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The Irish language, Irish Gaelic, or Gaeilge is a Celtic Indo-European language, closely related to Scottish Gaelic and Manx Gaelic, and more distantly related to Welsh, Breton, and Cornish. Whilst up to 1.5 million Irish people claim to understand Irish, in reality, Irish is a minority language. Irish is spoken daily and as a mother tongue by between 10,000 and 50,000 people, primarily in pockets along Ireland's west coast known as Gaeltachtaí. Few people in Ireland today exclusively speak only Irish, most speakers are bilingual or multilingual with English and other languages.
Despite decline in the 19th and 20th centuries, the Irish language is at last on the rise again due to renewed interest in Irish culture and heritage, as well as through Irish-medium schools called Gaelscoileanna, Irish language boards, immersion courses, university-level Celtic and Irish Studies programs, and the like. Irish is also one of the few languages in Europe with a rich classical, medieval, and modern literary, bardic, as well as folk music tradition.
Irish is the first official language of the Republic of Ireland, it is an official language of the European Union, and it is a recognized minority language in Northern Ireland. Ireland is also home to an Irish-language television channel, TG4 or TG Ceathair, as well as an Irish-language radio station, RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta, both with a diverse range of arts, cultural, political, and other programs. Through learning this language, you can be a part of the rich history, and the bright future of the Irish people.
Method 1 of 3:
Meet and greet!
1"Haileo" is the simplest way of saying 'hello', but it is very rarely used.
2"Dia duit!" is the most traditional way of greeting someone. It's pronounced "dee a gwitch". It translates to God be with you, lit. God to you.
- If there's just one person say "Dia duit" but, for two or more, say "Dia daoibh". Duit is singular, daoibh is plural.
- Respond with "Dia's Muire duit/daoibh". This means God and Mary be with you.
- Extra marks if you can reply with "Dia's Muire's Pádraig duit/daoibh". Pádraig is the Irish for Patrick; St. Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland.
- It may be of interest to note the spelling of 'Muire' in this phrase. If your name is Mary, it translates to Maire, not Muire. However the mother of God's name is spelled Muire. This is because in Irish there are reverend and common versions of some names. For example, Uncle John would be (Uncail) Seán but St. John would be (Naomh) Eoin.
3"Fáilte romhat" means welcome.
- 'Cead mile fáilte romhat' is a beautiful phrase, meaning a hundred thousand welcomes to you.
- 'Failte Ui Cheallaigh' is literally Kelly's welcome. It has come to mean the welcome of all welcomes. This phrase has a fascinating origin and is connected to a beautiful poem which you will find if you google the phrase.
- The plural of romhat is romhaibh.
Method 2 of 3:
Gloss up your Gaelige
1Seanfocail (sheanucc-all), meaning old phrases, are Irish proverbs which contain all the wit and wisdom of the Irish people. They are commonly thrown into Irish conversation. Once you've mastered the basics they're a great way to add richness to the language and the vocabulary you pick up is always useful!
- "Is fearr an tsláinte ná na táinte". Health is better than wealth.
- "Is ait an mac an saol". Life is a strange thing. Such is life.
- "Aithníonn ciaróg ciaróg eile". One beetle recognises another. Birds of a feather flock together.
- "Cuir síoda ar ghabhar agus is gabhar i gcónaí é". Dress a goat in silk and he'll still be a goat.
- "Ní thagann ciall roimh aois". Sense doesn't come before age.
- "Níl saoi gan locht na daoi gan tréith". There's no wise man without a fault nor fool without a talent.
- Emigration: "Bíonn súil le mir ach ní bhíonn súil le tír". There's hope from the sea but there's no hope from the land (grave).
- "Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam". A country without a language (tongue), a country without a soul. See who can spot this phrase first in the tourist shops or on bumper stickers!
- "Trí ní is deacair a thuiscint: intealacht na mbean, obair na mbeach agus imeacht na taoide". The three hardest things to understand; a woman's mind, the work of the bees and the ways of the tide.
- "Níl aon tinteán mar do thinteán féin". There's no hearth like your own hearth/there's no place like home. One of the most popular Irish proverbs.
- www.daltai.com/proverbs is a fantastic resource which explains the tradition behind many of the seanfocail. http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaeilge/corpus/seanfhocail/seanfhocail.html contains a wealth of information.
