e occurs in syllables with secondary stress only in sɔLʹer (sæLʹerʹ), ‘evident, plain’, Di. soilléir. In a few cases e꞉, ei are shortened to e before h < th, e.g. tʹrʹehαχ, ‘excellent’, Di. tréitheach; kʹlʹehαχə, plur. of kʹlʹiə, ‘hurdle’, M.Ir. clíath.
§ 89. In a number of cases e arises from a palatalisation of O.Ir. a, o before a palatal consonant. This change seems to be general, cp. Henebry p. 45; Finck i 17; Dottin, RC, xiv 114 and for S. Ulster G. J. 1896 p. 146. In Donegal it is commonest before nʹ and rʹ, cp. Craig, Grammar² p. 4. Examples—bwer̥ʹi꞉nʹ, ‘spancel’ < bó-árach + ín; dreçəd, ‘bridge’, O.Ir. drochet; ebʹrʹαn, ‘April’, Meyer apréil (ZCP. i 358); edʹə, ‘instructor’, edʹəs, ‘instruction’, M.Ir. aite; elʹαn, ‘island’, M.Ir. ailén; elʹə, ‘other’, O.Ir. aile; enʹəmʹ, ‘name’, O.Ir. ainm; enʹəvïsαχ, ‘ignorant’, M.Ir. anfiss; enʹəvi꞉, ‘animal’, M.Ir. anmide; en̥ʹi꞉m, ‘I recognise’, Meyer aithgninim (Craig, Grammar² p. 156 gives the pronunciation as ennh‑, i.e. eN̥ʹ‑, cp. § 249); erʹ, ‘upon’, cp. O.Ir. aire, fair (it may be noted that all consciousness of the old form ar has been lost, as when followed by s or ʃ erʹ becomes ɛr); erʹαχtəs, ‘sojourn’, Meyer airrecht; evlʹαg, ‘live coal’, M.Ir. óibell; werʹ, pret. of mwerʹəm, mwærʹəm, O.Ir. ro mair; henʹikʹ, ‘came’, < tainic with aspiration by analogy; Nerʹ, ‘when’ < in úair; selʹɔg, ‘willow’, M.Ir. sail; gə serʹəvi꞉ n ṟi꞉ huw, ‘may God prosper you’, M.Ir. soirb; ʃerʹ, ‘eastwards’, O.Ir. sair (ʃ by analogy with ʃïər, cp. Rhys p. 53).
§ 90. This e not infrequently interchanges with i, ï, e.g. dʹeʃ, dʹiʃ < dʹeʃə, Di. deis, ‘neatness, order’; elʹə, ïlʹə, ‘wall of peat-stack’, M.Ir. aile (Meyer, O’Don. Suppl.) perhaps = Di. fail; in parts of elʹu꞉nʹ, ‘to rear’, pret. dilʹ mʹə, Wi. ailemain; kʹrʹetʹə, kʹrʹitʹə past part. of kʹrʹedʹəm, ‘I believe’; krev, krïv, ‘paw’, M.Ir. crob; Lʹeʃkʹɛəl, Lʹiʃkʹɛəl, ‘excuse’, Di. leithscéal; Lʹevrʹi꞉nʹ, Lʹivrʹi꞉nʹ, ‘a foolish person’; kɔrə mʹeLʹə, mʹiLʹə, ‘heath pease’, Di. carra mhilis. Similarly we find e, ɛ alternating in Lʹɛhαχ, ‘sea-weed’, gen. sing. Lʹehi꞉. Further e, ei before ç, Lʹeç, Lʹeiç, ‘half’, also ‘a fluke’, Di. leith, gen. sing. Lʹehə.
§ 91. e occurs as the final of a few monosyllables, e.g. de`, ‘from him’, O.Ir. de; tʹe`, ‘hot’, M.Ir. te; bʹrʹe`, ‘to bring forth’, M.Ir. breith. But these and similar words tend to end in breath, cp. § 42.
5. e꞉.
§ 92. A very close long e as in German ‘see’ is a frequent
