Can Galway People Speak Irish / Gaeilge / "Gaelic"

Can Galway People Speak Irish (Gaeilge)?
I went to Galway to find out if Galway people can speak Irish. I have made every effort to translate people's responses fairly and correctly; thank you to Roisin Ní Mhaoláin for help translating some of the native Galway phrases! Check her out: / roisin.na.gaillimhe
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[@domurtag1978]

There's no way the people in this video represent a random sample of passersby. The average standard of Irish is way below what's shown here.

[@Clisare]

Firstly, I’m in Galway City, which is very close to a Gaeltacht (Irish-first) area. That’s why I went there, for the comparison to my previous video, which was Dublin City - the nearest Gaeltacht to there is over an hour away. Secondly, these are just the people that agreed to be on camera. The majority of people with little to no Irish that I stopped refused to be on camera. At the end of the day, you can only get what you can get. We were out there for 3 hours and this is what we got. I have a blooper reel on my Patreon that includes footage of me being told “no”, “no I don’t speak it at all”, “no I don’t have enough to say anything”, etc. Ps also I was wearing a top that said “Labhair Gaeilge liom” (speak Irish to me) which I think helped with Irish speakers being more interested in speaking to us but wouldn’t have helped us get anyone that didn’t speak any Irish. Although I’ve never managed to get a single person in these videos that doesn’t speak any Irish because they don’t want to be on camera saying they don’t speak Irish 🤷

[@domurtag1978]

@@Clisarethose are all very good points. Thanks for the reply

[@diarmuidgrimes8766]

@@Clisare Bhuel, bhí hata Maigh Eo ort freisin, so b'fhéidir sin píosa don fáth nach raibh na daoine eile ag lorg caint leat i nGaillimh ;)

[@benvad9010]

My grandfather’s native tongue was Gàidhlig being that his people the MacNeil’s had migrated from Barra in the Outer Hebrides to Cape Breton Nova Scotia but due to lack of land the migrated just across to the Codroy Valley in Doyles Newfoundland where Gàidhlig was the everyday speech for the people up until my grandfather had his children. All the children my mother included understood the language but were discouraged (same story everywhere) to speak it and were expected to assimilate into what would eventually become Canada after 1949. There is still a community of speakers and attempts to revive it are ongoing.

[@TokiDokiNara728]

It's heartening to see that there are so many younger folk so passionate about keeping the language alive! I hope that only continues to grow

[@biancafabiano]

Gaeilge is just BEAUTIFUL!!! I'm from Brazil and currently studying it! Ireland's history is so sad, unfair… and yet, beautiful with very strong and warrior people! It's great to see there are people that still keep the language and culture alive!!! 🇧🇷🇮🇪☘️

[@ParawhoreLoL]

Thank you for showing the people that actually do speak it, instead of focusing on all the people saying 'no i don't speak it' like most channels do

[@Tim_Beitel]

I feel like a lot of these people are being needlessly hard on themselves. I’m hearing a lot of them saying that they barely know the language but when you listen to them they’re having full conversations in the language with only one or two brief moments here and there where they might stumble over a word. To my mind, they’re more fluent than they give themselves credit for

[@daivboveri]

It’s such an Irish thing to self-criticize and beat yourself up. It’s hard for me to believe that hundreds of thousands of people that passed their leaving cert in Irish couldn’t do as well these people on the street. They just don’t have the confidence to give it a go and enjoy the Irish they have.

[@marmac83]

Maybe so, but generally people who understate things are better at them than people who overstate things.

[@bjcarew]

that what i was going to say, its an Irish thing@@daivboveri

[@nickymaccrimmon3615]

It happens with Scottish Gaelic too. Even older fluent speakers will answer "Tha beagan Gàidhlig agam". Part of the issue is is where you have native speakers they have not been taught Gaelic so it's "colloquial" and people dont have confidence in their own Gaelic especially speaking to learners with their Sabhal Mòr (College) Gaelic.

[@courtney.p.s.]

Irish language schools would be very popular here in the States in the correct areas. I wish we had more language schools, but they’re so few and they’re all very expensive.

[@StoneCrow189]

Absolutely. 35 million Americans are of Irish descent.

[@llwyde1104]

a'r Cymru/Unol Daleithiau...and Welsh America...sadly gaslighted over there...

[@Toirdealbhach-na-dTreabha]

Agreed.

[@patrickmoloney6001]

Never never forget your native language irish language is beautiful.

