In phonology the sounds of a language are described, the written result of these sounds does not belong to that and is secondary.
The Irish written language is for this reason discussed separately in the chapter orthography , with (further) guidelines about the pronunciation.

Note about the depiction:
The depiction of the sounds should actually be done using the IPA symbols (IPA = international phonetic alphabet).
But this is dependent on the font, and is still not feasible in HTML in a way in which all, regardless of what platform they use, can see.
It is for this reason that there are partially "substitutes" used here.
Some of these symbols are common as modified IPA symbols for Irish, so the apostrophe ['] for slender (palatal) consonants and with that the forms [x'] for [ç], [s'] for [ò] and [z'] instead of []; as well as [L], [N], [R] for "tensed l, n, r" (in the IPA these are normally used for depicting other phonemes).
The fricatives [f] and [v] are partially spoken bilabial, partially also labiodental, for both the Irish transcriptions are normally without a difference [f] and [v] are used (actually according to the IPA they are only for the labiodental variants, [φ] and [β] would be the bilabial symbols).
As actually also in the modified IPA not-conform replacement symbols, there remains here only [ng] for the velar nasal (in IPA ein []), [@] for the neutral vowel (in IPA a []), [å] for a back a (in IPA a []) as well as [?] for the glottal stop (in IPA a []).

I don't have here any listenable examples (in form of soundfiles) of the sounds of Irish but there are some to be heard on the website Fios Feasa: The Sounds of Irish (there one finds the sounds of the Munster dialect)

the vowels (na gutaí)

• long vowels: [a:], [e:], [i:], [o:], [u:],
• short vowels: [a], [e], [i], [o], [u], [@]

The vowels [a], [o], [u] count as broad
The vowels [e] and [i] count as slender

Not only those vowels marked with an accent in writing (á, é, í, ó, ú) are long. Also preceding certain consonants the vowels are lengthened (e.g. preceding -rd, -nn, -rr, -ll, -m), if the word is monosyllabic, also further combinations lead to vowel lengthening (see orthography)

In Ulster, all vowels in an unstressed syllable are short, otherwise long vowels remain clear (and are not reduced to [@], as it happens with short vowels).
The [a:] is often spoken in Munster/Connacht as a "back a", similar to the scandinavian"å" (technically: an opem back unrounded vowel). In Ulster it is an [æ:], only the Lárchanúint uses a normal long [a:]
Furthermore, in Connacht/Munster there is the [æ] instead of an [a] in some combinations.
In Ulster, there is partially the [ш], which is an unrounded ü-sound (technically: a closed back unrounded vowel), in Irish orthography "ao", which is otherwise appearing as [i:] (Standard, Connacht) or [e:] (Munster) , e.g. saor [si:r], [se:r], [sшr]

the neutral vowel (schwa) []

• It ia an "unarticulated" short sound, neither a nor e nor i. In German one calls it the "Murmel-e".
• In phonetic transcriptions it is a (according to the IPA-Umschrift) [], but here a [@] is substituted (Blume = [Blu:m@])
  e.g.: broad = leathan [l'æh@n], eile = other [el'@]
  (in some transcriptions an i-coloured "slender" schwa-sound is separated from the standard schwa.
  e.g.: other = eile [el'i]. But, this is actually not audible. eile sounds almost like the German word Elle. With that, the transcription [el'@] is preferable.)
• In an unstressed syllable, in many Irish dialects, every short vowel is spoken as a schwa ([@])
• The aux. vowel: Sometimes, the schwa sound is not written, but spoken as an auxilliary vowel between certain consonants (see there):
  e.g.: blue = gorm [gor@m], name = ainm [an'@m']
• Elision: If in spoken Irish, a [@] comes up against another vowel, the [@] is omitted.
  Should two [@] follow after another, only one [@] is spoken.
  e.g.: Tá sé ag ól = he drinks [ta: s'e:go:l] not [ta: s'e: @g o:l]
  baile áillainn = pretty town [bal'a:l'inn] not [bal'@ a:l'inn]
  na gaotha aduaidh = the north wind [n@ gi:h@du@j] not [n@ gi:h@ @du@j]
  The a in ag [@g] or in gaotha [gi:h@] or the e in baile [bal'@] is not spoken in such cases.

