"Condae an Dúin" - Béarlachas?

I saol na linne seo, deir Gaeilgeoirí "Contae an Dúin", "bhí mé i gContae an Dúin", "Is as Contae an Dúin mé" agus mar sin de.


Ach arbh fhéidir gur Béarlachas é seo?


Tá rogha eile ann. 

'Na Beannaí Boirfe'

Tá leideanna in Neilson in 'An Introduction to the Irish Language' "i nDún" a dúradh go minic, gan an focal 'contae' 

Mar shampla ...


"Bhí mé i nDún"


Ach  is coitianta "Condae an Dúin" sa leabhar mar sin féin.

Lena chois sin, tá líntí suimiúla ann san amhrán  'Cailín as Contae Lú'.

"Cha rabh mo spéis ariamh in bhar nDún"


In leagan eile den amhrán, tá sampla eile ann ...


"Nuair a bhíonn fáilte sa Dún do gach uile dream"

Teach yourself County Down Irish!

Teach yourself County Down Irish!

How? Well, there is actually a text book!

"An Introduction to the Irish language" by the Rev. William Neilson, although much of it was probably written by Loughinisland scholar, Pádraig Ó Loingsigh / Patrick Lynch. The first edition was published in 1808.

The book is available in full on Google Books, HERE.

To what extent does the book represent vernacular County Down Irish?

It is of course a pre-standard Irish book, but it some ways it is remarkably 'standardised', for example, the usage of the negative particle 'ní' instead of 'cha'.


It is very certainly quite similar to Oriel Irish but  it contains little 'patois'.


It does contain a number of words ad phrases however which we must assume to be authentic County Down Irish.


In short, Neilson's grammar is based on the Irish of County Down, likely to be Pádraig Ó Loingsigh's own dialect but the Irish is 'corrected' to an extent with regards to dialect-isms, in addition, it appears to contain a degree of classicalisms, added for effect.