Slán Abhaile means ‘goodbye’ but it literally means ‘safe home,’ which I think is pretty fitting for today’s blog!

5 months ago I relocated and started to build a new life and ‘home’ in the south of France. It was always a dream of mine and it was made possible thanks to my Irish citizenship! Unfortunately, this means that this will be my last update to the Irish blog as I continue on my own personal journey.

I have enjoyed sharing and growing with you all as an Irish learner, paying respect and tribute to my Irish heritage and newly received citizenship, and I will certainly miss sharing with all of you!

As they say with any journey, including a linguistic one: tús maith leath na hoibre (a good start is half the work). Subscribing to this blog for some of you may have been the start of your Irish language journey. Just because the blog may be ending doesn’t mean your own personal journey with Irish must end! Transparent Language Online is just one of many resources; I would also suggest checking out Bitesize Irish to practice your Gaeilge Gach Lá (Irish every day).

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Here’s one last Irish reading activity and questions for you about the Eiffel Tower from taisce tuisceana:

Túr Eiffel ar an túr is cáiliúla agus is spéisiúla ar domhan. Tá sé 328 méadar ar airde agus é suite i lár chathair Pháras, príomhchathair na Fraince.
Fear darbh ainm Gustave Eiffel, a bhí ina thógálaí droichid, a thóg é. Thosaigh siad ag tógáil an túir, nó ‘La Tour Eiffel’, sa bhliain 1887 agus thóg sé dhá bhliain lena thógáil.
Seo roinnt fíricí spéisiúla faoin túr:
• Tá 2 bhialann ann.
• Caithfidh siad an túr a phéinteáil gach seacht mbliana.
• Caithfidh tú 1665 céim ar fad a thógáil má tá tú ag iarraidh dul suas go
• Tagann timpeall 7 milliún duine ar cuairt chuig an túr gach bliain.

Ceisteanna :

Is féidir Túr Eiffel a fheiceáil ó bheagnach gach áit i bPáras toisc:
(a) go bhfuil sé an-láidir.
(b) go bhfuil sé an-ard.
(c) go gcuireann siad péint air gach seacht mbliana.

Cé mhéad bliain atá Túr Eiffel ann anois?
(a) 10 mbliana
(b) Níos mó ná 100 bliain
(c) Níos mó ná 1000 bliain

Cérbh é Gustave Eiffel?
(a) An fear a leag an túr
(b) An fear a thóg an túr
(c) An fear a d’oibrigh sa bhialann

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Go n-éirí leat! Good luck on your aistear (journey).

Photo by me. My dog enjoying his new French life.

       

Comments

• Slán leat a Bhríd agus ta súil agam go mbeidh an t-ádh leat ... by Padraig Ó Raghallaigh

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Earlier today in Dublin there was a large parade to celebrate, and you can see the recorded video here:

Besides the celebrations today, there will be celebrations all throughout the weekend in Dublin. Check out some of the scheduled events here.

The festival organizers talk about this year and how significant it is after the two-year hiatus:

“St. Patrick’s Festival invites Ireland and the world to reconnect in Dublin in a global celebration of Irish Arts, Culture and Heritage.

Festival 2022 will be a landmark celebration, the largest in scale and ambition to date, a moment for the nation, and for our tribe of 80 million across the world, to connect and reflect, celebrate and welcome.”

The theme of this year’s festival is Connections/Naisc and the idea is about connecting not only the nation of Ireland, but millions all over the world.

Speaking of connections and what it means to be Irish, check out this quote by Bláthnaid Ní Chofaigh in the Irish Times talking about the Irish language, heritage, and a sense of place:

“Bhí an t-ádh orm gur tógadh le Gaeilge mé. Is cuid dár n-oidhreacht í an teanga Ghaeilge. Ach níl aon ghá bheith líofa le tuiscint áirithe a bheith againn ar ár n-oidhreacht. Cé go bhfuil an Ghaeilge lárnach i m’oidhreacht féin, ní mar a chéile ár dtuiscint ar oidhreacht. In éindí le grá tá oidhreacht an-láidir agus an-phearsanta: músclaíonn sí mothúcháin atá in ann compord agus briseadh croí a chothú ionainn.
Tá oidhreacht na hÉireann chuile áit, sna caisleáin, sna carraigeacha, sna haibhneacha sna sléibhte, sna farraigí, sna scéalta agus inár n-anamacha, is cuid dá n-oidhreacht iad ar fad. Ach mar aon leis an nGaeilge tá bagairt ar ár n-oidhreacht. Gan meas ná aitheantas ní bheidh sí ann: caithfear aire a thabhairt dár n-oidhreacht.”

