Hello. :)

I'm just wondering if this dictionary is any good or not.. I'm getting it for Christmas, heh. Also, if it leans toward a particular dialect, and also if there are any other dictionaries that rely on the Ulster dialect.

http://www.irishbook.com/vIndex.htm?item2484.htm

Go raibh maith agat.

it's not my favorite, but i have seen worse. has the benefit of some grammar and verb conjugation info in the middle...

I have that one. Well it looks like that one! It's a Collins Gem Pocket Irish Dictionary anyway! It seems ok to me but I'm not picky since that's all that I could find at the time!

Tá foclóir sin liom. Tá sé maith go leor liom. But mine doesn't have any color, nor Irish names nor place names (not within a specific list, anyway). And it definitely has NO pronunciation guides.
It does have the grammar tables in the middle, though, and does give occassional idiomatic examples.
I still plan on getting some better ones when I get a little extra money on hand.

-Maidhc.

agam, a Mhaidhc, agam. (unless you mean the dictionary is following you around?)

Aw! Ya know? I typed that in first and then switched it. (That'll teach me to go against instinct.) Grma, a Aonghuis.

-Maidhc.

Fáilte romhat.

BTW, I'd recommend

An Foclóir Póca €6.60

http://www.litriocht.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=275

It is drawn from the two classic dictionaries, De Bhaldraithe and Ó Niall. (Why you should buy, along with Dineen, if you can afford them!)

A Mhaidc, Perhaps you have the smaller version of the dictionary which really is a pocket-sized one. The larger one (5" x 3") has all the aforementioned extras.

Bhoil, 'Sé 5x3 é go deimhin agus is an t-ainm "Foclóir Gem Gaeilge Collins" air. Ach, tá scríofa ar an ais é "mini dictionary". Is féidir é mar sin go sin é an fáth é, sílim.

-Maidhc.

A Mhaidc - Upon closer look at my Collins, the cover is different than the one pictured on the link. Mine was published in 1997 so it may be an older version than yours.

Yep, I'll vouch for the Foclóir Póca, too. Most folks in the Minnesota Gaeltacht use it:

http://www.irishbook.com/vIndex.htm?item2484.htm

Of course it doesn't hurt that Irish Books and Media is right in town.

I especially like the pronounciation guide. As regular as Irish is compared to, say, English, there are still a significant number of words that stump me!