Worst accent in Ireland hi!

[armaghniac]

Strabane people talking fast, surely not.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IaadphJyy50

[mikehunt]

can't believe no one has mentioned that insufferable gowl Rachel Allen. she tries to make potatoes sound posh ffs. a better argument for the reintroduction of capital punishment could not be made.

[Hardy]

Entertaining post, cynic.

I've just remembered to ask, what has happened to Tommie Gorman's accent?  Well, not so much his accent in the round as his accent when it comes to one particular syllable. Tommie seems to have lost the ability to say the syllable 'part' in the accent that he deploys for the rest of his vocabulary - even words that rhyme with 'part'. It's very curious. He seems to have hijacked a phoneme from the Boston accent exclusively for use with 'part' - a syllable he gets to use a lot, given his job and the fact that he reports on political doings in the North, where the word 'party' comes into a lot of his reports.

Thus Tommie renders 'part' as 'pahd' and 'party' as 'pahdy' even in sentences that include words like art, fart, arty-farty, which he pronounces in his normal Sligo mode.

'The start of pahd of the Sinn Féin pahdy manifesto deals with the arts.' It's very strange.

[foxcommander]

can't believe no one has mentioned that insufferable gowl Rachel Allen. she tries to make potatoes sound posh ffs. a better argument for the reintroduction of capital punishment could not be made.

Exactly - she's one of the worst.
Anyone from the country who discovers a new accent (D4) when moving to the capital wins hands down. It's usually birds who do.

[theticklemister]

All accents are grand - provided they're genuine.  Wannabe posh English accents - of the kind that you get in parts of South Dublin and in the well-heeled parts of the East Coast commuter towns outside Belfast - and wannabe mid Atlantic acents are not objectionable because they sound LA / Home Counties English, but because - to anyone who has lived in England or the US - they sound so desperately fake.  There's a bloke on Radio Ulster, Seamus or Conor something, who has long ago lost the ability to pronounce the letter 'r'.  You get a variant of this in S Dublin - 'Ah-T.E.' for 'RTE'.  A classic is when they say: 'Ah-TE suppowting the ahts' for 'RTE supporting the arts'.  And all those wannabe Home Counties Ulster Unionist blokes who take about 'Nawthn Ah-land' for 'Northern Ireland'; or 'the Island of Eye-land' for the 'Island of Ireland'.  When I lived in S Dublin, you'd hear Irish Dads saying to their kids, e.g.: 'Jack, get your coat'; and it sounded like: 'Jah-ak, get yoe cowt'.
 
There are 3 types of Dublin accent:
- West British - as above and see also:  http://d4accent.blogspot.co.uk/
- Brennan's Bread / old style Dubliner (a lovely warm accent with a full-blooded emphasis on individual sounds - e.g., 'time at the zoo' is delivered as 'toyum at the iz-you'
- kn**ker (whiny, aggressive, mouth mostly closed while speaking ): as an example of the latter, I once saw a kn**ker in a shop in Dublin asking an Asian shop assistant for 'foy-uvv yoerrr'.  He meant 'five Euro', the scared lad behind the counter hadn't a clue and someone had to translate to stop the soon-enraged kn**ker from losing the plot. 

The inner-city Belfast accent always sound like it's spoiling for a fight, even when people are being civil.  To get the effect, speak as if your jaw has been frozen in the dentists and you're smoking a pipe and leave out most consonants.  'Cash' becomes 'cosh' and e.g., 'Alright there big lad' becomes 'ayerigh er biglod'.  'A' is often substituted for 'o'; e.g.: 'I'll knock your bollocks in' becomes 'I'll knaack yer balleeks in'.  At the other end of the social scale, Belfast people - and people East of the Bann generally - are incapable of the rolled 'ch' sound.  Thus you get 'Charlie Hockey' for 'Charlie Haughey', 'Lock Erne' for 'Lough Erne', 'Mackerafelt' for 'Magherafelt' etc.  They also can't distinguish between 'u' and 'oo'.  Hence: 'President Boosh', 'poosh your trolly over the ramp' (a classic from Aldergrove airport), 'Foolham' Football Club etc etc. The other Belfast biggie is how they say words like 'now' and 'town' - these are said as 'noy' and 'toyn'.  ('I'm heading doyn the toyn noy')         

As a general rule in Ireland, the West is the best.  To my ears, Munster and Connaught accents are more musical, ditto the W Coast all the way up to Donegal, and including Sligo and Fermanagh.  Pound for pound, a Galway accent is always more likely to sound more pleasant than a flat (sorry, fla') Laois accent ... My own county of Tyrone is split.  East and North of the county is rapid and guttural and can be harsh enough – 'like terriers barking' as someone once said.  A bloke from Strabane used to have the record for world's fastest talker.  When Brian Dooher (from Aughabrack direction) picked up Sam in 08, he started out in Irish and switched to English half way through, but I reckon some people listening couldn't hear much difference.  West and South is much slower and softer and some parts are heavily influenced by the Fermanagh accent (much as we may not wish to admit that!).  A feature of a W / S Tyrone accent is how words like 'drink' will be softened by introducing a 'h', thus: 'dhrink'.     