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Here’s some vocabulary for the festivities:

Naomh Pádraig (lit : Saint Patrick)

Pádraig Naofa (lit : Holy Patrick)

Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona duit – Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you

Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona daoibh – Happy St. Patrick’s Day to you all

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig dhuit – St Patrick’s Day blessings to you

Beannachtaí na Féile Pádraig oraibh – St. Patrick’s Day blessings to you all

“Wetting the shamrock” is an old Irish saying meaning “to go for a drink,” particularly on St. Patrick’s Day, so if you plan on meeting someone to celebrate you can say this:

Cá mbeidh tú ag fliúchadh na seamróige? –Where will you be wetting the shamrock?”

Sláinte! – Cheers!

Éirinn go Brách – Ireland forever (Erin go Bragh is the  anglicization)

Seamróg – shamrock

Go n-éirí an t-ádh leat – May luck rise to you (good luck)

Ádh na n-Éireannach – Luck of the Irish

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And here is some reading practice in Irish about St. Patrick’s Day.

Let me know how you will be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day down below

Lá Fhéile Pádraig sona daoibh!

Photo from Pixabay, CCO.

       

Comments

• I married a daughter of Ireland. We met after she died. I'll be ... by Shall

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Have you ever heard of Téarma? It is An Bunachar Náisiúnta Téarmaíochta don Ghaeilge (The National Terminology Database for Irish).

From their website: 

Seo é an bunachar náisiúnta téarmaíochta don Ghaeilge, á bhainistiú ag grúpa taighde Gaois, Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge (DCU) i gcomhar leis an gCoiste Téarmaíochta, Foras na Gaeilge.

Tá c.186,000 iontráil dhátheangach ar fáil sa bhunachar. Is féidir dul i ngleic leis na téarmaí ar bhealaí éagsúla agus is féidir chomh maith an t-ábhar a íoslódáil i bhformáid TBX no TXT. 

Is féidir teacht ar fhoilseacháin de chuid Gaois a bhaineann leis an téarmeolaíocht anseo. Más maith leat coinneáil suas leis an téarmaíocht, an téarmeolaíocht agus forbairtí nua, is féidir clárú do nuachtlitir Gaois, blag Gaois a léamh, nó coinneáil suas le Téarma an Lae ar Twitter, Instagram agus Facebook. Tá scéal an tionscadail anseo.

This is the national terminology database for Irish, managed by the Gaois research group in Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge (DCU) in partnership with the Terminology Committee, Foras na Gaeilge.

Around 186,000 bilingual entries are available in the database. They can be queried in various ways, and the material can also be downloaded in TBX or TXT format.

Publications about terminology by Gaois can be found here. If you wish to keep up with terminology and other new developments, you can sign up for the Gaois newsletter (in Irish), read the Gaois blog (in Irish), or get the Term of the Day on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. The story of the project is told here.

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Foras na Gaeilge (“Irish Institute” abbreviated FnaG) is a public body responsible for the promotion of the Irish language throughout the island of Ireland. Beyond that, their duties also include developing terminology and dictionaries. On the website téarma.ie there is a section called athruithe le déanaí (recent changes) which underline new words that have been added to the Irish dictionary by FnaG.

Here are the current new additions:

Photo from Pixabay, CCO.

      

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Today many people are celebrating love all around the world. If you happen to find yourself in Dublin it may be fitting to visit Whitefriar Street Church to see the resting place of St. Valentine himself! They were gifted to the church in the 19th century by Pope Gregory XVI. To read a bit more about the history and background of St. Valentine, check out my post from last year.