[@cipherx6334]

The Celtic cultures and languages hang on to existence on the fringes of north western Europe. We need to start speaking them everywhere and be proud of who we are.

[@SalK-LS]

Yes, the decline of Celtic languages is sad story, especially considering that, before Roman expansion (5th/6th century AD), almost ALL of what is now France spoke Celtic (Gaulish) languages.

[@cipherx6334]

It is sad indeed. I hope people learn their native languages and protect their respective cultures from decline.

[@mossyfable]

Omg Gaelige is a very attractive language to my ear! ☘I am a Gallego from Galicia.

[@user-se1gb3su9x]

I visited the PSA plant in Vigo for work, and I was fascinated by the Mystical culture upon landing at the airport and around the city, and how close to our Irish mythology. I think even the weather was similar and changeable on the Atlantic cost to ours, but maybe that was just when I was there. Will need to come back sometime for a more personal holiday time soon.

[@mossyfable]

@@user-se1gb3su9x absolutely I know we share alot of history ancient and more recent and so much folklore. I Know In Cork there is also a University that has a Galician Learning center! Ive always admired the 2 nations kinship and similarities. I am currently in US but funnily my partner is applying for engineer work in Ireland so we can enjoy some time there. Would love to dig into that connection more

[@johntuohy1867]

Galician and Irish pipes for musical connection too.

[@ExOAte]

As a minority speaker in the Netherlands I resonate with this a lot. I wish we had a "Frisian Week" here too where it was sort of implied that that is the first thing you would hear and there's more attention for it. Your previous interview video is what got me hooked to your channel and I've stuck around ever since. Keep it up and good luck with the pregnancy!

[@darthcrios]

You should start your own Frisian week

[@positivelynegative9149]

I love the KZbin channel Friesian Horses. 😁

[@PombalFranzOri]

They should add Frisian to Duolingo! I'm Dutch with Frisian ancestry. All my grandparents grew up in or very near to Friesland and spoke Frisian, but my parents only spoke a little and I never learned. I'm actually learning a bit of Irish at the moment, but I'd also love to learn Frisian.

[@gstads]

Sorry, but Frisian and Dutch are extremely similar languages. Irish and English are completely unrelated.

[@petera618]

@@gstads That is a very good point. I speak both Italian and Sicilian. Many people think Sicilian is a dialect of Italian, it's not, the local dialects derived from the original Sicilian language when Sicily was a separate kingdom. The difference is, is that both are of Latin origin whereas like you said, English and Irish are completely different from two different families of languages.

[@berniestuart8323]

Born and raised in the Gaeltacht ,moved to the states and Canada in my 20s After 20 years I still can speak it The writing is a bit rusty but my town in county Galway are all Irish speakers so I’ll never lose it 😍

[@caoimheeee]

Fair play duit, níor chaill tú a riamh é 😂

[@johntuohy1867]

Maith an fear

[@seanoriain8294]

Mo cheol thú!

[@Clisare]

I've made every effort to translate everyone's Irish fairly and accurately, want to say thank you to Róisín Ní Mhaoláin for help with some of the harder, local phrases! Check her out: instagram.com/roisin.na.gaillimhe While you're waiting, check out the previous videos in the series: Can Irish People Speak Irish?: kzbin.info/www/bejne/honLdZ-Ph6p9r9E Can People From Northern Ireland Speak Irish?:kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXKWoGt3preiicU Can Americans Speak Irish?: kzbin.info/www/bejne/mKKUl2OOiN6ihs0 Can Irish People Tell The Difference Between Irish and Simlish (Sims 4 Language): kzbin.info/www/bejne/fImvY5R7atqIjsU

[@GaryG1974]

álainn

[@tadhgflaherty2943]

Bhí sé sinn go speicialta ar fad.

[@j.obrien4990]

This was like watching an episode of Easy German, or Easy French... I wish there was an Easy Irish Channel, it would be good craic.

[@HM-kg8so]

Thank you :) you were such a nice interviewer and everyone who you interviewed was so positive and pleasant and willing to share, thank you! :)

[@rebeccaanderson5191]

So glad to hear the language and that SOOOOO MANY of them speak it.

[@thedj9553]

I love this! I speak Hebrew and sincerely hope the Irish (and the Scots, the Welsh, the Manx, the Cornish etc) can take some solace in the fact that a language being revived is not an impossible task like it may seem, and maybe learn from my people, the Jews, concerning how to revive a language.

[@MiloAnglin05]

Nobody in Scotland wants to speak Gaelic

[@eoin7]

@@MiloAnglin05ach tha na daoine in Èirinn ag iarraidh i a bhrudhinn cuideachd!

