The Gaeltacht

Here's The Whole Clan!!

MACFIE

FENNELLY

MONAHAN

DUFFY

McGUIRE

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WELCOME TO THE GAELTACHT

Here is a page where you can hear and practice the Irish language. Click on the words to activate the sound, so you can hear the pronunciation of the words. It's very different from the spelling! There is also a phonetic rendering behind each phrase, which will approximate the pronunciation. At the end of this page, there are several links to other things of interest to would-be Irish speakers.

How do you say hello?

Dia duit (JEE-uh gwitch) Good day
Dia's Muire duit (juss MURR uh gwitch) Same to you
Conas tá tú? (KUNnus thaw TOO?) How are you?
Táim go maith. (TOM guh MAH) I am well
Dia annseo isteach! (JEE-uh unSHO ishchockh) God save all here! (This is said on entering a house or room...it's a group greeting)
Slán leat (slawn LAHT) (said to one leaving) Goodbye
Slán agat (slawn UGut) (said by one leaving) Goodbye
Slán abhaile! (slawn aWHILEyuh) Safe home!

MAKING SENTENCES In Irish, the verb begins the sentence. The subject and any modifiers follow the verb. The object and its modifiers follow the subject. Here are the endings of regular verbs in the present tense.

__________-im ___________-imíd

__________-ir ___________-ann

__________-ann ___________-id

All regular verbs follow this pattern, with spelling changes in the stem depending on whether the stem ends in a broad vowel (a, o, or u) or a slender vowel (i or e). {We will talk more about what this means when we discuss nouns and begin making sentences ourselves. It's one of the reasons that written Gaelic looks nothing like it sounds.} Here is a list of commonly used verbs for you to practice on. The form in which they are given is always the first person ("I______"). So you may take the stem (everything before -im) and add to it all the other endings to conjugate the verb.

I eat......... ithim (EEyum)
I drink....... ólaim (ULLum)
I fill........ líonaim (lyENNum)
I read........ leím (LAYum)
I write....... scríobhaim (SCREEvum)
I run......... rithim (REEyum)
I fall........ titim (CHIchim)
I stop........ stadaim (STAtim)
I sit......... suím (SEEM)
I wait........ fanaim (FANum)
I leave....... fágaim (FOCKum)
I understand.. tuigim (CHIGum)

SOME USEFUL PHRASES

An bhfuil_____agat? Can you speak_______? (recording says "Irish")
Is mise______ I am_____( your name) (recording says "Maureen")
C'ainm atá ort? What's your name?
Cé seo? Who's this? ( a third person)
Seo_______. It's ______( their name)( recording says "Patrick")
Cá as tú? Where are you from?
Is as_____mé. I'm from______.( recording says "America")
Cá bhfuil tú i do chónaí? Where do you live?
Tá mé i mo chónaí i(n)____ I live in (at)______.( recording says "New York")
An dtuigeann tú? Do you understand?
Tuigim. I understand.
Ní thuigim. I don't understand.

OTHER GAELIC LINKS

You may like to talk to others who are interested in things Celtic. There are mailing lists which cover a diverse range of topics.

Imbas is a list for Celtic reconstructionists, interested in the ancient language, religion and culture of the Irish.

The harp is the national instrument of Ireland. Check out my harp page and links!

Ceolas is a resource which has various addresses, all concerned with Celtic music on the Internet. This site is concerned with traditional Irish music, and has a link where you can obtain lyrics in Gaelic with translations!

IrishNet is a collection of Irish-related resources of all kinds in America. You may even find a group of Irish speakers in your own city!

Here is a great collection of General Irish phrases for beginners and travellers, with sound!

Dennis Doyle, a Celtic harper of some repute, sings and speaks Irish. This collection of resources is his work. Check out his homepage, too...it's worth the trip!

Here is a selection of teaching links, including searchable dictionaries, and literature with search engines and commentary.

You can read the daily news from Ireland in your own online copy of "The Irish Times," Ireland's premier daily paper.

If you are interested in sharing your own study of the language, you can email me in Irish. I will translate your letter and respond to it in Irish...slowly!

If you are interested in writing to other Gaelic speakers in Irish, you may join the GAELIC-B mailing list; you will definitely need a dictionary handy for this one! The link says it is for speakers of Scots Gaelic, but when I belonged back in May, everyone was speaking Irish! Let me know if I am wrong about this one?

When you leave someone's home in Ireland, you may hear someone say " Slán abheile". It means "safe home"..and if you click on the words, that's just where you'll go!