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NOT A SPORTS FAN? Is all this Olympic buzz eating in on your regular scheduled TV viewing? Fear not, there are plenty of other fun and enjoyable things to get you out of the house and away from your TV this weekend.
Here is a round-up of some of the events, other than the Olympics, taking place this weekend.
Castlepalooza music and arts festival opened yesterday, taking over the site of the 17th century Charleville Castle in Tullamore. Big Dish Go, Cat Dowling and Diamond Dagger are just some of the acts that are to set the stage alight during this three day festival. With tickets starting at just €65, they are a fraction of the cost of some of the larger music festivals.
Cork Pride is taking place this August Bank Holiday following a hugely successful turn out last year. Now in its seventh year, organisers decided to change the date this year from June to August so as not to clash with any other events. So there is no excuse not to join in with the artistic flare this weekend, with the parade kicking off at 2.30pm. They also need a hand carrying a forty foot pride flag through the streets, so the more the merrier.
To finish up the final weekend of Bray Summerfest, Royseven will take to the bandstand at Bray beach this Friday. The Meteor award winners have had over ten hit singles, most recently, ‘We Should Be Lovers’. Admission is free with music starting at 9.30pm. One of Ireland’s best loved 90s tribute bands, Smash Hits, will also be entertaining crowds in Bray this Sunday evening. Kitted out in all the fashion faux pas of the 90s, this band will be on stage from 9pm. A firework display will follow the music at 11.15pm. All events are free.
The Galway Races is running for seven days this year and concludes on Sunday August 5. If you feel like having a flutter, tickets can be bought on race days at the turnstiles. However, the Galway Races are not just about the betting and horses. There is a wide array of events for all the family including the Mad Hatter family day which takes place on the Sunday of the summer festival. Children under sixteen are admitted free of charge when accompanied by their parent or guardian. There is lots of entertainment to keep the kids entertained with bouncy castles, slides, face painting and crazy characters throughout the enclosure.
For all you Joe Dolan fans out there, the Joe Dolan Mullingar Festival is an event that has surely been earmarked in the calender this weekend. Taking place from Aug 3-5, this festival for avid Joe fans will give a free guided tour of the Joe Dolan trail on the Failte Ireland Belvedere bus. The tour will take in the Joe Dolan statue, the Joe Dolan bridge and Belvedere House and Gardens, where the Joe Dolan wall of fame is on display. There will also be a street festival with face painting, craft stalls and a free music stage with live bands and even a Joe Dolan impersonator contest. What’s not to love?
(Via YouTube/mrnevin2001)
London isn’t the only place to see some sport this summer. World class lady golfers will be showcased this weekend at the Ladies Irish Open at Killeen Castle, Co Meath. Suzann Pettersen will be fighting to keep her 2011 Ladies Irish Open title, while homegrown talent Rebecca Codd and Tara Delaney will also be competing. It’s not all about golf – there is something for the whole family at the festival including live music, a dedicated kidzone and a traditional farmer’s market. Daily tickets start at €10.
Perhaps you are a bit of a train spotter? The Irish Steam rally is taking place this bank holiday weekend in Stradbally, Co Laois. Organised by the Irish Steam Preservation Society, the rally will feature 30 steam engines giving working demonstrations. There will also be a family carnival, trade stands, sheep dog demonstrations and a pony arena. Admission for adults is €10, but kids go for free.
We need to teach irish, etc to our kids like English is taught to Scandinavian kids. 25% of babies born here are to non irish parents. Why would they have any interest in anything to do with irish culture? If we dont have our culture, we gave no reason for tourists to visit.
It’s the biggest load of bollox, and the biggest waste of money in the state. We are deluded if we think anyone outside these shores gives a toss about Irish. Religion and Irish should be taken off the curriculum immediately. It would save us a fortune.
Rodrigo – Someone of the best Irish speakers I know are not from Ireland. In fact, I know some who have never step foot on Irish soil and are fluent. Immigrants have also taken a keen interest in the Irish language, because they don’t have hang-ups about learning languages. Actually, listen in to Rónán Beo tomorrow and you’ll hear a girl from Brazil who only recently set foot on Irish soil speak away as Gaeilge to a native Irish speaker, without effort.
Here’s the reality of the situation – the majority of the world’s population are bilingual. Many in languages with less speakers than Irish. Most of them cherish and respect their indigenous languages, irrespective of how many speakers they have.
I once had a negative view of the Irish language until I finished school. It was only then when I learned it naturally through hanging out with Irish speakers that I gained a love for it, and a respect for it. My dislike towards it stemmed very much from the fact that I had invested so many years into learning the language, only to find there was very little in return. I could not converse in a language I had studied for 13 or 14 years.
Now I speak it close to fluency and have embraced it for what it is. I remember the first time I felt like I could have a conversation in Irish without stuttering all over the place. It gave me a huge sense of accomplishment, and the hundreds of friends I have met along my journey have been priceless.
Why would anyone non Irish outside these shores have an interest in Irish? Not many outside Italy have an interest in Italian but sure so what? The language is thriving in the US, Australia and even the UK. The dispora know the value of the language and yet the rest of us shun it!
If you dont like it, dont bother with it. No one is forcing you to.
That’s the point Tommy. Our kids ARE being forced. As were we in school.
100% agreed, it has to b taught, by speaking and listening, not by this out dated hammering home grammatically correct method, and no need to make it cool , it’s cool already .
Its a beautiful language! Watching TG4 right now! Ó tholg go tolg is on. Brilliant programme.
I think English is a beautiful language too. Language of Shakespeare, Sorkin….. etc.
Darren, girls in school are being forced to do home economics over metal work and lads are being forced to do metal work over home ec! I was forced to do business studies when I only wanted to do science. No one WANTS to go to school, we are forced to!
Tommy, again you demonstrate what is wrong with your arguement. EVERY subject you mentioned has practical uses in business and everyday living. Irish doesn’t.
Officially, 94,000 Irish consider themselves fluent Irish speakers. 314,000 Welsh consider themselves fluent native language speakers.
The continued decline of the Irish language is yet another shameful failure of the Irish state.
There are fewer native speakers here now than when the state was founded. Over the same period Wales has seen a marked revival of it’s native language despite having more limited access to taxpayer funding. The impressive Welsh language revival has been community rather than state driven. The British/Welsh state has begun claiming credit for this only in recent decades.
Perhaps, when the Irish state stops trying to save the Irish language it may have some chance of surviving.
It’s not all about business Darren, what a miserable viewpoint, also, the highest performing public schools every year are Gaeilscoileanna in terms of leaving cert results, just sayin’
Yes Gaius, that is because the pupils attending such schools are given extra points in each subject in the leaving cert. Does wonders for academic results that.
