Arriving in gaeilge speaking Gaoth Dobhair at the weekend I didn’t expect to be ag caint as gaeilge at all. But the locals insist on giving you the opportunity to do so at first and if not, they talk as bearla. So it’s optional really but the challenge was one I was prepared to undertake. Whilst in a local bar on Friday night I was delighted to hold a full conversation as gaeilge and from there I was on a roll. Conas ata tu was enough to get it going. At one stage bhi a iontais orm when hearing the focal coming out of my mouth!
I guess the work of ‘Big Mick’ in Carn school didn’t go astray after all! Something remained in there all these years.
It really was delightful to be among daoine ag caint as gaeilge all the time. Sometimes we forget as a nation that our national language is not spoken near enough.
So encourage the kids to work at gaeilge ar scoil and maybe one day ag caint gaeilge will not be so amusing and just be a part of gach la life!