Historic moment for Gaeilgeoirs in Mayo as first-of-its-kind dictionary launches
A groundbreaking new monolingual Irish dictionary by Foras na Gaeilge provides people in Mayo and across the country with a new way to understand, use and learn the Irish language without relying on dictionaries in English or in other languages.
An Foclóir Nua Gaeilge (The New Irish Dictionary) is the first comprehensive monolingual 'Irish-Irish' dictionary.
Until its publication, anyone trying to understand an unfamiliar Irish word or phrase typically had to look it up in an Irish-English dictionary and understand it through the lens of English.
An Foclóir Nua Gaeilge is now available to access free of charge online at Focloir.ie.
President Catherine Connolly launched the new dictionary at a special Foras na Gaeilge event in the EPIC Irish Emigration Museum in Dublin on Tuesday last. She said: “A contemporary monolingual dictionary is an essential resource in any living language, in which the language itself and its uniqueness are defined in its own words and by its own community instead of constantly being defined through the medium of another language.
“This new dictionary places the Irish language and Irish speakers on an equal footing with other modern languages and communities. Irish language dictionary resources are now a model of best practice for other minoritised languages around the world.”
The CEO of Foras na Gaeilge, Seán Ó Coinn, added: “For generations, Irish speakers, including those in Mayo, who encountered unfamiliar Irish words were forced to translate them into English and then search for definitions in English dictionaries. This tedious process not only created unnecessary barriers to learning but also shaped how Irish speakers understood the world – through the lens of English.
“The new monolingual Irish dictionary changes this paradigm. Instead of asking 'What’s the English for X?', speakers will now be empowered to ask 'What does X mean?' in their own language. This shift has the potential to transform the teaching and learning of Irish at all levels – from young children discovering new vocabulary for the first time to advanced speakers seeking deeper linguistic insight.”
Chief dictionary editor of An Foclóir Nua Gaeilge, Pádraig Ó Mianáin, stated: “The publication of this monolingual Irish dictionary is a significant step in the ongoing development of dictionary resources in Foras na Gaeilge.
“We have observed increasing demand for a monolingual dictionary from our users in Mayo and across the world, so we are delighted to finally take the first step in meeting this need. We look forward to adding to and developing the dictionary over the remaining two years of the project.”
Work on compiling An Foclóir Nua Gaeilge began in September 2022, with Foras na Gaeilge chief dictionary editor Pádraig Ó Mianáin and dictionary programme manager Cormac Breathnach leading the project. An initial tranche of 20,000 entries, comprising 40,000 word senses, is now live on Focloir.ie. The main phase of the dictionary project is scheduled to be completed by August 2027, by which time it will comprise 30,000 entries and 80,000 senses.
The project is principally funded by the Department of Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht in Dublin and the Department for Communities in Belfast, with additional support from the Department of Education in Dublin.