An Gaeilge

It is the start of the new school year. Whether you love school, or loath it, one generally is excited going back. You get to hang out with your friends again, see them more often, you get back to the usual sporting activities and you get to see people you have not see for quite some time. However, the downturn to the return is the workload. Hours and hours of homework is what await many students on their return to school. And perhaps the worst thing of all? The horror of having to write an essay, not in English, but in Irish.

Irish, or Gaeilge, is the dread of most students in the Irish Secondary School system. The compulsory exam subject is almost identical to the English curriculum – with the exception that it is in a completely different language. One that only 3% of the Irish population speaks fluently. Now, one might suspect that something is a bit off if these people, who are around 17/18 doing their Leaving Certificate, hate doing a language they have speaking since they were 4 or 5. The reason is quite simple – the way it is taught.

In Primary School, the teachers focus on verbs. In other words, between the ages of 4 and 12, one is taught the different verbs in Irish in the three main tenses. I’ll get to those later. Then, at the age of 13 and upon the entrance of the student into Secondary School, the students are automatically expected to form sentences, and be able to identify words aurally. By the time they are 15, two years later, they are expected to know Irish poems off by heart and be able to write essays. And the Senior Cycle Curriculum? It is taught, in my opinion, abhorrently.

Now, to the infamous verb tenses. In Primary, you are taught your many verbs in their three main tenses. An Aimsir Cháite, An Aimsir Láithreach and An Aimsir Fháistineach; that is: The Past Tense, The Present Tense and the Future Tense. Now, to construct a sentence using these is ok. However, upon entering the Junior Cycle of Secondary School you have many more tenses thrown upon you. The most feared and evil being An Modh Coinníollach – The Conditional Tense. This tense throws every other tense on its feet and makes the student even more confused than he/she probably already were.

The combination of it being poorly taught and its ridiculously tough curriculum mean that generally it is one of the most hated subjects in school. Indeed, people may love speaking the language, but hate the subject and way it is taught. I myself hated the language from about 6th Class to 6th Year however, now, I totally regret not paying attention more as I have found it to be quite interesting.

And I am not the only young person in Ireland with this view. Over the past ten years, summer schools in the Gealtacht – designated areas for Irish – have recorded record numbers of students! It is in these schools that the residents are required to speak only Irish and that time speaking English is limited. Irish courses in Universities have also seen new numbers of students.

The State also encourages the usage of Irish. It is an official language of the European Union and bonus marks are awarded in State Exams for answering through Irish. The Cabinet has a Minister with responsibility for the language and the National University of Ireland, Galway, has a requirement that all employed have a basic understanding of the language. Furthermore, all signposts in Ireland are bilingual.

I am a faithful believer that the Irish language will pick up once again. If I can convert, anyone can. Take an evening course in the language or just watch TG4 – it’s easy. We cannot lose our native language. It’s part of our national identity!