Hi all,

I'm looking to become somewhat fluent as Gaeilge again. I have a real interest in learning Munster Irish over the Standard (I'm from Cork).

I have trawled the internet with no success in finding a comprehensive resource on Munster Irish (different vocab, structure etc) but in particular I really like the way Munster Irish is distinct in it's verb forms.

e.g. molann tú = molair
mhol mé = mholas

Does anyone have a good knowledge on how to decline verbs in all their forms in the Munster style, or send me the link to a resource that I can study?

My email is

Go raibh maith agaibh,
Daithí

Fáilte romhat, a Dhaithí! Conas taoi? (Doesn't get much more Munster than that!)

I'm also learning Cork Irish. My chief source is the 1961 edition of Teach Yourself Irish, which teaches the dialect of West Muskerry. (Copies available on Amazon.com for as little as 73¢! Haven't checked Amazon.uk, but I'm sure you'll find used copies for sale there as well.)

For my own study purposes, I've created flash card sets of several irregular verbs here: http://quizlet.com/user/linguoboy/

For regular verbs, a full view of the "traditional conjugation" is available here: http://www.nualeargais.ie/gnag/gram.htm. With some modifications that are covered in the notes (e.g. the Simple Present and Present Habitual merge for all verbs except bí), this is the system of West Muskerry. That is to say, I'm not sure what the author's source for the data is, but it matches what I have in my book.

There's also a Yahoo group for studying West Muskerry: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Muskerry/. I've never joined because, frankly, I find the attitude of some of the members off-putting. (I'm learning Cork Irish because I happen to like it, not because it's the One True Irish compared to which all others are dust to be trod beneath my feet.) But joining will apparently win you access to several documents outlining verb conjugations.

There's also information on Cork Irish verb conjugations on this page of the Glanmire/Gleann Maghair Community Website: http://homepage.eircom.net/~timbrackencourt/Graimear3.html. I find the format pretty user-unfriendly, so I haven't really used it, but the forms look sound.

Ádh mór ort, agus má theastaíonn cobhair bhreise uait, ná cóiméad óna iarraidh!

Er.. I am a member of the Muskerry group, and I can tell you that although the group's moderators are passionate about Muskerry Irish, there are members of the group who are learning it for precisely the reasons DLL outlines, and there is no attempt to make people who do/do not have certain views on Munster Irish/Standard Irish/the price of fish unwelcome. Its atmosphere aims to be studious and not spend time discussing contentious issues round and round in a little circle. It is not a discussion list, like Daltaí, it is a study circle. A Dhomhnaill, you have been misinformed.

"Misinformed"? How could I be when I arrived at that conclusion after reading through several months of postings myself? "Mistaken" I would accept, however, so I apologise if I've misled Daithí in any way. Fortunately, the archives are public, so anyone may do exactly as I did: Read them and decide on their own if it's a community the would feel comfortable joining. I may yet do that myself, though right now I have my hands full just keeping up with the pointless flamewfascinating dialect discussions on the Daltaí Boards.