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17 fond memories of the Gaeltacht
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Three weeks spent in the Irish College in the Gaeltacht leaves you with nostalgia and stories that stay with you for years.
For those who don't know what the Irish College is, it's a three week course in the Irish-speaking areas of Ireland (the Gaeltachtaí), totally immersed in the Irish language, away from phones, internet and TV - so really it's an excuse to get an extended break from the kids.
Here are 17 of our stand-out Irish college memories.
1. The amusing awkwardness of the first day
This was especially true for if you were there for the first time or on your own. The first day was, and remains, the most torturous hours of an Irish college student's life. Sitting around uncomfortably with a blank face and trying to make conversation not knowing anyone names is never a lot of fun, especially if you haven’t a clue what your leader/cinnire is trying to ask you.
Inevitably, you and every first timer spends the evening in bed crying, wishing you could text your mum to ask her to come and get you.
2. Learning the entire Amhrán na bhFiann (even the verses)
For certain Gaeltachtaí, you had an interview to determine your level of Irish and which Gaeltacht you’d be admitted to. For some, this included learning the entire Irish national anthem. The biggest shock about this was finding out that there were 3 WHOLE VERSES that you don’t get taught in school, by the time your interview rolled around you could recite the national anthem backwards and in your sleep. Believe me, you never forgot it ever again.
3. Having two phones so when one was taken away you’d have the spare
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The message passed down to Irish college students throughout the years is ‘for God’s sake make sure you have two phones.’ The Gaeltachtaí are notorious for the blanket ban on phone usage during the courses and if they catch you with one... well it was a call home straightaway. As far as I remember, the majority of people didn’t bother risking it.
4. Making up Irish words
When in doubt, make it sound like an ‘Irish’ word. This usually involved people adding a ‘eolaí-oh-líocht’ or a made-up fada on a word. Who knew that ‘jellí’ was the Irish for ‘jelly’ eh?
5. Saluting the Irish flag 3 times a day
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‘Ar Pharáid!’ - Along with belting out heart-felt renditions of Amhrán na bhFiann, three times a day students had to salute the Irish flag, this wasn’t an across the board rule for all Gaeltachts but the ones that did enforce it did so with military precision. Think standing at attention and at ease, looking directly forward and no talking under any circumstances.
It’s probably the part of Irish College that translates least well when you try to explain the concept to people outside of Ireland.
6. Making sure you’re folding the Irish flag properly without the ends touching each other
I only ever learned the proper way to fold an Irish flag in Irish college. On the Irish flag, the green represents the Republic of Ireland, the orange represents Northern Ireland and the white is for peace but if you’re folding the flag, the orange and green must not touch or the flag is ruined- some Irish colleges took this very seriously and wouldn’t hesitate to throw away the flag if both ends met. Irish pride eh?
7. Having the craic at the Céilí
Whether it was Baillí Luimní or Ionsaí na hInse the céilí was always the best way to end a night in the Gaeltacht, except for the part where you nervously wait to see if you get asked to dance by the fella/or girl that you fancy!
Desperate to rebel in any sort of small way many people would create more high-kicking variations on the steps or get involved in an over-zealous 'luasca' and ending up on the floor. I once made a boys nose bleed after a particularly raucous round of Baillí Luimní.
8. Having your jersey for county colours night
Vitally important not to forget your county jersey for the special County Colours Céilí. Sure how else would people know where you’re from? County pride!
As our own Emily Carson points out, 'As a Dub who’s had little to no exposure to GAA, suddenly being thrust into a world of county colours was disconcerting. I remember going home after my first year desperate to pick up a Dublin GAA jersey to go with the ultimate style statement - a denim jacket, nike airs and a pair of flared black trousers.'
9. Knowing that there’s going to be a disco
The cinnirí and staff would always go around pretending that there was no disco (or discó - with a fada) but we all knew that there would be. Sure isn’t the Gaeltacht disco where half of the Irish had their first kiss?
Things to note about an Irish disco - you aren’t allowed listen to any music with English in it so for the most part everyone’s first foray into European dance music was during these three hour snog fests where all your pent up frustration was released and couples were made, broken and reformed by the end.
10. An Dreoilín
'Sól, barraicín, sól, sól!' - Without a shadow of a doubt the Dreoilín was the best dance at the end of the Céilí. A modern day Irish dance, it's kinda like the Irish version of the macarena!
11. Dreaming in Irish
Another classic memory from being in Irish college is having those vivid dreams as Gaeilge where Irish flowed from your mouth freely and everything made sense - then you woke up.
And then when you left Irish College, forgetting really obvious words in English.
12. Constantly eating
Image: Caro Wallis
Meals are obviously a must to survive but in the Gaeltacht there was just food everywhere - breakfast, elevenses, lunch, dinner and supper - with lunch and dinner being just as big as each other! And let us not forget the goodies you’d get off your family when they came to visit on Sundays! At least you were guaranteed not to starve - well depending how good a cook your Bean an Tí was...
But despite the abundance of meals this was usually your first time eating something other than your mother’s cooking. I became particularly adverse to eating almost anything and lost the entirety of my puppy fat in three weeks.
13. The walk back to your Bean an Tí
The trek back to your Bean an Tí could be grand or very tedious depending on your location. Some houses in the Gaeltacht were awkwardly placed a good 30 minutes away from the main centre so getting back and forth was a fair hassle (unless of course you were lucky enough to have a bus drop you everywhere).
The walks home from the céilís were normally the most exciting part of the night because you might finally get the shift or... you might get shouted at by some of the young farmers racing around in their dad’s cars.
14. Celebrating a gazillion birthdays in 3 weeks
Image: jpc101
The amount of birthdays during one's time in the Gaeltacht was mad. But really, the most important thing of course was to make sure that someone on your table had a birthday so that you’d all get cake.
15. Making songs in Irish for the inter-house competition
A long and sluggish task, each house/dorm had to come up with Irish lyrics to a song of their choice to perform in front of everyone. What did you win? Pride. And yes - as a cinnire I did write a great rendition of Justin Bieber's 'Baby' that won the championship!
16. The Couples
There are always at least three couples that form in the Gaeltacht - seriously. Usually after eyeing each other up at the Céilí. Couples who made it early in Irish College were almost like celebrities, everyone knew them and pretty much presumed their love was the greatest romance novel ever told. They had usually broken up by the second week. In fact very few Irish college romances had longevity, if you put your mind to it you could get a cool 3-4 relationships completed by the time the final disco had arrived.
But on the bright side, some people who meet in the Gaeltacht do go on to get married!
17. The long goodbye on the final day
Usually involving a lot of hugging, the final day is the saddest day of most students’ experience of the Gaeltacht (especially when you see everyones bags packed up ready to go). Everyone asking you to write and ‘Text mise!’ was scrawled on everyone’s notebooks. It’s almost like the first day again but this time you’re not all awkward - there’s something special about the friends you make in Irish college. Whether it’s the people who became your pen pals for several years, the ones you met in Stephen’s Green for the reunion, or the ones that asked you to meet them in Liffey Valley shopping centre but then never replied to your texts when your mum said she wouldn’t take you. I’m sorry Maria….it wasn’t my fault.
What are your favourite memories of your time in the Gaeltacht? Leave us a comment below.
Categories: Gaeltacht, Irish College, Memories, Nostalgia, Ireland
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