If you are not lucky enough to be celebrating in the beautiful city of Dublin, hopefully some of these poems and list of vocabulary will help you celebrate the holiday as Gaeilge.

Photo from Pixababy, CCO.

Tá grá agam duit – I love you

Mo ghrá thú – You are my beloved

Tá mé i ngrá leat – I’m in love with you

A chuisle mo chroí – The pulse of my heart

Is tú mo stóirín* – You are my (little*) sweetheart

*The “-ín” at the end of Stóirín makes the word Stór (sweetheart) diminutive.

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An 18th century poem by Úna Ní Bhroin:

“Ó Thugas Mo Ghrá Dhuit” (Since I gave you my love)

A stórach, bheinn beo, sé mo dhóigh, go cena bliana,

Gan dadamh a ól ná lón ar bith d’iarraidh,

Mo bhéal ar do bhéal-sa ’s mo dhóid ar do cliabh-sa,

Ag éisteacht do ghlóir ghlic do thóigfeadh mo phianta

I could live for a year, I know, my love
Not asking for food or drinking a drop
With my mouth on yours, my hand on your heart,
Hearing your talk would heal my hurt

A 20th century poem by Liam Ó Muirthile:

Teanga An Ghrá (The language of love)

Ní gá di faic na ngrást
is í teanga iomlán an ghrá
gach anáil aici.

She needs nothing at all
The complete language of love
Is her every breath

And finally, perhaps one of the most prolific Irish poets, William Butler Yeats:

When You Are Old

When you are old and grey and full of sleep,
And nodding by the fire, take down this book,
And slowly read, and dream of the soft look
Your eyes had once, and of their shadows deep;

How many loved your moments of glad grace,
And loved your beauty with love false or true,
But one man loved the pilgrim soul in you,
And loved the sorrows of your changing face;

And bending down beside the glowing bars,
Murmur, a little sadly, how Love fled
And paced upon the mountains overhead
And hid his face amid a crowd of stars.

      

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You may have already heard the hype around the new addictive word game called Wordle. This simple daily game challenges you to guess a word in six tries, and it lets you know if a letter is in the word or not, and whether it is in the right place. The word is always a 5 letter word and usually pretty common, so it’s not necessarily challenging your English vocabulary knowledge, but it’s a great brain-workout!

Here’s what it looks like (don’t worry, no spoilers for today’s Wordle as this one is a past one!):

Photo taken and shared with permission by user.

But for language learners, a game like this would be not only a brain-workout, but also a challenging way to test our vocabulary knowledge. Thankfully someone has also created an Irish version called Foclach!

 

The rules are very similar to Wordle:

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• • Gheobhaidh tú 6 iarracht leis an fhocal cheart a thomhas.
  • Glactar le mórchuid na bhfocal bailí Gaeilge. Ní ghlactar le hainmneacha dílse.
  • I ndiaidh gach tomhas a dhéanann tú, cuirfear dath glas, buí nó liath ar na litreacha a chuir tú isteach.
• You will get 6 attempts to guess the correct word.
• Most valid Irish words are accepted. Proper names are not accepted.
• After each guess you make, the letters you enter will be green, yellow or gray.

Different from wordle though (which is only daily) there are two modes you can choose between and the rules on the site about them:

Mód Laethúil – Daily mode

Mód cleachta – Exercise mode

“Tá tú ag imirt sa MHÓD LAETHÚIL. Sa mhód seo, tugtar an tomhas céanna do gach imreoir gach tréimhse 24 uair, agus thig leat do thorthaí a roinnt ar líne. Más mian leat níos mó ná cluiche amháin a imirt sa lá, thig leat úsáid a bhaint as an MÓD CLEACHTA. Sa mhód cleachta thig leat imirt chomh minic agus is mian leat, ach ní thugtar rogha duit do thorthaí a roinnt ar líne.”

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Comments

• Should be easier than Wordle since Irish has only 18 letters in ... by Síle
• Extremely difficult but very enjoyable by Lily
• Conas Foclach a roinnt? Nuair a dhéanaim iarracht deireann sé ... by Seán

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Did you know the the Irish word for wolf is ‘mac tíre‘ which translates as ‘son of the land’? Next time you watch Game of Thrones (which was largely filmed in Ireland) and think of the wolves (or dire wolves) roaming around the Kingsroad (aka the Dark Hedges) you can reflect on why the locals decided to call these noble and powerful animals mac tíre.