the dipthongs (na défhogair)

There are the following dipthongs:

• [au] e.g.: amh in amhras [aur@s] (= doubt)
• [ai] e.g.: adha in radharc [rairk] (= view)
• [ei] e.g.: eidh in beidh [b'ei] (= will be)
• [u@] e.g.: ua in fuar [fu@r] (= cold)
• [i@] e.g.: ia in ciall [k'i@l] (= sanity)

in some dialects there are also the sounds [oi], [@i], [ui], [ou].

the consonants (na consain)

The consonants are classified depending their point of origin (bilabial, dental, alveolar, velar, glottal) and by their nature of production (plosives = stops, fricatives, nasals , liquids). Many consonants have an unvoiced and a voiced version (e.g.: [p]/[b], [t]/[d], [k]/[g], etc.)
Although, there are no truly aspirated consonants (k, p, t, are always aspirated in German)

• Bilabials:
  • plosives: [p], [b]
  • fricatives: [f], [v], [w]
  • nasals: [m]
  Also [f] and [v] are often spoken bilabially, i.e. they are formed with both the upper and lower lip.(in German these sounds are labiodental, i.e. with the lower lip and the upper row of teeth or vice versa).
  [w] (a semivowel) is often at the beginning of a word (in Connacht/Donegal) used as the velar form of the (palatal) [v] ; within a word always [v], if spoken as a consonant.
• Dentals:
  • plosives: [t], [d]
  • liquids: [l]
  • nasals: [n]
  The dental fricatives [θ] and [ð] (equiv to the engl. th in thing and that) no longer exists in Irish (replaced with [h] and [γ])
• Alveolars:
  • fricatives: [s], [z]
  • liquids: [r]
  The broad [r] is a rolled tip-of-the-tongue-r, the slender [r'] is rather complicated.
  The broad Irish s is always an unvoiced s [s]
  The voiced s-sound ([z]) only appears in foreign words: zoo = zú [zu:].
  (in a few dialects also as an eclipse of the s: e.g.: ag an tsagart [eg'@ zag@rt])
• Palatoalveolars:
  • fricatives: [ò], [3]
  The slender s is always the same as an unvoiced german "sch" ([ò]). In transcriptions simply [s'] is used.
  The voiced variation [3] only appears in a few foreign words of English origin. In transcriptions, one uses [z'] e.g. jab = job [d'z'ab] for simplicity.
• Velars:
  • plosives: [k], [g]
  • fricatives: [x], [γ]
  • nasals: [ng]
  Also those consonants formed on the soft palate (Velum) are divided into broad (velar) and slender (palatal) (see below)
  [γ] is equivalent to the modern Greek letter γ (Gamma). A broad [γ] is a "voiced ch", like g in a Berlinerisch "Wagen" or Spanish "Tarragona", a slender [γ'] is the same as a [j] like the German j in "ja".
  A broad [x] like ch in the German "ach", the slender [x'] is equivalent to [ç] like ch in the German "ich".
• Glottals:
  • stops: [?]
  • fricatives: [h]
  The glottal stop, [?], e.g. in the German "Aorta" [?a?orta] is virtually unknown to modern spoken Irish. An abrupt collision of vowels (Hiatus) is avoided. The glottal stop is, however, often still used in traditional Irish vocals (sean-nós) , also in Scottish Gaelic it is still quite commonly used (written mostly as th)
  The disappearance of the glottal stop in Irish leads to a mingling and lengthening of vowels, if consonants then devoiced (e.g. athair Standard [ah@r'] but Cois Fhairrge with a voiceless [h]: [æ:r'])
  [h] appears only as a produkt of lenition of t and s (th, sh), as well as the h-prefix. Occasionally, also f is spoken as [h]
  [h] connects to voiced [b], [g], [d], [v] and makes these voiceless ([p], [k], [t], [f]), e.g. sciobtha [s'kip@] instead of [s'kibh@]
  between vowels, [h] always disappears in Cois Fhairrge, and the vowels mingle: e.g. beatha [b'ah@] > [b'æ:]

broad and slender (leathan agus caol)

