seen or heard it anywhere else, at any rate.

Yes, it's Munster dialect. It's not part of the Caighdeán Oifigiúil, so learners don't encounter it in instruction books. Another thing they say is "dheineas" instead of "rinne mé". But it's not that hard to follow once you get used to it.

Slán,

Oliver.