My Leitrim uncle (who didn't speak much Irish) of course used many Irish words anyway.

Amadán...garsún. Those are some that I remember.

One of his words that I have not been able to find was (and I transliterate) "deh-reh-been."

I got the sense that it meant a little boy or little person.

Does anyone know what Irish word he was using?

Thanks in advance.

This could be a stretch, but might it have been "deartháirín" (an affectionate way of saying "little brother")?

Redwolf

What sort of context would he use it with ?

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Bíonn rudaí maithe mall

Actually, he used it to refer to himself.

He played football when he was younger and he was telling me and a friend of his about a game
he played in his youth.

He said that he had the ball and was running down the field. He was a small man and there was a big bruiser
running at him to stop him. He said he remembered someone yelling from the sidelines, "Don't kill the little
"deh-reh-been!" The closest I can come to spelling it in Irish is "derebín."

Doirbhín, or doirbín, perhaps, it means a small worm or insect or something like that.

Could you be mis-hearing it I wonder?
scubaidín - a little rascal.
It's easy to lose the SC sound at beginning of words.

When used for adults its "scubaide" (that's the word you will find in the dictionary. But the diminutive is added for children).

. .

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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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The vowel combination -oi- is often pronounced /e/, so this may be a possibility.

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
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), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).