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What we’re about

Dia daoibh. Is daoine muid atá inár gcónaí i gcathair Birmingham nó timpeall na cathrach sa Lár-Réigiún Thiar.
Many of us came over from Ireland a long time ago, others have lived here only for a short while. Some were born and bred in the UK with Irish roots, others feel a connection to Ireland for other reasons. We all share an interest in the Irish language, an Ghaeilge.
Is cuma an bhfuil líofacht na Gaeilge agat nó ar thosaigh tú í a fhoghlaim ar DuoLingo le gairid.
As a community, we want to create opportunities to speak Irish or just to hear it being spoken. We warmly welcome beginners as well as competent speakers. During our PopUp Gaeltacht in a Digbeth pub on a Sunday afternoon, we go by the motto “Is fearr Gaeilge bhriste ná Béarla cliste.” (Better to speak broken Irish than clever English). It is of course ok just to listen or to speak a mixture of English and Irish. The meeting is followed by an Irish traditional music session which attracts a wider audience and creates the opportunity to follow up with conversations in English. Nó lean ar aghaidh as Gaeilge, más mian leat.
Finally, we are preparing a beginners' course in Irish (A1) which will run once a month on a Saturday for three hours. The course will start in September.
Bigí linn.

How to start learning Irish?

  1. Join our Beinners' Course "Learn Irish Now". There are other courses in Birmingham and Coventry.
  2. Many learners use apps and online resources, such as DuoLingo.
  3. If learning with a book is your thing, there is a good selection of titles around, such as “Teach Yourself Irish” or “Gaeilge gan stró”. But note, unless you already know some Irish, you will need the audio recordings offered for most textbooks.
  4. There are many good online courses available. The Irish companies Gaelchultúr and Gaelteanga run courses for all levels, as does Conradh na Gaeilge in Dublin and the Manchester Irish Language Group.
  5. There are also summer courses in Ireland, for example those by Oideas Gael in the village of Glencolmcille in the Donegal Gaeltacht.
  6. In addition to these activities, watch Irish language TV (TG4), listen to Irish language Radio (Raidió na Gaeltachta, Raidió na Life, Raidió Fáilte) read books or articles (many are learner friendly), write and speak it as often as possible and come to our PopUp Gaeltacht in Digbeth every second Sunday.