Irish Language
Irish and her sister languages, Welsh and Breton, are among the oldest living languages in Europe. Written records go back to the early Christian period when Latin was often the usual written medium. Irish scribes would sometimes 'gloss' or annotate in the margins of their manuscripts, and it is from these glosses that much of our knowledge of 'Old Irish' has come.It was also at the beginning of the nineteenth century that scholars, notably Germans, began to unravel the mysteries of 'Old Irish' and Irish studies became a recognized scholarly pursuit. Towards the end of the century the Irish cultural revolution, or 'renaissance', began. Conradh na Gaeilge (The Gaelic League) was founded in 1893 with the principle aim of reviving the Irish language, which was showing signs of decline. There are branches of the Conradh in most towns and these provide excellent classes in Irish at all levels. It is possible that it was only constant pressure from and per severance of this group that prevented the complete loss of Irish in both the Gaeltacht and in the country as a whole. One of the successes of Conradh na Gaeilge has been the re-establishment of Irish writing as an artistic medium. For about a century Irish writing has been on the increase and the short story has emerged as the medium par excellence of this literature. There is also a wide selection of journals, newspapers and magazines available and these are of considerable benefit to learners of the language as well as being a useful vehicle for writers of all types.
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The Irish Music Traditions language class meet once a month, on the FOURTH Monday of the month at La Madeleine Restaurant on West Paces Ferry Road, in Buckhead at 7pm.
The class follows a text book entitled Teach Yourself Irish. The book is available at Borders, and you have the option of buying an accompanying cassette tape. Each chapter presents an opportunity for conversation, comprehension, grammar, pronunciations, and lots of little “rules”. Students are encouraged to review the work covered at our classes in order to stay fresh with new words and language structure.
The classes are free to IMT members and students are asked to join IMT after their first class. Books and cassettes are to be purchased by students at their own expense. Students are welcome to meet up with the teacher, Kathleen Donohoe-Richman (Caitlin), at the music session at Fado Irish Pub afterwards to practice speaking.
Click here to download the registration form for our upcoming Summer Workshop, to be held July 24-25.