THE people of Ireland have selected their favourite of all the accents heard across the country.
Following a nationwide survey, undertaken by data industry platform Alt Index, Ireland’s most-loved accent has been revealed to be the unmistakable tones of the people of Dublin.
Some 35 per cent of respondent crowned the Dublin accent as their favourite.
The capital city was closely followed by Donegal, with 28 per cent of the votes, and Cork at 21 per cent, which boasts the likes of Cillian Murphy and Graham Norton among its famous natives.
Lower down in the poll were the likes of Mayo, Westmeath and Limerick, whose accents failed ot strike a chord with the voting public.
Mayo received seven per cent of the votes, Westmeath recorded only six per cent and Limerick took three per cent – making it the least favoured dialect on the Emerald Isle.
The findings have been released at a time when users of the game-style language learning app Duolingo are on the up.
In the last month alone, the app has reported a 12.3 per cent increase in website traffic, as interest and engagement for learning new languages online continues to grow.
The popular tool, which offers its users the opportunity to educate themselves on 40+ languages through quick, bite-sized lessons, further saw a 17.3 per cent surge in app downloads across three months - with 238,468 mobile downloads in January
A spokesperson from Alt Index said: “With a staggering growth in mobile app downloads and website traffic in recent months, Duolingo continues to emerge as one of the world’s leading platforms for language learning.
More than 500 people across Ireland took part in Alt Index’s most-loved accents in Ireland survey between January 17 and January 19, 2024.
