I mentioned a couple of days ago that I spent Saturday in an Irish-language workshop, and it occurred to me that some of you (okay, all four of you) may be scratching your heads and wondering what the heck I was talking about. I don't believe many people know that Irish Gaelic, known as Gaeilge (GWAYL-gyuh), is in fact a living language spoken fluently by at least 100,000 people in Ireland alone, with a million more who have a lesser command of it. Gaeilge has a rich history, both spoken and literary, stretching far past English; it has existed for at least 2,500 years, and is the oldest surviving language of Western Europe.

To give you an example, here's the Nicene Creed in Irish, as printed in a missalette I purchased at the workshop:

Creidim in aon Dia amháin, an tAthair uilechumhachtach, a rinne neamh agus talamh agus an uile ní sofheicthe agus dofheicthe. Agus in aon Tiarna amháin, Íosa Críost, Aonmhac Dé, an té a rugadh ón Athair sula raibh aon saol ann. Dia ó Dhia, solas ó sholas, fíor-Dhia ó fhíor-Dhia; an té a gineadh agus nach ndearnadh, agus atá d'aonsubstaint leis an Athair; is tríd a rinneadh an uile ní. Ar ár son-na an cine daonna, agus ar son ár slánaithe, thuirling sé ó neamh. Ionchollaíodh le chumhacht an Spioraid Naoimh é i mbroinn na Maighdine Muire agus ghlac sé nádúr daonna. Céasadh ar an gcrois é freisin ar ár son; d'fhulaing sé páis faoi Phontius Píoláit agus adhlacadh é. D'aiséirigh an treas lá de reir na scrioptúr; chuaigh suas ar neamh; tá ina shuí ar dheis an Athar. Tiocfaidh sé an athuair faoi ghlóir le breithiúnas a thabhairt ar bheo agus ar mhairbh, agus ní bheidh deireadh lena ríocht. Creidim sa Spiorad Naomh, Tiarna agus bronntóir na beatha, an té a ghluaiseann ón Athair agus ón Mac. Tugtar dó adhradh agus glóir mar aon leis an Athair agus leis an Mac: ba é a labhair trí na fáithe. Creidim san aon Eaglais naofa, chaitliceach, aspalda. Admhaím an t-aon bhaisteadh amháin chun maithiúnas na bpeacaí. Agus táim ag súil le haiséirí na marbh agus le beatha an tsaoil atá le teacht. Amen.

Well, it ain't "Top of the Morning," is it? It's a beautiful language, but difficult to learn, let alone master. I've been studying Gaeilge for three years; the workshop was my third anniversary. I'm not quite conversational, and in fact have backslid somewhat since I started blogging, but I can usually get the sense of what I'm reading, even if I can't translate conversational Irish quickly enough to be effective.

The workshop last Saturday was presented by Gaeltacht Minnesota, which has given free weekly Irish-language lessons for over twenty years. I'm now the orientation instructor, so if you live in the area and want to join up, I'll be the first instructor you get ... and then you'll go to someone who actually knows what they're doing. Our web site has a number of links to other resources as well. If you have any interest in the language but don't live in the area, you can check with Daltaí to find Irish-language support in your area.

If that doesn't work out for you, you can buy your own materials at Irish Books and Media, a great mail-order service that handles the largest inventory of Irish language materials in the country. I recommend the book and tape set called Learning Irish by Micheál Ó Siadhail (Connemara dialect), or Teach Yourself Irish. It's not impossible to learn writting Irish on your own, although learning to speak it is another issue entirely.

In the meantime, beannacht agus sláinte dhaoibh -- blessings and health to you all!

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