there is not only the "r" pronounced broad (and not only at the beginning), but also "b" and some other consonants I heard. (I mean, in general, the cases when "e" in "ea" is not fada)
And I'm not sure if "ea", when not preceded by any consonant, is pronounced "a" or "ya".
like in "an ea", ("ní hea")
in my native language there is a separate sounds ya, yu, etc., broad and slender variants of vowels, not of consonants, that is why I'm a little confused...
By the way, Celtoid, which is the dialect you're studying?