In Connaught, final _ead́_ is pronounced like _oo_ in English; in
Munster, like _a_. As the final syllable of the imperfect tense of verbs,
it is pronounced incorrectly in Munster, and in some districts in the
southern parts of Connaught, like guttural _agh_.
Generally, _ad́_ final, in words of two or more syllables, is pronounced
like _ead́_; in Munster, like unaccented _a_; and, in Connaught and
Ulster, like English _oo_. But in words of one syllable and their
compounds, however, the Munster pronunciation is not only adopted in the
South, but also in the West and North of Ireland.
In Kilkenny, Waterford, and Tipperary, the diphthongs _ea_, _io_, and
sometimes _iu_, are incorrectly pronounced like _ow_ on coming before
_l_, _m_, and _n_.
In the words _bean_, a woman, _bard_, a poet, and _bord_, a table, the
initial consonant _b_, when not preceded by the possessive pronouns
singular, is not aspirated. Put, however, these pronouns, excepting the
feminine, before the same words, and _b_ immediately assumes the aspirate
sound; that is, it is pronounced like _v_, if _e_ or _i_ follow, and like
_w_, if _a_, _o_, or _u_ follow.