Say It In Irish, A Chara

The Irish language is enjoying one of its most vital periods of resurgence since it was introduced here by the Celts around 60 BC. Since then it has enjoyed an often turbulent history, oppressed by the British and often rejected for spurious reasons by the Irish themselves. Its treatment as a compulsory subject in schools in the last century did much damage, some genuine and some imaginary, as well as providing a handy excuse for those seeking a reason for not speaking it well or even bothering to learn it.

An element of snobbery, especially during the ‘60s when we seemed to feel that anything from the outside world was automatically better than something of our own, did further damage. Equally, the elitism of some “Gaelgóirí”, who often behaved as if they comprised an upper Brahmin caste far more Irish than the lower orders, hardly endeared many to the cause.
There were regular bulletins forecasting when the language would actually die out altogether, bolstered by gloomy statistics that showed fewer and fewer people actually using Irish on a daily basis (as opposed to those claiming to do so in order to become eligible for grants!).
But recent decades have seen a rekindling of commitment to the language, to the extent that more than a million Irish people now claim to be Irish speakers at some level of proficiency. Even more encouragingly, this revitalisation is not confined to the Gaeltacht areas. Many people from overseas, including, but not exclusively, members of the Irish diaspora, already speak or are studying Irish.
The vibrant Irish trad music scene, and its popularity abroad, has played a particularly significant part in spurring a renewed interest in Irish culture on a global scale. Many of our top trad performers, from Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh from Altan to various members of Kila and Danú, for example, are native speakers, while the rock sector has Irish speakers like Liam O Maonlai, Moya Brennan, Luka Bloom and others spreading the word, and spreading it in Irish too.
Below, we look at several of the organisations and companies who are spearheading this revival.

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According to Ferdie Mac Anfhailigh speaking from the organisation’s Belfast office, Foras na Gaeilge exists to help promote the Irish language. It was set up following the Good Friday Agreement as an All-Ireland body for languages, with Ulster Scots the other key part of the equation. They have their head office in Dublin.
He concurs with the view that a serious resurgence in the Irish language is well under way. “You only have to look at the number of kids in Irish classes,” he observes. “Name one parish or town in Ireland with no Irish language class in it! Look at the numbers attending summer colleges in the Gaeltacht. The facts speak for themselves.”
Ferdie argues that the impetus for so many today desiring to learn Irish comes from people now wanting to know more about who they are and where they’re from.
“It’s also a statement of their individuality. If, for example, you want to know the meanings of place-names or surnames you need to have some basic understanding of the language through which those words came. How many place names do any of us know in Ireland that are not originally Irish? Very few, except for a few settlement names which are Viking or Norman. So it’s very hard to know your culture without knowing your language. The language is the bearer of the culture.”
He is equally aware of the role played by Irish music in encouraging an interest in our language.
“Irish music can be a tremendous catalyst for introducing people to the language. But others may want to learn Irish because of the area of the country in which they live, or because of the people with whom they socialise. We have become a truly multi-cultural nation over the last number of years, and that can only be a good thing.”
On the subject of compulsory Irish he forcefully makes a very valid point.
“They talk about compulsory Irish in the south, but nobody ever talks about compulsory English or compulsory maths! So that point is always couched in very negative terms, and it’s not good. People often forget that when you’re learning any language you’re also picking up language-learning skills which will be of benefit if you go on to learn another language.”
When approached by those who express an interest in learning Irish for the first time, he generally advises them to think clearly as to why they want to do so. “Their desire to learn Irish might be for cultural, business or some other reason. But any language should be regarded as a living thing, so I would ultimately advise oral classes,” he says.
He also holds the optimistic view that the revival will continue into the foreseeable future, and sees it as offering great opportunities for economic development in terms of language and culture tourism. “Our culture, which has our language at its core, can definitely be used to attract people into the island of Ireland,” he concludes.

