The Pimsleur Irish Approach

Here's an idea for getting started learning irish--the Pimsleur Irish Language tapes or CDs. They can be purchased for as little as $10 (up to about $35) and they will get you speaking and understanding some basic Irish in hours. To find these resources, either google "Pimsleur Irish" or go to Amazon.com and search for "Pimsleur Irish." There are a few different versions of the Pimsleur program, but they will all get you started. The advantages are that you will speak and understand basic Irish quickly; the disadvantage is that you will be learning the Munster dialect of Irish, which is a bit different than the Connacht and Ulster dialects. That's not a huge problem and you will hear other dialects as you progress through other Irish materials. Another problem is that the Pimsleur materials work without transcripts, without pencil or paper. You are learning aurally, as a child would. If this drives you nuts, you can locate a transcript of the Pimsleur materials online (http://www.gaeilge.org/pimsleurtranscript.html). When you examine the transcripts, you will discover how unusual the Irish spelling system is--how different it is from what you may have expected.

I recommend the Pimsleur approach as a first step. It cannot be the last step, and you won't be too deep into the language when you are finished. But you will be able to understand and speak some basic Irish (with a Dingle accent, no less!).

Here's a link to the Pimsleur-Irish site: http://www.pimsleurirish.com/.