Thread! After my thread on Gaelic the other day, I’ve decided to write one about my feelings towards Irish. NB I’ve chosen to tweet in Eng in order to engage others outwith the Irish speaking community but I’m happy to engage with anyone in whichever language. Here goes... 1/15

I first started learning Irish for fun in 2008 while at uni, using the Giota Beag series on BBC Ulster. I had met a few Irish speakers through my GAA team and decided I wanted to give it a go. I’d always been intrigued by Irish having hear snippets from Irish relations and… 2/15

...and friends’ families. I loved the sound the Ulster Irish. In comparison to Scots Gaelic that I’d heard more often through TV/radio growing up, it sounded so much softer and I loved the way it rolled off my tongue. Having qualified as a teacher, I decided to switch to… 3/15

...learning Scots Gaelic, hoping to move into GME. Sadly to avoid confusion, that meant having to part Irish for the time being. The switch over resulted in me initially speaking Gaelic with an Irish accent! After reaching a level of fluency in Gaelic, I decided to end my… 4/15

...hiatus from Irish around 2012. I started doing a bit of self study with Teach Yourself Irish which gave me a decent overview of the grammar. While I couldn’t attend regular classes, I’d make a point of going to weekend courses in Glasgow through CnaG. The following year… 5/15

...I decided to visit Gweedore with @gaeilge_glasgow and just fell in love with the place. I started to build up a bit more confidence when speaking, although I was very self-conscious about my accent, not wishing to stand out and betray the fact I was raised in Glasgow 6/15

That summer I attended the Scoil Samhraidh in Belfast and absolutely fell in love with the vibrancy of the language scene there. I became a regular visitor to the Donegal Gaeltacht and would try to go once or twice a year. I got the chance the learn more Irish with as part… 7/15

...of my degree with @SabhalMorOstaig which helped fill in some of the gaps in my learning. I did very well in that module which was a massive boost to my confidence, although the progress of my learning too a wee lull thereafter for personal reasons. I was kickstarted… 8/15

...into pushing myself again after visiting @ansiopaleabhar in 2016. Made a commitment to start attending regular classes @gaeilge_glasgow with a view to sitting the @TeastasEorpach B2. I made (East Ulster) Irish part of my dissertation in 2017 which gave me more time to… 9/15

...focus on Irish. To prepare for my exam in 2018 I planned a 3 week sojourn in Ireland. I spent a week @OideasGael followed by a week in Belfast (grma @c_ni_c !) followed by another week on holiday in An Rinn. I passed my B2 in the Aug @MaynoothUni Since then I’ve keep… 10/15

...going with @Keltiska Although I’m unable to dedicate as much time as I’d like due to other commitments, its been great to help fill in some of the gaps in my learning. I'd love to continue to improve my fluency, & particularly my literacy. @alawevans & I are hoping to… 11/15

...relocate to Ireland in the next year or so, maybe some new opportunities will open up there. It’s a strange experience learning Irish as part of the diaspora, particularly being from Scotland (Very much the Cinderella of the diaspora ball!) I’ve always felt very… 12/15

...Irish, more so than Scottish, but very often in this part of the world, I feel its something I need to justify constantly. Like GAA, my Irish has very much deepened my sense of identity & made me feel more a part of my culture that sometimes felt tantalisingly distant… 13/15

...while growing up. Despite my best efforts, I’m still very self conscious about my accent, 1 minute I’ll get asked if I’m from Gweedore, the next Belfast and then the knife through the heart, Glasgow! XX I’d love to raise my kids with Irish although realise that’ll be a… 14/15

...challenge. Being dyslexic and having learned the way I learned, I still struggle a bit with spelling but that’s slowly improving. I’m hoping moving to Ireland and maybe getting a job where I can use Irish, might help and would love to raise my kids in an Irish community. 15/15

PS Probably my fav Irish moment was meeting my younger cousin for the first time. She went to school in Rann na Feirste and Árainn Mhór and we became the first people in the family to have a conv in Irish for 100+ years. Amazing.