Overall though, it's about authenticity and personality.  If you're putting on an accent, you'll sound annoying, no matter what the accent is.  Equally, if you're an aggressive humourless loudmouth, you'll give any accent a bad name. But if you're smart and charming and have a soft accent as well, then you're probably Mick O'Dwyer.  I used, as a boy in the 70s, to marvel at the contrast between this gentle-tongued polite bloke who turned out teams that were skilled (obviously) but also driven, ruthless teams who would wipe the pitch with the opposition.  The clinical nature of the football massacre you had just witnessed didn't seem to fit with the soft twinkly accent now heaping praise upon the vanquished and telling us (with a straight face) what a close match it had been(!).

Some bita writing right there hi

[bennydorano]

Personally always thought Armagh has some range of accents, some South Armagh accents sound more 'southern' than people half way down the country. North Armagh, but Lurgan / Craigavon accents in particular can be pure shafty in nature (& there is historical & demographical reasons for that). I dont know what mid-armagh sounds like (me) but i know i have bother on holidays in south Leinster & Munster making myself understood.

[OgraAnDun]

BC1 that girl that reads the AA roadwatch around 5ish def has to be from your part of the country (north louth/south armagh/monaghan) has to be

Aoife Carragher is from Monaghan I think

A year too late but she's from Crossmaglen.

[5 Sams]

All accents are grand - provided they're genuine.  Wannabe posh English accents - of the kind that you get in parts of South Dublin and in the well-heeled parts of the East Coast commuter towns outside Belfast - and wannabe mid Atlantic acents are not objectionable because they sound LA / Home Counties English, but because - to anyone who has lived in England or the US - they sound so desperately fake.  There's a bloke on Radio Ulster, Seamus or Conor something, who has long ago lost the ability to pronounce the letter 'r'.  You get a variant of this in S Dublin - 'Ah-T.E.' for 'RTE'.  A classic is when they say: 'Ah-TE suppowting the ahts' for 'RTE supporting the arts'.  And all those wannabe Home Counties Ulster Unionist blokes who take about 'Nawthn Ah-land' for 'Northern Ireland'; or 'the Island of Eye-land' for the 'Island of Ireland'.  When I lived in S Dublin, you'd hear Irish Dads saying to their kids, e.g.: 'Jack, get your coat'; and it sounded like: 'Jah-ak, get yoe cowt'.
 
There are 3 types of Dublin accent:
- West British - as above and see also:  http://d4accent.blogspot.co.uk/
- Brennan's Bread / old style Dubliner (a lovely warm accent with a full-blooded emphasis on individual sounds - e.g., 'time at the zoo' is delivered as 'toyum at the iz-you'
- kn**ker (whiny, aggressive, mouth mostly closed while speaking ): as an example of the latter, I once saw a kn**ker in a shop in Dublin asking an Asian shop assistant for 'foy-uvv yoerrr'.  He meant 'five Euro', the scared lad behind the counter hadn't a clue and someone had to translate to stop the soon-enraged kn**ker from losing the plot. 

The inner-city Belfast accent always sound like it's spoiling for a fight, even when people are being civil.  To get the effect, speak as if your jaw has been frozen in the dentists and you're smoking a pipe and leave out most consonants.  'Cash' becomes 'cosh' and e.g., 'Alright there big lad' becomes 'ayerigh er biglod'.  'A' is often substituted for 'o'; e.g.: 'I'll knock your bollocks in' becomes 'I'll knaack yer balleeks in'.  At the other end of the social scale, Belfast people - and people East of the Bann generally - are incapable of the rolled 'ch' sound.  Thus you get 'Charlie Hockey' for 'Charlie Haughey', 'Lock Erne' for 'Lough Erne', 'Mackerafelt' for 'Magherafelt' etc.  They also can't distinguish between 'u' and 'oo'.  Hence: 'President Boosh', 'poosh your trolly over the ramp' (a classic from Aldergrove airport), 'Foolham' Football Club etc etc. The other Belfast biggie is how they say words like 'now' and 'town' - these are said as 'noy' and 'toyn'.  ('I'm heading doyn the toyn noy')         

