Consonant combinations with h are sometimes written with a dot (séimhiú, shay-VOO) on the letter instead of the h and are sometimes silent. Consonants have two versions called caol (narrow, palatalized) and leathan (wide, unpalatalized); this is indicated in writing by adjacent vowels.
- b
- like bed
- bh
- like W sound when a broad consonant (A,O,U) follows; Like a V sound when a slender consonant (E, I) follows.
- c
- like kid
- ch
- as in Scottish 'loch'
- d
- like dog
- dh
- voiced h sound, y sound at the start of a word, sometimes vague 'gh' sound (munster dialect especially)
- f
- like fun
- fh
- silent (except in Ulster, where it's said like an H)
- g
- like go
- gh
- voiced velar fricative (in layman's terms, made soft in the back of the throat)
- h
- like help
- l
- like lean
- m
- like mother
- mh
- same as bh
- n
- like nice
- p
- like pig
- ph
- like phone or whom
- r
- rolled or flapped
- s
- like sheen or soon
- sh
- like hear
- t
- like tea
- th
- like hear
