Séamus O'Neill wrote:
According to Wikipedia (which I know, and am sorry, is not such a great source) says that
ó is pronounced as o: when next to
m, ṁ, n, and ɔ: in other positions. I wonder if this is related to how
ó and other
s words are pronounced as
ú in some Munster dialects when next to a nasal. It also lists that e: is pronounced as [e:] when morpheme final, [ɛə] when before broad consonants, and [ei] when before slender consonants (but I couldn't find [ɛ:]).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ulster_Irish#VowelsI’ve also come across that Munster feature where ó shifts to a ú-like sound near nasals, and I’ve wondered if it's some kind of historical assimilation or just a regional phonetic drift.
As for the vowel e:, yeah, the variations you mentioned line up with what I've read too. The [ɛ:] form might just be a sort of in-between realization or a phonetic variation that didn’t get a clear entry—some dialect descriptions can be inconsistent like that.
Interesting how much nuance there is, even within a single vowel depending on context!