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milis; mʹïʃə, ‘me, I’, O.Ir. méssé, méisse; pʹïlʹəpʹi꞉nʹ, ‘plover’, Di. pilibín; pʹlʹïʃ, ‘puddle’, also pʹlʹo̤ʃ; ʃïlʹαg, ‘spittle’, M.Ir. seile, saile; ʃïlʹuw, ‘matter, pus’ (tʹïky꞉ ʃɛ fα hïlʹuw, ‘it will gather’) also ‘to distil, drop’, M.Ir. silim; ʃïmʹpʹlʹi꞉, ‘foolish, simple’, Di. simplidhe.
§ 100. In modern Irish iu is written for io in some cases before ch but the pronunciation is ï, e.g. fʹïχuw, ‘to boil’, M.Ir. fichim; fʹlʹïχ ‘wet’, O.Ir. fliuch (the latter is also heard as fʹlʹəχ, fʹlʹUχ).
§ 101. Before mʹ initial i is always ï, e.g. ïmʹ, ‘butter’, O.Ir. imb; ïmʹαχt, ‘to depart’, O.Ir. immthecht (according to Rhys p. 7 Manx immeeaght has a short open i); ïmʹəL, ‘edge’, O.Ir. imbel; ïmʹərtʹ, ‘to play’, M.Ir. imirt; ïmʹnʹi꞉, ‘care’, O.Ir. imned; ïmʹpʹi꞉, ‘prayer’, O.Ir. impide. But O.Ir. initial i before a non-palatal consonant is usually o̤ (§ 58). However one hears ïnχɔr̥ə, ‘fit to wrestle with, a match for’, cp. ionchurtha Cl. S. 25 vi ’04 p. 6 col. 1.
§ 102. Before r < rʹ preceding s, tʹ &c. O.Ir. e, i is frequently represented by ï, though this is in large measure due to analogy, e.g. ïrsαχə, plur. of irʹiʃ, ‘hanger’, Di. iris; kïr̥αχ, ‘guilty’, Di. coirtheach < kyrʹ, ‘crime’, plur. kïr̥ə, M.Ir. cair; kʹïrtʹə, compar. of kʹαrt, ‘right’ (also Nʹi꞉s kʹαrtə); fïrNʹαχə, plur. of fwirʹəN, ‘crew’ (f. Lyɲə, bα꞉dʹ); bʹïrtʹ, ‘a pair’, Di. beirt; tïrsαχ, ‘tired’, O.Ir. torsech. One would naturally expect to find o̤ under these circumstances after a non-palatal initial (cp. tα꞉ mʹɛ ko̤r fo̤l ṟo꞉nə, ‘my nose is bleeding’, fo̤l <fwïlʹ) and it does occur, e.g. in χo̤r sə < chuir sé, ko̤r̥ə, ‘buried’ < cuirthe; do̤r̥ə, ‘bulled’, Di. dortha from dα꞉rʹ, pres. pass. dïrtʹər; mo̤rNʹαχ, ‘pleasant, agreeable’, M.Ir. muirnech. But even in these cases there is hesitation, thus dïr̥ə may be heard by the side of do̤r̥ə and bʹïr̥ə, ‘born’, is the regular participle of beirim, imperf. pass. vïr̥i꞉.
§ 103. Apart from the cases mentioned in the preceding paragraph ï not infrequently appears where we should expect o̤ and vice versa, cp. Craig, Grammar² p. 9 note at foot, where some words are needlessly spelt with iu instead of io. The word for ‘priest’ I have usually heard pronounced sïgərt though I believe the form so̤gərt also occurs (with the latter cp. Molloy’s sogart in his 33rd dialect-list and see also § 60). The Donegal form is possibly due to association with some word like ïgliʃ, ‘church, the clergy’. We further find rïbəL, ‘tail’, M.Ir. erball, kïky꞉ʃ, ‘a fortnight’, M.Ir. cóicdigis (Craig writes cucaois) by the
