Irish Language, The
Although constitutionally recognised as the nation's first official language, the Republic of Ireland's population speaks Irish primarily as a second language, with just a minority speaking it as their first language. Links to the basics of the language or in depth discussion on the language and its current status will feature here.
Traditions, folklore, history and more. If it's Irish, it's here. Or will be!
Daltaà na Gaeilge is a tax exempt, not for profit corporation dedicated to promoting and teaching the Irish language.
From its rugged coastline to its inland mountains and lakes, Ireland’s Gaeltacht, where the Irish language can still be heard, offers the opportunity for a very different holiday experience.
Here you'll find some useful resources to help you to understand the Irish Language better. Irish is an ancient language, with a limited number of speakers nowadays, but it still attract many people interested in Irish and Celtic culture.
The Heritage Council seeks to protect and enhance the richness, quality and diversity of our national heritage for everyone. It works with its partners, particularly at local level, to increase awareness of our national heritage and to highlight its importance to public policy and everyday life.
The current version of this article contains the names of over 1600 women and over 3600 men and is intended as a representative sample of the data available. The term Anglicized Irish is generally used to refer to Irish Gaelic words rendered in a phonetic or pseudo-phonetic form in historical documents written by an English speaker.
The definitive list of Ogham characters which is part of ISO/IEC 10646. The Ogham character names are given in English and Irish Gaelic.
Tucked into the rugged landscape of Southwest Donegal, Gleann Cholm Cille (or Glencolmcille) has been a symbol of hope and success to other emigration-drained areas since the 1950s. Here, by valuing both tradition and innovation, a small community has maintained its cultural vitality.
Glencolmcille-based Oideas Gael has started publishing a new on-line magazine, Beo!, an Internet magazine for Irish speakers in Ireland and worldwide. Take heart, all Irish learners-- webmaster of www.beo.ie is Mr Michal Boleslav Michura, a fluent Irish speaker from the Czech Republic.
Here's Island Ireland's collection of Irish proverbs alongside their English translations. BÃonn chuile dhuine lách go dtéann bó ina gharraÃ. (Everyone is sociable until a cow invades his garden.)
Welcome to an SpailpÃn Fánach, the Gaeltacht store online. Specialising in Irish language and culturally related products, we offer you a wide range of unique designs in t-shirts and casualwear, Irish courses and educational aids, music, and quality Celtic gift items and crafts.
West Kerry's Litriocht.com is working to make all books published in or on the Irish language available online. The site looks to be quite well-organised, with a very comprehensive selection on offer, and they've gone to the trouble to provide cover images and a bi-lingual description of each item.
Gaeltalk teaches the Irish language via an online language course. Our online course is suitable to those who wish to learn Irish from native speakers either for personal or business use. Gaeltalk is designed to make a direct connection between the Gaeltachts (Irish-speaking areas in Ireland) as well as the Irish diaspora around the world.
Coláistà Chorca Dhuibhne Teo has been in existence in Baile an Fheirtéaraigh, West Kerry, for almost forty years. It is a subsidiary of Comharchumann Forbartha Chorca Dhuibhne the West Kerry Development Co-operative which was established in 1966.
Provides links to resources of all kinds pertaining to the Irish language.
This site provides English to Irish Gaelic translations. The Gaelic English translations are provided free of charge. The Irish Gaelic language isn't called that in Ireland! We simply call it "Irish", or "Gaeilge". Furthermore, "Gaelic" can refer to the related language in Scotland.
Using information from named authoratative sources, this section of my website explains the decline of the Irish language since the establishment of the Irish Free State in 1922, and proposes a scheme to reverse it. It also contains background information about the current state of the language & people's attitudes to it. The Irish word for the language is Gaeilge, so it is sometimes referred to as Gaelic or Irish Gaelic. The site may be of interest to supporters of other Celtic languages or Lesser-spoken languages (minority languages).
The Gaeltacht (areas where Irish is the community language) includes large parts of counties Galway, Mayo, Donegal and Kerry, and smaller areas in counties Cork, Waterford and Meath. Údarás na Gaeltachta is the government agency responsible for promoting the economic and social development of these areas, working to preserve and maintain the daily and widespread use of the Irish language. They are a valuable resource for any issues pertaining to the Gaeltacht, or to the Irish language.
Oideas Gael offers all sorts of Irish language and cultural courses in spectacular locations in Donegal. Their site may inspire you to enjoy an educational holiday learning Irish (while hillwalking or figuring out how to play the bodhrán or picking up some Riverdance moves).
BBC Northern Ireland provides about 40 hours per week of radio programming in Irish (including the popular nightly radio magazine Blas), with RealAudio downloads available.
RTE (Radio TeilefÃs Éireann) also provides Irish language programming. For details on radio programs, have a look at the list of their RealAudio downloads.
"Irish diplomacy is the ability to tell a man to go to hell so that he looks forward to making the trip."
Irish toasts for everyday and special occasions. "'Go mbeire muid beo ar an am seo arÃs." "May we be alive at this time next year."
Irish is one of the three Goidelic languages, the others being Scottish Gaelic and Manx. This Goidelic branch together with the Brythonic branch (Welsh, Cornish and Breton) form the Celtic language family. These are spoken in parts of the Ireland, Britain and France.
The Irish language is indeed a living language, while it is far from the most dominant language in Ireland. However, as you travel through Ireland, you'll see Irish words almost everywhere, indicating the language's underlying influence. You'll see Irish written on road signs, which might be the most notable place. But you'll also see an Irish word here and there, in pubs, shop names, B&B names, and indeed the orignal version of placenames.
Gaelic documents from digital collections at Coláiste na Rinne, Mount Melleray Abbey, National Library of Ireland, Royal Irish Academy, Trinity College Dublin, University College Dublin, and National University of Ireland, Galway.
Ogham Art create an exclusive line of distinct gifts featuring Ogham, the first written form of the Irish language.
Government body responsible for compiling Irish official statistics. Provides data and information on methodology.
Will search only the Gaelic headwords of the dictionary for any that contain the string given.
The RIA's collection of c.2,000 manuscripts includes the largest corpus of Irish language manuscripts in a single repository, the oldest surviving Irish manuscript, the Cathach, or Psalter of St. Columba, and other important early texts.
Men, are ever valued most for peculiar and original qualities. A man who can only talk commonplace, and act according to routine, has little weight.