Irish has two relative clauses. The DIRECT one lenites: "an fear a cheannaigh an teach" (the man who bought the house). The INDIRECT one - used when the noun is not the subject or object, and after a preposition or a possessive - eclipses and takes a different form of the verb: "an fear a ndúirt sé é" (the man that he said it about), "an teach a bhfuil an doras dearg air".
Examples
- Sin é an tuairisc a ndearna an t-aire tagairt di.
- That is the report that the minister referred to.
- An comhlacht a bhfuil an conradh acu, tá siad ciúin faoi.
- The company that has the contract is quiet about it.
- Dúirt sí gur léigh sí an tuarascáil cheana.
- She said that she had already read the report.
The mistake to avoid
Direct and indirect are not interchangeable: "an fear a dúirt é" is the man who SAID it, while "an fear a ndúirt sé é" is the man he said it ABOUT. One eclipsis changes who did what.
Where this fits in
Tuairisciú agus Idirbheartaíocht, Irish Gaelic C1: Caint daoine eile a thuairisciú leis an bhfad cuí, an réim ghairmiúil a láimhseáil i gcruinnithe agus i moltaí, agus an nuacht a léamh: figiúirí, treochtaí agus foinsí.