[@Londubh1]

​@@MiloAnglin05English puppet.

[@Londubh1]

🇮🇪🇮🇱🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[@TineBeo]

There are and I've met them. @@MiloAnglin05

[@little.maggie]

níos mo content faoin nGaeilge le do thoil! maith thú :)

[@APaganPerspective]

Claire these are my favorite videos . thank you for sharing the Irish language with us..Beannachta agas Slainte

[@keithjeremiahl]

I am from Kerry and well I did Irish in school because I had a huge passion for it but since I left school I've forgotten most of the language as my family speaks English on the daily but that doesn't stop me from wanting to learn it again. It's such a beautiful language and I am proud to have it as my native tongue ❤

[@daivboveri]

Is féidir leat foghlaim agus cleachtadh a dhéanamh fós! Níl sé ródheireanach. Is mise Meiriceánach agus má tá mise in ann í a fhoghlaim, is féidir leatsa freisin!

[@verali164]

@@daivboveri Fair play to you

[@jahanas22]

I’ve been studying Irish a lot recently and I’m happy that I understood more than I thought I would. My ancestors came from County Clare and Limerick. I’m going to be visiting later this year.

[@freeplace5243]

Being part, Irish I love that the Gaeilge is alive and well! Great job Claire!

[@pollyduron674]

I love this. I've been trying to learn Irish and Scottish Gaelic ❤. Both have been hard for me. I live in Texas, so I speak a lot of Spanish.

[@leviturner3265]

I study German and Gaelic. I find Gaelic much more difficult. This is probably mostly because it is not a commonly spoke language or a commonly learned language. Therefore, resources are very limited. There are more resources to learn Irish, or even Latin than there are Gaelic. Outside of certain small regions of Scotland, or I've heard in Nova Scotia you will probably never get to speak it with another person unless you decide to learn it with someone, or meet someone online to communicate it with. Other than that it is sort of just a immersion into a people, and their history.

[@elizabethhoover4672]

I'm not from Ireland, but I actually (and sadly) didn't even know there was an Irish language until I was in my late 20's. I can't believe I didn't know that for so long. This was such a cool video to watch.

[@jimsvideos7201]

Great fun 😊 Thank you for encouraging people to think about and use the language! I'll have to learn about the word Gaelic itself now...

[@havo9527]

Tá Gaeilge iontach ag Oisín, is é mo mhac agus bhí a lán fadhbanna aige ag labhairt ós ard, agus Táim an bhrodúil as Oisín agus a chuid forbairt.

[@Elevens2233]

I am a maori living in NZ and i am learning basic gaelige. Why you may wonder? I beleive the native irish language is worth learning and preserving. The language has an magical property i cant describe i only feel. I hope more people learn this treasure.thank you

[@willylumpnj]

That was one of the most interesting and enjoyable videos I have ever enjoyed. All I know is "Slainte" and would like to learn more. It is a very beautiful language. My grandmother was raised in County Roscommon (Scardaun) and came to America in the 1920's and my great grandfather, William Patrick McCarthy, emigrated from Limerick in 1850. I was not raised with any knowledge of my Irish heritage and am learning more now. I have been to Ireland twice and love to visit more.

[@eezyclsmooth9035]

Incredibly Fascinating and Interesting. This wonderful video is quite a departure from Clisare's much earlier video about "Dubliners". The people of Galway seem to have a different passion for the native language!☘

[@_baert]

So successful this time around!!

[@LisEibh]

Is ghrá liom mo theanga dhuchais, táim an-brodiúil as, agus nuair a bhfuil mé ag labhairt as Gaeilge, braithim rud speisialta i mo chroí. Níl mé in ann mo chuid Gaeilge a úsáid ró-minic (tá mo chairde/chlann ro-neirbhíseach chun comhrá a dheanamh trí Gaeilge). Mar sin, is é an-dheacair dul chun chinn a dhéanamh ach is fearr Gaeilge briste ná Béarla cliste, nach ea? 😉 Agus tá mé lán-sasta le vloganna mar seo a fheiceáil at KZbin. Maith thú, Clare!

[@christinequinn5355]

Well said. Maith an cailin.

[@thecocktailian2091]

Everyone spoken to was quite pleasant. I did quite enjoy the older gent in the yachters coat whose grandkids speak Irish better than he.Nice change of pace Clisare.

[@Jay-ql4gp]

I love these, thank you so much!

