Starting January 19th, a group that meets at the Paperbacks Plus in Dallas will begin “Progress in Irish” by Máiréad Ní Ghráda (the little green book).
No book or previous Irish experience required. Totally new? That’s fine!
Paperbacks Plus - 6115 La Vista Dr., Dallas, Texas, 75214 - 3-5pm
MapQuest
* This is near the Tipperary Inn pub & restaurant in Dallas
January 14 2008 | DFW Classes |
The venue was Babe’s Chicken in Carrollton. Chicken, corn, and of course potatoes were eaten by those of us that made it. Irish Fest 08 was the main item discussed as well as initial plans for this year’s events (an immersion weekend and classes).
We’re looking into a booth and preparing some handouts and documentation to try and gauge interest and start up classes again.
January 11 2008 | DFW Events |
A group out in California was nice enough to record several hours worth of Irish Language instruction and post both the footage as well as the study materials up on the internet. You can find that material in an easy to reference way on our forums! Follow the link to see for yourself.
Here’s an example:
January 09 2008 | Gaeltalk Newsletter |
Work is underway to re-establish the Conradh in the DFW area. To that end, we’ve purchased a domain name and some space on a web server. Hopefully this new site will serve as a central place online where we can discuss, plan, and organize. We’re using some of the neat features that are freely available to us these days on the internet to make our homepage more dynamic and useful.
If you’d like to help, drop us a line via the comments page! Tada gan iarracht!
January 07 2008 | Gaelic League News |
The Immersion Weekend went well again this year. We had Brendan McDaid from Austin, Jim Flanagan from Mississippi, Eileen Zurrell from New York and Michael McMeachain from Chicago. We had also invited Junior McKinney from New York, and Brad Wilson from New Jersey. However, Brad had other commitments, and Junior had to stay in New York, as his son was in hospital. Tá súil againn go bhfuil rud ag dul nios fearr libh anois a Junior. Junior has not been able to come two years in a row now. Last year he had a broken leg.
Once again (in Junior’s absence), Kevin Buckley took the role of Céilí leader, with the help of Eileen and Jim to show the dance steps (as Kevin has two left feet! ). As usual, a good time was had by all. There was excellent music from Jim Flanagan and singing from Cór Gaeilge Texais. And there were a number of amusing ‘party pieces’ that were quite memorable (thanks especially to Sean Thane and Eileen Zurrell).
December 01 2000 | DFW Events |
If you’d like to practice reading in Irish, improve your vocabulary, or just keep up with events in the worldwide Irish speaking community, there are several sites on the Internet where you can find interesting and well written material. Listed below are a few of the top sites, along with samples of articles available:
An Doras (bilingual) – Sponsored by Na Gaeil (an Irish language group in Chicago), this ‘American journal of Gaelic culture’ was originally published in print. Now available only online, the goal is to provide articles on folklore, the arts, current events, and the Irish language. Here is an excerpt from an article entitled ‘Dátheangachas in Oileán Iathghlas Eile Dé’ by Eóin Mac Con Uladh:
Seo chugaibh scéal faoi oileán iathghlas taithneamhach a chuireann cumha agus croí trom ar a chlanna más gá dóibh imeacht thar lear. Cé gur breá álainn an tír í, tá sí bocht agus ní féidir léi postanna go leor a sholáthar dá muintir ar fad.
Ach tá tír mhór chumasach i gcóngaracht di agus tá fhios ag na hoileánaigh ó aos óg go bhfuil “an long i ndán dóibh,” go gcaithfidh siad dul ar imirce go cathracha móra ar an mórthír le go gcónóidís i dtionóntáin phlódaithe agus go n-oibreoidis ar thuarastal shuarach feasta. Is mar sin an bheatha don fhormhór acu, ach téann an corrdhuine ar ollscoil agus faigheann sé post galánta thall nó abhus agus deireann sé nach bhfuil sa scéal thuas ach stereotype — níl nithe chomh dona agus mar a bhíodh.
* this post has been edited, the other three links originally provided back in 2000 no longer function *
August 01 2000 | Gaeltalk Newsletter |
by Mary Kiernan-Tighe
My husband Barry and I had the pleasure to participate as a host family with Project Children last summer. We hosted a beautiful 11-year-old girl named Nakela, from Derry, for six weeks. Our nieces, Kelly and Grace, visited from New York to be part of the fun.
It is not the adventures of the Fort Worth Zoo, Fossil Rim, Six Flags, Hurricane Harbor, Dallas World Aquarium, or meeting our friends from various backgrounds that I am going to tell about. What I think may be of interest to the Conradh are the conversations Nakela and I had about the Irish language.
A few days after her arrival, I was playing a Clannad CD and they were singing a song in Irish. Nakela asked me in all sincerity “are they singing in Spanish?” I, in amazement and amusement, let her know they were singing in Irish.
Another conversation began in the car one day about Spanish, as Nakela had heard some people speaking Spanish. I mentioned to Nakela that a lot of people in Texas speak Spanish. Again in all sincerity, Nakela remarked that “English is such a perfect language. Why can’t all people in the world just speak English?” This led to a discussion about culture, identity, language, and soul. I also mentioned that Irish used to be spoken throughout Ireland. Nakela seemed to take an interest.
During Nakela’s stay, one of her mother’s phone calls was to tell Nakela she needed to pick two languages to learn in her fall semester. She proudly told me after she got off the phone that she chose Irish as one of her languages. I gave her one of our newsletters to “show and tell” her Irish language teacher. So somebody may be hearing from an Irish teacher from Derry.
Although I have not told of all our adventures, I will mention that it was truly an Irish Blessing to have Nakela in our home.