It’s 10% of what you don’t get, i.e., if you get 80% in English, you get an extra 2% totalling 82%, which is still the same grade, it only benefits weaker pupils who might get 35% etc., so your point is invalid and overly simplistic
Irish was never cool…hated doing it in school…couldnt string a sentence together after 14yrs of being force fed this obsolete language…they should have been teaching me useful stuff and practical skills for life…its a massive failure of the irish education system not to realise what education should be about..
As a proud 36 year old Irishman im afraid in my opinion the Irish language is as absolete and as pointless as Windows ’98….we have moved on….
interesting blog.
99.9% of the posts are as bearla. Speaks volumes
gealscoils are great. Quasi private schools for Ruari and Cian without the fees and no pyjama wearing skangers sending their kids there either. Plus you get to feel smug about supporting the Irish language.
Personally I don’t see the problem with speaking Irish. If you don’t know the irish word, just say the english word in a “bogger” accent.
I think it’s a shame to lose our culture.I went on hols to Kerry one year and my neighbour asked me was that in Ireland.She is living here 7 years.People have to be interested in the culture and the geography!!
I agree. Most young people and even those in their 20s are obsessed with British celebrity culture, football teams and soaps etc but have no clue about their own culture. I bet if we were still fighting for independence, more of us would be fluent irish speakers. West brit culture is more obvious than ever! (no offense to Brits by the way)
Actually, I’m obsessed with having a good job and competing with companies and people from around the globe. Knowing Irish doesn’t really give me a winning edge.
We place too much importance on the drilling in of the language into kids in school. Like the writer says.
If we were honest, rather than irrational, and told kids that while not academically important, it is of benefit to know some of the language. Perhaps it wouldn’t leave such a bad taste in the mouth.
Darren, if youd rather assimilate, then do it! Thats happening anyway due to globalisation but I think its important to be proud of what makes you unique. French, Spanish, italians etc are very culturally aware and proud of their culture. We have such a chip on our shoulder when it comes being Irish.
The fact is if it was taught differently in school and not pushed into children’s throats people like yourself would have a different opinion. It is the official language of our country, it is what makes Ireland unique from any other country. Wales for example are making huge progress with the welsh language at the moment and we definitely could take a leaf out of their book. There is more to life than pleasing other countries, we should protect what this beautiful country of ours has.
Hebrew nearly died out too but there was a massive push for it a few years ago and now its thriving.
I am more concerned by the increasingly lazy use of our English language by our youth due to auto spelling correction, abbreviasted texting and lack of reading for pleasure. I suppose, to be fair, this applies to all languages today including the slowly wilting use of the Irish language.
I blame the British
darran treating our language as a relic has one obvious business implication, media dumping. walk in to any shop how many of the papers or magazines where printed here or have work published by journalists from here? i’d suggest a very small minority. the tabloids are an obvious example but the broadsheets as well republish alot of stuff of the wire. same for TV most content is cheep buy in’s. radio as well and films. add it all up how much money is leaving ireland because we are in the english language sphere of influence.
not that we have to swap one language for the other. most people on the planet are multi lingual. English speaking countries tend to be monolingual and i think when we in ireland talk about language policy we substitute that kind of thinking. don’t have to. a multi lingual society could be both healthy and profitable.
iceland a smaller country than ourselves would have a more sustainable media industry and possibly healthier as well in that its more responsive to the community its a part of. There country was able to make some smart decisions. there media dosn’t opperate in the same conditions as our own they had that freedom. at the moment a tabloid here is under risk of going under and loosing jobs because it offended a publisher in england. there are a lot of strains on our media that hold them back. ownership, advertisements, competition etc the language don’t have to be viewed through a sentimental prism, there could be some strategic benefits if we consider them.
I’d rather speak it than write postcards, letters etc. like we were taught in school. Spent more time writing it than anything.
I wasnt interested in irish till I went to the gaeltacht. Now the family holiday in the gaeltacht a few times a year. the missus and I are learning the language, my eldest is in a gaelscoil and loves being in the gaeltacht. Its sad that you have to drive for 3 hours to find our culture.
Tommy. Isn’t there more to our culture than the irish language?
Without your language, there is no culture!
I’d like you to explain that Tommy. Because what you are actually suggesting is that people who don’t speak irish are not irish.
Not at all! Im only learning but so many words and phrases we use every day that we take for granted come from our native language. Imagine in 30 years that people may not have a clue that ‘craic’ for example is an irish word. Its our own idiosyncrasies that make us unique. When im in the gaeltacht I must admit I feel like a bit of a plastic paddy. Those people are the heart and soul of our heritage, they make us different to our nearest neighbours and im still glad people speak it. It would be a shame for it to die out. Id love to see all primary schools as gaelscoileanna. The vast majority of welsh primary schools are welsh speaking. They have some pride in their language.
You think craic will be gone in 30 years? That’s pretty funny to me as one of those dreaded brits I work with asked me about the craic today when I was on a call with him.
The real problem in this debate is one side is rational the other passionate (and insular).
I admit it is nice to have the language, but you don’t admit it is of little practical value to have as a mandatory subject. It is also defended by the Anglophobic zealots, stripping the arguement less credibility.
Darren, I have no issue with any Brits. Heck, some ive some of the feckers in my family and many mates. I just happen to like irish culture, my own culture including my own native language.
But it’s not your native language Tommy. You admitted you are learning it which, by definition, means it’s not a native language. I’m an ardent supporter of the language as well as a native speaker, but this thing of supporters stating it’s the native language for all Irish people as well as criticising those who don’t want to learn it does more damage than good.
Brian, I was pretty much fluent by my late teens but once I finished school I never spoke it again. Now the kids are learning it and we spent a weekend a month in the gaeltacht. I want my kids to see the real Ireland and not whats perceived by the ‘sophisticated’ as Ireland.
we have 199 other nationalities here and the vast majority of them have their own language and take pride in that. Why cant we do the same?
the idea that the Irish language and Irish culture are synonymous is questionable.
firstly, our culture is hybrid and the sooner we acknowledge that the better
secondly, it is up to people who live here to create their own cultures for themselves. if this means embracing British or american culture then that is their choice (personally, i wouldn’t be doing this but that is just me).
