Best Gaeltacht Course

Fishy1

Hi,
My daughter is in 5th year & next summer she wants to go to the Gaeltacht. Can any of you advise on which courses / colleges are best? She really wants to go somewhere where the "Speak Irish Rule" will be strictly enforced . . . . but equally wants to have a bit of craic!
Thanks in advance

degausserxo

Arainn Mhoir in Donegal.. the rule there doesn't need to be forced, the majority of people simply just stick with it! Plus there're cinniri in most of the houses so she'll be looked after well!

www.arainnmhor.com/colaiste

Fad

Colaiste na bhFiann are fairly strict, it saved me from OL irish

Fishy1

Hi & thanks so much for the quick replies! To be honest, Aran Mor would be a nightmare to get to from way down here in the sunny south east . . . . though I did look at the website & it looks like a great course.
Colaiste na bhFiann - which college did you go to? Are they all equally good?
Again, míle buíochas for the replies so far. Keep them coming !

GA361

Fad wrote: »

Colaiste na bhFiann are fairly strict, it saved me from OL irish

Yeah he is right.
But it is fairly depressing.

If she is in fifth year I would recomend Rath Cairn.That is the only one that I've been to where everyone genuinly wants to speak the language

LittleBear

Coláiste Na Rinne in Waterford is great. Theres a huge emphasis on speaking Irish which is great. An Rinn is beside the sea so the children go for walks to the beach if the weathers fine. Really sound gang...she should check it out. Theres cinniri in all the dorm's. But you can choose to stay with a family aswell. If you want to PM me i can recommened personal friends parents who are fluent in Irish and speak it everyday so she'll defo get to learn alot in their house.


www.anrinn.com

Fad

Fishy1 wrote: »

Hi & thanks so much for the quick replies! To be honest, Aran Mor would be a nightmare to get to from way down here in the sunny south east . . . . though I did look at the website & it looks like a great course.
Colaiste na bhFiann - which college did you go to? Are they all equally good?
Again, míle buíochas for the replies so far. Keep them coming !

I went to Ros Muc, but id advise against that one as its more centred on 3rd year

Eh......Sligeach (Sligo :P) is meant to be the best, so go for that, but book soon they book out sooooo quickly.

GA361

Fad wrote: »

I went to Ros Muc, but id advise against that one as its more centred on 3rd year

Eh......Sligeach (Sligo :P) is meant to be the best, so go for that, but book soon they book out sooooo quickly.

I was in Sligo this year,and I was in Rath Cairn two years ago.
Rath Cairn is by far the better one.It is more authentic as it is a Gaeltacht.

CDfm

A difficult one - is it for learning irish for the exams or for the craic.

If its for strict enforcement Colaiste Cumas in Connemara down in a very bleak hole of a place - my kids went there - son disliked daughter liked.

there is also Knockadoon Camp in Cork run by a voluntary group Curum - its more social and less schooly - enforces the rules.

If its for learning Irish for exam purposes try contacting this crowd - they run courses etc and are gaelgoirs (Irish Heads). They like the thing. .

http://www.clubsult.com/teacht.html

gaeilgegrinds

There are only 4 colleges that impliment the Irish Rule, obviously not privvy to say it openly on this but PM me if you need more information or just call some of these and ask on their policy.
http://www.irishsummercolleges.com

nehpets5555

colaiste lurgan in conemara, went there and loved it

www.lurgan.biz

Fishy1

Hi again,
Just wanted to say thanks to all of you for taking the trouble to reply. Makes very interesting reading.:)
Gaeilgegrinds, I've just sent you a pm.

Piste

Brú na Pairce is meant to be very intense and strict...it's totally focused on the leaving cert exam, but it's pretty much all work and study all day every day with not much of a social side, so might be a bit extreme for her.

yay_for_summer

I've been to three, the best was in Kerry, Coláistí Chorca Dhuibhne. That may have been due to the fact that the others were before the JC though and this was after 5th year. I think most people who go after 5th year or so really want to improve their Irish so they tend to speak it more and make more of an effort. Staying in a house is much better though, in a big dorm it's far too easy to speak English, whereas in a house bean an tí speaks Irish to you constantly and in a smaller group it's also easier to make friends.

Piano man

LittleBear wrote: »

Coláiste Na Rinne in Waterford is great. Theres a huge emphasis on speaking Irish which is great. An Rinn is beside the sea so the children go for walks to the beach if the weathers fine. Really sound gang...she should check it out. Theres cinniri in all the dorm's. But you can choose to stay with a family aswell.

I went to Rinn going into fifth year. Sure the craic is mighty as it would be everywhere, but if you're going for the Irish, it was pretty thin on the ground when I was there. Just in class and to the cinniri and stuff. For some reason, the crowd on my course didn't feel cool with the language.

But Coláiste na bhFiann are probably a good bet. I never went to a summer course, but they run follow up clubs, Cummann na bhFiann, during the year, which I went to for a while. I even went away for a week in October once. Everyone there really wants to speak the language and it's almost like a community.

Insect Overlord

From experience I'd recommend Coláiste Laichtín Naofa, Inis Oírr. I went there 4 times as a student. Got in major trouble for speaking English the first year, went back three times afterwards for the craic, then worked as an ard-cinnire for 2 courses this summer.

