Hi,

Could you please help with the pronunciation of the name Daireann? The most common guidance online seems to suggest a long "aw" sound with the second syllable, as demonstrated by Frank McCourt (http://www.babynamesofireland.com/daireann) !!

I have a limited knowledge of irish pronunciation but thought that the way the link above suggests it is pronounced would suggest to me a fada on the a and that as it is written the a should be a harder sound?

Thanks for any advice

Names can be tricky. Daireann doesn't appear to be a traditional name and I'm not familiar with it.

With regard to the á sound, double letters and certain consonant clusters in common nouns often cause the preceding vowel to lengthen in Irish. So it would not be surprising if Daireann were pronounced the same as Daireán.

Why not just spell it -án? Words with double n have different patterns of inflection in the genitive and vocative cases and in their plural forms from words ending in -án.

If "Dairean" had a single n, on the other hand, there would be a schwa in the second syllable.

_________________
[hr]Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher[/hr]
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).