Having a restircted view of what it means to be Irish and enforcing that view will,hopefully, soon be a thing of the past
It’s still not your native language. You weren’t brought up in Irish. You learned it outside of the usual method of language acquisition, I.e. parent to child, which by definition means it’s not a native language, no matter how fluent you are. However I do agree with your last point. If the Faroese can be fluent in Faroese, Danish and English, why can’t we in Ireland be fluent in Irish, English and a third or even fourth language? My ideal Ireland would be one completely modern in terms of popular culture, technologically savvie, in tune with everything in the modern world, but speaking Irish, including slang variants, as well as English. I guess I may only dream…
Youre getting your info from Wikipedia? Seriously? well from your source, craic is a word synonymous with Irish language and culture. Its a word that none of my British mates had ever heard till they met Irish people. Much like feck!
You might not like the language but the popularity of gaelscoileanna over the past couple of decades tells me that people are interested in the language.
@ Tommy
Good for you if you want to speak Gaelic but get your facts straight. We the Irish people, like the word “Craic”, descend from Gaels, Normans, Welsh, English, Scots and now more recently Poles, Latvians, etc. Who the hell are you to tell me what my culture is or what language my children should speak?
Brian, in my ideal ireland, Irish people wouldnt be so down on their own culture and what makes us different and unique. I have never met people from any other country who slag off and belittle their own culture. Irish people get offended when asked ‘are you British?’ and yet irish language, dance, sport etc are mocked by the Irish!
Im not for 1 second suggesting everyone should be mad into sean nos and gaeilge etc but I am just saddened that so many people hate the culture.
@ Brian
To create the Ireland you describe, the Irish language needs to shed itself of the political and, dare I say it, ethnic cleansing baggage that has been foisted upon it. We are a hybrid people in a hybrid nation and some day will acknowledge and honour that all that heritage. I am descended from the high kings of Ireland, Norman invaders and English colonists. I see no reason to put one strand of my heritage on a pedestal and spit upon the others as this state and some within it would have me do. I don’t think I am all that different than the average paddy.
Eric, I wholeheartedly agree. The ideal I speak of is one where everyone embraces the language without forgetting their roots. We are a hybrid nation, like most nations. And we should celebrate that. I also agree that Irish shouldn’t be shoved down peoples throats. It creates a bitterness that no amount of goodwill can shift. Only by making it cool and relevant will people want to speak it. And if and when they do want to speak it you’ll also get your economic incentive.
Some of us don’t have a love/hate relationship with the Irish language just no interest. It’s nothing to do with how it is or isn’t thought. We feel it has no use in our lives and don’t have share the sentimental feelings expressed above. Before Irish there were other languages spoken on this Island and we have no interest in learning those either. Languages evolve all the time and their main use is in communication. Now I know there will be heaps of red thumbs from people who think they’re very patriotic; people who propably voted away our soverignty probably amongst them but I wouldn’t ever tell someone not to learn it just don’t shove it down other people’s throats.
Languages die. Check out Stephen Fry on youtube discussing the irish language.
Nail on the head there!!!
Paul Walsh
Nice comment, sums up my feelings.
We need to face up to the fact that Irish is dead and ain’t coming back, we need to focus on teaching our kids living European languages save them emigrating to oz and Canada…we have plenty of culture without the Gaelic language..how many hours are wasted in national schools every week teaching Irish and religion…thumbs down will come from gaelscoil groupies and guys called Fionn and fiacra
This is exactly what I mean. If youre into your own culture in ireland, youre put down and insulted but if you follow man utd and say ‘innit’ then youre ok.
Gaelscoileanna show the highest points from students sitting the leaving cert. Learning through the medium of another language is the best way to learn. In Germany, kids learn history, science, geography etc through English in most schools. Make every primary school a gaelscoil. If kids are fluent by secondary school it won’t be as hard and as much as a chore as it is now
Good point about Germany. Except they learn through English. Which is a useful language in the business world!! As I said before, not many major business deals sealed in the economic and technology powerhouse of Connemara.
@ Barra – where’d ye hear that? There are fee-paying schools in Germany that are bilingual, either English and German or Spanish and German, but most of the state schools I’ve seen there are slightly better at Teaching English than Irish schools are at teaching other European languages. Better, but only very slightly, and, as in Ireland, it comes down to the good luck of having a good teacher or the bad luck of having a clock-watcher…
@ Tommy C – I’ve never met an Irish person in Ireland who says “innit?” Is this a new thing?
Z?, I have met many! Come visit my hospital! Totes is another one.
Pupils in gaelscoils get higher points because they are awarded ‘extra’ points within the leaving cert in what is a blatant act of ethnic discrimination against English speakers.
@ I’m not up with the in-crowd then. It makes me want to cry….
Tá sí beo domsa!
Kids in Europe have an advantage when it comes to learning English. Majority of media i.e tv and film as well as the Internet is in English so they are bombarded with it all the time. But that’s an aside. Irish kids should have the option to learn Irish but should also have the option to learn Cantonese and Spanish as these will be the important languages of the future. I’m a fluent Irish speaker and glad of it as learning a language from such a young age has helped me pick up foreign languages quickly and easily throughout my life. A useful skill when living abroad. We should see it as a skill rather than a cultural thing.
@ Eric They are awarded about 15 extra marks. And many do those subjects through English. They usually tend do then only in Irish up to Junior Cert. it’s proven that children and young people learn better through the medium of a language.
@ Z I was on an exchange to Gemany before and this is the way they learnt. My level of German was pathetic. We should model our teaching of Irish (and languages in general) on the welsh. They got it right.
@ Barra… Give me a minute ( … takes off trolling hat … ) Thanks for the reply. I’ll say again that you were lucky, but I don’t mean to put you down by saying that. It’s an interesting point you made, as I work in education and I spend quite a bit of time visiting Schools all around Germany assessing how effectively they teach subjects compared to Ireland. Ut’s not just me, there’s people doing the same in all the other EU countries, the aim being to be able to have some standardized school system where every country’s equivalent of the leaving cert is comparible to every other country’s. anyway, Germany’s a weird one, firstly because they still have a 3 tier secondary school system. Basically, from age 12 the type of school ( one of these three ) has a huge affect on your later career. What type of school did you do your exchange in; Hauptschule, Realschule or Gymnasium? Don’t worry if you don’t know, I’m just interested. Anyway, but point is that English language teaching at the state school level is very divided; it does divide roughly by rural/urban and lower-middle class / upper-middle class, and it also reflects a conservative / liberal divide. As a result, some Germans acquire very good English language skills, enjoy travelling and are open-minded about other cultures, but other Germans have very poor language skills, have not and will not ever apply for a passport, and are extremely negative towards anything that is not “properly German”. It’s a huge and problematic cultural divide, but regards to this article, I think it’s very interesting that, at least in Germany, English language skill equates with open-mindedness about other cultures I’d guess that if the school you attended was taking part in an exchange programme, it was already in the first camp. It’s funny that you mentioned Germany, because their neighbours; especially the Netherlands, and the Scandinavian countries, have far higher English language skills, but one of the main reasons is that in these countries, English-language ions and TV are subtitled, but in Germany everything is dubbed, and this makes a huge difference in language competency. Language is fundamentally oral and aural, not visual. So, time to put my trolling hat back on and get back to writing bad English…. ( .. places ugly hat on head … ) um, how can ye learn a subject without the medium if a language, you perfected mind p-reading, or do ya go straight to the brainwashing? ( Sorry, I have standards to live down to… )
@ Z yeah it was a Gymnasium. Only mentioned Germany because I’ve been there. Holland & Scandavian counties do have better English.
