How I began learning the Irish Language and More
by Lee McGill
My Beginning
I come from one of those families that strongly romanticized its Celtic heritage. My family tree holds many strong Irish surnames such as Donley and Kelly, but other than memories of our ties to Ireland and the occasional traditional Irish tune blasting from our stereo, much of the traditional culture of Ireland has been lost to my family through the generations of living in southern middle Tennessee. I am sure that the Welsh, Scottish, English, and German heritage hiding in the branches probably aided this slow evolution from our original culture.
In an attempt to revive a bit of this lost family treasure, I decided to seek out others with a drive to connect with Ireland and the many facets of its culture. Not only did I find Tennesseans looking to connect with the Irish, I found Irish men and women who wanted to connect with Tennesseans!
An Unexpected Journey
One of my favorite pastimes is language learning. I firmly believe in the statement spoken by Ludwig Wittgenstein which translates as ‘The limitations of my language are the limitations of my world’. Given that I wished to connect with a traditional Ireland, I began to search for a way to learn Irish Gaelic, thus diminishing the limitations of relearning my family’s lost culture. A few Google searches led me to Éilís Crean who was facilitating Gaelic lessons online from native Irish speaker Meaití Jo Shéamais Ó Fátharta of Connemara, and she had arranged a space for students to take the online class together in a room at O’More College of Design just south of Nashville in Franklin, TN. It was nearly too good to be true since I had recently moved to southern Nashville for school. I gathered up two of my friends interested in learning the language, and we were southbound every Monday to join our fellow Irish culture enthusiasts for an hour or so of relaxed language learning.
Nashville’s Smorgasbord of Irish Culture Classes
The Gaelic class was only the beginning. Éilís was adamant about spreading traditional Irish arts, language, and culture in middle Tennessee and beyond. Through her organization now known as The Irish Gift, I began taking fiddle lessons in the East Galway style. Having wanted to learn the fiddle for some time, I jumped at the opportunity to learn to play some traditional Irish music!
Irish Breakfast at Kavanagh’s Pub
The Irish Gift hosts a festival each fall where professionals in Irish language, arts, and music gather to share their trades with the people of Tennessee. Last fall, I attended lectures on the musicians of East Galway, lessons on the fiddle, sessions of Irish music, courses in Irish Gaelic, a lesson in Irish set dancing, a demonstration of Celtic art, and even a Celtic Christian service, as well as a full Irish breakfast complete with black and white puddings shipped from Ireland herself! I will be doing the same this November 15th with the addition of taking a jaunt in real donkey and cart, watching a game of hurling, and participating in the Irish and Scotch whiskey tasting!
The Irish Gift now offers online classes not only in Irish Gaelic but also in Sean-Nos singing, Sean-Nos dancing, Irish flute, and Irish fiddle. They are not going to stop there though. More teachers and disciplines are being added as The Irish Gift is expanding its reach to those all over the world who wish to preserve even just a small bit of the beautiful, ancient yet thriving culture of Ireland.
Irish Nashville Community 