I always thought there was a subtle difference between these two, but now I hear them used interchangeably. Is there any difference between them at all?

An bhfuil aon difríocht eadarthu ar chor ar bith?

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I think they can be used interchangeably, but I imagine it depends on the dialect. For example, here in Ulster you would rarely hear anyone say 'in aon chor'. You hear almost exclusively 'ar chor ar bith'.

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Ultach mé agus Gaeilg Uladh a labhraim go measardha maith!

I would use "chor ar bith" to mean "not at all" and as in "not at all, I dont mind"
"in aon chor" to mean "anyway" as in "I wont be there anyway"

I actually think that's is how I differentiated it too, but I have become confused recently about it as I hear each being used in ways where I would have used the other. And now I am at the stage where I was beginning to think I had imagined differences!

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For me, ar aon chor means 'anyway', in aon chor the same as ar chor ar bith. But like I said, in Ulster we really only use ar chor ar bith. For 'anyway', I'd say ar scor ar bith.

As is always the case, once I think about these things too much, I immediately start to doubt myself...

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Ultach mé agus Gaeilg Uladh a labhraim go measardha maith!

Yes, in aon chor means "at all" in Munster" and ar chor ar bith means "at all" in Ulster... that's the difference. Níl cuimhne agam anois goidé mar a deireann siad i gConnachta



yes you would hear "in aon chor" in Ulster... if the person who's speaking is from Munster

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

In Connacht:

ar chor ar bith "at all"
ar ao(n) chaoi usual for "anyway"
ar aon chor sometimes used for "anyway"

I don't think "in aon chor" gets much of a look in in Connacht. (But TYI does confirm it has the meaning "at all" in Munster. )

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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).

although it's used by Máirtín Ó Díreáin in a few of his poems, I notice...

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Ultach mé agus Gaeilg Uladh a labhraim go measardha maith!

Interesting. Thanks for pointing that out. I hadn't noticed it, but then I was only relying on searchable sources to crosscheck and Ó Díreáin's work wasn't amongst them.

If you can point me toward the particular poems, that would be great. (I have no doubt you are right, but it is hard to find occurrences just flipping through ananthology.)

I notice an Díreánach also uses a few other things that wouldn't normally be used in speech in Connemara, such as do before the past tense and the second person ending -ais, but I think older writers were influenced more by classical literature.

He uses in aon chor in the sense of "at all" in Feamainn Bhealtaine as well, but I think the character in that story that speaks the phrase is from Munster? (In this case, Tobar tells me it is there but I don't have the book to be able to check. )

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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).

Yeah, just because something is found in poetry doesn't mean it's heard in caint na ndaoine - I suppose the poets (especially the modern displaced ones, 'stoite' mar a chuir Ó Díreáin air) were more likely to experiment outside the boundaries of their dialects than the average speaker.

I just happened to be reading Ó Díreáin this morning and remembered seeing in aon chor. You'll find instances in "De dheasca an úis" from Ó Mórna agus Dánta Eile and in "Ár ré dhearóil" from the collection of the same name.

An B

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Ultach mé agus Gaeilg Uladh a labhraim go measardha maith!