The Irish language for travellers

The first Irish you meet in Ireland is written down: on the signpost at the airport exit, the front of the bus and the door of the shop, and it sits above the English everywhere, because the Irish name goes first. This page is the short version, built for people whose trip comes before any study: twelve phrases that do real work, the words on the signs, and the code inside the place names. The longer version is the beginner's guide to the Irish language.

Twelve phrases that do the work

The say-it lines are approximations in a southern (Munster) sound. Irish has three living dialects: in Donegal, "how are you" is Cad é mar atá tú, and in Conamara it is Cén chaoi a bhfuil tú. Teanglann.ie plays any word free in all three dialects.

Dia duit (say "DEE-a gwitch"): hello, at any hour; it means "God to you". Dia is Muire duit (say "DEE-a iss MWIR-a gwitch"): the reply, "God and Mary to you". Conas atá tú? (say "KUN-as a-TAW too"): how are you? Tá mé go maith (say "TAW may guh MAH"): I am well. Le do thoil (say "leh duh HULL"): please. Go raibh maith agat (say "guh REV MAH UG-ut"): thank you. Go raibh míle maith agat (say "guh REV MEE-la MAH UG-ut"): thank you very much, with "a thousand" folded in. Tá fáilte romhat (say "taw FAWL-cha ROH-ut"): you are welcome, the reply to thanks. Gabh mo leithscéal (say "gav muh LESH-kayl"): excuse me, and sorry. An bhfuil Béarla agat? (say "un WILL BAYR-la UG-ut"): do you speak English? Slán (say "SLAWN"): goodbye, word for word "safe"; slán go fóill is "bye for now" and slán abhaile is "safe home". Oíche mhaith (say "EE-ha MAH"): good night.

At the bar

Pionta Guinness, le do thoil (say "PEE-un-ta GUIN-ess, leh duh HULL"): a pint of Guinness, please; the shape works for any drink. Babhta eile, le do thoil (say "BOW-ta ELL-a, leh duh HULL"): another round, please; a babhta is a round of drinks. Sláinte (say "SLAWN-cha"): the toast, "health". Uisce beatha (say "ISH-ka BA-ha"): whiskey, word for word "water of life", and the root of the English word itself. A pint of stout takes its time to settle and be topped up: the wait is the drink being made properly.

Reading the signs

Road signs carry the Irish first, with the English under it; inside the Gaeltacht the English line disappears. Stad: stop. Géill slí: yield, give way. Go mall: go slow. Bóthar: road. Sráid: street. An Lár: the centre, on town signs and the front of buses. Fir: men. Mná: women. Oscailte: open. Dúnta: closed.

The code inside the place names

Irish place names are descriptions that hardened into names, built from a short stock of words for the land and what stood on it. Baile (Bally-), the town: Baile Átha Cliath, Dublin, is the town of the hurdled ford. Cill (Kil-), a church: Cill Chainnigh, Kilkenny, is Canice's church; Cill Dara, Kildare, is the church of the oak. Inis (Inis-, Ennis), an island: Inis Mór is the big island; Ennis began as an island in the River Fergus. Gleann (Glen-), a valley: Gleann Dá Loch, Glendalough, is the glen of the two lakes. Áth (Ath-), a ford: Áth Luain, Athlone, is Luan's ford; Droichead Átha, Drogheda, is the bridge at the ford. Béal (Bel-), a mouth: Béal an Átha, Ballina, is the mouth of the ford on the Moy. Dún (Dun-, Down), a fort: Dún na nGall, Donegal, is the fort of the foreigners. Cnoc (Knock-), a hill: An Cnoc, Knock, is simply "the hill". Carraig (Carrig-, Carrick-), a rock: Carraig Fhearghais, Carrickfergus, is Fergus's rock. Cluain (Clon-), a meadow: Cluain Meala, Clonmel, is the meadow of honey. Loch (Lough), a lake: Lough Neagh is Loch nEachach. Trá, a strand: Trá Lí, Tralee, is the strand of the Lee; Trá Mhór, Tramore, is the big strand. Not every name gives up its meaning: Gaillimh, Galway, has no agreed meaning, and Waterford is a Norse name while its Irish name, Port Láirge, means the landing place of Láirge. Meanings per Logainm.ie, the Placenames Database of Ireland.

Where you will hear it all day

Irish is the first language of daily life in the Gaeltacht districts along the west coast: parts of Donegal, Mayo and Conamara, the Aran Islands, the Dingle Peninsula in Kerry, Múscraí and Cape Clear in Cork, and the Ring peninsula in Waterford. Census 2022 counted nearly 1.9 million people in the State who could speak some Irish, and about 72,000 who speak it daily, roughly 20,000 of them inside the Gaeltacht itself. You will also hear it on TG4 and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta anywhere in the country.

Sources: phrases and pronunciations checked against Teanglann.ie and Foclóir.ie (Foras na Gaeilge), cross-checked with the Wikivoyage Irish phrasebook and Omniglot; road-sign wording per the Traffic Signs Manual; place-name meanings per Logainm.ie; speaker figures from Census 2022 (Central Statistics Office).