The First Baby Steps

If you are thinking about learning to speak and read Irish-Gaelic (what we prefer to call "Irish"), you need to do some general reading and thinking about this language, and language learning in general, before diving in. Secondly, I want you to know that I think you are flat-out crazy if you want to learn this language; you probably should get your head examined. You are crazy--and I love you!

Irish is a difficult language, but it's not impossible. It's not Chinese, Japanese, or English, for God's sake! Three-year-old children growing up in a Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) region in Ireland can speak this language! And you can slowly and surely make progress in learning this tongue--which may be, by the way, the language of your ancestors. It was indeed the language spoken by my great great grandparents, Daniel Coghlin and Mary Crowley, and their four children when they left West County Cork in 1857 and landed on American soil. That's part of my motivation, and perhaps part of your own.

As a first step, I think you should google "Irish-Gaelic" or "Irish language" and see what's out there. Read a Wikipedia article on the language (but don't trust Wikipedia as God's truth!) or get hold of a print article from a good bound encyclopedia. Here's a link to the Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_language. Don't get overwhelmed by the detail, but try to pick up some general knowledge about Irish. That would be a good start.