To answer one of Our Man in Brussels' questions on can he keep his Dublin accent while using Gaeltacht contrasts, I made this 'macronic' recording where I shift over and back between both languages, keeping the same basic accent but using different sounds:

http://vocaroo.com/i/s0cgKB0UXzKz

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__̴ı̴̴̡̡̡ ̡͌l̡̡̡ ̡͌l̡*̡̡ ̴̡ı̴̴̡ ̡̡͡|̲̲̲͡͡͡ ̲▫̲͡ ̲̲̲͡͡π̲̲͡͡ ̲̲͡▫̲̲͡͡ ̲|̡̡̡ ̡ ̴̡ı̴̡̡ ̡͌l̡̡̡̡.___

You actually have a massive advantage JayBee in that your English accent is Irish-like. Okay there isn't the broad/slender, but the vowels and the intonation are much closer than for those from the East.

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The dialect I use is Cork Irish.
Ar sgáth a chéile a mhairid na daoine, lag agus láidir, uasal is íseal

True, if someone is a country person from Connacht, Munster and much of the Midlands it helps. Focussing on the consonants would pull the vowels into shape too, I think

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__̴ı̴̴̡̡̡ ̡͌l̡̡̡ ̡͌l̡*̡̡ ̴̡ı̴̴̡ ̡̡͡|̲̲̲͡͡͡ ̲▫̲͡ ̲̲̲͡͡π̲̲͡͡ ̲̲͡▫̲̲͡͡ ̲|̡̡̡ ̡ ̴̡ı̴̡̡ ̡͌l̡̡̡̡.___