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A Guide to Online Resources for Writing in Irish

Find trusted tools and resources to help you write and speak Irish more confidently.

For anyone learning Irish or writing the language, a number of excellent and reliable resources are available online for free, the most important of which are focloir.ie and teanglann.ie. These will help you check your spelling, understand grammar and find the right words with confidence.

To get the most from these two resources, have a look at our detailed but easy-to-follow video guides.

focloir.ie is a comprehensive Irish–English dictionary with clear translations, pronunciation recordings, grammar notes and example sentences that make it especially useful for learners.

teanglann.ie offers detailed Irish-language dictionaries alongside rich audio from the three main dialects – Ulster, Connacht, and Munster – helping users hear authentic pronunciation and usage.

Video 1: focloir.ie (Part 1)

In this series, Éamonn Ó Dónaill from Gaelteanga provides a guide to how to make the best use of the online resources available to those who write in Irish.

0:00 Overview of focloir.ie
0:35 Why it’s worth using this resource
0:50 Changing the default language
1:00 Searching for a word
1:44 Grammatical information
2:43 Searching for idioms
2:59 Audio files
3:29 Advantage of audio files

Video 2: focloir.ie (Part 2)

In this series, Éamonn Ó Dónaill from Gaelteanga provides a guide to how to make the best use of the online resources available to those who write in Irish.

0:00 Finding the Irish version of a verb
0:16 Comprehensive information about the grammar of a verb
0:32 Past tense as default
0:43 Verbal noun and verbal adjective
0:54 Persons and different forms of the verb
1:50 Tenses and modes in the dropdown list
2:13 Information about adjectives
3:04 Information about prepositions

Video 3: focloir.ie (Part 3)

In this series, Éamonn Ó Dónaill from Gaelteanga provides a guide to how to make the best use of the online resources available to those who write in Irish.

  • 0:00 Guide to Advanced Search
  • 0:22 Searching for ‘interest’ in the ‘Finance’ domain
  • 0:56 Searching for ‘net’ in the ‘Finance’ domain
  • 1:26 Searching for ‘net’ in the ‘Sport’ domain
  • 1:49 Searching for ‘the French’
  • 2:32 Finding every example of ‘word’ as part of a phrase
  • 3:09 Finding every example of ‘maidin’ as part of a sample sentence
  • 3:43 Finding examples of correct usage and checking grammatical rules
  • 3:53 ‘Roimh na Nollag’ vs ‘roimh an Nollaig’
  • 4:36 ‘Na mílte daoine’ vs ‘na mílte duine’
  • 5:17 The rules governing ‘beirt’ + a noun
  • 5:28 Using ‘Control’ + ‘F’
  • 6:13 The rules governing ‘beirt’ + a noun (continued)

Video 4: teanglann.ie (Part 1)

In this series, Éamonn Ó Dónaill from Gaelteanga provides a guide to how to make the best use of the online resources available to those who write in Irish.

  • 0:00 An overview of teanglann.ie
  • 0:20 Dictionaries, grammar and pronunciation
  • 0:51 How to find the Irish version of the site
  • 1:01 The noun ‘ollamh’ in the dictionaries
  • 2:12 Finding out about the grammar of the word ‘ollamh’
  • 2:56 Listening to the pronunciation of the word ‘ollamh’


Tips for writing in Irish:

Writing well in Irish takes time, but a few consistent habits make a huge difference. Here are some practical tips that help learners move from “translating from English” to writing more naturally in Irish.

1. Read Irish regularly

Good writing comes from good input. Read:

Even 10-15 minutes a day helps you absorb natural phrasing.

2. Use reliable dictionaries properly

Don’t just look up single words – check examples and grammar notes. Useful tools:

Example sentences are often more valuable than the translation itself.

3. Look it up – instead of guessing

Many learners rely too heavily on guesswork when writing in Irish, especially with verb tenses, mutations and irregular forms. Since Irish grammar differs greatly from English, guessing often leads to repeated mistakes.

It’s far better to check reliable resources such as focloir.ie and teanglann.ie while writing. These provide correct forms, grammar notes and example sentences that help learners see how Irish is naturally used.

Over time, regularly checking accurate sources builds much stronger writing habits than relying on instinct alone.

4. Master the verb system early

Strong Irish writing depends a lot on being able to use verbs properly. Focus especially on:

  • past, present and future tenses
  • autonomous forms (déantar, chonacthas)
  • the copula is vs bí
  • verbal nouns (ag déanamh, ag imeacht).

5. Keep sentences shorter

Irish often flows better with shorter, clearer sentences.

Instead of writing long, complex English-style paragraphs filled with multiple clauses, it is usually more natural in Irish to break ideas into smaller, more manageable chunks. This makes your writing clearer, easier to follow, and more idiomatic.

Many learners try to reproduce English sentence structures directly in Irish, which can lead to awkward or overly complicated phrasing.

Shorter sentences allow you to focus on accurate grammar, natural word order, and strong verb usage without overloading the sentence. In many cases, a series of simple, well-constructed sentences will sound far more fluent than one long sentence that tries to express too much at once.

6. Learn chunks, not isolated words

Memorise common expressions such as:

  • i mo thuairimse: in my opinion
  • de réir a chéile: gradually
  • ní nach ionadh: it’s no wonder
  • de réir dealraimh: apparently

These make your writing feel fluent and idiomatic.

7. Pay attention to mutations

Séimhiú (lenition) and urú (eclipsis) are essential parts of written Irish and play a major role in producing clear, natural prose. Because mutations are closely tied to Irish grammar, incorrect or missing mutations can make even good writing appear awkward or inaccurate.

Mutation mistakes are very common among learners, but avoiding them can dramatically improve the readability and fluency of your Irish. Rather than memorising every rule, it is often more effective to learn common patterns through regular reading and exposure to correct Irish.

8. Rewrite your own work

Good writers edit constantly. After writing:

  • simplify sentences
  • remove English-style phrasing
  • check verb forms
  • read it aloud.

Reading aloud is especially useful in Irish because awkward phrasing becomes obvious quickly.

9. Listen as much as you write

Irish is a spoken language first and listening improves writing naturally. Useful sources:

  • TG4
  • Raidió na Gaeltachta
  • Raidió na Life
  • Irish-language podcasts and YouTube channels.

The more natural Irish you hear, the more natural Irish you will write.

10. Write often, even in small amounts

Consistency matters more than length. Here are some useful exercises:

  • daily diary entries
  • short descriptions
  • summaries of videos or articles
  • translating your own thoughts into Irish.

Even five sentences a day builds fluency surprisingly quickly.