Best/worst Irish accents?

nicholasIII

There seems to be a growing trend in youngsters (25 and under) who live in South Dublin speaking in an American-style Irish accent. I actually quite like it but I seem to be in the minority. Many people on boards.ie, reddit /r/ireland and in real life seem to utterly despise the D4 accent.

The worst for me has to be the 'flat Dub' or inner city accent.

frosty123

Rough Limerick city - it reeks of knacker

The J Stands for Jay

Tom Cruise in Far & Away.

frosty123

Don't think this thread is about movies...is it OP?

Car99

A best Irish accent is wayshht kereeeee

alchemist33

Donegal is best.

Louth is worst. Sorry, but you know it's true, Drawda people.

Rodin

nicholasIII wrote: »

There seems to be a growing trend in youngsters (25 and under) who live in South Dublin speaking in an American-style Irish accent. I actually quite like it but I seem to be in the minority. Many people on boards.ie, reddit /r/ireland and in real life seem to utterly despise the D4 accent.

The worst for me has to be the 'flat Dub' or inner city accent.

That at least is a genuine accent...

Why would you like 90210Foxrock?

Strumms

alchemist33 wrote: »

Donegal is best.

Louth is worst. Sorry, but you know it's true, Drawda people.

I’d agree, I spent a few years working with a Donegal girl, ok she was stunning but the accent too, enough even to cure a hangover..

TheValeyard

Strumms wrote: »

I’d agree, I spent a few years working with a Donegal girl, ok she was stunning but the accent too, enough even to cure a hangover..

I dunno, I find the Donegal accent at GAA games can give me headaches.

The J Stands for Jay

frosty123 wrote: »

Don't think this thread is about movies...is it OP?

It is now.

Tzardine

I think the thick inner city Dublin accent has to be the worst.

Slightly OT, but I went to my Doctor in Dublin city one day. The doctor is a Chinese lady, her husband is also a Chinese man and a doctor in the surgery too. There was a young Chinese looking girl working on reception, who I assumed was her daughter. She said hello to me, and in the most Dublin accent you can imagine said:

"Do ya wanna leave you jaaaaacket over dere on the coat rack"

Completely threw me.

There are so many young Dublin people now with different heritage that have the accent. In West Dublin there are loads of African-Irish lads with thick Dublin accents.

Sharpyshoot

Tipperary, Clare,Galway they all sound inbred

Andrea B.

The D4 when it reaches the similar level of Ivor from Damo&Ivor fame.
Not many, but there are a few...

Gregor Samsa

Rodin wrote: »

That at least is a genuine accent...

It’s funny that you say the flat Dublin accent is “genuine”. My grandad grew up off Pearse Street in the early 1900s. He always said that the flat Dublin accent wasn’t used then, and only developed in the city later in the century.

Fact is that accents, like slang and language itself, are constantly evolving and changing.

Oranage2

Donegal on a we lass = Best
Our indigenous community = Bad
Louth = Worst

chosen1

TheValeyard wrote: »

I dunno, I find the Donegal accent at GAA games can give me headaches.

There is a soft accent you find in west Donegal that's quite easy on the ear, but the harsher one closer to Derry can be fairly grating.

Low for me would be some Louth accents but even there some Dundalk accents aren't so bad. Almost northern there. My own Longford accent is also fairly low in terms of popularity and can't see any major objection to that.

That said, I'd take any Irish accent ahead of the Americanised twang you get on women these days. It's not confined to South Dublin by any means either. Know women from all over Ireland that acquired this accent. Usually it starts in the first few weeks after 1st year in college.

Andrea B.

Gregor Samsa wrote: »

It’s funny that you say the flat Dublin accent is “genuine”. My grandad grew up off Pearse Street in the early 1900s. He always said that the flat Dublin accent wasn’t used then, and only developed in the city later in the century.

Fact is that accents, like slang and language itself, are constantly evolving and changing.

Agreed. Listen to any vintage RTE stuff and government staff from 50's ,/ 60's. They were speaking in accents which they considered stately i guess.

Eoinbmw

Im a Limerick man but the worst has to be the forced limerick city accent!
Its not even genuine its put on to sound "hard"

chosen1

Tzardine wrote: »

In West Dublin there are loads of African-Irish lads with thick Dublin accents.

There are a few and it's great to see assimilation, but there are also plenty around Blanch area that somehow have a black London accent despite having absolutely no connection to it and I'd bet, never been there either.

Wexford is by far and away the worst.

The Nal

The entire north east of the republic from Navan to Cavan to Dundalk. Abysmal.

I hate Oliver Cromwell for not finishing the job up there.

Tipperary animal lover

Sharpyshoot wrote: »

Tipperary, Clare,Galway they all sound inbred

Haha goodman, deliverance the movie hasn't a patch on us country folk down here

fonecrusher1

Worst - Whinging / moaning inner city Dublin accent - Ah heer c'meere to me buuud....

