Calling all Irish and learned bookish types.............................................

[cadelaide]

.........how do you pronounce Colm Toibin?

Cuhlum Toybean
The Blackwater Lightship is my fave.

I would have said Toe-bean, not Toy-bean. But I think I speak Connaught Irish.

Column Toe-been or Toe-bin (with the "bin" part as a short sound), but as chipmonkey says it is variable with accent.

cuh-lum
tow-bean

chipmonkey, are you the mner who's in mayo?

might be moving further up that direction soon

No I'm in Meath! My Dad was brought up speaking Connaught Irish though. Even thought he lived in Westmeath.

Column Toe-bin here (Galway / Wexford parents).

Blimey am I the only one who says Toybean then. Well, I'm from Clare so what do I know? And I hated Irish at school.

I am Colum Toe - been. But boss is more slurred - I live in cork and come from Ulster. He says to byeeeen. (And says Grainne very oddly in my opinion).

another vote for tow or toe bean here (galway girl from near the clare border)

I hope you've found this informative cadelaide. Basically, just pronounce it anyway you want to because in some regional dialect you will be right.

Yes bran, and thanks everyone, I'm now confident I can mumble something close enough to get away with it in learned bookish company!
stleger, incidentally, how do you say Grainne?

Just for good measure, from a Dub I'd say Colim Toe bin.

Here we go :-)

I say 'grahn-yah' (ah as in bar) but my mum says 'grawn-yuh'

Gaelic pronunciations. Controversial!

the one I know pronounces it gron yuh

Grainne, Graw as in straw so Graw, yeah as in yeah, so Grawnyeah

Dino, you don't say Gran as in Nana?

She won't know about the fada!!!!!

Tbh now you have me duobtful about whether it's yeah or ya?

It is a cross between yeah and yuh, it is indefinable and impossible to say unless you are IrishIn which case anyway you say it is ok

Yeah man!

My cousin is Grainne - she pronounces it Grawn ya

grawn-yah