The island setting cuts it off from English speaking areas. There's a 3 strikes rule with regards to English. The emphasis is on encouraging Gaeilge rather than punishing Béarla, but strict punishments are given when necessary. Most of the mná tí listen out for Irish during hours when students aren't doing classes/games/céilithe.

I've been told that the Inis Meán course is among the very best for learning/speaking Irish, as they're said to expel pupils caught using English even once. Not sure how true that is, but if their visits to Inis Oírr are anything to go by, their system works well.

CDfm

My son spent 3 weeks at Colaiste Cumus when he was 16 - Irish not great to start with and no improvement.

Gaelige rule enforced all right but as he didnt have the basics he was left behind- so if its to pass exams maybe you need to dig a bit more other than a summer school.

I bought him a blast of beginers stuff in the Conradh shop in Harcourt street - one in paticular a grammar card 2 sides A4 was great.

Conradh also have a Club downstairs and if you contacted them or called in and asked to be put in touch with people for Irish classes/groups you might luck out.They have classes teaching Irish to foreign nationals

lilmizzme

gaeilgegrinds wrote: »

There are only 4 colleges that impliment the Irish Rule, http://www.irishsummercolleges.com

I dont understand hhow you can make such a generalized statement....how do you know this? All Irish colleges implement the Irish rule...otherwise what would be the point of going?

Fad

Piste wrote: »

Brú na Pairce is meant to be very intense and strict...it's totally focused on the leaving cert exam, but it's pretty much all work and study all day every day with not much of a social side, so might be a bit extreme for her.

I really wish i went there, id say itd make this year (6th year) a helluva lot easier.

GA361

lilmizzme wrote: »

I dont understand hhow you can make such a generalized statement....how do you know this? All Irish colleges implement the Irish rule...otherwise what would be the point of going?

Forgive me for saying so,but that is incredibly naive.

Fishy1

This has turned into a very interesting thread ! Thanks to all of you for the replies. I spoke to an Irish teacher tonight who thoroughly recommended Coláiste Laichtín Naofa, Inis Oírr, so it looks like that's where we'll be heading to.
Again, thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate it.

GA361

Fishy1 wrote: »

This has turned into a very interesting thread ! Thanks to all of you for the replies. I spoke to an Irish teacher tonight who thoroughly recommended Coláiste Laichtín Naofa, Inis Oírr, so it looks like that's where we'll be heading to.
Again, thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate it.

You're welcome.
Your daughter's teacher would know what course would suit her best.:)

CDfm

GA361 wrote: »

You're welcome.
Your daughter's teacher would know what course would suit her best.:)

I dont want to alarm the OP but his/her child has had 10 or 11 years being taught Irish by teachers at her schools

djcervi

I went to colaiste lurgan last summer and i thought it was great for a couple of reasons: Technology used to teach irish, language lab, plus there was a very friendly atmosphere created: dress-up ceilithe, dance competition, sing competition. It realy helped with my oral irish and i am feeling much more confident for the oral exam. even after the course there is an online course called abair leat which covers irish grammar, vocab and oral work. (Basically work used on the computers in lurgan).

I have also heard that colaiste chamuis is supposed to be brilliant for learning irish as if you are caught speaking english- you are sent home.

lilmizzme

GA361 wrote: »

Forgive me for saying so,but that is incredibly naive.

Please explain how so? Having attened 3 different irish colleges myself and worked as cinnera at another, I have a very hard time believing there is an Irish college out there that does not enforce the Gaelige rule.

Of course, there would be varying levels of strictness and disipline but i seriously doubt there is any irish summer college that would freely allow their students to speak english at all times with no consequences

Piste

Yeah I have a hard time believing that two. I have been to at least one Irish college where someone was sent home for speaking English. Quite posibly someone was sent home from the other one but I don't remember for definite.

GA361

In Ring.Even the cinneras sometimes spoke English

Ah-Watch

Colaiste Ui Chadhain in Minna Co Galway. Brilliant-loved it would definately recommend it, There is no messing-you have to make a decent effort otherwise your sent home for speaking English. Teachers are good too:)

dublinmadyoke

I'v heard of Colaiste Naomh Eoin they are based in Dublin/Meath and a few other places. Its designed for children that don't want to go away for a few weeks- perhaps they might home sick or whatever. I know of a family that sent their daughter there and she had a great time and her Irish really improved. They have a website its http://www.colaistenaomheoin.com


I hope that helps---

irlande

degausserxo wrote: »

Arainn Mhoir in Donegal.. the rule there doesn't need to be forced, the majority of people simply just stick with it! Plus there're cinniri in most of the houses so she'll be looked after well!

www.arainnmhor.com/colaiste

Couldn't agree more with that. Been there for 5 years now.
The atmosphere of a Gaeltacht Island really adds to the feeling of being in a new culture and community.
Like degausserxo said, the college places cinniri in the vast majority of houses meaning that they're well supervised almost 24/7.

Couldnt recommend it any stronger.

CDfm

I found a link for Knockadoon camp - they should be able to put people in touch with the organisers of the Irish Camp


http://www.knockadoon.org/


BTW great seeing that some colleges have got modern and use technoligy and stuff. My son hated Chumus and I cant blame him. IT wasnt exactly Kamp Krusty from the Simpsons.