Beginners Irish

robburke1980

Hi All,

hoping someone might be able to help

I have absolutely no Irish at all.. not even the words to the national anthem!
I moved to England when i was 8, and when we moved back to Ireland at 16, but it was too late to pick up Irish in order to do the leaving cert.

However, it's only recently that I felt i have missed out on this, and would love to be able to start speaking Irish, and to take the leaving cert exam in the next year or 2.

Bearing in mind i'm 28 years of age, working in Dublin and have not a single word of Irish, would anyone have any suggestions whereby I should look in order to start learning Irish.
If i was to start now, how long do you think i would need realistically before being ready to take the leaving cert exam?

Would really appreciate your kind advice!:)

Many thanks!

Micilin Muc

Anybody will tell you that it depends on how hard you work. You could pick up Buntús Cainte from Eason's and work your way through that until you feel confident enough to go to a beginners' class in Conradh na Gaeilge or Gaelchultúr. Three years of hard work could bring you up to Leaving Cert standard (not the kind of standard that you learn off by heart). Alternatively you could look at doing a TEG exam www.teg.ie

There are a few teachers on this forum (myself included) who would be delighted to answer any questions you may have. Go n-éirí leat!

robburke1980

Many thanks for that, thats great. I'll pick up a copy of Buntús Cainte tomorrow and start from there. Then will look into perhaps attending conversational classes etc!
Thanks again!

arse..biscuits

I would second the Buntús Cainte option. It is split into sections, take your time and try to do each section over till you know it well before moving on.

Jay Pentatonic

Hey, I'm a beginner in Irish too:)
Someone mentioned Gaelchultúr, I did a course with them over the summer & found it really helpful, & everyone working there had good things to say about Buntús Cainte, so I highly recommend these.

There's a conversation exchange in the Ilac centre on Henry street, BUT AVOID IT!!! It's just reading texts & then translating them later, there's no actual conversation, you don't use Irish as a language & it's not suitable for beginners.:eek:

A great dictionary for newbies is called "Foclóir Póca" published by An Gúm & it has a pronunciation guide that's very easy to follow.

Best of luck, you won't regret a second!

arse..biscuits

Jay1989 wrote: »

There's a conversation exchange in the Ilac centre on Henry street, BUT AVOID IT!!! It's just reading texts & then translating them later, there's no actual conversation, you don't use Irish as a language & it's not suitable for beginners.:eek:

That conversation exchange in the ilac is great, but like you said, it's not for beginners.

robburke1980

Thanks All for your advice, thats great. I bought Buntús Cainte today, so hopefully onwards and upwards from here!

Go raibh maith agat!

dlofnep

Buntús cainte is awesome. If you've no Irish whatsoever, I'd say go through the first book 2 or 3 times. Then move onto the second. Try find a conversational group in your area.