[@RHCole]

I absolutely LOVE this style of blog video! It feels way more authentic than someone just speaking to camera in their home! (No offense) More please! 👍🏻😁 Disclaimer: I am in no way implying that you are not authentic

[@RHCole]

Fantastic! As I said in the chat it is mighty good to see younger folk speaking their native tongue. The world has lost too many languages and it would be a shame if Irish were one of them.

[@evillittlegoat8338]

This made me so happy! 😊 Thanks for the video!

[@lorrainethomas241]

Wow. I wish my"little bit" of Gaeilge was on the order of any of those speakers. I giggled at the end, though; this very minute, I'm wearing band merch from Seo Linn that bears the same quote that last lass used.

[@Peg79]

Very interesting! You are teaching me so much about my home country! Great video! ❤

[@Brian-vn4xb]

I really enjoyed the video. It was interesting 😊

[@michaelm8806]

This made me incredibly happy watching it.

[@jelle_smid]

As a Frisian speaker in the Netherlands i love this type of content and can totally relate. Be proud, keep it alive and be european all the same time. 💪

[@tcqlkelly404]

Ohh Thanks a million for that video!👌🤩😎 That answered a big part of my curiosity/BIG interest about Ireland 💚☺😁

[@krasnalthegreat]

love the can they speak Irish videos Ní féidir fanacht ach cúpla uair an chloig eile

[@belle_fast3551]

Love this and all that you do to promote and centre our beautiful language. I found Irish hard at school and (sadly) to the dismay of my Irish teacher, gave it up as soon as I could! Your vids always inspire me to start again and I’m determined to do so this year! Thanks again Claire and delighted to hear your recent amazing news! 💜

[@michael_r]

This is great - the video that got me into your channel was the one you did years ago on whether Irish people can speak Irish. A long awaited sequel! 😂

[@irenemarcaros7691]

It’s wonderful to see people like yourself Clisare promoting your language and culture. As a proud Australian born greek i too try to practice my greek and i watch a lot of greek speakers on youtube to keep up. So keep up the good work.

[@Baeomran]

I thoroughly enjoyed this video. Please make more videos in Gaeilge. I love listening to it spoken by native speakers, and it would be nice to be able to make new friends who speak it. My dream Happy Easter 🦆🥚🍀

[@jlcutright0723]

Love how much you love your country and your origins

[@Jeabel_S]

I’m American, my mother’s family is from Kerry (I actually have more family there than in the US) I’ve always wanted to learn geailge, my great auntie from Kerry who lived us still spoke a bit in her 90’s, it’s a beautiful language💚👍(I’m in my early 40’s, do you think it’s too late to give it a start😅)

[@POEMH]

Never too late. I studied and gained my BSc in my 40s

[@hectorquinones5579]

Try Duolingo's Irish Course for a start.

[@calypso8436]

Well done Clare I love this. I can't wait for my daughter to learn Irish in school 🥲 I need to learn a bit of it myself!

[@s.s.2048]

Clisare- I love all that you do on KZbin, but this is the best, and so, so important. I've only a few words of my grandmother's Scots Gaelic (I'm working on adding to it!!) and I treasure them. Thig ar latha!

[@niall7597]

Nerd Niall here 🤓. But in Donegal we call it Gaelic aswell, nerd Niall out.

[@Clisare]

I was more talking about the American way they call it Gaelic but point taken!

[@CCc-sb9oj]

@@Clisare Words can go from being common to almost non-existent within a generation. I do always feel the need to point it out that 'Gaelic' was once a very normal name for the language in Ireland (and is still not abnormal some places in the country), particularly on behalf of my granduncle a chuaigh ar shlí na fírinne deich mbliana ó shin agus a thug neart béaloidis agus piseoga ó Chontae Chiarraí dom, agus geallaim duit nárbh aon poncánach é! (B'iomaí uair a chuala mé 'Gaelic' i mBéarla in oirthear agus iarthar Chiarraí agus in iarthar an Chláir chomh maith, daoine níos sine a bhí i gceist, ach ba rud nádúrtha dóibh í ina gcanúint) Labhair tú le neart daoine deasa i nGaillimh ansin, 'Gaelic' mhaith ag cuid acu :p treise leat!

[@J.T.Equestrian]

@@Clisare but it’s not wrong to say Gaelic so why say it is?

[@lynchiesoup]

Ach is Gaidhlig a labhraíonn siad in Alba. Is saghas ‘catch all’ é an focail Gaelic d’eachtranaigh. Is teanga Gaelic í an Gaeilge.