Best - Cavan accent. Its hilarious.

biko

Every time this thread is started it's by someone not liking the south Dub accent.

9 years ago it was the same whining
https://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=72171975

Mad_maxx

alchemist33 wrote: »

Donegal is best.

Louth is worst. Sorry, but you know it's true, Drawda people.

the triangle area of armagh ( crossmaglen ) , monaghan ( iniskeen ) and louth ( hackballs cross ) is an accent dish served from hell , possibly the worlds worst accent if you exclude New Zealand , no wonder the british army were so afraid to go in , the Ra lads or even locals only had to open their mouths to put the fear of god in those limeys

best = Donegal , closely followed by Kerry for the comedic value

Mad_maxx

Andrea B. wrote: »

Agreed. Listen to any vintage RTE stuff and government staff from 50's ,/ 60's. They were speaking in accents which they considered stately i guess.

the Cathal o Shannon accent , thats what the south dublin accent used to sound like

as gay byrne once said , the modern day D4 accent was invented by Bob Geldof

Mister Vain

Can't bait the Cork accent Boi.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G8LeDANQ7UE

chosen1

Mad_maxx wrote: »

the Cathal o Shannon accent , thats what the south dublin accent used to sound like

as gay byrne once said , the modern say D4 accent was invented by Bob Geldof

He was probably not too far off. There was also the ascendancy accent of the upper classes there until not too long ago but not the typical Ross O'Carroll Kelly one people associate with D4.

There was a working class Dublin accent similar to old Mr Brennan and I knew a few of these from both sides of the Liffey. You just have to look at old tapes of Luke Kelly who was from Sherrif St. to see that he didn't have the same nasal twang as someone from there nowadays.

It's seems lower class accents are getting more extreme not just in Dublin but also plain to see in Limerick and various towns around the country while working to middle class accents are merging closer together.

Mad_maxx

chosen1 wrote: »

He was probably not too far off. There was also the ascendancy accent of the upper classes there until not too long ago but not the typical Ross O'Carroll Kelly one people associate with D4.

There was a working class Dublin accent similar to old Mr Brennan and I knew a few of these from both sides of the Liffey. You just have to look at old tapes of Luke Kelly who was from Sherrif St. to see that he didn't have the same nasal twang as someone from there nowadays.

It's seems lower class accents are getting more extreme not just in Dublin but also plain to see in Limerick and various towns around the country while working to middle class accents are merging closer together.

all true , many of those dublin middle class folks had a very nice accent , you also had the Dubliners ( trad band ) accent which was more typical of the working class or brendan behan ? , even limerick has changed , i think of the limerick politician jim kemmy , strongly socialist and was himself a builder , no Blindboy accent going on at all , Willie o Dea was probably the original limerick city knacker accent , him being a scumbag himself

shtpEdthePlum

It's almost definitely racist to feel this way, but I only really really enjoy talking to people if they have a Cork accent.

Even my own family who are from various places in Ireland or have gone abroad and lost their accents... I hate having to talk to them. I notice that they neutralise my accent during the conversations we have.

I prefer talking to friends with the proper Cork affectation and no creeping American or UK tinges and expressions. Now I would count people from all over the world as having Cork accents. I can think of people I know from Poland, Spain, Eritrea, New Zealand, Jordan, Korea... all with thick beautiful Cork accents overlaying their own native brogues.

I'd give certain Kerry (Ballybunion Ballyheigue, Castlegregory), and Tipperary accents a pass as well. Not really Limerick or Waterford though. I don't know why, I can't explain it.

English accents send me into convulsions. I am properly racist against posh London accents. I had to leave my last job in part due to being unable to carry out the instructions being given to me by a posh Londoner. Now that I am gone from that job, I ball my hand into a fist when I hear that accent, as a reflex. It just shoots the cortisol into my brain.

McGinniesta

A harsh Belfast accent is like aural sandpaper.

nicholasIII

Does anyone know what Irish accent this is? Hard to pick out.

vocaroo.com/aKPfKojiOvC

McGinniesta

nicholasIII wrote: »

Does anyone know what Irish accent this is? Hard to pick out.

vocaroo.com/aKPfKojiOvC

Sure bejaysus begorrah sez I to you be jaysus

Mister Vain

The Offaly accent is quite dreadful.

Hamachi

chosen1 wrote: »

There are a few and it's great to see assimilation, but there are also plenty around Blanch area that somehow have a black London accent despite having absolutely no connection to it and I'd bet, never been their either.

This.

The innit blud / fam South London accent is far more prevalent amongst that demographic in places like Ongar, Tyrellstown etc..

Probably makes sense, since most of their parents were already resident in London before hopping on Irish ferries to available of our ridiculously lax citizenship laws in the early 00’s. Well assimilated, they most certainly are not.

McGinniesta

Mister Vain wrote: »

Can't bait the Cork accent Boi.

