Bríd Mhór wrote:
Maybe the problem is that there is not enough demand for regional dialects.
People start with the Caighdeánach or Urban Irish, a lot of those not aware of the differences. The people interested in regional dialects are often those who are proficient in Irish already, and are often interested in linguistics.
I think there is at least some interest in dialects. I did a good few Irish classes for a number of years in different locations in Dublin. I met a lot of other learners and I found that people from Ulster often had a interest in Donegal Irish, it being the closest spoken dialect to what was spoken in their areas. However there was very little scope for teach this dialect as anytime we came across it there would be negative reactions from some members of the class. I remember one lady demanding that she had paid good money to learn proper Irish and thus we shouldn't have to listen to this (crap). Much to the disappointment/annoyance of those from Ulster.
Some people from the midlands were fairly keen on Connemara Irish.
For some reason I was the only person I ever met from Munster, and apart from some older man who had a teacher from Rinn in school , no one else seemed interested in Munster Irish.
In a group of 20, youd probably find 5-8 who were interested in learning a dialect ( usually Connemara), 1-2 who were interested in a dialect which they considered correct Irish over others, and about 4-5 who were against learning anything but school Irish seemed to feel to various extents that they didnt want to learn "bogger" Irish.
In General , but by no means exlusively the people who were interested in learning a dialect were either older or from outside the greater Dublin area. While again in general , people who didnt want to talk like boggers were from the greater Dublin area. But certainly not all or even most of the people from this area expressed that opinion.
So id think there would be a demand for materials and perhaps classes in the various dialects. I know of three bodies teaching Irish in Dublin, they all do the same type and often have the same mix of people. I would have liked to gone to a class where other people were interested in learning a dialect ( didnt matter which) and I didnt have to put up with some indviduals slowing up the class with negative attitudes like, "Why do they say it like that, thats stupid" , " well ive always said it like this" or best of all a teacher saying in the gaeltacht youll hear people pronounce ( dhá chappal) with gutteral sound, or do weird R's but its not necessary"