So, so, so off topic, but I was wondering…
The Irish name ‘Maire’ is pronounced how? I’m asking because many of you may be familiar with the correct pronunciation.
Anyway, is it ‘moy-rah’ or ‘mwah-rah’? Does the first syllable rhyme with ‘boy’, or is it like saying ‘moi’ in French?
Sort of both, really.
Maw-RUH.
As was told to me by a native speaker here in Utah, there is a subtle but distinct difference in how you would pronounce Máire as someone’s name, and Máire in reference to the blessed virgin. Sadly, I can’t remember now what the difference was…but it was there.
The Scottish name ‘Moira’ is pronounced as you would expect from the spelling: moy-ra (with a short ‘a’.) I believe ‘Maire’ is a close relative of ‘Moira.’
The Scottish name ‘Moira’ is pronounced as you would expect from the spelling: moy-ra (with a short ‘a’.) I believe ‘Maire’ is a close relative of ‘Moira.’
That’s what I kept reading, but I didn’t know if it was pronounced as Moira, seeing as how it’s spelled very differently. Not that it matters how anything looks in Gaelic. Zcomter is pronounced as ‘Bob’ I believe…
I think I like the ‘maw-rah’ one best. Personally, I thought it was just like it’s spelled, ‘maire’, like a female horse with a bit of throat clearing at the end. Shows how much I know.
But I live in America, so I could say it however I want and no one would know the difference. Or care. 
…except maybe my New Jersey-based co-worker Maire (whose name is continually being misspelled as “Marie”). By her lilting accent, I’ll accept her assertion that it’s MY-ra. Sometimes I can hear a little bit of dipthong–Ma-I-ra.
M
“Mary” as in the Virgin Mary is spelled “Muire” and pronounced something like “MWIR-eh.” “Maire” is used for the ordinary name “Mary,” and the pronunciation can vary by region and dialect: I’ve heard “MOY-uh,” “MAH-ir-eh” and even something akin to “MY-ra.”
Redwolf
Moira would already be an Anglicisation of the Scottish Gaelic form of this name. An Irish born friend once told me that there are a variety of pronunciations and a variety of spellings for the Irish version(s).
Oh. So I really could pronounce it however I want. Thanks. I was just kidding about that.
Thanks all.
Tara
Resisting… resisting… don’t say it, DON’T say it… 
I should think it would be pronounced in different ways in different parts of Ireland in the same way that “Mary” would be different depending on the accent of the speaker in Britain or America.
True enough, John.
In Connemara, it would be pronounced as I attempted to phonetically spell it, above – but more as though the speaker had a mouth full of hot potatoes… “Maww-RUH”
Small potatoes..I’d think.
Slan,
D.
Totally off topic: the other day I heard someone refer to Scoil Mhuire, Mary Immaculate College, a large secondary school for girls in Limerick as ‘The Virgin Megastore’ 
So how do they spell it in Scottish Gaelic?
Yeah, here in sw Virginia, Mary would be pronounced more like-
murry by us “natives”.
Peter…
“Virgin Megastore”…
When I hear the name “Murry” I think of a guy who works in a Deli…I’m not sure why though
Maire. (I’m not kidding.) Another Anglicisation is Maura. The name is not the same as Mairi which Anglicises as Mary. I’d guess that Maureen is another name in this family.
I think “Maureen” is just the affectionate/diminutive form of “Mary”…i.e., “Mairin” (you’ll have to picture the fadas, as I can’t type them here).
Redwolf