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Údarás na Gaeltachta is a Galway-based regional development agency, charged with the encouragement of economic, social and cultural development in the Gaeltacht regions. Gael Saoire is its offshoot organisation, set up to disseminate information on areas for holidaying in the Gaeltacht. Bertie O Finneadha, their Tourism Manager, sees how the increasing interest in Irish music at home and abroad brings more people to Gaeltacht areas and fosters a deeper interest in Irish culture, including the language.
“A lot of music you hear these days, whether live at sessions or on the radio or on CD, has its roots in the Irish language,” he observes, “so an interest in Irish music goes hand in hand with an interest in Irish culture and the language in particular. We would see culture as the language and the music combined, and including both vocal and instrumental Irish music. The areas where the music tends to flourish most are often the same areas where the language flourishes.”
Bertie reckons that the increasing interest young people are showing in learning the language will have an effect on jobs, especially in the Gaeltacht areas.
“More than 20,000 students from all walks of life come to the Gaeltacht colleges in summer to learn Irish,” he says. “Although they’re mainly from Ireland, there are some who come from abroad. And it’s not only young people who go to the Gaeltacht to learn Irish. There are many opportunities for adults to combine different types of holidays, such a painting holiday or walking or music or whatever, in places like Glencolumbkill, Dingle or Carraroe, with learning Irish.”
Bertie is optimistic about the future growth of the language. “In one sense, our backs are to wall as a nation in relation to retaining our share of the tourism market. But if we can conserve and protect what we have in terms of our culture and language, we can develop products which will be unique and will attract tourists and visitors.”
This optimism is also reflected in the establishment of Litriocht.com which, according to its mainman Tom Fitzgerald, is more focused on the international market than the home market.
As he explains: “The number of Gaelscoileanna has risen dramatically in recent times. There has always been an interest in learning Irish among the Diaspora, but the facilities have not been available in the past. But we are now learning to use the technology properly to the benefit of those who want to learn Irish.”
He also believes that there is another significant factor driving the resurgence. “We have young Irish people travelling around Europe meeting others who have their own language. That is helping them to realise that, in the Irish language, we have something very precious and which should not be allowed to decay, so they come home and learn Irish to reinforce their national identity.”
Tom, who comes from a Gaeltacht area himself, also sees as significant the fact that Irish is one of the oldest languages in Europe.
“People have learned that language is more than just a way of stringing words together,” he notes. “The meaning of things is reflected differently from one language to another. We have to ask ourselves what does it mean to be Irish and how do we view life differently from other nations.”
From observing his own children, he also feels that the way Irish is taught in schools mitigates against its popularity.
“I meet many people who are negative about Irish, and it usually goes back to the way it was taught to them in school,” he reflects. “On the other hand, Irish music has a very positive role to play in the language revival. As soon as people get really interested in the music, they quite naturally want to delve deeper into Irish culture, including the language.”
The setting up of Litriocht.com goes back to when Tom used to teach Irish in California but had difficulty finding useful books. On returning to Ireland he discovered a store of books in Irish and decided to make them available on a global basis. “We make as many Irish-language books as possible available to the global market,” he explains “and we now sell books in Irish to places all over the world, from Finland, Japan and Australia to Zaire. But with 40 million of Irish decent in the USA, that’s obviously our biggest market.”
The best selling categories through Litriocht.com include children’s books and books for beginners to learning Irish, religion, novels and bealoideas. Among their top bestsellers are An Biobla Naofa Book, Briathra Na Gaeilge, Progress In Irish, Rotha Mor an tSaol and Peig.
Tom also recently launched Gaeltacht.net to use modern technology to teach Irish to a global audience directly from the Gaeltacht, and through broadcasting live interactive classes from Cape Clear via satellite. “We’re trying to make the point that Irish as a language is intrinsically valuable,” he says. “There’s a market out there for it and we want to tap into it for the love for the language rather than as a major business opportunity, which it isn’t.”
Contact Litriocht.com at 026-47330.

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The name Gael Linn has for decades been associated with fostering a love of the Irish language. The organisation runs Irish language courses in Dublin, from September to June, at five different learning levels.
“Our courses,” Áine O Cuirean tells us, “run two evenings each week for six weeks for a total of thirty-six hours of learning. It costs 250 euros, and at the end of that course the student should be able to carry on a simple conversation in Irish. All our courses are conversation-based, the aim being to encourage direct communication through Irish, irrespective of what level the student is at.”
Gael Linn also run two eight-day courses in the Donegal Gaeltacht which are extremely popular, attracting people from all over the country and sometimes from abroad.
“For our recent July course we had five classes and over eighty students,” Áine reports. “But apart from doing the courses we also advise students to do other things that will enhance their studies, such as listening to Raidio na Gaeltachta and watch TG4. But I know that there are people who first met at a Gael Linn course who continue to meet socially and speak Irish to each other. We shouldn’t forget that there’s a social aspect to learning Irish, as well as the more obvious cultural benefit.”
Since going to work for Gael Linn in 1989 she has seen interest in Irish growing steadily over the years.
“Irish natives, when travelling abroad,” she observes, “often realise for the first time that there’s something unique about Irish culture and our language, maybe after people assumed they were English just because they spoke English. Many come back determined not to let that happen again.”
No previous knowledge or proficiency in the language is required before undertaking a Gael Linn course. Those seeking further information should contact Gael Linn at 01-6074030.

