Gaelic is the language of the Ireland and, like its people, bears witness to a long tumultuous history. With some of the oldest literature of Western Europe, learning Gaelic will make you one of the select few who keep this language alive. While there are 1.66 million people who have some knowledge or have studied Gaelic, there are only 260 000 fluent speakers. After the 17th century, when England came to rule Ireland, the use and learning of Gaelic was heavily repressed. Nonetheless, Gaelic was still used by many even until the 19th century when the Great Potato Famine halved the population of Ireland with either forced emigration or starvation. By the time it was over, Gaelic was spoken only by 15% of Ireland, a small minority. Today, however, strong advocacy and a desire to keep Gaelic a living tongue has sustained the language and drawn many to study Gaelic. It is recognized as an official EU language and is being increasingly taught in schools about the country.


Study Gaelic in IrelandWhen you study Gaelic you study an ancient language with the first records dating back to the Ogham inscriptions of the 4th century. By the 5th century Gaelic is found in the margins of the many Latin manuscripts collected by Irish missionaries. This old Gaelic gave rise to Middle Gaelic in the 10th to 12th centuries which has some of the largest existing literature of that time still preserved. Classical Gaelic which existed from the 13th to 18th century saw a great deal of religious translations and literature published. Many scholars believe that even the Irish authors of the modern age that wrote in English were deeply influenced by the lilt and lyricism of their country’s original tongue.


About Studying Gaelic

In learning English it can take some time to learn the difference between “You are smart” and “You are studying.” Gaelic distinguishes between the two uses of the verb “to be” having one verb for the copula, what is used to describe permanent identities and characteristics, and another verb for temporary aspects. In addition, Gaelic has a different word order with Verb-Subject-Object although this isn’t too difficult to adapt to. Gaelic, like French, has masculine and feminine nouns with the endings -án and -ín denoting the masculine while -óg the feminine.


Although you will encounter many different dialects of Gaelic, in all of them it will be important to learn the different pronunciation of consonants. If you were trying to say cow “bó” and used the slender consonant instead you would end up saying alive “beo” and, perhaps, entirely confusing the farmer you had been chatting with. Another rule to get used to are the Gaelic mutations where, for example, the differences between “hers”, “his” and “theirs” is indicated by mutations of the noun being described: her shoe is “a bróg”, his shoe is “a bhróg” and their shoe is “a mbróg”. If all these rules seem formidable the Irish would tell you with a grin: “Tada gan iarracht” (Nothing is done without effort).