Comments on: The Irish Language: 5 things you need to know

By: Must-see Gaeltacht regions when you get to Ireland | Bitesize Irish Gaelic

Must-see Gaeltacht regions when you get to Ireland | Bitesize Irish Gaelic — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 20:23:06 +0000

[...] Irish (Gaelic). The only way to find this out is to ask the proprietor. You’ll be able to hear the language being spoken, and you’ll be supporting these [...]

By: Saise

Saise — Wed, 22 Sep 2010 07:38:05 +0000

I totally agree with you Eileanóir!
When we’re travelling around I keep asking my Irish speaking husband what the names of the places mean and sometimes he doesn’t know so I started bringing a dictionary on our travels around Ireland. The place names are great story/history/culture tellers.

By: Eileanóir

Eileanóir — Tue, 21 Sep 2010 20:06:59 +0000

I am a native Irish speaker from the Connemara Gaeltacht and I am studying Irish and English in University. I have found that Irish has so much more meaning than English, if you see the name of a place in Ireland it has a meaning to it. These things are very important and need to be kept alive therefore, we need our native tongue.

By: Rachel

Rachel — Wed, 31 Mar 2010 20:56:12 +0000

I can strongly recommend the Rosetta Stone Irish lessons. I bought them recently and I think they are a great way to learn the langauge. I am going slowly but I am really enjoying it!

By: Deirdra Murphy

Deirdra Murphy — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:10:57 +0000

Saying Irish is a dead language because it isn’t currently spoken by everyone in the country is like saying no one in Ireland uses electricity, so the last remaining power plants should be shut down because not everyone understands it thoroughly…there are levels of understanding,levels of usage, levels of relevance…but if you choose to give up on your language altogether, you are not moving forward, but back into the dark.

By: Saise

Saise — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 10:15:16 +0000

I think every nation has a Peig Sayers of their own, an author whose works packed with misery everybody hates, but unfortunately everybody has to read and learn about! I can’t wait to learn enough Irish to be able to read her books in Irish. It might sound a bit conservative or even extremist, but that’s where the spirit of the language lives – in the works of Peig Sayers and the likes.

By: Eoin

Eoin — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:13:02 +0000

@Cassy: I’m sure you’ll have a great time next year. I would say be realistic about what you can learn if you don’t have a one-to-one teacher. Maybe you’d be interested in the audio phrases Gold Membership at http://www.irish-sayings.com (our sister site). I suggest you take a look.

By: Cassy

Cassy — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 23:19:19 +0000

I am from the states and I’m traveling to Ireland with my Fiance in September for our honeymoon. I am looking to learn to speak Irish before we go there. I think it would be wonderful to learn the language and to be able to engage in small conversation in Irish with some people while we are there. Anyone have any suggestions?

By: Joe McInerney

Joe McInerney — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:50:21 +0000

In response to Comment #1. Curse words in a dominant language of a people are often common words of the people they conquered. When the Norman-French conquered the Anglo-Saxons in 1066, common words for sex and bodily functions in Anglo-Saxon became vulgar words in the Anglo-French mix that became modern English. The word ‘vulgar’ orignally meant ‘common’ or ‘native.’

By: Joe McInerney

Joe McInerney — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:39:10 +0000

A people who have lost their language have lost their culture. The Irish should preserve their Irish language at all costs, else they become part of the Anglo-American culture. When the Native American Lakota started speaking English, their culture became a shadow of its former self.