August 01 2000 | Gaeltalk Newsletter |
Raidió na Gaeltachta - Live Online!! All Irish language radio now available on the Internet. RealAudio required. http://www.rte.ie/rnag/
Altanna Gaelic-L Do Foghlaimeoirí - For the serious student, here are some articles suitable for beginners (they contain either a dictionary or a translation).
August 01 2000 | Gaeltalk Newsletter |
by Séamas Hickey
Na Rosa go Brách is ainm do bhailiúchán gearr-scéalta faoin shaol agus nósanna Ghaeltacht Thír Chonaill thart fá deireadh an 19u haois. Rugadh an t-údar Mánas Mac Cumhaill (le ainm pinn Fionn Mac Cumhaill, ar ndóigh) sna Rossa i 1885. Ina dhiaidh cuairt beag go Meiriceá mar lúthcleasaí agus mar dornalaí, d’fhill sé go hÉirinn agus é gníomhach I ngluaiseacht na Gaeilge agus i gCogadh na Saoirse. Foilsíodh “Na Rosa go Brách” a chéaduair i 1939. Tháinig ár rogha as an chéad chaibidil:
Aimsir An Drochshaoil
Eadar an dá ghaoth, Gaoth Dobhair agus Gaoth Beara, atá na Rosa. Ceantar anróiteach, iargúlta é nach raibh a oiread agus bealach mór amnáin féin ann arbh fhiú bealach mór a thabhairt air roimh bhliain an drochshaoil.
I mbliain an drochshaoil d’imigh drochbhláth ar gach seort sna Roas. Ach sa bheag, ba ar phréataí agus min choirce a bhiodh bunadh na háite beo. Ach tháining an aicíd bhubh ar na préataí agus níor líon gráinnín an choirce mar ba chóir. Nuair a bhí na préataí bainte agus an coirce meilte ní raibh trian féin na bpréataí nó na mine coirce acu ba ghnách a bheith acu. Tháinig an geimhreadh orthu go luath agus mhair sé go Féil’ Pádraig. Roimhe nó ina dhiaidh n’ior mhoithigh siad geimhreadh chomh tíoránta lies. Eadar a bheith ag sioc, ag cascairt, ag siabadh shneachta agus ag doirteadh fearthanna, ní raibh an ach lá ag gabháil chun olcais ar an lá eile. Bhí an fharraige ina craos amháin, gan an sioc in ann a buaidh a fháil, agus í ag éirí ar an talamh . . . de dhóigh gur mhinic a shíl cuid de na daoine go raibh an domhan mór ag réabadh, agus go raibh deireadh an tsaoil ann.
D’fhág na caoirigh taobhanna na gcnoc agus na talta arda chomh luath agus a tháinig an sneachta orthu, agus chuaigh siad ar lorg foscaidh. Ach níor fhág an treas ceann acu clúid an fhoscaidh ní ba mhó. Tháinig an sneachta. Shocraigh an ghaoth. Bhí bratógaí chomh leathan le croí do bhoise ag titim ar dhroim a chéile. Luigh na bratógaí san áit ar thit siad go dtí go raibh doimhne glún fir de shneachta ar an talamh. Ghéaraigh an ghaoth. Bhí an sneachta ag titim i rith an ama, ach go raibh sé mion tirim anois. Thoisigh an plúchadh agus an siabadh. Níorbh fhada go raibh ráthannaí sneachta ar thaobh na gaoithe de na claíocha; agus níorbh fhada ina dhiaidh sin go raibh na clúdaíocha agus na hailteannaí cothrom leis an chuid eile den talamh.
In English
The Rosses Forever is the name of a collection of short stories or vignettes dealing with the life and customs of the people of the Donegal Gaeltacht around the turn of the last century. The author Mánas Mac Cumhaill (who wrote, inevitably, under the pen name Fionn Mac Cumhaill) was born in the Rosses in 1885. After a stint in America as an athlete and boxer, he returned to participate in the Irish language movement and the War of Independence. He was the author of a number of works. “Na Rosa go Brách” was first published in 1939. Our selection is from the opening chapter:
Famine Times
Between the two “gaoths”, Gaoth Dobhair and Gaoth Beara, are the Rosses. An isolated, severe place that did not even have a highway worthy of the name before the year of the Famine.
In the year of the Famine, all sorts of blights came upon the Rosses. But for a little while, it was on the potatoes and oatmeal which kept the inhabitants alive. But the black blight attacked the potatoes, and not a single grain of oats was as it should have been. When the potatoes were gathered and the oats harvested, there was scarcely a third of the usual amount of potatoes and oats. The winter arrived early and stayed until St. Patrick’s Day. Neither before nor since had they experienced such an oppressive winter. Between the freezing, the thawing, the blizzards, and the pouring rain, each day was more horrid than the previous one. The sea was extremely abusive, rising up on the land since it couldn’t freeze . . . in such a way that some of the people thought that the whole earth was shattering, and that the end of the world was come.
The sheep left the hillsides and high hillocks as soon as the snow arrived, and they went in search of shelter. But scarcely a third of them ever left their little nook of shelter. The snow came down. The wind subsided. The snowflakes were as broad as the width of your palm falling down together. The flakes lay where they fell until the snow was knee-deep on the ground. The wind picked up. The snow continued to fall, but now it was a dry powdery snow. It began to snow heavily and turn into a blizzard. It was not long before there were snowdrifts blown up along the hedges, and not long after that, in the sheltered places and ravines as much as anywhere else.
August 01 2000 | Gaeltalk Newsletter |
Even broken Gaelic is better than clever English
Would you like to see your name in print? We would love to see more articles from y’all out there; such as how you got interested in Gaelic (through Irish music or your family, etc.)
August 01 2000 | Gaeltalk Newsletter |