As a general rule in Ireland, the West is the best.  To my ears, Munster and Connaught accents are more musical, ditto the W Coast all the way up to Donegal, and including Sligo and Fermanagh.  Pound for pound, a Galway accent is always more likely to sound more pleasant than a flat (sorry, fla') Laois accent ... My own county of Tyrone is split.  East and North of the county is rapid and guttural and can be harsh enough – 'like terriers barking' as someone once said.  A bloke from Strabane used to have the record for world's fastest talker.  When Brian Dooher (from Aughabrack direction) picked up Sam in 08, he started out in Irish and switched to English half way through, but I reckon some people listening couldn't hear much difference.  West and South is much slower and softer and some parts are heavily influenced by the Fermanagh accent (much as we may not wish to admit that!).  A feature of a W / S Tyrone accent is how words like 'drink' will be softened by introducing a 'h', thus: 'dhrink'.     

Overall though, it's about authenticity and personality.  If you're putting on an accent, you'll sound annoying, no matter what the accent is.  Equally, if you're an aggressive humourless loudmouth, you'll give any accent a bad name. But if you're smart and charming and have a soft accent as well, then you're probably Mick O'Dwyer.  I used, as a boy in the 70s, to marvel at the contrast between this gentle-tongued polite bloke who turned out teams that were skilled (obviously) but also driven, ruthless teams who would wipe the pitch with the opposition.  The clinical nature of the football massacre you had just witnessed didn't seem to fit with the soft twinkly accent now heaping praise upon the vanquished and telling us (with a straight face) what a close match it had been(!).

I enjoyed that Cynic and you are not far away in most instances...the accent I hate the most is the Van Morrison, George Best mixture of Norn Ireland and English...horrible...next up is Ballymena Larne. Love the north side bleeedin Dub accent....not the knackers but the oul fellas in Meaghers or the Gravediggers. South Armagh is a nice twang however despite the fact I live there the hardcore Newry accent is brutal.

[Orior]

I enjoyed that Cynic and you are not far away in most instances...the accent I hate the most is the Van Morrison, George Best mixture of Norn Ireland and English...horrible...next up is Ballymena Larne. Love the north side bleeedin Dub accent....not the knackers but the oul fellas in Meaghers or the Gravediggers. South Armagh is a nice twang however despite the fact I live there the hardcore Newry accent is brutal.

Totally agree!

And if you dont think different, then listen to Rose-Marie trying to talk sexy.

[Tony Baloney]

Personally always thought Armagh has some range of accents, some South Armagh accents sound more 'southern' than people half way down the country. North Armagh, but Lurgan / Craigavon accents in particular can be pure shafty in nature (& there is historical & demographical reasons for that). I dont know what mid-armagh sounds like (me) but i know i have bother on holidays in south Leinster & Munster making myself understood.

I remember a lecturer telling us that a lot of towns like Antrim, Craigavon etc. had similar accents as they were full of people who left or got bucked out of Belfast during the troubles. Both roughly 20/25 mins up the motorway. Makes some kind of sense I suppose.

[ONeill]

Touts will be shat.

[Eamonnca1]

Personally always thought Armagh has some range of accents, some South Armagh accents sound more 'southern' than people half way down the country. North Armagh, but Lurgan / Craigavon accents in particular can be pure shafty in nature (& there is historical & demographical reasons for that). I dont know what mid-armagh sounds like (me) but i know i have bother on holidays in south Leinster & Munster making myself understood.

I remember a lecturer telling us that a lot of towns like Antrim, Craigavon etc. had similar accents as they were full of people who left or got bucked out of Belfast during the troubles. Both roughly 20/25 mins up the motorway. Makes some kind of sense I suppose.

Would that have had more to do with the new city development? 

[cadhlancian]

Eamon, can't believe your hometown never got a shout out? Your neighbors a few miles over the road in Portyadine no mention either..

[seafoid]

Ger Loughnane style Clare accents and Kerry accents sound like the Gaeilge I think. The rhythm is very different to English.
I don't like Midlands accents.
The Dort accent is pure fake.  English accents are at least real.

[mikehunt]

Ger Loughnane style Clare accents and Kerry accents sound like the Gaeilge I think. The rhythm is very different to English.
I don't like Midlands accents.
The Dort accent is pure fake.  English accents are at least real.

if u ask an English person a question they tend to answer " yes" or "no". are u going home? they will answer yes/no. ask an Irish person the same question and they tend to say " I am" or "I'm not". it's due to Gaeilge. an bhuil tu ag dul abhaile, the anser is ta me (I am) or nil me (I'm not).