All consonants exist in two forms (with the exception of the [h]):

• broad (velar) consonants: [p], [b], [v]/[w], [f], [m], [t], [d], [n], [l], [r], [s], [z], [k], [g], [x], [γ], [ng]
• slender (palatal) consonants: [p'], [b'], [v'], [f'], [m'], [t'], [d'], [n'], [l'], [r'], [s'], [z'], [k'], [g'], [x'], [γ'], [ng']

In phonetic transcriptions, a small apostrophe ['] is used to denote the slender variant.
The difference between the two forms is important. The differences are also greater then the equivalent pairs in German or English.
In German, only "ch" in "ach" [ax] (velar) and in "ich" [iç] are woth mentioning, in Irish transcription: [ix'] (palatal))
In Irish, the differences are also to be heard in [d] and [d'] or [t] and [t'] and others (partially, and especially in Ulster, the slender consonants d,t are spoken like affricates: [dj], [tç] or [tò])
It becomes especially obvious in the difference between [s] and [s']. A slender [s'] is always spoken like the German "sch" [ò].

Specifics:
In combinations like sp-, sf-, sm- at the beginning of a word, the s is always broad. e.g.: spléach [sp'l'e:x]
In the following combinations, the 1st consonant is always broad : -cht, -rd, -rl, -rn, -rs, -rt. e.g.: boichte [boxt'@] not: [box't'@]
At the beginning of a word the [r] is always broad: rí [ri:]

It is important to note that broad consonants may also stand next to slender vowels and also the other way around: slender consonants next to broad vowels.
In German, this is not possible. There, it is always only similar toned consonants and vowels beside one another (e.g. ach [ax], ich [ix']).
In Irish, the glide comes into use, in order to make this shift from slender to broad, and vice versa, possible.

The difference of broad and slender is made clear in the orthography through the neighbouring vowel signs.
e.g. seo [s'o], sin [s'in'], airgead [ar'@g'@d], airgid [ar'@g'@d']

The difference between "broad" and "slender" consonants in Irish is equivalent to the difference between "hard" and "soft" consonants in slavic languages.
This is made clear e.g. in Russian, where necessary, through a soft character ь and a hard character ъ : e.g. работать [rabotat'] = to work (soft т [t'] durch ь); or through "soft" vowels like я, ё and ю and the "hard" vowel ы (which is approximately the Irish ao).

tensed l,n,r

The consonants l,n,r are differentiated in some dialects in a tensed form [L], [N], [R] and the non-tensed form [l], [n], [r]. ([m] counts always as tensed, so therefore there's no need ofr a special notation)
The difference comes roughly in the precision of the pronunciation, [L], [N], [R] are somewhat lengthened, [l], [n], [r] are spoken a bit more lax. [L], [N] are formed by a pressing of the tongue on the front teeth, [l], [n] are produced on the alveolae.
In written Irish, the tensed variant (except at the beginning of a word) often expressed as a double (nn, ll, rr).

Tensed consonants also have an effect on neighbouring vowels:
The "tension" reaches over to the neighbouring vowels. This is why they are either lengthened or diphthongised, if the tensed consonants are in a stressed syllable at the end of a word (or preceding further consonants):
In Munster, the difference tensed/non-tensed was lost, only the vowels show dipthongisation or lengthening:
e.g. donn [daun] instead of [doN], ceann [k'aun] instead of [k'aN], fillte [f'i:l't'@] instead of [f'iL't'@].
Only in Ring and Clare is [i] also diphthongised: e.g. cill [k'ail]
In some dialects, (bes. Connemara) there is a lengthening and diphthongisation also in a sustaining of the tensed consonants, but the diphthongisation is only with middle vowels
e.g. donn [dauN], ceann [k'å:N], fillte [f'i:L't'@]
In Ulster there is only lengthening, no dipthongs,
e.g. donn [du:N], ceann [k'æ:N], fillte [f'i:L't'@]
In the Lárchanúint, the tensed consonants are completely ignored and handled like the non-tensed ones, and the vowels remain mostly short,
e.g. donn [don], ceann [k'an], fillte [f'il't'@]

