A Wee Hint

Leid Beag # 1, 'a wee hint'.

The fundamental aspect of Irish as spoken in Rathlin, as opposed to the Standard Irish taught in schools today is that the dialect of Rathlin was a 'cha' /xa/ dialect.

For example, 'ní raibh mé' (I was not) was 'cha rabh mé' in Rathlin.
Gaelic dialects can be spilt into the language of 'cha' and the language of 'ní' as illustrated in the map opposite.

East Ulster, Scotland and Mann use 'cha', most of Ireland uses 'ní'.

However, as the map illustrates, 'cha' was once used over quite a bit of Ireland's East Coast, including Co. Meath.

To find out more about how to use 'cha' click here.