There are seventeen letters in the Irish Alphabet, of which five are
vowels, the remaining twelve being consonants. Their correspondents in
English are _a_, _b_, _c_, _d_, _e_, _f_, _g_, _i_, _l_, _m_, _n_, _o_,
_p_, _r_, _s_, _t_, and _u_.
The designation of the letters by their Irish names, _Ailm_, _Beith_,
etc., which is only a convenient contrivance for distinguishing them from
those of other languages, has been purposely omitted, partly because they
are, at present, seldom or never called by their appellations, and partly
because there is often danger in mistaking the names for the sounds of
the letters.
Regarding the pronunciation of Irish letters, and of the Gaelic language
generally, the fullest and most open enunciation is required. The
vowels must be sounded as in Italian or French; the consonants, as in
German or Spanish. This open, full sounding of the letters enables
foreigners to learn to speak Irish more correctly and more readily than
English-speaking people; for, of all spoken languages, the pronunciation
of the English is the most opposite to that of Irish.