Goodreads Ireland discussion

I'm in the second draft of a new novel and a lot of it takes place in Cork, near Blarney Castle. I don't have any close Irish friends I can ask for advice as to my accuracy with some of the terms and language. Does anyone feel comfortable in that capacity and would be willing to let me run a few passages by you for authenticity? Thanks!

I'm American, but once lived in Connemara, while I worked in Galway. I'm the author of "Dancing to an Irish Reel," which takes place in the area. I went out of my way in the writing of the book not to make it campy in anyway, but to hold to the authenticity of the Irish people. Because I am an outsider and a writer, I paid scrupulous attention, and have been back to Ireland since I moved from there. If no one else replies who is actually Irish, I'd be more than happy to assist, though my hope for you is that you hear from someone in Cork!

My honest advice would be don't set a book in a place you don't know well as it will almost definitely lack authenticity .
As a Dubliner I wouldn't have a Cork voice and sadly I don't think we've any active Cork members , and the Cork accent and slang would be quite unique.

I agree with Paul. There is no general Irish way of speaking. The accents and phrases throughout Ireland are very specific to the particular counties. I hope this isn't discouraging, but you wouldn't want to appear patronizing ( which is sacrilege, in my opinion, the Irish people being worth their weight in gold!)

I have talked to fellow Irishmen and been completely confused as to what they are actually saying. I've even had difficulty with some heavy Dublin accents. Rural Cork locals can speak in a unique language all of their own. I've never heard anyone else use the word langer so much.

I'm laughing! This is so true! And the most confusing of all to me is the Derry accent, of which, it would seem, doesn't feel the need for annunciation.

Thankfully not one I've to deal with often

I'm from limerick and my parents live on the cork border so familiar with accents and stuff but as Paul says, if your not familiar with the area and people maybe stay away from it as it becomes transparent quickly unless your targeting a non Irish audience.

Exactly, Emma! I can relate to this as an American Southerner ( from Memphis, TN.) Nothing irks me more than Hollywood's version of a Southern accent, and it is a similar scrim I bring to the task of viewing American films set in Ireland, with their propensity to make everything charming. The same goes for books. As an Irish American on both sides of my family tree, and as one who lived on the western coast, I found myself a willing, impressionable student of all that it means to be Irish. In summation, I found the Irish to be a salt-of-the-earth, unpretentious, and soulful lot, and Irishness is, to me, a way of being in the world, one that cannot be emulated by an outsider. But it depends on Bill's P.O.V. in his book, doesn't it? It didn't occur to me to ask earlier!

I love it, Emma, and let me say that your Irishness is showing! What I love most about the Irish is their self-deprecating sense of humour, and the way they conduct conversation in an indirect, often underhanded way! True art, says me, and one that keeps the outsider guessing, as well as on their toes! I could wax loquacious forever on this subject!

I'm from Cork and I don't understand any of this conversation!!

Seriously though, Bill. I agree with Emma. I would never write about somewhere I'm not familiar with unless I kept it to a single phrase here and even then to a complete minimum. It will never ring true and end up quite jarring otherwise.
Irish people have generally been so poorly misrepresented in terms of diction and accent, we are a bit unforgiving when others put 'words' in our mouth which don't fit.
If you really feel you want to go down this route, I'd suggest you check out 'Sminky Shorts' (a series of cartoons from a Corkonian) as a kind of test and see how you go.

Thanks for all the feedback. Since I'm done with the book, I'm not going to toss it out. It's likely to have an American audience who won't be scrutinizing it for authenticity as closely (nor would they be able to). I have been to Ireland, including Cork, and I feel that has helped inform my writing.

Even though I'm only an hour and a bit away from Cork city there is little comparison between my accent and theirs. Even between Cork city, West Cork, and East Cork there are vast differences, so there is no true way to know authenticity other than to experience it.
Tommy Tiernan also does well to encapsulate the rest of Ireland's view of the Cork accent.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gZR8X...

Kevin wrote: "Even though I'm only an hour and a bit away from Cork city there is little comparison between my accent and theirs. Even between Cork city, West Cork, and East Cork there are vast differences, so t..."

That sounds interesting, Kevin--unfortunately, as an American, they won't give me access to watch it. Is even YouTube trying to send a message?

Claire wrote: "I'm American, but once lived in Connemara, while I worked in Galway. I'm the author of "Dancing to an Irish Reel," which takes place in the area. I went out of my way in the writing of the book not..."

Thank you for your offer, Claire! I'll let you know where things end up and if I still need any feedback.

I'm from Cork. North side of the city. Its a very different place from the south side of the city, especially different from east cork and the wesht ( spelled incorrectly but some of you might get the pun ). Har har, go me ... ahem.

Avoid Tommy Tiernan on all things Cork. His opinion of us is somewhat comedic

I hate so many of the Dublin accents, a tallaght accent or Liberties accent are awful. I wouldnt hold a dublin accent on any sort of pedestal at all :-)

Best accents as told by daily mirror so it must be true ;)
http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-...
Only one I can't agree with is the cork accent, strong cork accent can be really grating

Seraphina wrote: "Best accents as told by daily mirror so it must be true ;)
http://www.irishmirror.ie/news/irish-...
Only one I can't agree with is the cork accent, strong cor..."

Are ya codding me, Seraphina! The dulcet tones of the Cork 'blas' are rightly recognised as mellifluous from Mizen Head to Corcadurca!! :)

Gerry wrote: "Paul wrote: "Thankfully not one I've to deal with often"

Dubliners and Americans must mistakenly think everyone loves their accents."

I don't think anyone likes American accents. Probably not even us Americans. Lol we have many different accents though