[@tomasbyrom3954]

In places with large Irish diaspora like the US, Canada, Australia and NZ, we call the language Gaelic because of historical reasons. During the time of most immigration (whether during the famine, due to other political or warfare issues, or as convicts in the case of the early USA and later Australia), Ireland was not an independent country. As an occupied colony of the UK, there was no official language of Ireland (except English), just the native language which in both Scotland and Ireland (dialects of which were mutually inteligible at the time) was usually called Gaelic. Gaelic speakers in the diaspora used this word, and this was also the word used in Australia when bans were put on the public use of the language by convicts in certain areas. The word Gaelic has a huge amount of historical importance in the diaspora (people were arrested for speaking "Gaelic" in some areas), and for the history of Irish people in Ireland. After independence, and especially after the "official standard" was created to teach in schools by mixing different native dialects together to form a version that could be spoken all over the country, the word Irish became the official term used. This was also when the word "Gaeilge" was chosen as the standard name for the language in Irish, rather than another varient such as Gaolann, Gaeilig, Gaedhlig, etc which are still used by some Irish speaking communities today. So yes, in Ireland, the official term is Irish for the national standard, but the language many diaspora people grew up hearing about was almost always referred to as Gaelic and it has its own rich history outside of Ireland (both in the diaspora and in the related languages in Scotland and the Isle of Man) which is easily forgotten when we demand that the language be only referred to as Irish. Educating people on the language is amazing work, but I hope that as time goes on, Irish people can come to realise that those of us from outside Ireland aren't using the word Gaelic out of ignorance, we are using it because of very specific historical and political factors that lead to the different terms being used in different countries.

[@Jiddy12345]

lovely and informative video

[@sandramccusker5520]

I love your Irish language videos! We’ve been in the US since the 1920s but I would love to learn Irish.

[@serasotasadie]

That is so fascinating! As an American who only got tastes of other languages in school, no real immersion or attempt at being fluent (how can we be with 2 years each of 4 languages?) I love the sound, I love how many do have the Irish language at all ages, and I hope it doesn't get "lost" like other native languages sometimes do over many, many years. What a treat of a video. I've heard the Irish language before, and I love seeing more. I sure have seen you pull it out with Callie-Ann and Ciara on the Try channel!

[@drewc981]

Ní féidir liom a chreidiúint go bhfuil beagnach dhá bhliain agam ar Gaeilge Duolingo anois. I can't say I'm able to speak Gaeilge in a steady fluent way and still have to look up pronunciations of some words but it's fun and progress can be seen when watching a video like this and you're like hey, Tuigim é sin! without glancing at the subtitles. 😄

[@daivboveri]

Maith thú! Tá mé ag foghlaim Gaeilge ar Duolingo le dhá bhliain freisin. Is breá liom féachaint ar Ros na Rún ar TG4 agus tá cúpla leabhair agam a léim cúpla abairt ‘chuile lá.

[@siouxsiesiouxseyebrows]

it feels great to understand at least half/most of a sentence without needing the subtitles lol

[@geoplanetaire]

What a great video! I took Irish in university here in Canada for 2 semesters. They told us the 2 students with the highest grades would be offered a scholarship to go to the Irish immersion program in Carraroe. I studied non stop for a year and got the scholarship. My summer in Connemara was one of the best experiences of my entire life! It was an amazing time being surrounded by the Irish language and the locals were very welcoming and encouraging. This video brought me right back and even though that was 12 years ago, i feel inspired to start learning Irish again! So thank you!!! ❤

[@Kaylor_Ryan]

What a lovely video 🤩

[@HM-kg8so]

So cool!! And everyone was so friendly :)) and excited to speak Gaelic (sp?) sorry, but what a nice video :))

[@jasonniles9270]

Great video learn some more things about you and your country and the language which is really cool bless you and your family end all the Irish people have a good day now

[@TexasKid747]

Thanks for sharing this Claire. I, being a native Texan, have made the effort to learn Spanish for about 1600 days with an app on the phone. I want to use that app to learn Irish but this video has me perplexed with all the variants. Alas, the lovely people of Ireland will help this poor Texan and his family when we visit in 2025. Love your work and your content. Cheers from Texas.

[@sueb1337]

Such a lovely language! I’m glad people are keeping the language alive😊

[@kpf8186]

I found this very interesting and educational. The editing was done well. I want to be on that street having a good time not understanding anyone. LoL

[@joelaldodiaz]

I think this version of Irish with a lot of English words is going to be the modern Irish. If you try to keep it so purist very few people will want to learn it. If you allow it to be flexible and forgiving to English words, it will spread much faster

[@shybard]

This is fantastic! I didn't understand it, but that's why we have subtitles.

