It’s time for a bitesized look at how to say the months of the year in Irish.
First we will look at how the name of a given month is pronounced, e.g. ‘January’, and then we will see how the name of that month is pronounced when want to say ‘month of’, e.g. ‘month of January.’
As you will see, in some cases the form of the name of a month can change. This is because the form of the name of the month is in the genitive case (an tuiseal ginideach).
Here we go..
January
January: Eanáir /An-irr/
month of January: mí Eanáir /mee An-irr/
February
February: Feabhra /Fyow-ra/
month of February: mí Feabhra /mee fyow-ra/
March
March: Márta /Mawr-tha/
month of March: mí an Mhárta /mee un Vawr-tha/
April
April: Aibreán /Ah-brrawn/
month of April: mí Aibreáin /mee Ah-brraw-in/
May
May: Bealtaine /Byowl-thin-eh/
month of May: mí na Bealtaine /me nuh Byowl-thin-eh/
June
June: Meitheamh /Meh-hev/
month of June: mí an Mheithimh /mee un Veh-hiv/
July
July: Iúil /Oo-il/
month of July: mí Iúil /mee Oo-il/
August
August: Lúnasa /Loo-na-suh/
month of August: mí Lúnasa /mee Loo-na-suh/
September
September: Meán Fómhair /Myawn Fo-ir/
month of september: mí Mheán Fómhair /mee Vyawn Fo-ir/
October
October: Deireadh Fómhair /Derr-eh Fo-ir/
month of October: mí Dheireadh Fómhair /mee Yerr-eh Fo-ir/
November
November: Samhain /Sow-inn/
month of November: mí na Samhna /mee nuh Sow-nah/
December
December: Nollaig /Null-ig/
month of December: mí na Nollag /mee nuh Null-ug/
There is something poetic about hearing Irish spoken.
Go hiontach – Great! Glad you liked the post.
That was fun trying the months I’m still pretty confused most of the time but I do enjoy trying
Practice makes perfect! 🙂
Thank you so much!
I m Polish and am trying to learn the language
it doesn’t come easy to me so any small bits are helping me
GMA😊
You’re very welcome, Alina!
Bitesize-answer Alina in Irish!
Try “Gaeilgeoir Guides” on Facebook. Also try Learn Irish with Liam O’Maonlai” on youtube. I found both very helpful
Thanks for all the information. I am working on a calendar and I want to include the Irish names for the months and days. Is it “Nollaig” or “mí na Nollag”? And for the days “Dé Luain” or “An Luan”?
Hi Gabrian, great question, and I suggest you do a search on our site for more information. However please engage directly with a translator or other person who can stand over the correctness of the product you create. Best of luck with the project, and thanks for sharing your photography.
Eoin
Good question, Mark – I honestly have no idea. As one comedian posted online, perhaps it is because January is long enough already!
Why does Eanáir have a fada without the long sound?