GaelScoileanna

I am a great supporter of GaelScoileanna, and wish I could speaker better Irish. I do speak irish but only completely langers when my brains starts thinking in Irish and I have to translate to English (or the little bit of German I have, via English) from the irish in my head.

So why am I blogging about the Irish Language. Well firstly cause I actually miss it, yes I didnt think I would, but it turns out I do miss the irish language. And secondly a blogpost. Specially this post over at Maria Horans blog. She has raised a few interesting points on sending Kids to Gaelscoileanna Why do it if your not able to help as a parent. I was lucky I suppose, I enjoyed learning Irish, actually learning the language and not learning poems and prose off by heart, which is what happens with the Irish Leaving Cert Cycle, and I had a mother who was hugely interested in Irish History and the Language. She was always able to help when me or my sister needed help.

Now I didnt go to a GaelScoil, but I kind of wish I did. Strange how nostalgic one gets about a native language when abroad, even when you rarely hear at home.

Over here I have met a few Irish people on nights and only one of them could speak Iirsh. That kind of disappointed me, one of the advantages we were always told in BunScoil (Primary School) was that we would be able to talk to each other as gaeilge in the UK and the Brits wouldnt understand us. My father used this logic in a different way to get out of trouble in France, he just recited the 'Ar nAthair', without the 'Amen' of course while waving his Irish passport.

I think it is a pity that people don't make an effort to speak Irish yet send their kids to a gaelscoil and then can't help their kids with the homework, I just do get it....