Tá súil agam go raibh Nollaig sona agaibh. (I hope you had a happy Christmas).

Ta súil agam – I hope, or literally, I have an eye to.  

Tús maith leath na hoibre - A good start is half the work. An apt seanfhocal (saying) for the New Year

A New Year Resolution would be: rún na hathbhliana.

Tá súil agam (I hope) you will make a resolution to increase your knowledge of An Ghaeilge this year.

Let’s start with the months:

Eanáir :  Mí Eanáir – January

Feabhra :  Mí Feabhra – February

Márta :  Mí an Mhárta – March

Aibreán :  Mí Aibreáin - April

Bealtaine :  Mí na Bealtaine – May

Meitheamh :  Mí an Mheithimh – June

Iúil :  Mí Iúil – July

Lúnasa :  Mí Lúnasa – August

Meán Fómhair :  Mí Mheán Fómhair – September

Deireadh Fómhair :  Mí Dheireadh Fómhair – October

Samhain :  Mí na Samhna – November

Nollaig :  Mí na Nollag – December

The first column above is a list of the months as they are normally written in Irish. However, it is customary to use the word mí – month – when speaking.

You may also have spotted some differences in spelling and sometimes the use of an or na. For example, Nollaig, but Mí na Nollag. This is because you need the Genitive Case in the second column, which causes some changes, but for now just learn them and we will look at the genitive case at another time!

To write the date in Irish is very simple: 

8 Feabhra 2025 - 8th February 2025

17 Nollaig 2024 - 17th December 2024

There is no need to use the definite article an or na when writing the date:

Beidh mé ar ais 16 Iúil (I’ll be back on the 16th of July)

Bhí cóisir aige 6 Eanáir (He had a party on the 6th of January)

However, when speaking you need the following forms:

An chéad lá – the first (day of the month)

An dara lá – the second

An tríú lá – the third

An ceathrú lá – the fourth

An cúigiú lá – the fifth

An séú lá – the sixth

An seachtú lá – the seventh

An t-ochtú lá – the eighth

An naoú lá – the ninth

An deichiú lá – the tenth

Foghlaim! Learn!

See if you can learn these and we’ll look at the rest next time and start to use them in sentences. 

Pronunciation is difficult in this media, but you could try abair.ie to help with pronunciation.

Slán leat go fóill – Bye for now – when speaking to one person

Slán libh go fóill – Bye for now – when speaking to more than one person.

Terri