Here are some places to pick up your Irish dictionary of your liking.

1. Litriocht.com

Claims to have “Every Irish Book in Print”. The web site’s interface may not be perfect, but they do offer a great range of Irish books. Specifically, look at their dictionaries section.

Prices in Euro and shipped from Co. Kerry, Ireland.

2. Amazon.com

It’s good to pick up a dictionary, especially if you’re already familiar with Amazon. However, their classification of Irish dictionaries isn’t very straight forward. The edition of a certain dictionary they stock may not be the latest edition, and it’s often not easy to make out exactly what dictionary you’re reading about!

3. An Spailpín Fánach

Sells a small selection of Irish dictionaries, but the dictionaries are the old An Gúm (publisher) favourites.
Prices in Euro and shipped from Co. Galway, Ireland.

4. Gill MacMillan Publishers

Search their catalogue for “dictionary”. They publish several (alternative) dictionaries. Quite pricey shipping from Ireland to the US.

5. Some more

Borders, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.co.uk also stock some Irish dictionaries.

Reply if you know of any more online stores I should include!

Anois, your Foclóir Scoile doesn’t feel like enough anymore. Perhaps you’ve studied Irish for a long time, or you’re a fluent Gaeilgeoir.

It’s time to get a serious Irish dicitonary. Or, better yet, two dictionaries!

Foclóir Gaeilge Béarla by Ó Dónaill

This one-directional Irish->English dictionary is very popular among advanced learners and writers of Irish the Irish language. The entries are far more complete than those in Foclóir Póca, and usually include several examples of common phrases and idioms using the word in question. The entry for ceann, for example, is two and one-half pages long.

Another feature of this dictionary is that entries for nouns and adjectives list the plural and genitive forms; no need to refer to the front to check how m1 nouns decline, as required with other dictionaries. Similarly, entries for verbs list the verbal noun and verbal adjective forms. The font is very clear, and the fadas are easy to spot. Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla is published by An Gúm in both paperback and hardback. (see Wikipedia).

Published by An Gúm, ISBN 1857910370.

English-Irish Dictionary by Tomás de Bhaldraithe

Perhaps not as essential as Foclóir Gaeilge Béarla, this Irish dictionary is still very detailed in its entries, and very useful for advanced learners of the Irish language. It includes examples that are very helpful to the learner. If your budget can afford it, but now!

Published by An Gúm, ISBN 1857910354

Picture below is of An Foclóir Beag (and Irish-Irish dictionary not discussed here), and a well-used Foclóir Póca:

There are several ways to begin learning the language. If you’re lucky enough to have an Irish lesson in your area, that’s a great option. Otherwise, your best way to begin is to get an Irish language learning course such as Turas Teanga, Teach Yourself Irish, or TeachMe! Irish.

If you’re serious about learning the language, buy a printed dictionary (foclóir) straight away! You’ll actually find that there are not too many options when choosing an Irish dictionary. However, you’ll want to choose one that meets your current needs. Don’t buy the biggest heaviest dictionary available (for now).

Get a reasonably sized foclóir which contains enough examples to get you started, but without overwhelming lexigraphical information.

For this, I recommend Foclóir Scoile (”school dictionary”) or Foclóir Póca (”pocket dictionary”). Both contain the same content, where as Foclóir Scoile has a larger font and is not pocket sized. Foclóir Póca’s font is just too small for comfort! Both are bi-directionary (Irish-English and English-Irish). Foclóir Scoile is published by An Gúm, the Irish state-owned publisher for Irish language books. This dictionary will stand to you well into your Irish-learning adventure.

Below, a picture of Fóclóir Póca opened up. The font is too small for comfort. I recommend Foclóir Scoile instead for this reason. I don’t have a copy of Foclóir Scoile now, hence no pic.

Below is a close-up shot of Foclóir Póca.

Foclóir Scoile ISBN 1-85791-132-6
Foclóir Póca ISBN 1-85791-047-8

My favourite alternative dictionary is Collin’s Irish Dictionary. It has a more modern feel to it than Foclóir Scoile, and some versions highlight each headword entry in colour. There are variations such as Collin’s Express and Collin’s Pocketsize. Any of these should do.

Where to buy an Irish dictionary?

• Litriocht.com claim to sell every single Irish language book in print. You will find a number of dictionaries there.
• Amazon.com and Amazon.co.uk both stock a number of Irish dictionaries.
• Your local bookshop! It never hurts to get them to order in a specific dictionary you are seeking.