You can.

Really.You can.

nicholasIII

McGinniesta wrote: »

Sure bejaysus begorrah sez I to you be jaysus

What are you on about...?lol.

statesaver

Sharpyshoot wrote: »

Tipperary, Clare,Galway they all sound inbred

How bloody dare you. We have a glorious accent. The accent of the Gods it is.

You Sir / Madam are muted, blocked, reported.

The border counties, bar Donegal, are all bad.

And wherever Hector is from, Meath I think ?

Galwayguy35

Whatever counties Heather Humphreys and Matt Carthy are from.

Mister Vain

Mister Vain wrote: »

The Offaly accent is quite dreadful.

It's certainly up there.

I went to college with a wan from Tullamore and it was quite a dose. She was fond of the chat too which doubled the dose.

supernova5

has to be the Waahefud city accent, jesus its enough to force the ears into permanent mute....

Mister Vain

Deleted User wrote: »

It's certainly up there.

I went to college with a wan from Tullamore and it was quite a dose. She was fond of the chat too which doubled the dose.

I know a girl from Tullamore who was a miss bikini Ireland finalist. Stunning looking girl but jasus the accent is a right turn off.

Mad_maxx

Mister Vain wrote: »

The Offaly accent is quite dreadful.

very similar to a traveller accent

Sharpyshoot

Sharpyshoot wrote: »

Tipperary, Clare,Galway they all sound inbred

All fine accents. Galway is fairly neutral I think. A soft Dublin accent is ok. I agree with Louth. The harsh northern accent is horrible.

Mad_maxx

Galwayguy35 wrote: »

Whatever counties Heather Humphreys and Matt Carthy are from.

carthy is from monaghan but monaghan has quite a few accents , North Monaghan is a nice accent , similar to west ulster

Mad_maxx

Deleted User wrote: »

All fine accents. Galway is fairly neutral I think. A soft Dublin accent is ok. I agree with Louth. The harsh northern accent is horrible.

galway accent is indeed quite neutral

Mad_maxx

shtpEdthePlum wrote: »

It's almost definitely racist to feel this way, but I only really really enjoy talking to people if they have a Cork accent.

Even my own family who are from various places in Ireland or have gone abroad and lost their accents... I hate having to talk to them. I notice that they neutralise my accent during the conversations we have.

I prefer talking to friends with the proper Cork affectation and no creeping American or UK tinges and expressions. Now I would count people from all over the world as having Cork accents. I can think of people I know from Poland, Spain, Eritrea, New Zealand, Jordan, Korea... all with thick beautiful Cork accents overlaying their own native brogues.

I'd give certain Kerry (Ballybunion Ballyheigue, Castlegregory), and Tipperary accents a pass as well. Not really Limerick or Waterford though. I don't know why, I can't explain it.

English accents send me into convulsions. I am properly racist against posh London accents. I had to leave my last job in part due to being unable to carry out the instructions being given to me by a posh Londoner. Now that I am gone from that job, I ball my hand into a fist when I hear that accent, as a reflex. It just shoots the cortisol into my brain.

an aversion to certain accents does not make someone racist

Mecrab

I keep hearing the innit blud/fam London accent around the shops and Luas stop in Balally in dundrum. What's the craic with that?

Stooped

Mecrab wrote: »

I keep hearing the innit blud/fam London accent around the shops and Luas stop in Balally in dundrum. What's the craic with that?

Listening to English media and having friends you hang around with who speak in the same accent only compounds it fam yeah

fryup

Eoinbmw wrote: »

Im a Limerick man but the worst has to be the forced limerick city accent!
Its not even genuine its put on to sound "hard"

a slap on the back to this man, you hit the nail firmly on the head

i admire your honesty

Castlekeeper

nicholasIII wrote: »

There seems to be a growing trend in youngsters (25 and under) who live in South Dublin speaking in an American-style Irish accent. I actually quite like it but I seem to be in the minority. Many people on boards.ie, reddit /r/ireland and in real life seem to utterly despise the D4 accent.

The worst for me has to be the 'flat Dub' or inner city accent.

I'd be the very opposite, although there is supposed to be 4 Dublin accents so being from Munster I'm not too sure of the distinctions, SCD excepted. I certainly prefer the authenticity of an ordinary Dublin accent, say around Finglas to the D4 one.
What would the inner city one be like, a Liberties accent?, maybe Imelda May, Brendan O'Carroll?
I know people from Foxrock that have a fine Dublin accent, sounds more like Tom Dunne, Diarmaid Gavin (are they the same person?)
Then you have the Joe Duffy, Bertie Ahern, Eamon Dunphy, type accent. Is that four Dublin city accents?
I can't bear the D4/ SCD abomination, a la Lottie Ryan, Sinéad Ryan that gives out the weather etc.
The worst of all is when people from down the country pick it up in UCD, girls more often than not.