The Irish Language

“Tír gan Teanga, Tír gan Anam”
PH Pearse

The one constant echoing down through the generations since An Gorta Mór is an urgent instruction to reclaim our own language, for only by doing so can we effectively establish a space for our own culture to flourish and develop its own richness.

It's probably fair to say the warnings of times past have all but come true in these present days - we have American and British television, media and every form of entertainment to the detriment of our own cultural resources.

But on a more positive note, it's easier than ever before to learn Irish, with many powerful and free tools available not only to learn but to find others to share our learning journey!

It should be kept in mind that learning a language is not a solitary process, beyond a basic level you will need to try to find others to learn and converse with you, whether that is in person or online. The language needs to be used and reinforced through constant use if we are to master it.

Our Irish language is not the be-all and end-all of Irish culture by any means, but it is a key part among several. Here are a few ideas you can use to get started, and as more and more people get involved it will become easier to find others to practise with!

For Irish language instruction:

• Buntús Cainte 1, 2 and 3 - An easily graded course for beginners who will not have the advantage of a teacher’s help. Uses standard pronunciation. Buntús Cainte is one of the most successful courses in Irish and is in continual demand. Very reasonably priced and well worth it.  https://www.siopagaeilge.ie/products/buntus-cainte-1-2-3
• The Pronunciation and Spelling of Modern Irish: https://www3.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaeilge/donncha/focal/features/irishsp.html
• You can also watch Ros na Rún using the Gaeilge subtitles https://www.tg4.ie/en/player/categories/drama-tv-shows/?series=Ros%20na%20R%C3%BAn&genre=Drama
• Listening to the Nuacht headlines on the radio or watching the TG4 Nuacht tweets is good too.
• Try learning from modern Irish school textbooks
• Public libraries provide free online language learning material, for example:  https://www.dublincity.ie/library/blog/learn-new-language-online-resources
• Gramadach gan stró, a user-friendly grammar book is perfectly suited to anyone wishing to improve their level of Irish from Leaving Cert level, particularly used in third level courses in Irish. Also suitable for self-study, and includes many practical exercises  https://www.siopaleabhar.com/en/product/gramadach-gan-stro/
• The Official Irish Grammar Guide, published by the Houses of the Oireachtas - Gramadach na gaeilge, an caighdean oifigiúil  https://data.oireachtas.ie/ie/oireachtas/caighdeanOifigiul/2017/2017-08-03_an-caighdean-oifigiuil-2017_en.pdf
• Dublin City University has a course available online called Futurelearn  https://www.futurelearn.com/subjects/language-courses/learn-irish
• Teanglann is a free, searchable, online compilation of several Irish-English dictionaries in the world, and pronunciation is provided for most of the words, along with a grammar builder  https://www.teanglann.ie/en/
• Many useful everyday phrases can be found on this channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBcAA6SjOqc
• Use this online dictionary https://www.focloir.ie/
• Use Duolingo, it's free * (nb). https://www.duolingo.com/course/ga/en/Learn-Irish
• Listen to RnaG (Raidió na Gaeltachta) https://www.rte.ie/radio/rnag/
• More ideas can be found here: https://www.rte.ie/gaeilge/learning-irish/
• Simple and practical beginner level books to help you learn Irish: the Soilse series of children's primers by C. S. Ó Fallúin. Each reader comes with a work book.

* It should be noted that Duolingo, while free, has apparently begun to use AI voices and the grammar and pronunciation have suffered as a result. We still include it in our recommendations because it’s better than nothing, but learners are advised to move on as soon as it is practical to do so.

Further ideas:

Try to integrate Irish into your everyday life as much as possible. Do things you like and care about in Irish  And keep in mind — learning a new language, or re-learning one does take time, as with any skill, so be patient and give it the time it needs.

Just think—this is the same language Irish people have been speaking since the Bronze Age! The very same tongue spoken by the Druids, by Cú Chulainn, by Fionn Mac Cumhaill and by Queen Medb.

It is the language of legends and mysteries!

Chapter List (click to read):

1. Foreword
2 The Irish Language
3. Reading
4. Making and Shaping
5. The Physical Gael
6. The Warrior Gael
- The Crios Belt
- Open Hand Traditions
- Collar and Elbow Wrestling
- Gaelic Weapons
- Seanbhata
- Seanbhata Basics
- Seanbhata Guards
- Seanbhata Strikes and Blocks
- Seanbhata Close Fighting
- The Heroic Feats
7. Tradition and Culture
8. Organisation