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The recent upsurge in interest in Irish was also the spur for the setting up of Club Sult, which takes place every second Thursday in the Castle Inn in Dublin. It came into being four years ago to provide an informal and inclusive environment for people interested in Irish language and culture. According to Club Sult’s co-director Ailín Ni Chonchuir: “We provide music from all over the world, from salsa and jazz to belly-dancing. We don’t give people a grammar exam at the door, and we don’t insist that people speak Irish in the club. We simply provide a venue where Irish speakers can meet other people with similar interests and learn from each other in a relaxed situation.”
She argues that places like Club Sult and Irish-language cafes in Dublin are changing our perceptions of Irish and giving our language a relevant place in contemporary Irish society. Club Sult doesn’t operate a membership system, and attracts a wide variety of customers, from students to workers of all ages.
The informal entertainment includes a regular house band and guest artists of the calibre the Cafe Orchestra. The open-ended entertainment policy, not least in the regular inclusion of belly-dancing, breaks down the stereotypical assumption that Irish speakers only listen to sean-nós, read Peig Sayers novels and follow GAA.
Ailín feels that the number of foreign students attending Irish language classes is encouraging Irish people to take a deeper interest in their own language. Club Sult runs Irish language courses in Dublin using modern approaches to language learning.
If you want info on upcoming events or would like to go on Club Sult’s mailing list, contact Ailin at 086-4015318.

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The concept of an Irish language cafe is a novel one, and the success of Tri D at 3 Dawson Street in Dublin 2 is testimony to the current good vibes about the Irish language.
Tri D has space for seventy customers. It’s fully air-conditioned, offers a tasty selection of Irish and international music plus a full take-away service. It’s also becoming an increasingly popular spot outside normal café business hours for celebratory events, such as CD and book launches, receptions, press conferences and business-related hospitality functions. Tri D provide full catering and staff for such events.
There are two air-conditioned meeting rooms upstairs, with photocopying facilities, fax and overhead projectors available.
You can phone them to discuss your event and any special requirements you might need. Contact Tri D’s manageress Mel on 01-4741054.

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Fios Feasa has been operating in the multi-media sector since 1997, producing numerous bi-lingual products, among the most significant being educational CD-ROMS. The CD-ROMs cover a wide spectrum of levels of proficiency for primary schools, secondary school and adult students of Irish all over the world.
According to Matt Mac Carthaigh, Fios Feasa’s sole owner, “Being based in the Gaeltacht area of West Kerry, we wanted to bring our interest in modern multi-media technology and our love of Irish together into one venture. So I like going to work every morning! About 15% of our sales are through the web, to people, both of Irish descent and others, in Zagreb, Lusaka, Tokyo, Israel and elsewhere who are studying Irish. We also have a distributor in the USA.”
He readily agrees with the notion that Irish is now more popular than ever.
“It’s fashionable,” he proclaims, before adding, “But it’s probably something that was a long time coming. If you think back to the 1950s, nobody was interested then in diddley-eye music or set dancing, but they’ve both undergone such a big growth as to become huge global industries in themselves – so the current interest in Irish was probably inevitable too. I reckon it’s a sign of our growing confidence as a nation.”
Matt agrees that the constitution defines Irish as the primary language of Ireland. “But legally, that’s effectively meaningless,” he points out. “There’s a bill going through the Dail that will give us some rights and it will be up to ourselves then to assert those rights.”
The Fios Feasa man strongly believes that if he wants to do business with a state agency like the ESB he should
be able to do so through his own language.
“If I ring them up,” he argues, “why should I have to do business with them in their language? Why can’t I talk to them in my language?”
We may have a way to go yet, but it is not inconceivable that people like Matt will be able to do exactly that at some time in the future, and his company is one of many putting their best endeavours into making that happen.
Contact Matt at Fios Feasa at 066-9152465.