An Lon Dubh wrote:
I've heard Mamaí, Mam, Máthair, with the last two being the most common after the kids
are a bit more grown up. Also Mam still has the full case system (nom. Mam, gen. Maime, dat. Maim) for
some people as I have been corrected from "lem' Mham" to "lem' Mhaim". It's pronounced Mawm, like the
way an American would say it in English.
In Ireland everyone from the country calls their mother "
Mam" or
Mammy (when they want something

), this "
mummy" is directly from English telly, if you watch Eastenders or Cornation Street. I have only ever heard city people or well to do people call their mother "
mum" or "
mummy". Lately in the Irish media you hear "mummy" and I'm sorry but its one of my pet hates

. Funny enough these "mummy" Irish people will often indirectly address their mams or mams in general as mum, but when the are speaking directly to them they call them "
mam"

. People from Dublin often call their mams and dads "
ma" and "
da".
Back to the Irish:
a "
mhathairín" as well as those Lon Dubh gave is used quite a lot in Munster especially when children become teenagers. I have heard both "
a Mhaim" and "
a Mham" for the vocative.
I've heard the reason Americans call their Mams "Mom" is because of the close resemblance in pronounciation to the way Irish speaking people pronounce "mam". Don't know if that's true or not.
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(Amhlaoibh Ó Súilleabháin)
Please wait for corrections/ more input from other forum members before acting on advice
I'm familiar with Munster Irish/ Gaolainn na Mumhan (GM) and the Official Standard/an Caighdeán Oifigiúil (CO)