# How to pronounce the Irish name for Dublin

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-irish-name-for-dublin/208197>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [October 18, 2003, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-irish-name-for-dublin/208197 "2003-10-18T14:11:25Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-irish-name-for-dublin/208197/1 "2003-10-18T14:11:25Z")

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Kinda a GQ but I see that **ruadh** is posting right now, so I want to get it from the expert.

How do you pronounce it?

Why is the word Dublin so different when the Anglicized versions of other Irish place names are often similar to the original Irish?

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**Author:** ![ruadh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/d2c977/32.png) [@ruadh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ruadh)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-irish-name-for-dublin/208197/2 "2003-10-18T14:22:55Z")

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> [@](#):
>
> \*Originally posted by bienville \*  
> **How do you pronounce it?**

The individual components would be (roughly) “BAL-la AH-a CLEE-a” but you’d run them together, so that the second component would sort of disappear and it would come out like “BAL-la CLEE-a”. More or less.

> [@](#):
>
> Why is the word Dublin so different when the Anglicized versions of other Irish place names are often similar to the original Irish?

Historically there were two settlements here: Baile Átha Cliath (“Town of the Hurdle Ford”) north of the river Liffey, and Dubh Linn (“Black Pool”) south of the Liffey. Dublin City got its English language name from the latter, but its Irish language name from the former.

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**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 2:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-irish-name-for-dublin/208197/3 "2003-10-18T14:27:43Z")

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Cool Thanks!

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**Author:** ![Lobelia\_Overhill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/54ee81/32.png) [@Lobelia\_Overhill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lobelia_Overhill)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-irish-name-for-dublin/208197/4 "2003-10-18T15:13:25Z")

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It depends on where in Ireland yer from, I’m from West Cork and we’d pronounce it Ball-a-claa or something …

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**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 5:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-to-pronounce-the-irish-name-for-dublin/208197/5 "2003-10-18T17:03:04Z")

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Wrong forum, but – question asked, question answered, so I’ll close instead of move.