[@joannesmith7042]

I wish I spoke the language but I was in school in the 70’ and mid 80’s where Irish was hated and we never took pride in learning it… so I am delighted the younger Irish he are speaking it with pride …my grandad gre up,speaking Irish.

[@Antraxjoy94]

WOW. Native spanish speaker here (hi from Puerto Rico again!). English is my second language. I'm fully bilingual and my inner dialog has always been in English. Guess I'm wired lime that and so is my daughter. Gailege is fascinating and sooooo different. Both spoken and written, it's wild!

[@smaugmik]

I really enjoyed this video. Once again, I didn't understand a damn word, (well,maybe 3or4) but I just put on my cans, closed my eyes, and enjoyed listening to the musical sound of you and your "guests" conversing in your beautiful tongue. I'd love to learn it, but a brain tumor destroyed my memory. (It was benign)

[@MaelBrigde]

Brilliant!

[@jackal59]

You are quite a good interviewer.

[@Clisare]

Thank you so much!

[@dennishinkle5010]

I enjoyed hearing the language it's very interesting although confusing.👍

[@jgg59]

When I was back in September visiting it was interesting hear irish people talk about decolonizing their minds. This was language, I never heard before in regards to the Irish language and just being Irish. Go raibh maith agat as é seo a dhéanamh

[@seanoriain8294]

The very first thing to do in decolonizing their minds, if they are serious, is to learn Irish and use it every day, and speak it to their own children.

[@mattkevlarlarock5469]

It's a beautiful language. I'm glad some people are still speaking it.

[@johnmcgrath6192]

Great post. I was surprised that people could speak the Irish at all. ... In NYC my mother from Ireland, I discovered in the 8th grade, spoke fluent Irish. I found out because I watched her have a fluent, fast long conversation, with lots of laughs, in Irish. I was busy being a kid, a schoolboy and an American to think much about the fact that my parents were from Ireland. and both, as i later learned, were active in the Irish War of Independence in a county that was constantly in insurrection. The parents no attention to St. Patrick's Day except to go to Mass and I paid it no attention either after attending one parade and finding it not very engaging unless you were drinking. My father's family could not speak Irish. In a census - in the 1840s I think - my mother's family was listed as being able to read, write and speak both English and Irish. The neighboring families spoke only English. I think there was a lot of Irish speaking in that area before Catholic Emancipation. Both my parents families, and their neighbors, had the vote when very few Catholics in the country did. As a result I think those families were much more engaged in Irish politics, which was conducted in English. My parents were very close to an Irish Protestant neighbor because he too had fought in the Irish War of Independence. They atttended his family's special events at their Episcopal Church and liked that the services were in English. They knew what the Catholic prayers in Latin meant, as did their children, but they liked the ceremonies in English, ceremonies quite similar to the Catholic ones.

[@carolmurphy7572]

Canadian here, obviously of Irish descent. As a unilingual person, I'm delighted to hear your native tongue is not lost! It sounds like such a beautiful language, and it would certainly be a shame for it to be lost. Great video, Clisare!

[@shamrock4500]

Did you know, the only Gaeltacht (Irish speaking area) outside of Ireland is in Erinsville, Ontario Canada. They do have a festival yearly.

[@carolmurphy7572]

@@shamrock4500 No, I did not know that! How cool! Thanks for the info!

[@thesoul2sqeeze]

Kindly wondering why you said "obviously of Irish descent" ?

[@carolmurphy7572]

@@thesoul2sqeeze Simply because of my surname being Murphy, which, to many people, is instantly recognizable as an Irish surname. I apologize if my choice of phrasing left you puzzled. Sláinte!

[@DHoberer]

This was a great video. Very enjoyable. (But my American ear heard what sounded like so many curse words in what the interviewees were saying LOL.)

[@seamussc]

I know many of my own ancestors came from Galway area to the US during the famine or right after to work on railroads or in mines. Census records they were unable to read or write, but I have always wondered if that first generation were Irish speakers.

