Clik here to view.
Words, words, words
I love language and words, fascinated by their origin and original meaning and their metamorphosis into something else. Even though I am always correcting my children’s grammar, I love the way new...
View ArticleClik here to view.
I despair of myself!!
So… Saturday 2nd of February, a busy day; first I have my Gaelic class, then in the afternoon some dear friends are going to be dropping in for tea. A busy day but a very nice day. I know! I’ll try...
View ArticleClik here to view.
LOL
I love English, I love language, which is why it frustrates me that I am not better at learning other languages, and why I persevere with learning Gaelic! On of the things I like is the way language...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Seomra na Ríomhairí
I’m trying to learn Gaelic… but I have to say, that although I really enjoy it, I’m making very little progress. Today we had our workshop with our teacher from Colaiste na nGael, who comes to spend a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Word of the day – gallowglass
A gallowglass was a mercenary soldier of Irish clan chiefs… originally they came from the Hebrides, apparently, of Celtic-Norwegian origin; they were heavily armed and extraordinarily fearsome. I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Word of the day – tiny…. is it Irish?
Tiny is quite a tiny word, you could, I guess extend it to tinier and tininess, but it is basically quite a small word and although it comes from Middle English, tine, no-one seems sure where it came...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Thor’s sacred wood
I read an interesting article in ‘Irish Archaeology’, about the defeat of the Vikings in Dublin by the great Irish king, Brian Bóruma (Boru) in 999. After his victory over Sitric Silkbeard, at the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Latest copy of Scéal!
I received my latest copy of Coláiste na nGael’s newsletter, Scéal today; it’s always interesting and full of reports of what other groups have been up to and in this issue there was also an article on...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Been to my Gaelic class…
I’ve been trying to learn Irish Gaelic for about five years now…, I have no Gaelic ancestry, no connection with Ireland and to be honest I am finding it very hard… but actually I don’t care! I am in a...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Gaelic class to day!
Today is the monthly Gaelic workshop; I’m not Irish, and as far as I can tell, apart from a second cousin of my mother-in-law who married an Irish man for County Wicklow, I have no family connection to...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Learning a language
For most people learning a new language is quite difficult, I know I’m struggling with Irish Gaelic which I have been trying to learn for over seven years, and really I am little further forward! I...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Lending and borrowing words
I’m fascinated by words and names and always interested to find out how they evolved and what they might have been originally and what they might have meant. As an English speaker I’m very conscious of...
View ArticleClik here to view.
To translate is to betray
It was our Gaelic class today, and we were talking about the difficulties and problems of translating. Our teacher mentioned a new translation of the Irish book Cré na Cille by Máirtín Ó Cadhain, The...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Toothpaste
So… on Saturday morning I had my Gaelic class; I got up in plenty of time, showered dressed, kissed my husband cheerio, collected my things and went round the corner, literally, to the village hall,...
View Article
