They work really hard and I've no doubt are fantastic teachers, but their Irish certainly isn't up to scratch. I know that sounds like I'm bashing the primary teachers but I have a lot of friends who are in these jobs and they are terrified of speaking in Irish, so they won't do it bar the basics with their class. That's totally dying out and I would bet my house that a huge number of primary school teachers would now struggle to have a decent conversation in Irish. There used to be a great tradition in primary schools in Ireland of teachers who were real Gaelgoirs and gave a lot of their instructions as Gaeilge and spoke to their fellow teachers as Gaeilge in the corridors etc. They also come into secondary school often very ill equipped and lacking the basics if their primary school teachers didn't have good Irish so that means they're kind of always playing catch up. And for the most part my students actually quite like Irish, they just get very frustrated with the course I think. There's still loads I'd love to change about the course but it's a start at least. It has improved with the oral now worth 40% and at least with TG4 and Lurgan and all that, there's definitely a relevance to the language for students that makes them more positive towards it. I definitely wouldn't simply blame one woman from Kerry for the bad attitude or feelings so many have towards Irish, but there were and are still people who choose what goes on the Irish syllabus who are totally out of touch with what students (and teachers too) would rather be doing in their Irish classes. I'm an Irish teacher now and do An Triail with my students and although it's a very heavy topic that's dealt with in the play, it's brilliantly written and the vast majority of my students seem to enjoy it.
I did A Thig ná Tit Orm for my LC and loved it, some funny little yarns in it. It wasn't written by that prolific scribe "anon", but by Peadar Ó Doirnín from South Armagh. If anyone knows where I can get a copy of it? I'd love to read it again, it's by 'anonymous' I think. The history of Irish was interesting too, maybe more of that instead of the old misery lit? and teh last verse is her response-as the teacher translated 'you hvaen't a big enough instrument for making children with'. Also a dirty last verse (basically a poet is trying to woo a lady and telling her all the lovely stuff he'll do for hear, milk and honey etc. I did love a poem we did for the LC, called Úr Conic Céin Mhic Cáinte (sp?), Beautifully lyrical piece. Irish writers in English are often just as bad for the old misery-Angela's Ashes anyone?! I didn't mind Peig too much, I though she was fairly inoffensive. The little I do speak comes in handy for discussing that sort of thing with my OH. That's my main reason for wanting to learn it. Hopefully things are changing in this regard and I know for instance that my nephews go to an All-Irish speaking school and it seems to be an excellent schoool. Indeed it would have been handy to discuss matters abroad with my other half without others people knowing what we were talking about before we came to a decision in Hotels and restaurants and things. However, after travelling to over 30 nations where everybody speaks their own language no matter how small the country I've changed my opinion although not about the facts that the Irish language should be not be just for the nutters and claimed by a certain section of society. Of course irish is going to die with this type of attitude or attract oddballs and diehards of a certain persuasion. You couldnt on the other hand, like going to football games ( soccer AH), Rock music, the BEEB, Granham Greene and speak Irish which is daft. It was like a fiddle playing, GAA loving, FF sporting culchie concept.
They foisted that stupid book on us, the teachers were usually terrible but the main reason was that you had to conform to a certain view of being Irish to speak Irish.
I cant speak a word of Irish and was always very anti saving the Irish language for loads of reasons.
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