English is easier to learn for Europeans because if the huge American influence in our media. Music, tv shows, films etc nearly all through English.
As for Irish. I hated it as a subject in school, but I loved the language. Went to the Gaeltacht 5 years in a row every summer. That’s the way it should be taught. Complete immersion in the language. I understand your desire to stop the teaching of Irish but for me, it’s just too precious a part of our culture to do away with. It’s in our identity. I’d live to see a bilingual country like Wales do. But that’s me. I don’t agree with the way it’s being taught. As you said it’s oral and aural. And that’s what we should be focusing on.
I respect that many people in Ireland want their children to grow up learning the language. However, I cannot understand why it is a mandatory subject in school all the way up to Leaving Certificate.
Why aren’t parents and teenagers themselves allowed a choice as with many second level subjects. It might even stand a better chance of being ‘cool’.
Gaelic games, Irish dancing and music are all thriving parts of our culture, and not forced on anyone.
It took an american to give our dancing a boost! Ridiculous!
@Artur. Well said I too agree it should be a choice for kids going to secondary school. My 7 year old is bringing home new Irish words everyday and really enjoys it. Me personally I’ve no interest in speaking Irish but my son loves it and I try to encourage that.
They do seam to teach it a little better these days than before, also I’ve noticed that a lot of the words have changed since I went to school but that’s another days conversation.
Point I’m making is if you want to learn Irish well that’s great and go for it but if you don’t wish to well that’s fine too it should be totally your own choice like everything else in life.
Great idea, hearing the coronas play heroes or ghosts as gaeilge was brilliant, more irish artist should follow this lead and perhaps try influence some of their international music buddies to do versions of their hits as gaeilge also .. Social media can play a huge part in promoting this! Such a great idea!
Why would non irish artists sing in irish? Conradh na Gaeilge used to put a cd out around Paddys day. It was called Ceol. Brilliant stuff on there.
Why would non Irish artist play in ireland for Arthur’s day? :) I’m not a promoter but I’m sure a it could be pitched somehow…
Because they were paid massive amounts of money! I cant see Primal Scream singing ‘clochanna’!
You just answered your own question there Tommy! :) Money Money Money! ;)
I’ll have an aule word in Bobby Gillespies ear so!
They still do Tommy- its called Albam Rí-Rá now to link in with the station Raidió Rí-Rá
http://www.rrr.ie/ri-ra-le-hector/
The biggest challenge the Irish language has to deal with is to stop being the preserve of holier-than-thou cultural elitists and the extreme looney end of nationalist politics. Until that happens, the majority of Ireland’s youth won’t touch the language with a barge pole.
we started a class in my local village in an area of ireland most of you wouldn’t recognise as being irish, 40 people turned up on the first night, in a village with a population of less than 200, more appeared the following week. we are learning our language because it was ours given to us by our forefathers, we are proud to be irish. the teachers are giving up their time freely and the local person providing the venue is giving up their premises, heat etc freely too.
no one is ripping off anyone, unlike some of my experiences in the 26 counties, where some people seem to love the language only when there’s an economic reward in it for them. it is time for ireland to take a look at where they are going and ask themselves is this what they want for future generations.
Sounds great Sean! I bring the kids to Lettermullan and Inis Oir. They meet their mates there and Irish is the only language you’ll hear them speak. well, the eldest anyway as the youngest is kinda sussing it out at the moment!
They go horseriding, canoeing, dancing, etc and I only ever hear the Irish. Its lovely to hear.
Theres kids in my eldests class whose parents arent Irish so its nice to see them have an interest in the culture of the country they moved to.
I agree that Irish is first and foremost a spoken language, and that, it’s in that way it should flourish.
I was never any good at it as a subject in school, but had no trouble communicating in the gaelteacht.
It’s my belief that the damage was done when the grammar and syntax were crowbared on, to suit the academics.
I wish I had a greater vocabulary and fluency, because I think some of my fluent friends are talking fuaim, behind my back!
I was the same. I remember scoring high enough in the oral but scraped a pass every time it came to the written. To learn a language one should be able to speak. That’s not being done by our education system
“We need to make the Irish language cool again”
Implying that it was once cool.
Maith an fear my belief is the an teanga gaeilge was always cool
‘Ho-hum ‘ – what’s that in Irish ?
It doesn’t matter, the thing is that there’s an empty space in my soul – I have some culture, but feel I should have more … ideally, for starters, I’d replace my slate roof with thatch and my car for a donkey with a wicker basket on each side. That’ll give the tourists a huge incentive to visit. But it still leaves me not feeling Irish enough … hmmm. For the coming winter I’ll get in some hand-cut turf and make my own hand-sewn hide shoes. At night I’ll read Peig Sayers (as gaeilge, of course) by candlelight and switch on the Irish subtitles on the TV.
That should do it.
Seriously though, Irish was a medium of communication. We’ve moved on – now we happen to communicate in English.
If you really feel the need to speak, read, write poetry etc. in Irish, then good luck with that, but don’t project your yearnings onto your unfortunate children who will spend most of their lives NOT speaking Irish.
The time wasted, sorry, .. spent, learning Gaeilge could be used for studying a myriad of topics which would actually enhance the Ireland of the future.
Finally, what about twinning Dublin with Rome, whereupon we could pester the citizens to learn Latin as a spoken language, followed by fluency in Etruscan – their original language (and culture). With a bit of luck, in about a hundred years, they’ll all have abandoned that unrefined modern language – Italian.
Ah sure arent you far too sophisticated for any irish culture!? Im sure when youre in rural Italy or France or eastern europe you arent mocking the people working hard on the land without all the trappings and technology of the 21st century. Do you just reserve that for the irish?
Awesome Denis! Great post. A bit too much objectivity for the proponents though.
I don’t see many on this thread advocating that we should speak the original language of this island: basque or perhaps it was phoenician. It certainly wasn’t Gaelic.