[@Anamalainn]

Chances are they were given where they were from and the time period, as long as they weren't from Galway city, unlikely then they would have been Irish speakers. Is as Gaillimh mé

[@bogwoppit792]

I think it's amazing that the Celtic languages are still being spoken 🙂 I remember as a young kid on holiday, not understanding that Scotland had it's own language when listening to some gaelic music on the radio. Since then learning about the history on how Ireland and Western Scotland had a link through the Kingdom of Dal Riata. In North Yorkshire where I'm from there are a few landmarks that are from old welsh. Plus the old system of counting sheep that the farmers use in Yorkshire and Cumbria is suppose to be from old welsh too. I do hope that the Celtic speaking nations carry on and keep their respective languages alive 🙏

[@Tchernobog11]

Aw man. Not irish myself but would've been nice to be able to say Hello while you were in town :)

[@hillmidget1326]

I started on duo lingo cause I was except as a child but I'm hoping to start proper lessons this year

[@darthcrios]

You should try Navan 😂 the Gaeltacht in the rath cairn may have a few heads

[@bigjon19871]

Thanks for sharing this. ❤ Its interesting the filler words are almost all english. I wonder what are some common Irish filler.

[@ofthenearfuture]

This was a great video! Nice to see so many people, especially the younger generation, speaking Irish... important to keep the language and culture alive. As an aside (which might be a touchy subject or you might not know the answer, sorry), but was the Irish language banned in NI? I'm just curious because my mum is Welsh and it was still restricted when she grew up so she never learned it. Pretty sad, but it's seemingly become more popular with the younger generations, maybe in a similar way to Ireland.

[@Clisare]

The language was banned in Ireland as a whole for 800 years but I don’t know if it continued to be banned in NI once the Republic got its independence. I know it’s recognised there now. I have a video called “can people from Northern Ireland speak Irish” talking to people from Northern Ireland about this

[@cigh7445]

@@ClisareIrish was never explicitly banned in Ireland as a whole (the Statutes of Kilkenny in 1367 only applied to English settlements and even within the Pale it would have been very difficult to enforce) but it was progressively squeezed out of any realm of life which would have given it power or influence. The Penal Laws targeted Catholics, many of whom happened to be Irish speaking, but Irish was often used in official courts up until and even after the time of the famine and most courts had interpreters available for the judges (something we haven't had for a while now despite being independent, but with so few monolingual speakers I suppose the State does not consider it a real necessity...) It also wouldn't have been possible for Irish to have been banned all over Ireland for 800 years, as the country was never fully colonised until after the Flight of the Earls. Not including Dublin, the entirety of Ireland was under British administration for about 350 years.

[@Clisare]

Thank you so much for explaining my own country's history to me /s

[@mypradasatthecleanerss]

@@cigh7445 it’s important to be accurate as you have here! Shame your comment wasn’t well received!

[@bongdonky2568]

I never realized how much Scandinavian influence Irish language has.

[@Kurdedunaysiri]

Please more videos like that

[@eriktroske6405]

I’m American, and one of the ones who actually isn’t ethnically Irish ("less than Rihanna", as I described to a friend after singing "Óró sé do bheatha abhaile" last week). It’s heartening to see lots of people young and old actually speaking back in what sounds rather fine, even if some were obviously a bit uncomfortable at first. I also saw the video of the guy trying to speak Irish in Dublin with constant rejections, and thought it was very sad. Language is perhaps the most important aspect of culture - you can get back most of the rest later if you’ve lost it, and not everyone has to be the same anyways, but losing your language makes the rest of that basically impossible. I can only sing some songs in Gaelige, but there's even an interest in bringing it back to life in parts of the US - I'm in Chicago.

[@DingoDin]

Yes! Please hold onto your language that’s where culture thrives (otherwise the whole world will look like an international airport terminal). Go raibh maith agat ❤

[@randombaddie1767]

Interesting to hear the Irish language

[@ghaven1929]

What a beautiful language. The Irish people have such a rich history of storytelling. It's only fitting they have a lovely language as well.

[@WRover4669]

Picked up a few words while on the Inishmore last year. Been trying to learn ever since thanks to you and others on KZbin. As well as Dualingo. The problem I run is that some of the pronunciations are regional. I kind of want to just learn the Munster annunciations but I've no clue if I'm hearing Munster, Connecticut, Ulster or Leinster 🤔

[@Clisare]

Terma.ie has the different pronunciation for the different dialects. DuoLingo isn’t pronouncing most of right as the voice is very American

[@arwensdorf8311]

I love this! I started learning Gaeilge about 2 weeks ago and as a person who grew up teaching myself languages but hasn’t studied one in years, it feels good to be back. Do you have recommendations for children’s books in Gaeilge? Thats one of my strategies since they often use repetitively helpful language and simple grammar and vocab.