Photo from Pixabay, CCO.

Related to the wolf and probably a bit closer to home for all: an madra – a dog. 

Here are some dog commands that you may want to use at home to practice your Irish with your faithful companion:

Gabh i leith! – come here

Fan! – stay

Faigh é! – fetch

Suigh! – sit down

Seas! – stand up

Luigh! – lie down

Síos leat! – get down/off

Lapa! – paw

For some more dog commands as well as a pronunciation video on the commands, check out this Bitesize Irish post.

And now some other animal vocabulary in Irish:

animal – an t ainmhí
bear – an béar
bee – an bheach
bird – an t éan
butterfy – an féileacán
cat – an cat
cockroach – an chiaróg
cow – an bhó
deer – an fa
donkey – an t asal
duck – an lacha
eagle – an t iolar
elephant – an eilifnt
fly – an chuileog
fox – an madra rua (literally: red dog)
frog – an loscann
chicken – an sicín
dog – an madra
fish – an t iasc
goat – an gabhar
goose – an ghé
hare – an giorria
hen – an chearc
horse – an capall
insect – an fheithid
lion – an leon
monkey – an moncaí
mosquito – an corrmhíol
mouse – an luch
pig – an mhuc
rabbit – an coinín
rat – an francach
rooster – an coileach
sheep – an chaora
snake – an nathair
spider – an damhán alla (literally: little wild ox)
swan – an eala
tiger – an tíogar
turtle – an turtar
wolf – an mac tíre
lamb – an t uan

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If you want to learn more, check out this vocabulary list with native speaker audio and many others with Transparent Language Online. Now through the end of the month, get 30% using the code NEWYEARS30

      

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2021 is almost at an end, and so we are going to look back to some of the most popular Irish blogs of the year. So here is the comhaireamh síos (countdown):

5. Irish language resources online

Some resources to help you along your Irish language journey. Please comment anything you may use to help you!

4. An Ghaeilge agus Éirí Amach 1916

The Irish Language and the Rising of 1916. I shared an interesting publication from the Irish Times about the vision for the Irish language 100 years ago and where it stands today, from the Rising of 1916 to modern day 2016. I also shared the poem Cam reilige 1916-1966 (Birth Defect 1916-1966) by Irish poet Máire Mhac an tSaoi who wrote it on the 50th anniversary of the Éirí Amach na Cásca – Easter Rising. 

3. Irish Poetry

A poem and video celebrating  “Oíche Nollaig na mBan” – Women’s Christmas Night.

2. Yu Ming Is Ainm Dom

A short film about the dedication to learn the Irish language and then some confusion when confronted with non-Irish speakers outside of an Gaeltacht. 

1. An Irish translator in Brussels

Did you know that Irish became a working language of the European Union in 2007? As such, here are some videos of the day in the life of an Irish translator living in Brussels.

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Some vocabulary and thoughts around the New Year:

New Years Eve – Oíche Chinn Bliana

New Years Day – Lá Caille

Happy New Year – Athbhliain faoi mhaise duit 

 Happy New Year (to more than one person) – Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh 

New Years Resolution –Rún na hAthbhliana

Last year I also wrote about some of the holidays in Ireland and mentioned a common New Years tradition of using old and stale Christmas bread to bang on the doors and walls of the house to chase out the bad luck and fear of a potential famine, and to wish for good luck and a good harvest in the coming year. A saying that may go along with this tradition would be:

“Fógraimíd an gorta

Amach go tír na dTurcach.

Ó anocht, go bliain ó anocht

Is ó anocht féin amach.”

“We call on famine,

Out as far as the land of the Turk,

From tonight, to a year from tonight,

and from this very night, be gone.”

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Athbhliain faoi mhaise daoibh! Happy New Year to you all! If there are any blogs you’d like to see in 2022, feel free to write them in the comments.

Photo from Pixabay, CCO.