First of all, I cannot believe it’s already June 3rd. I feel like I haven’t done nearly enough with my life. On that note, let me tell you all of the crazy things I did over the last few days!
For those of you who don’t know, I’m very interested in the Irish culture and language, Gaelic, and I’ve come here to learn about its presence and influence on Northern Irish culture.
Joyce Gibson, who works with a Gaelic-promoting group, picked me up down the street from where I’m staying. We drove down to West Belfast in the Gaeltacht Quarter. There, I was able to tour and learn about the Fobairt Feirste organization which, among other initiatives, works with local businesses educating owners on the cultural and economic importance of running a bilingual, if not completely Gaelic, business. Running a bilingual business not only welcomes in native Gaelic speakers without shunning English speakers, it also creates a place for tourists to come and experience something new and different from global society.
Feargal then took us over to Culturlann (which literally means “place of culture”) across the street. Culturlann’s building used to be a Presbetyrian church which was abandoned and derelict. It was then bought and turned into a thriving Irish culture center. Inside they have a café, book and gift store (I bought a book of Irish poetry), a threatre, theatre production company, community program headquarters, and Gaelic radio station amongst other things.
When we walked in, Feargal let me know that the radio station was going to interview me – in Gaelic. You should have seen the look on my face. I had only spent three hours brushing up and trying to adjust to their accents and phrases, and now they want me to have a live-on-air conversation with loads of people listening. I don’t think so. Well I did it anyways because they didn’t offer much of a choice. I spoke in Gaelic a bit, but mostly fell into English for lack of vocabulary and confidence.
Before we left, I asked Feargal and another station worker why they’re think it’s so important to promoting the Irish language. “We don’t learn it and speak it because it’s a beautiful language. We do it because it’s who we are.” (Feargal) “It’s our history, it’s a store of heritage.”
After that we met up with Seamus O Tuamaith, a P.E. teacher at the Coláiste Feirste. This is a Gaelic immersion school for kids around the Belfast area. It started off with only nine students and funding only from money raised by the parents of those students. Now it boasts several sporting titles, a spectacular curriculum, and nearly 600 students. The atmosphere alone in this building is so overwhelming. It’s wonderful and creates a space that’s free of the pressure to assimilate and kids can completely immerse themselves in their thriving culture. This boom in promotion of heritage seems to be trending throughout all of Northern Ireland. People of all faiths seem to be filling their thirst for bonds with their united history.
Joyce explained to me that many Protestants (and some Catholics too) feel like Gaelic is a mainly Catholic tradition, but in reality the history and the language are related to everyone whose ancestors are from this island and is relatable to anyone who speaks Hiberno-English here.
I also had the chance to go meet with Maolchaill Scot of Foras na Gaeilge. Foras na Gaeilge is a government organization that allocates funds for programs to promote and educate people about the Irish language and culture. It’s a really amazing group, and they gave me a bunch of booklets to flip through that explain a little more about their projects. I’m too tired to write about it right now, but I will definitely get more into it later this week or next week. They also gave me a bunch of Foras na Gaeilge swag like a messenger bag, some keychains, pens, and decks of cards as well as dictionaries for retail and food and beverage industries which are really cool and hard to find. When I asked one of the members of Foras na Gaeilge about why he believes promoting Irish is important, he replied, “It’s the job of Foras na Gaeilge to promote and educate people about the Irish language, but to me it’s everything.”
Yesterday I with Joyce again. I got to go play with all of the Gaelic-speaking preschoolers at the Naíscoil Dhún Pádraig in Downpatrick. In the morning I went with them to the art center in Downpatrick and we watched an all-Gaelic performance of Goldilocks and the Three Bears, and then we got some break- and Irish dancing lessons from an excellent teacher. In the afternoon, I went back to the Naíscoil and hung out with the three-year-olds. There was lots of painting, and singing, and fun to be had.
Joyce lent me a four-inch-thick binder about all of the Gaelic-promoting programs to inspire my future endeavours. Delia from the Naíscoil invited me over for dinner and I ended up falling asleep on her couch for a good hour and a half. Her house is at the top of this really steep hill near Dundrum where I’m staying. It’s beautiful and you can see everything, all the way down to the coast.
When I finally got back to the house, we had a man come by to teach us how to play a lambeg. Lambeg’s are these MASSIVE drums associated with Ulter Scot’s traditions. They are the loudest drums in the entire world, and I can attest to that. It was loads of fun. I’d like to think I was the best, but I’m pretty biased. I even tried to play the drum while it was strapped to my neck, the way regular players do in parades. I nearly fell over. He also gave us a short lesson on tin whistles and let me keep one!
Today I spent the day with my new friend Mark. He taught me a lot about the politics of language and the divide that is being created in the community. I also spent a wee bit of time doing some Gaelic translations and helping out Cadogan for this Gaelic translation computer program he helps out with. It was pretty quiet compared to the Naíscoil kids, but it was nice.
When everyone got back to the house, Carrie (I’m not sure how she spells it) came over and taught us some fun traditional dances. There was a lot of jumping and skipping and spinning. It reminded me of the cheile dancing I did in Conamara last summer.
And now, it’s time for Annie to go to bed. Good night!
(I’ll post more pictures tomorrow)