at the beginning of a word:
Where the differences between tensed and non-tensed consonants remain, then it also applies that if [L], [N] at the beginning of a word as the unlenited form, then [l], [n] as the lenited form,
e.g.: the book = an leabhar [@ L'aur], my book = mo leabhar [m@ l'aur]
tensed n [N] is also used in the eclipsed form (except ng): e.g. ten doors = deich ndoras [d'e: Nor@s], ten fish = deich n-iasc [d'e: N'i@sk]
Only the word le appears resistant to start with a non-tensed l [l@]

the glides (na sleamhnóga)

In some dialects, an [^u] appears between some broad consonants (esp. [b, m]) and [a], e.g. baile [b^ual'@], maith [m^ua].

stress (an bhéim)

stress within a word (an bhéim ghutha)

1. Connacht and Ulster:
In these dialects, the stress lies always on the 1st syllable.
In polysyllabic words, the syllables with long vowels get a secondary stress.
Only a few words are stressed on the 2nd syllable (in combinations, e.g. with unstressed prefixes like a-, is-, mostly adverbs): aréir, anocht, istigh, atá, some foreign words e.g. tobac)
Other prefixes get the main stress, intensifying prefixes (e.g. an- = very) are stressed right after the following syllable.

2. Munster:
Here, the rules governing stress are more complicated.
Mostly, is's also a case of stress on the 1st syllable, but then

• stress on the 2nd syllable if
  • the 2nd syllable contains a long vowel or a dipthong.
    e.g.: cailín, fuinneog
  • the 2nd syllable is -ach(t) and no long vowel is in the 1st and 3rd syllable.
    e.g. salach, donacht
• stress on the 3rd syllable if
  • the 3rd syllable contains a long vowel or dipthong and the other syllables are short
    e.g. tuismitheoir

cadencing

constantly unstressed words

The following parts of speech are always unstressed (because they are proclitic or enclitic):

• personal and possessive pronouns (as opposed to English or German!)
  If the attention of the listener should be drawn to these words, it is not the stress but (also unstressed) emphatic suffixes are used:
  e.g.: mise = me(!), mo leabharsa = my(!) book , eisean = him(!).
  An additional possibility is the shift in the word order in the clause:
  e.g.: is mise a rinne é = I(!) did it
• prepositions
• verbal particles and conjunctions
• the article
• the adverbial particle go
• the copula

graduation of the stress within a sentence

• subjects (except the pronoun) are emphasized stronger than the verb.
  e.g.: Itheann an fear = The man eats.
• in copular clauses, the predicate is emphasized stronger than the subject.
  e.g.: Is é an múinteoir an fear sin. = That man is the teacher.
• objects are emphasized stronger than the subject
  e.g.: Itheann an fear an leite = The man eats the porridge.
  This is not the case, if the subject is a noun, but the object is only a pronoun.
  e.g.: Itheann an fear é = The man eats it.
• Genitive attributes, attributive and predicate adjectives and appositions are emphasized stronger than the word they modify.
  e.g.: an cailín deas Éirennach = the nice Irish girl
• Numbers are stressed the same as the word they modify (e.g. dhá chapall = 2 horses), in the case of two part numbers at least the 2nd part is stronger (e.g. dhá chapall déag = 12 horses)
• adverbs and adverbial phrases are emphasized stronger than the verb.
  e.g.: Tá mé i mo chónaí i nGaillimh = I live in Galway.

interrogative sentences

In English, interrogative clauses are denoted by an alteration in the intonation (comp. e.g.: "He's here." and "He's here?"). In Irish this is not commonplace.