Second
The second declension is made up of mostly feminine nouns, and features a nominative singular form that can end in either a broad or a slender consonant. The genitive singular ends in a slender consonant followed by -e. The most common plural form has a broad consonant followed by -a in the nominative, and a broad consonant alone in the genitive. The vocative is the same as the nominative, as is the dative in the standard language.
| bróg "shoe" | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative/Vocative | bróg /bˠɾˠoːɡ/ | bróga /ˈbˠɾˠoːɡə/ |
| Genitive | bróige /ˈbˠɾˠoːɟə/ | bróg /bˠɾˠoːɡ/ |
| Dative | bróg /bˠɾˠoːɡ/ (obsolete/dialectal bróig) |
bróga /ˈbˠɾˠoːɡə/ (obsolete brógaibh) |
| deoir "tear" | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative/Vocative/Dative | deoir /dʲoːɾʲ/ | deora /ˈdʲoːɾˠə/ |
| Genitive | deoire /ˈdʲoːɾʲə/ | deor /dʲoːɾˠ/ |
In Connacht Irish and Waterford Irish it is often the case that all nouns of the second declension in the nom. sg. end with a slender consonant (e.g. bróig "a shoe").
In some Munster varieties as well as the old literary language, the dative singular is distinct and ends in a slender consonant alone (in effect the dative sg. is formed by dropping the -e from the genitive sg.), e.g. i mo bhróig "in my shoe". (Historically, nominative forms like bróig are descended from the old dative.)
When /x/ in the gen. sing. is made slender, it is also voiced, so /x/ > /ç/ > /j/. /əjə/ becomes /iː/, and is written -(a)í.
| girseach "little girl" | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative/Vocative/Std. dative | girseach /ˈɟɪɾˠʃəx/ | girseacha /ˈɟɪɾˠʃəxə/ |
| Genitive | girsí /ˈɟɪɾˠʃiː/ | girseach /ˈɟɪɾˠʃəx/ |
| Dative | girseach /ˈɟɪɾˠʃəx/ (obsolete/dialectal girsigh) |
girseacha /ˈɟɪɾˠʃəxə/ (obsolete girseachaibh) |
Polysyllabic words that end with a slender consonant take a weak plural in -í:
| eaglais "church" | Singular | Plural |
|---|---|---|
| Nominative/Vocative/Dative | eaglais /ˈaɡɫ̪əʃ/ | eaglaisí /ˈaɡɫ̪əʃiː/ |
| Genitive | eaglaise /ˈaɡɫ̪əʃə/ | eaglaisí /ˈaɡɫ̪əʃiː/ |
Many words in this declension form a strong plural with one of the endings -t(h)a,-te, -(e)acha or -eanna:
- áit, áite, áiteanna "place"
- coill, coille, coillte /kailʲ, ˈkelʲə, ˈkailʲtʲə/ "forest"
- iníon, iníne, iníonacha "daughter"
- obair, oibre, oibreacha "work"
- spéir, spéire, spéartha "sky"
- tír, tíre, tíortha "country"
- tonn, toinne, tonnta /t̪ˠuːn̪ˠ, t̪ˠɪnʲə, t̪ˠuːn̪ˠt̪ˠə/ "wave"
- ubh, uibhe, uibheacha "egg"
Other strong plural formations are found in:
- fiacail, fiacaile; fiacla - tooth
- gualainn, gualainne; guaillí - shoulder
- scian, scine; sceana - knife (NB irregular genitive singular)
- sliabh, sléibhe; sléibhte (m.) - mountain (note irregular genitive singular and masculine gender)
Read more about this topic: Irish Declension, Nouns, Declension