[@johnmackenreillytag5692]

The An Siopa Leabhar website has a great selection of children's books; one I'd personally recommend is Scéalta ó Oileán an Turtair, it's a collection of short Native American folktales written in simple Irish.

[@arwensdorf8311]

@@johnmackenreillytag5692 native american stories wow! Interesting! Thank you so much for the recommendation, i will take a look through their options!

[@johnmackenreillytag5692]

@@arwensdorf8311 Fadhb ar bith, bain sult as do thuras teanga! 💪

[@stephen1462]

I was extremely fortunate to attend university for one year in Galway in ‘85-86. I signed up for an Irish literature course and thought I’d get to learn about legendary writers such as Joyce and O’Casey. I got to the first class just before the start, but the large lecture hall was full and there were only a couple seats left in the very front row. This was in September 1985 and I kinda stuck out as an American as I was still very tanned from summer in the States, wore my Nikes, and had a typical American backpack for books. Anyways, I’m sitting in the front row and the professor comes out speaking Irish. It was an Irish literature class - in Irish. I didn’t understand a word, but I’m pretty certain he made a joke about me as he looked right at me, said something in Irish, gave a wink, and everyone laughed. I just sat there for the entire one hour because I didn’t want to stand up and walk up the steps to get out of the lecture hall in front of at least one hundred students. I dropped the class, obviously, but loved my time in Galway, returning for a visit in 1988. I definitely hope to visit again when I retire in a couple year as Galway is one of the most beautiful cities you’ll ever see. I’ll try to pick up a little Irish, though, before I return. 😀

[@OurNotSoSeriousLife]

Thank goodness for the subtitles. I wouldn't understand amy of it.

[@sxemaamexs6427]

Wish there was more discussions between Irish and Irish diaspora. As someone who really felt rootless growing up in USA, even learning the Irish language of my ancestors would've helped me tremendously.

[@Clisare]

Why don’t you?

[@AnnaAnna-uc2ff]

Thank you.

[@LearnIrishOnline]

Iontach ar fad Clisare! Agus Gaillimh abú!

[@viviandarkbloom8847]

My late mate Justin, who was born in Galway, could only say Ciúnas Bóthar Cailín Bainne. Oh well. I like that in Irish you say you "have" a language. It reminds me of Shakespeare ("he hath neither Latin, French, nor Italian; and you will come into the court and swear that I have a poor pennyworth in the English.")

[@hbee921]

Hey Claire! My family is from Galloway...I will visit there someday. KZbin Serenity Sue may help me find relatives. I enjoy your videos.❤

[@sowhatdidithink4205]

ah the Gaeilgeoir , I'm Irish but due to health problems as a child , it was the only subject in school I could not keep up with, got enough points to qualify for University but because I didn't have Irish, was not allowed to attend. do those commenting know that if you spoke Irish and did the leaving cert ( a Levels or SAT) in Irish you immediately got 10% extra in your exams before answering a single question. I happen to think Irish is vital and should be kept alive but looking back now, those in charge who were the most passionate about the language were also the most small minded and held the country back for decades..

[@Clisare]

Sure you get 10% but you have to do maths and biology in Irish so that’s *hard*

[@salihbey]

I have still my german to gaeilge dictionary. One of my hardest learning time, to learn this language. Unfortunately, due to move out from Ireland, all is forgotten.

[@hurricane_robot2882]

That lad from athlone is such a fine young man and his Irish is impeccable, An mhaith!

[@emptylikebox]

I feel like being transported to the world of the middle earth everytime I listen to the Irish language. Which means, it's sounds beautiful.

[@DarrenJCrawford]

I'm glad Éire is keeping the language alive, I wonder how much the language has changed since everyone spoke it about 400-500 years ago.

[@daivboveri]

It’s changed a lot! It’s even changed in the last 100 years or so. You can hear old recordings and it sounds very different. There’s also some writers around 1900 who complained about the changes in the language that were happening at the time. They complained that the nasa sounds were disappearing and that the R sound was changing. These changes are now standard and the grammatical changes they lamented completely replaced what was there before. In the recordings I’ve heard of native speakers from the 1960s, they also used a lot of English words that didn’t exist or weren’t popular in Irish at the time (bicycle instead of rothar, hotel instead of óstán). They also didn’t say “yeah,” or “you know,” in English. They used the Irish equivalents. So, they used more English vocabulary words sometimes but absolutely no English “filler” words.

[@mitchyoung93]

It was so cool to hear 'smithereens' ....just about the only word I recognized.