Q&A for How to Speak With an Irish Accent

Jacksepticeye is by far the best; after only months of binge-watching his videos, I could imitate his accent. He is rather flamboyant and loud, and rather exaggerated at times (especially his intro; he says, "Top o' the mornin' to ya, laddies" as an exaggeration to make sure people notice he's Irish right off the bat), but true Irish quality. Daithi de Nogla is another good Irish YouTuber, but his accent varies greatly and may not be identified as Irish by some.

Not really. An Irish accent is not like any other accent in the world, that's why it is one of the hardest ones to learn.

If you live among Americans or people of other accents, yours might fade out. Try hanging around more Irish people, and the accent is bound to come out.

Definitely avoid "top of the mornin' to ya. Nobody in Ireland actually says that.

Practice always helps. You can also try to exaggerate your a's and e's, like car is caur.

No. A Russian accent has a distinct, somewhat throaty sound, and you would roll your r's, as with Spanish.

Cillian Murphy, Robert Emms, and Jason Flemyng are some. Cillian Murphy is definitely your best bet though. His Irish accent is probably the easiest to imitate.

Get just few phrases and repeat endlessly to yourself. For example: If trying an Ulster accent, try a take on the "How, Now, Brown, Cow technique used in elocution teaching and change the words to "High, Nigh, Brine, Kigh". Towel would become Tile.

No, not necessarily, I was born in Ireland, lived there my whole life, yet I still have a distinctively American accent simply because my parents did.

This is difficult to answer as there are several types of Irish accents and arguably many more British ones. A north west English accent (Liverpool/Manchester) are closer to a Dublin accent than say a Cockney one and (in my experience) a west Irish accent is not far off that of someone from the Highlands and Islands of Scotland. But say if you compare a standard British (BBC) and Dublin accent of two people with similar education and social backgrounds, the difference is not as great as you'd imagine. This answer box is too short to do this question any justice.

McGregor is a good example of a working class Dublin accent. This article does not stress enough the variety of accents in Ireland, which are as different from each other as they are from accents in foreign countries.

Say "How's it going," as hoe/de/gorn or hoe/de/goe/wun. Try saying that quickly and often in your most Irish accent.

No. When you are doing a real Irish accent, try to avoid it, because adding too much roll can end up coming out as a more Scottish accent.

Practice a lot. Be thorough and watch videos. Take it slow at first, then speed it up.

Yes. All accents sound distinctively different to an Irish person, as they would to anyone from a different culture.

Not necessarily. The people casting will be looking for someone that can learn accents easily, so it is a good idea to put any other accents you know on a resume (if you have one), or under the special talents section (again, if there is one on the audition form). And if you do get cast as someone who has an Irish accent they will teach you the basics, and work with you personally. One thing you should remember though, is that just because this person is Irish, doesn't mean you HAVE to speak in an Irish accent. Some directors won't require it, but it is best to expect it. And if they cast you and you simply can't do it, that's okay.

Practice by reading aloud at home and testing it out on people you don't know.

I don't think so. Bear in mind, there are different accents within Ireland, so I wouldn't worry about it.

It's debatable what "fully Irish" is. If you were born in Ireland and your parents are Irish, there's no denying that you are Irish. Whether you were born in Ireland or not but have one Irish parent, you are still Irish. You can claim half of another heritage too, which is a good thing. Embrace your Irish heritage and don't worry about being fully Irish or not.

They actually exaggerate both A and R, as in "caurr."

Try watching videos of native Irish speakers and practice mimicking them.

"Bullin for." It means I want to, I have to, or I want to have. For example, "I'm bullin for some food."

Listen to bands like the Rumjacks and Dropkick Murphys - it helped me out a lot.

Spending time with Irish people will bring out your accent. If you can't do that, try watching films or TV shows featuring Irish accents, such as The Stag and Father Ted. Find recordings of Irish people being interviewed on TV or radio online. Listen to Saoirse Ronan, Aisling Bea or Chris O'Dowd.

I imagine you'd pronounce it "don-keh." The "key" part isn't pronounced like "kee," but more "keh."

It takes a while to pick up a language from somewhere, and even if you spend a long time there, it may not help. If you want to go to Ireland of other reasons too, go for it, but be warned that it may not work.

So, generally speaking typing out Irish like Oirish to represent the Irish accent is just going to upset/offend Irish people. Using quirks like ye or ya instead of you is generally fine, but if you do it with every other word, then it doesn't look like you're showing the Irish accent, it looks like you think Irish people can't talk properly. So, don't do it, it's rude.

Maybe it’ll fade but it’s fairly easy if you’ve spoken with an accent for a long period of time. As long as you remember the basic speaking rules, like softening your vowels, pronouncing the t, and changing t to ch and th to t, then you should be fine.

There are many similarities between the two accents. They are both part of the Celtic language family. It's more of the sound changes that hide that similarity. For example: when there is a P-sound in Welsh, there would be a Q or a K sound in the same place in Irish.

Americans tend to associate Ireland with potatoes for several reasons. First, there was the great potato famine, which caused hundreds of thousands of Irish to immigrate to America. Second, Americans tend to think of Irish when they see potatoes because potatoes were once considered to be the biggest food source for the Irish. As such, Americans have grown to associate potatoes with the Irish.