Method 3 of 3:
1"Conas atá tu?", pronounced "cunis at-aw thwo". This simply means "How are you?".
- "Táim go maith" (tahw-im go-my)- I'm good.
- "Tá athás orm/ Táim athásach". The first phrase is much more common and translates to 'There's happiness upon me'. The second is closer to its English equivalent, meaning 'I'm happy'.
- "Táim ceart go leor": I'm fine or, as the Irish say, I'm grand.
- "Níl caill orm": Not a bother on me.
- "Ar bharr na gceirtlíní gealaí": 'On top of the bright waves', similar to 'On top of the world'.
- "Nilím go maith": I'm not good.
- "Tá bron orm/ Táim bronach": There's sadness upon me/I'm sad.
- "Ta me tinn," means I am sick; it's pronounced " Ta may chinn."
2"Go raibh maith agat" (go row (as in argue) my ag-ut) means thank you. It literally translates into the far nicer 'There was goodness with you'. Awh shucks.
- "Tá fáilte romhat" means 'You're welcome'.
- "Ná abair é" means "Don't mention it", a far more common response. The Irish do have a name for being bad at taking compliments!
3"Nollaig shona duit/daoibh", pronounced "nollig huna ditch/dweeve", means 'Happy Christmas to you'.
- "Go n-éirí an t-ádh leat" meaning safe journey or good luck. It is pronounced "go nyree on thaaw laath.
- When saying goodbye "slán go fóill" pronounced "slaaun goh fole"
4There is not a cloud in the sky is spelt "nil scamaill sa speir," but is pronounced " kneel skamall sa spare."
5"Ta an aimsir uafasach," means the weather is horrible and is pronounced "ta on amsure ufasak."Advertisement
QuestionWhat does "Is brea liom tu mo bhean cheile I dheanamh I ndairie" mean in English?Community AnswerThis translates into "I love you, my wife, I do."
QuestionI am an old age pensioner and have just looked up your leaflet on the Irish language and I am interested in learning more. What kind of course would you suggest that I use to learn the language?Community AnswerI believe Duolingo now offer a course. It's free as an app and online.
- Visit Irish speaking web communities such as www.daltai.org, these forums are a great place to put your newly learned skills into practice amongst like minded people.
- If you live in Ireland, or visit, be sure to take a trip to a Gaeltacht (pl. Gaeltachtaí). Gaeltachtaí are areas where Irish has remained the community language and mother tongue of most residents for centuries, unbroken. Gaeltachtaí exist in the counties of Galway, Cork, Kerry, Donegal, Waterford and Meath. The two largest are Gweedore (Gaoth Dobhair) in Donegal and Connemara (Conamara) in Galway.
- Duolingo is an excellent app for improving fluency, whether you are just beginning or have a level of fluency. (Speakers with a level of fluency should note that this app places a lot of emphasis on correct written grammar which can be frustrating if you speak well but are inaccurate in writing. However, you cannot deny that polishing off your written Irish is something which will stand you in good steed.)
- Use focal.ie to translate terminology from English to Irish or Irish to English. potafocal.ie and breis.focloir.ie aregreat for translating everyday words and learning phrases to add to the richness of your language. Beware of Google Translate - it can be wildly inaccurate and sentences or paragraphs translated into Irish using Google Translate are often inaccurate (as they are translated very literally) or totally nonsensical.
- Irish has three main dialects: Munster (Cúige Mumhan), Connacht (Cúige Chonnacht), and Ulster (Cúige Uladh), each of which include sharp differences in pronunciation, local vocabulary, and grammar. Ulster Irish is the closest to Scottish Gaelic.
- Try to take the language step by step, initially you'll understand a lot more than you can say, so be sure to praise yourself for your increased understanding even if your spoken Irish isn't fluent.
- Get your head around Irish orthography: Whilst Irish may look intimidating written down at first, it's pronunciation, once learned is actually much more consistent than other more widely spoken languages such as English or French.
- Beware of being taught rude phrases by Irish speakers, this is a common joke and is seldom anything other than a joke, so take it in your stride. As a result, if you are egged on to greet someone with something like 'Póg mó thóin' (Kiss my arse), reply with something fun like 'Níl, go raibh maith agat, tá sé salach!'