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Irish Language Resources

Seattle Irish Heritage Club takes a special interest in promoting the Irish language and encouraging its study. Here is a selection of resources for distance learning.

Teacher Resources: Seattle Based

  • Kathy McCormack. Irish language teacher providing Irish classes during the academic year and scholarships to a summer Gaeltacht Irish Course. Email: kathym98012@yahoo.com
  • Ciarán O’Mahoney. Irish language teacher providing Irish classes, at both beginner and advanced level. His focus is on the importance of conversation, offering discussion about Ireland, its culture and the Irish people. Email Ciarán kieran@icntl.org if you are committed to advancing your knowledge of the Irish Language.
  • Sean Williams, Ph.D. Teacher at The Evergreen State College in Olympia WA. Email WilliamS@evergreen.edu for class options

Practice Conversation With Others

  • Let’s Learn Irish offers free conversation (comhrá) once a week for both beginners and fluent speakers.
  • Matthew Judge offers conversational language opportunities in Shawn O Donnells Pub, Fremont, Seattle on either Sat or Sunday evenings. Connect with him via the MeetUp app Puget Sound Irish Gaelic https://meetu.ps/c/51TJK/kgzcj/d to confirm his dates and times. Go raibh míle maith agat!

Irish TV Channel

  • TG4 is the official Irish language channel of RTÉ, Raidió Teilifís Éireann. Stream the news in Irish, watch children’s programs, follow the famous soap opera Ros na Rún. Click Bearla to get the site in English.

Online Courses Find an organization that suits your own learning style:

  • Atomic Irish teaches the phonetic foundation to Irish. English speakers often have obstacles hearing and speaking the phonemes that are not present in their native language. Dr. Josephine Dunbar teaches how to make the sounds, and how to hear the differences. You will not learn grammar or vocabulary, but you will gain a solid phonetic background. A myriad of mysteries will clear up as you get the hang of it. It’s a hidden gem of online Irish courses.
  • Daltaí.com Search for teachers in your area, links to classes and resources.
  • Friends of Irish Studies in the West The Friends of Irish Studies supports the Irish Studies program at the University of Montana and promotes Irish culture in the community by organizing and sponsoring online courses in the Irish language and sean-nós singing, Irish language immersion courses, music and singing camps, cultural activities that celebrate Irish music and dance, and the game of hurling.
  • Future Learn has online Irish language courses that are perfect for any learner, whether you are a complete beginner or someone who wants to improve your vocabulary and skills for a specific use or context
  • Glossika Choose a very structured practice, or listening-only mode.
  • Gaelchultúr Online site from Foras na Gaeilge, the official Irish Institute for the Irish language.
  • italki.com Online resource, Italki has a roster of Irish teachers around the world. Take a sample lesson.
  • Let’s Learn Irish A community with blogs, courses, practice conversations.
  • Michel Thomas “Stress-free” method of learning Irish. Offering classes via Zoom.
  • MF Learning: This is an online Irish language business based in Ireland. They run 10 classes per week at beginners, improvers, intermediate, and advanced levels for adults. Classes are conversation based and taught by a team of experienced Irish teachers in a fun and dynamic environment. For more information check out their website or social media pages, @globalgaeilge. Book classes through Michelle at mflearning.classes@gmail.com
  • Pimsleur Short Irish course, but presented in a proven format to accelerate learning.
  • Ranganna The online learning site from Gaelchultúr, noted above. Subtle differences between sites, so take a look at each of them.

Free Online Resources

  • Abair Another source for pronunciation.
  • Advice from The Mezzofanti Guild Donovan Nagel shares his own hard-won experience learning Irish at a distance. He includes an exhaustive archive of online resources for you
  • BiteSize Irish Podcast is a free show in English for anyone interested in the Irish language, and Irish culture. New episode published every couple of weeks.
  • Celtic Life and Heritage Foundation “Just a toe in the proverbial water.” Kieran O’Mahoney, native Irish speaker, introduces some basic concepts about the language. Do explore the entire site’s trove of educational material.
  • Duolingo is helpful in increasing your vocabulary, as well as making study a daily habit.
  • The Irish Passport Not strictly dedicated to the language alone, but wide-ranging news and commentary on Irish culture and politics. Naomi O’Leary, formerly of Reuters, now with the Irish Times, does the podcast with Tim Mc Inerney. Try the episode, “The Irish Language.”
  • Teanglann This site is available in English. To start, concentrate on using the tab called English-Irish Dictionary (de Bhaldraithe, 1959) Teanglann is not forgiving of missing accents (the fada) but will suggest correct ways to spell. The next tab to the right, “Grammar” will be important to you as you progress. The tab on the far right will give you pronunciations in various dialects. Don’t fret over dialects in the beginning. As you get the opportunity to practice with Irish speakers, you will hear different dialects. After you have some experience under your belt, you will know which dialect you gravitate towards.
  • Maynooth University posts Irish language news from TG4 along with downloadable study sheets that include an accurate transcription.
  • Twitter Irish served in 280 character chunks. Some suggested starting points are @gaelchultúr, @gaago (sports), @failteonline, @theirishfor, @muinteoirmeg. Follow a few of these, and they will lead you to many other accounts for you to follow.

Books and teaching materials

  • Comhar is an Irish language monthly literary journal which covers literature, poetry, current affairs, and more. With 2022 marking Comhar’s 80th birthday they are sharing plenty of wonderful content to mark the occasion. An annual subscription to Comhar is €90 and available here.
  • An Síopa Leabhar Literally, The Book Shop. Excellent source of Irish language learning materials.