Irish America

Irish Language

Awards to U.S. Students to Study Irish Language

By Matthew Skwiat, Contributing Editor
August / September 2014

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The Ireland-U.S. Commission for Educational Exchange recently awarded 61 U.S. citizens the chance to study the Irish language in the Gaeltacht regions of Ireland this summer including places such as Galway, Derry, and Kerry. It marked the first ever group of 20 U.S. secondary school students to receive the Gaeltacht Summer Award, with 41 undergraduate, postgraduate, and … [Read more...] about Awards to U.S. Students to Study Irish Language

The Legacy of Danny Cassidy

By Peter Quinn, Contributor
October /November 2009

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Our voices carry; and though slumber-bound, Some few half awake… Give tongue, proclaim their hidden name… W.B. Yeats At one point in Quinn’s Book, the fourth novel in William Kennedy’s masterful “Albany Cycle,” a trainload of Famine immigrants passes through Albany. Witnessing this sad procession, narrator Daniel Quinn is told by a companion, “Pay heed to these people and … [Read more...] about The Legacy of Danny Cassidy

In the Name of the Fada: Comedian Des Bishop

By Niall O'Dowd, Publisher
August / September 2008

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God help the Irish language!  Faced with insurmountable obstacles, it’s on the brink of extinction. You’ve heard such doom-laden predictions before, perhaps even in articles I’ve written.  But I’ve tired of pessimism.  Instead, I’m here to tell you about a new campaign to revitalize the language. It’s spearheaded by one of Ireland’s most prominent Irish-American … [Read more...] about In the Name of the Fada: Comedian Des Bishop

The Trouble with Irish Language

By Sharon Ní Chonchúir, Contributor
February / March 2008

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With the Irish language under threat of extinction, you would think the Gaeltacht, small pockets of Ireland where Irish is still spoken, would be a safe haven for our native tongue.  Not so. The day is drawing to a close and the sun is setting in the sky.  In the dusky light, a farmer strides purposefully home, his feet heavy in earth-covered boots and a shovel slung over his … [Read more...] about The Trouble with Irish Language

Irish Language
Confuses Tourists

By Frank Shouldice, Contributor
August September 2005

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Visitors to Gaeltacht (Gaelic-speaking) areas on the west coast of Ireland may be in for a surprise, following a government directive on the public use of Irish language. The Placenames Order 2004 makes it a law that all Gaeltacht signposts and maps display place names only in the Irish language. Towns widely known by their Anglicized names will now be represented only in their … [Read more...] about Irish Language
Confuses Tourists