Its sad that on another thread, theres an American crying for Ireland,a country she isnt from and yet we slag off our ourselves and everything that makes us unique in the world.
Ba mhaith liom caca milis!
It’s bad for your teeth.
As an Irish youth, I have to say that a lot of young people in school actually do enjoy Irish and in some cases see it as more useful than French will be to them. Personally I find being able to speak Irish and can’t see how having another language is a bad thing for anyone.
A dedicated cadre of ethnic commissars has attempted, since the foundation of this state, to “persuade” young children to speak Gaelic. This immoral project has failed and should cease forthwith.
Good luck to those who wish to speak Gaelic but you have no right to force this on the people of a pluralist democratic society. We the people shall choose our individual culture, language, beliefs and religion (if any). How presumptive of this state to tell me or you what you should think, believe or speak.
When Ireland played France in the rugby and the match was called off a representative of the 6nations addressed the crowd in French. She then stopped and said “I’ll now speak in English, for the the Irish fans”.
For me that was a horribly embarrassing moment. Teaching it to children in national school will do them and the language the world of good. Leaving cert, yes it should probably be optional, but if most were fluent by secondary school they’d probably choose it anyway. It’s just a much too valuable part of our culture to simply throw away.
Wish they’d split the Irish course into contemporary/ conversational Irish and Irish history and literature. A lot of people seem to want to learn the language but get so bogged down in prós and filíocht, they lose the will to live. If you want to learn about Peig and Maidhc Dainín, great, but if you don’t, you shouldn’t be forced to do it!
Great suggestion!
I would love to learn the Irish language, it’s one of the oldest spoken word in the world and so unique. I even bought the cd and books, but to no avail… I was stumped. The pronunciation has my tongue tied in knots.. The few words I did learn, I would proudly say them out to my Irish friends… And they in turn would laugh at me.. Instead of helping or correcting me. I felt stupid and belittled. Which is such a shame. I’ve tried to look up on the Internet as to where I could go and learn the language, but no luck. Oh well, so be it. Lekker bly almal. Geniet die ries vir jou aand.
orcorrecting
Debi
That’s a shame. I’m pretty sure the VEC provide Irish classes for adults.
I think that if the school is just in Irish talking about kinder garden and primary school I mean no English at all and the text books will be in Irish that will bring up the language that’s what the Welsh did and almost all the people that live there even youngest generation speak Welsh, so that will be a good start and they can learn any other European language Spanish, French etc. As a language class just saying :)
Agree 100%
Lads, if you want to speak Gaelic to each other, go ahead. However you can leave me, my children and the 99% of the population of this country who don’t want to out of the conversation. Thank you.
Eric, gaelic is a group of languages. The language we are talking about is Irish, one of the gaelic languages.
@ Tommy
Yet the Gaelic spoken in Ireland (or the many dialects of Gaelic spoken to be precise) is mutually intelligible with the Gaelic spoken in Scotland.
It’s the same language but this fact must be denied by those who lack self-confidence and must reach to the Gaelic language to define their feeble sense of national identity.
Terrible things facts but a bit of Craic anyway.
Its not the same language but it is similar. thats like saying all North Germanic languages are the same. They have similarities but they are not the same.
If some people like yourself see yourself as a hybrid and not Irish then thats fair enough but there are plenty of us who happen to like our culture. You may not and thats your perogative but the loathing you seem to have for all things Irish is quite sad. You might be descended from High kings or whatever, but Im descended from a family who loves this countries culture and I was brought up to respect it and learn about it and thats what Im doing.
You wont hear a Jewish person shunning hebrew or even an italian shunning latin. These people are proud of their heritage and culture and what makes them different and interesting.
“hybrid, not Irish”
Now you reveal yourself Tommy. I suggest you keep your fascist fantasies to yourself.
Germanic languages are not, in the main, mutually intelligible. Gaelic, be it Irish Gaelic or Scots is. It is one language and more than one dialect.
All Irish people are of mixed descent, even you. Deny it if you wish but have a dig through the family tree if you dare.
More facts you seem to have difficulty with.
I have traced my family tree back to the 12th century. well I havent but my granny did. Im born and bred in ireland so the culture of this country is my culture just like the culture of someone from Italy is Italian unless theyre a migrant or theres migration pretty recently in their family tree. this is the culture I grew up with so why wouldnt I have an interest in it?
I have mates for Argentina and Catalonia who are very proud of their languages and culture and why shouldnt they be? Why do you have an issue with irish culture but everyone elses is grand?
Traced the family back 800 years. Well done Tommy. That’s 2^24 (assuming a new generation every 33 years or so), which is more than a million ancestors living in the 12th century and every single one, every single one, was a pure bred Gael. Truly amazing.
My granny is a Daly and for the past whatever number of years, each direct descendant has added to the family tree which is physical papers. Maybe my granny is a liar though and youre right about everything!
i also never mentioned anything about being a ‘pure bred gael’, I did however say I was born and bred here and was brought up with a love for the culture of this island. Your self loathing is really sad.
As a native speaker Eric, I can tell you that Irish, Manx and Scottish Gaelic are not mutually intelligible. For a start, the present tense doesn’t exist in the latter two languages, not to mention the “false friends” and different vocabulary. I also speak Manx fluently, yet despite having two Gaelic languages to my name I still don’t understand Scottish Gaelic. They are more different from each other than Italian and Spanish, or Ukrainian and Russian (the latter two I also speak).
Tommy C the trolling pedant strikes again! No one wants your life story pet
Personally I think the current status of Irish is due in a large part to the extremely poor methodology employed in the teaching of all languages in schools. It is not that difficult to teach someone to speak a second language yet most people passing through the Irish education system never manage to master another language other than English. Why is the Irish educational establishment never brought to book about the abysmally poor outcomes they achieve when it comes to the teaching of any language other than English.
One reason, SIPTU!
How about making patriotism cool again.
Jason that’s a great idea. I hated Irish through most of school, until we did Peig for the leaving cert (have to be certain vintage for that one), loved it then. My daughter (23) loved irish at school, had a great teacher who only spoke Irish throughout the whole class, she got an A1 in honours Irish and would have loved to pursue it, but alas what use could she put it too, what a waste! We should embrace other cultures whilst cherishing our own!
I hated Peig and then I visited the Blaskets and Peigs grave! made me realise that that was how many of my people lived. Gave me a new found respect for how hard people had it in the past.
Peig Sayers, descended of English colonists no less. Surely Tommy such vermin have no place on the soil of the ancient gael?
