Say it in Gaelic: Gaeltachts
The Irish language is alive and well in Ireland’s Gaeltachts. Those are villages and areas of Ireland where Gaelic, or Irish as they refer to it, is spoken in everyday life. That means in shops and restaurants, bars and even at the gas stations. And 7 of Ireland’s 26 counties has a Gaeltacht of its own. Anyone can go there and most will talk to you in English if you don’t understand Irish. But the main language for everyday business is Irish.
There’s a prominent Gaeltacht in Donegal. A man named Eugene Green lives there and he is doing all he can to ensure it continues. He’s restored a beautiful cottage there that used to belong to a man named Naill O’Donnell, who is credited with writing the very first Irish to English dictionary. It’s used in offices to this day. And Eugene has some of the original pages written out in longhand.
That cottage has been completely restored to its former glory and now houses a community center where classes of all kinds are taught, mainly in Irish. It’s also known as for its fabulous acoustics so musicians come from all around to play there.
Donegal is an amazing place. Its so far north the skies stay dusky til nearly midnight.
You can see the cottage, experience Donegal, and take in the beauty of that area all at once in this episode of Erin’s Isle.
