SHHH! That's next week's phrase!

Notice that I said older people might use it. Besides I think it is a bit of an oversimplification to assume that everyone knows everyone else in the Gaeltacht...

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WARNING: Intermediate speaker - await further opinions, corrections and adjustments before acting on my advice.
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect.
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), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

Nowadays I think Pádraic and Bríd are left mostly out of it.
Personally I wouldn't go further than Dia agus Muire.
I'm not saying that shouldn't be in phrase of the day though.

Most young people say "cé chaoi bhfuil?" (leaving the "duit" out). New slang phrase equals "howya".

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It is recommended that you always wait for three to agree on a translation.
I speak Connemara Irish, and my input will often reflect that.
I will do an mp3 file on request for short translations.
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within the same village people know each other most of the time

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

But "most of the time" is not "all of the time", Lughaidh. And the Gaeltacht isn't just one village ... people do travel around you know.

I understand that most people who know each other would skip the formality but there are still cases where you would use it such as older people coming to a meeting from different villages.

Sometimes people even choose formality when they know each other but don't particularly like each other (or want to indicate that they are still angry with someone over something.)

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WARNING: Intermediate speaker - await further opinions, corrections and adjustments before acting on my advice.
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect.
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), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

Yeah, but I meant, everytime I heard people greeting each other in Irish in the Gaeltacht, they were people who knew each other (obviously), it was like on the street or in a local shop or in a pub, so they didn't use a formal greeting. Btw, do Gaeltacht people greet other people in Irish when they don't know them, ie. when they are not sure the other person understands Irish? A Bhríd, céard a dhéanfá sa gcás sin?

Maybe it's not the same thing but I wouldn't greet someone in Breton if I'm not sure he/she understands it, because I don't want to be looked at as if I were an E.T.

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

I was told Welsh speakers greet people they don't know bilingually - "Shwmae? Hello" This gives the other party the choice of answering in Welsh if they can, or in English if they can't speak Welsh.

I think more Irish people (and learners like us) should adopt this practice: "Dia dhuit, Hello!" It would let other Irish speakers know you are interested and them a chance to open up a conversation.

I broke through the stranger barrier on the Aran Islands for the first time by using "Go rabh ma' 'ad" instead of standardised pronunciation.

I've also had a few audience members come up and speak Irish to me after singing songs in Irish in our band. (One of them was an interviewer for Radio na Gaeltachta in Japan covering the World Cup Soccer - man was I _not_ prepared for that. )

But my point is, people won't know whether you do or don't speak Irish if you don't show them first (the Fáinne Óir is another way).

As for the Gaeltacht, I am sure there must be regional meetings (particularly concerning the Gaeltacht itself, for instance) where people know that most people there will be able to speak Irish but don't necessarily know all of them personally. I imagine in situations like that the formal greeting would be used, wouldn't it?

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WARNING: Intermediate speaker - await further opinions, corrections and adjustments before acting on my advice.
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect.
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), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

_________________
___________________________________________________________

It is recommended that you always wait for three to agree on a translation.
I speak Connemara Irish, and my input will often reflect that.
I will do an mp3 file on request for short translations.
___________________________________________________________

I did not know that the old TYI (and recordings) could be obtained online. Tá sé sin go hiontach ar fad! Go raibh míle maith agut, a chara! I didn't realize that there was nothing for Ulster Irish. That seems odd, given its popularity....

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Táim ag foghlaim Gaelainn na Mumhan

Tá fáilte roim nach aon cheartú!
I am a learner. Any translations offered are practice and should not be used unless confirmed.

well, it's popular, and learners believe they are learning Ulster Irish when they use Tús Maith or Now You're Talking, and I guess they are surprised when they hear native speakers talking, because there are many things people say, that aren't taught like that in the books! For instance, irregular verbs, prepositional pronouns, the pronunciation of certain words, etc...

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

Well, "Now You're Talking" was written by a Gaoth Dobhair native, so I'll let you take it up with him as to how valid it is, but until he tells me otherwise, I'm happy to take it as a reasonable approach to Ulster Irish.

Redwolf