In January, actress Saoirse Ronan stopped by the Late Show with Stephen Colbert. She was there to promote her movie Brooklyn, but the conversation moved into Ronan teaching Colbert (whose ancestry is 15/16 Irish) both how to speak with an Irish accent and how to pronounce traditional Irish names – something that has no doubt been a problem since at least the eighth century, … [Read more...] about A Guide to Pronouncing
Irish Names
Irish Language
A Guide to Pronouncing
Awards to U.S. Students to Study Irish Language
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
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
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
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