Dia dhaoibh ! I've just begun to learn Irish, and so far I've learned that it's not easy ! I know from the census that my great-grandparents spoke Irish and English, and that my great-great-grandparents spoke only Irish. They were from county Galway in the west. That's why I've decided to learn Connacht Irish.
I know the difference between the various dialects and the official standard from the internet. I wouldn't be so interested in the standard version at all, seeing as it isn't spoken anywhere, I think.

Luckily I have a few friends who are also learning, so at least I have someone to practice with ! I also have a fair grasp of pronunciation, so my friends are relying on me to be the 'teacher'.

We plan to replace the English that we usually speak with Irish, so it may be stuff that we can't find in books. I have the greetings, the hello's and goodbye's but not a great deal more than that yet.
Hopefully I can get some help with phrases as they are said in the Galway region.

Slán go fóill.

Hello Siobhán. Welcome to the forum. Is mise Jeremy, and I am a learner too. I have been "learning" over the past ten years or so but unfortunately had other obligations that took precedence over learning Irish. Luckily now I have more free time available and am looking forward to resuming my studies. I too had family that originated in the Galway region as well as from Munster. When I first started I was using "Learning Irish" which uses a form of Connacht Irish. Since restarting learning, I have decided to first start with Munster Irish using the old "Teach Yourself Irish".

You may be interested in having a look at this thread. A few of the members started a study group using "Teach Yourself Irish."
viewtopic.php?f=28&t=1406&hilit=teach+yourself+Irish

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You should definitely use Learning Irish, by M. Ó Siadhail, because it's in Connemara Irish, just what you need

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Is fearr Gaeilg na Gaeltaċta ná Gaeilg ar biṫ eile
Agus is í Gaeilg Ġaoṫ Doḃair is binne

Micheal Ó Siadhail it's going to be then. Can't wait !

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

There is some information about it on this thread: viewtopic.php?f=36&t=1908

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