Eric, you need a massive dose of cop on! Not everyone who likes the Irish language hates the English! Seriously, snap out of it. Youre getting fierce argumentative over something thats obviously eating away at you.
I couldnt care less what Peigs roots were, i was interested in how people lived back then, how they survived in the types of conditions they lived in and how the language was spoken back then.
Get a grip!
Tommy, you are the one elsewhere on this thread and in more than one comment, who claims that anyone who does not speak “Irish” is not Irish.
Perhaps you need some cop on yourself.
Eric, my reply to Darren when he suggested that was -”Not at all! Im only learning but so many words and phrases we use every day that we take for granted come from our native language.” Seriously, why the self loathing? Why the hatred for the irish culture?
We need to scrap Irish in schools and in our government. It is costing the taxpayer double for most things as printing, signage, labour, translators etc makes us uncompetitive. It should be a hobby as is sport etc. times are difficult and wasting money or trying to be efficient should be our main concern.
@ Frank
I can subscribe to the sentiment and despise policies that force our children to learn, what is for them, a foreign language and require all place names now to be in Gaelic even in places like Dublin as nothing short of ethnic cleansing. However there is a small minority on this island who speak the genuine language and the state should, just as it should respect the choices of English speakers, provide its services in the language too.
However the compulsion for the rest of us has to stop.
Jesus Eric, you must have had some b*llox of an Irish teacher! Build a bridge and get over it
Ethnic cleansing? Eh, what?
@Eric. How do you feel about being forced to learn English?
Eric de red ‘…require all place names now to be in Gaelic even in places like Dublin as nothing short of ethnic cleansing…’
Spéisiúil- is as BÁC dom agus an Ghaeilge mar theanga dhúchais agam, is is on nGaeilge a thagann formhór mór na logainmneacha anseo, bí ag caint ar ‘ethnic cleansing’ más ea…
Learning a language is a positive thing, my children will learn Irish & english from birth, followed by Spanish etc from school age onwards. To argue against learning Irish seems very small minded and incredibly negative to me. Sin mo tuarim fein ar aon nos.
How about those who want to learn it do and those who don’t wish to don’t. Agree?
I think it’s a shame to lose our culture.I went on hols to Kerry one year and my neighbour asked me was that in Ireland.She is living here 7 years.People have to be interested in the culture and the geography!!
Tir gan teanga tir gan anam.I was in Ireland several years ago and I was talking to some school children. Was I ever surprised when I discovered that none of them knew the words of The National Anthem in Irish or English. The Irish Language is part of Irish Heritage and Culture whether anyone agrees or disagrees and it is something that should be required learning.Maybe the West Brits in Ireland consider it un-cool.
Best thing for people in this country is to not understand the worlds to the National Anthem. At least then they won’t understand the bloodthirsty sectarianism behind it. Maybe it’s not the Irish language that’s uncool, just the wild-eyed, wooly-jumpered, never-met-a-razor-I-made-friends-with ( male and female ), “lets have a quick Novena and then off to scourge our sins” promoters of the language that p considered uncool.
Bernard Dunne, Des Bishop, Micheal ó, Eogan MacDiarmaida,Sharon Ni Bheolan etc. Hardly any of those things youve described!
5, mmm …, big number, mmm … and Tommy C not amongst them.
Eric, have a cuppa and a bath. For some reason youre on a rant and assume that I want to lock up your kids in a room and beat them till theyre fluent and in love with a language.
This IS Ireland, we have a culture including a language just like France, Germany etc so build a bridge and get over it.
If you hate the language and the culture so much and feel that youre a hybrid/high king/colonist and that doesnt make you happy then move somewhere where you wont hate the culture so much. No one is forcing you to stay here and learn Sean Nos. Get over yourself.
Its just as well you dont work with tourists, theyd hate the place as much as you do after a few hours.
@ Tommy ( why not use your name as Gaeilge ) At least you did say Liam Ó Bloody Grow Up Maonlaí. But seriously (-ish), the title of this article is a perfect example of the basic problem. Let’s make Urish cool again! Again? When was it cool the first time round? Must have been when I was having a lie-in. Top top: never, ever use the word “cool” to promote something unless it’s a beer, an ice-cream or a fridge. Guaranteed to drop you deep in the heart of Father Trendy “trying too hard” territory. Not cool. Not even close. If you really want to popularise the Irish language, give the great unwashed some incentive. Legalised Irish-language brothels. Legalised Irish-language “coffee shops”. I’ll bet you an old school Willie Yeats that the masses’d be clamouring for their half-forgotten cupla focal in a heartbeat…
Ha! You only get the ride if you ask as gaeilge! Brilliant! I can see that taking off big time!
The headline is odd. Says make it cool again. It never effin was. It’s the language if poverty oppression terrorism and seanachis. Aside from a genuine interest in our miserable past it is unlikely many will give a fiddlers about learning it. We would be better off teaching foreign languages better to give irish kids a future working somewhere else in Europe
Blake is an English surname so you might be the sort of person Eric is talking about? A hybrid, a descendent of English colonists rather than an indigenous Irish person? Maybe thats why you werent brought up with a respect or love for it?
Come on Simon. That is far too progressive, pragmatic and beneficial for us here. Don’t you know we need to remain uncompetitive so we can maintain our ‘culture’….
Go assimilate so darren! No one is stopping you!
What does assimilation entail Tommy?
Heil Tommy!
Assimilate means to be like everyone else with no differences such as language or culture or ethnicity.
Yet our resistance to the assimilation that you would have of all of us is not futile.
Facts Tommy.
No Eric, this is what I said -’ in my ideal ireland, Irish people wouldnt be so down on their own culture and what makes us different and unique. I have never met people from any other country who slag off and belittle their own culture. Irish people get offended when asked ‘are you British?’ and yet irish language, dance, sport etc are mocked by the Irish!
Im not for 1 second suggesting everyone should be mad into sean nos and gaeilge etc but I am just saddened that so many people hate the culture.’
My second name is Jordan, it’s English by way of Normandy and was mostly likely taken originally by crusader during his time in the Holy Lands.
Beyond that, I don’t know much about my family’s history but one member may interest you Tommy, my Granddad Charlie Jordan, who was inturned in Wales for his actions during the War of Independence.
Some how I think he wasn’t fighting for a state were people are divided into True Irish, English and “Hybrids”, he was fighting for a state were people were not judged by their origins, were children weren’t dying for lack of food, were people weren’t being born and spending their whole lives in slums.
Maybe we shouldn’t be spending our limited funds in this state on creating a false view of the “Irish People” and use it to help the people of Ireland.
