A History and Phonological Study of the Native Modern Irish of Co. Wexford

Abstract

This thesis uses historical and placename evidence to better understand the displacement of native Irish from Co. Wexford, from the introduction of Norse in the 9th century, to the many stages of introduction of English to the county. It then looks at Irish survival in the county up until the 20th century, incorporating, also, folkloric and census evidence. The thesis then examines the Irish and Hiberno-English primary sources (including oral sources for the latter), on which a linguistic description of native Wexford Modern Irish can be attempted. This analysis includes, where possible, a focusing on contexts of the production of the texts, and the individuals who produced them. Based on those sources, the thesis then looks at the clues to how the county's Irish dialect(s) may have sounded.