This is a study group for people learning Irish Gaelic (Gaeilge) in the Des Moines, Iowa area. Whether you are a fluent speaker, brand new to the language or someplace in between, please join us at
Olivet Baptist Church.

Where: Location may vary, please email.
When: Every Thursday
Time: 7:00 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.
Contact: learn.irish.dsm@gmail.com
Who: Everyone is welcome! Beginnners are encouraged to attend.

Is Gaeilge go bhriste i níos fearr le Béarla maith de lá ar bith í!

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Talk Irish word a day

I have been getting the TalkIrish word of the day since last February and about a week ago I realized I got a word in my inbox that I have seen before. All the emails I get go into a TalkIrish folder in Outlook, so I went to the very first email I received and sure enough, I had already gathered about four duplicate words.

If TalkIrish only has roughly 365 words that they circulate, how can I use that to my advantage? The answer came to me this morning.

I often look for sentence structures I can use for building dialogue and this gives me that opportunity. For every duplicate word I get, I forward the email to myself and replace the subject line with the actual sentence used at the bottom of the word-a-day email. Now I have not only a searchable list of words, I will have a searchable list of sentences I can use and reuse.

Join the clan at http://www.talkirish.com

Monday, February 8, 2010

February 6 Class

Tomorrow's class will build on what we learned last time about mutations. This topic should help move you forward in your learning. I will also talk a little about studying hints and tips along with finding your own particular style and needs as an Irish learner.

Keep in mind the difficulty of the language: Praise yourself for what you DO know and just have fun with it! There's no pressure!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Place Names in Ireland

Here is a link for a directory of place names in Irish. There is a button up in the upper right hand corner for the English version of the page.

http://www.logainm.ie/Do.aspx?uiLang=ga