You want real, living Irish culture, go along Grafton Street and watch the preformers, look at the painters selling their works on Merrion Square, go to Rua Red or the Grand Canal theater or the Civic theater or the Helix, go to the Irish Writers section in Eason’s, culture is what people really do, not what their suppost to do.
I lurve a spot of assimilation, me. The silky feeling as my culture just oozes outa me. Milky milky…
David, its always great to know your story and youre lucky you know. Plenty dont. I love that programme ‘Who do you think you are?’. Some stories are fantastic.
I hear you about Grafton St etc but most buskers, painters and people standing still painted can be seen in any city in the UK or mainland Europe though. Its not that unique. Youre dead right about writers though. Im a big fan of spending a day visiting museums and galleries etc in Dublin just as much as I enjoy a genuine trad session in Leenane.
Yes but maybe our buskers and painters go about their art in a way that is uniquely Irish or that has an Irish stamp on it, Caspar David Friedrich and Francis Danby were both romantic painters, but does that mean that their work was any less a contrabution to their own homelands’ cultures?
You dismiss people like me as hybrids, but here is two thinks I’ve learned from studying up in the Botanic Gardens; monoculture ruins flower beds and leaves them dull and sometimes foreign plants grow here in such a way, that is both beautiful and utterly unrepeatable in the place that plant comes from.
@ David : Wide gene pool = Healthy diversity and greater chance for survival. Narrow gene pool = Gombeen politicians.
Actually Blake is of French Hugenot derivation. They settled in Cork. I reckon I’m about as Irish as anyone else.
It’d be great if there was more interest in the language, it’d help if there were more practical uses for it during the day-to-day. It’s embarrassing that I know four languages, from pretty fluent to workmanlike, but I can’t honestly count Irish as one of them.
Nach bhfuil einne abalta Gaeilge a scriobh?
Is f?idir. Ach is su?omh nuachta d?ibh si?d nach bhfuil ach an Bh?arla acu mar phr?omhtheanga…
N? mar Fhrancbh?arla ;)
What an island you have now. ‘Hybrid’ Irish with no culture and fake accents. A nondescript group of humans. So ashamed of your inheritance. The Irish language is not dead, but you try to bury it. You think you are entitled to do as you like. You are so willing to disregard the sacrifices made by others. You have not learned from history. In 100 years, the state of Ireland will not exist. No big deal.
Everyone on this thread is communicating through english. I see no reason to learn Irish. I’m not going to learn a language just so I can tell people that I speak it. We don’t need Irish to appreciate our heritage as all the history books I’ve read were in English. Learning French, German, Mandarin or Spanish would be far more beneficial as we are more likely to need these languages on vacation or in business dealings.
reading through the comments on this article is pretty depressing. I don’t accept this ‘irish is a dead language’ stuff when there are radio stations, a tv channel, programmes, books, and areas of the country which are all communicating through irish. and most going through the school system leave with some level of knowledge of it. I agree that it’s not approached in schools in the right way and I myself hated learning it – until I went to irish college and it suddenly became more than just a subject at school. I’m proud to have a language that sets us apart from other English speaking countries. i love explaining the language and giving phrases to other nationalities who ask me about irish. it’s part of our heritage, part of our culture, it makes us unique. I can’t believe some of the attitudes on here.
Its a shame a lot of us Irish cant speak Irish, but when the Irish news is ion TV I can understand it. .Also I know a few words like…….Ta mea go maith beacuis le dea…..Im well thanks be to god……… Hows that.
You’ve hit on one of my issues with the language there. From the little I remember of it, it seems nearly impossible to get a conversation out with out the sky fairy bring mentioned. Surely if it wasn’t a dead language then it might have deli loped slang by now, or at least some equivalent of “hi”.
How does ‘Sceal?’ sound to you as a greeting? Thats what the lads in Lettermullen were using! As a Dub, I quite liked that!
I stopped reading the comments half way down but in respect to the article I agree but when our own government make it hard for us we’ve no hope. My name is in Irish on my birth certificate but they won’t put it on my passport because I didn’t have proof of usage. My old passport was in English because when my parents applied for it we were moving to a country where they wouldn’t have been able to pronounce it. I think that in its self is a disgrace Important proud of my heritage but our own government is making it hard for me to show this by not allowing me to use my real name
Karen I also stopped reading these comments. Its hard to believe such a fuss over such a beautiful language. I dont speak it but since Bernard Dunnes campaign I have tried to use some words to my kids. I think its really under rated as a language. I was on a train recently when kids from a gaelscoil borded. They were told by their teacher not to speak any english to one another. So they continued in Irish. They were about 10 years old & I envy them. I would love to speak it amongst my children & friends. I dont agree that only the real Irish can speak it but if I could speak I would feel more Irish than I do now. It is important & it should be promoted but not shoved down peoples throats.
We spend a considerable amount of our formative years learning Irish, yet very few of us can speak it now regardless of our original skill level or current like or dislike towards it. Clearly the way it is being thought on both a primary and secondary level is not working if people are incapable of speaking Irish or develop a dislike towards our own language. Comparing to our European counterparts where English is thought in most countries over the same length of time as we learn Irish, they, in general, have a fantastic command of English whether they use it day to day or once in the blue moon. A full primary school working day generally consists of 5 hours, give or take, and from what I remember I was thought Irish everyday for an hour and a half. That is a large chunk of the day to be spent for something that is of little to no use to those children in years to come. Not saying get rid of the language just to be more considerate with the time that is dedicated towards, in my opinion.
Not easy for the teachers when one side is all for it and the other against it. How can they win?
The only true way to learn a language is speaking it and unfortunately we dont have the opportunity or need to do that. As was said above languages are for communicating. Maybe it should be replaced by other languages from start of primary. However not many of us will ever need a second language given that we have English. Different for Europeans.
Time for people here to get rid of that kind of thinking. English isn’t enough. Dublin’s the hub of many European call-centres and support desks, but they can’t use Irish staff because Irish staff don’t speak he languages they need, so they ship in native speakers. Most of the English-language Call-centre contracts already gone to India. For every European language a school-leaver speaks, their employability sky-rockets. The majority of Europeans speak 2-3 languages. We need to compete with that.
Being not Irish, I am very intrested in to learn more about the Irish culture. I do started an Irish course, beside that I am reading alot about history, culture. I will be happy to speak Irish at least an intermediate level, and then give this to my child. Nothing bette
Instead of overhauling the junior cert they should overhaul the curriculum for teaching Irish in schools. Actually teach how to speak it rather than understand it very weakly. I learned more Irish in my orals week in the leaving cert than I did in my whole entire life. I believe that Irish is cool and wish that alot of people would value it but freedom of expression is important and they are entitled to bash it.. Love the story about the Brazilian lady speaking irish. I quite like their culture too.
i have the real answer. any language that is forced on children in school will die or is dead already. i would like the language to survive but you will never succeed this way. stop pushing the heritage thing as that is just a big turn off. promote irish outside schools irish ..not heritage… set up youth clubs that irish must be spoken in all towns. make it a fun place to be.. dont charge for membership or entry.
more gael scoil would be nice. i was part of a committee trying to set one up in crumlin dublin 12. we had the numbers, had the site all we needed was the nod from the government. they told us that because there was antiquate school places (english speaking) in dublin 12 that there was no need for a new school completely ignoring that it was a different type of school we where trying to set up. So don’t buy this argument that Irish is being forced, think there is a lot of obstacles in the way and the bit that gets through is tokenism, maybe the kids see the cynicism through that.
The English language is the only language that has ever been forced on me. It happens almost every time I have to deal with a state institution and even in some social situations as well. I been insulted and verbally abused for speaking Irish. If I was Polish, African or Brazilian people would call it racism. Most people respect my choice to speak Irish. Some people ask me why I bother? The answer is simple. It’s because it’s the language my mother gave me and one day I hope it will be the langauge I give my children’s as well. Tir le Teanga, Tír le hAnam.
easy to blame the teachers, when we can see clearly here kids are going home to parents telling them it’s ok to fail a “dead language”. yes, the system needs working, but until parents face the fact that kids will have to learn stuff in school that is going to be practically no use to them once they leave (solve for x, anyone?) we’ll never get anywhere.
for justification on keeping the irish language “alive”, i point to the rich pool of literature (finest in europe, and the known world at the time) of the 7th and 8th centuries.
if you go to school in germany, you do your schooling in german. if you go to school in ireland, you will have to take a class in irish. i don’t see why this is a problem, if you don’t want to learn irish, move to a country that doesn’t specifically state it as the first language of the state in the constitution.
It surprises and saddens me the amount of ignorance and disrespect shown here in relation to the Irish language and its speakers. Firstly it is not a dead language – it is a minority language with 77,185 daily speakers outside of the education system (2011 census). One third live in Gaeltacht areas. There are still children being raised through Irish. Please get your facts right people and show some intelligence. Turn on TG4 or Raidió na Gaeltachta where you will hear people speaking Irish everyday – both native and non-native speakers. I myself am a fluent speaker and speak Irish daily. I never force anyone to speak Irish. I don’t think there is any other country in the world that has so much hate and disrespect for its own language and culture. But I guess you will find similar in other colonised countries. Irish is such a beautiful language. Yes, the majority of Irish people only speak English now but Irish was the language of the Irish people for most of our recorded history. Its legacy can still be seen in our names, place names, the English we speak, our accents etc. This is all fact like it or not.
Yes, Irish has been taught very badly in the education system and still is. But please remember that that is not the language’s fault. Or Peig’s fault either. She was just a storyteller who had a great command of her native language. It is important that Irish is taught in our schools – but in a better way. But that doesn’t mean we can’t learn other languages too. It defines who we are and where we came from. Irish is a living language still but is in great danger and the ignorance and disrespect of some people towards it doesn’t help. A few weeks ago I was waiting to get into a night club in Dublin speaking Irish to my friend, minding my own business and a girl behind us starting giving us abuse for speaking Irish. I was with a group of friends on the train last year (speaking Irish) and a guy started giving us abuse. It is sad when you can’t speak your own language in your own country without getting abused.
It needs to be taught properly first
I don’t think I’m better than any other Irish person who doesn’t speak Irish nor am I more Irish. I probably have a better understanding of our indigenous culture but that’s it. And no I do not hate the British. I have no problem with them whatsoever and get on great with them. We can’t change history. And the English didn’t really make us speak English. It was Irish people themselves who decided to stop speaking Irish (due to various reasons – emigration, famine, wanting to progress in life etc.). And the reason I did not write this in Irish is because this is an English-language site. And even if I wrote this in Irish I would probably get some abuse for that! Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and I respect that. But please if you are going to comment write an educated, intelligent comment supported by facts and not ignorance.
ROT
Is there any other country in the world where people have such a visceral hatred of the native language as Ireland?
Is there any other country where people are forced to learn the language from people who, for the most part, have no love and very little skull, with the language? When the main reason for knowing the language is to get a civil service position, are you really surprised tat the masses loath both the language and those that promote it. If it were presented less smugly, then maybe there’d be a chance. But as a party-trick, I’d rather learn to juggle..
Stiofán
I think people just resent it being forced on them. I’ve no interest in learning it and never will. I wish those who do well. Simples.
As a father of 3 and a relatively fluent Irish speaker I’ve made some observations over the years. Sure there’s been some attempts to ‘make Irish cool’ sine I was in school in the 60s/70s BUT things haven’t really changed. I’ve always made a point of asking my kids friends what was their least liked subject in school. Irish was almost always the answer, and most often the hardest. This was of interest to me because liking and finding a subject easy were different. Some kids found maths hard but that was not quite the same, most of the kids ‘hated’ Irish. There was an emotional response to Irish and contempt for it. And looking and reading their text books for both primary I realise not much has changed in 40 years. The compulsory nature of its learning is a big mistake, always was. I think the best way to ‘coolify’ Irish is to make it optional, make it easy, emphasise it’s lyrical, musical qualities not the endless drudge.
The reality is that in 40 years the only thing the has changed about the teaching of Irish is the absence of the leather strap, cane, fist etc.
I agree strongly with Tommy C, Pádraic Déiseach etc. The negativity and yes, near-racism toward Irish speakers is ridiculous in this day and age. Yes, Irish is not of use internationally but that shouldn’t matter, the point is it is what many of our ancestors spoke, it is our culture and it has left its mark on place names, surnames, accents, music and the way we speak English and I believe that it should be respected.
Yes, the leaving cert teaching of Irish should be modernised to appeal to today’s people; it should not be composed almost entirely of extremely old, dated pieces of literature from harsh, depressing times in history. But on top of the teaching of Irish being changed, and this is probably much more important, is that WE must be POSITIVE about it. If you’re not interested in the language because you’re snobby about it or it doesn’t relate to your cultural identity, fine, no problem, but please don’t continually disrespect and put-down all of those (and there are many) who strongly believe in living their lives with Irish as a big part of them.
Tá súil agam go mbeidh an Gaeilge beo go deo, agus go mbeimíd in ann marachtaint le Gaeilge agus Béarla taobh le thaobh lá éigin.
Mise le meas,
Farrell Ó Gadhra
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