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Irish & Celtic

Irish became one of the first subjects to be taught at Queen’s when the first professor of Irish, John O’Donovan, took up post in 1849. The subject is located within the School of Modern Languages which is situated on University Square in beautiful surroundings a mile from the city centre. Its facilities include a well-stocked library, a buzzing Students’ Union, and an outstanding Physical Education Centre. The city’s main Irish-language venues, Cultúrlann McAdam-Ó Fiaich on the Falls Road and An Droichead, are within easy reach. Queen’s is also the setting for an annual arts festival second only to that of Edinburgh, and there is a thriving cultural scene, notably in literature, drama, film and music.

Irish at Queen's offers a range of courses at undergraduate and postgraduate level. Central to our undergraduate programme is the development of high-level communicative language skills in Irish, as well as the study of contemporary and historical culture and society.

 

Tá Roinn na Gaeilge ar na ranna is sine in Ollscoil na Banríona. Ceapadh an chéad Ollamh, John O’Donovan, i 1849. Tá an Roinn féin suite i dtimpeallacht tharraingteach ar Chearnóg na hOllscoile, fá mhíle de lár na cathrach. Folaíonn a háiseanna leabharlann chuimsitheach Aontas Mac Léinn a bhíonn beo bríomhar agus Ionad Corpoideachais den scoth. Lena chois seo, tá ardán rathúil do chultúr ann, ardán a gcuirtear sonrú ann go háirithe sa litríocht, sa dramaíocht, sa scannánaíocht agus sa cheol. Níl na príomhionaid Ghaeilge sa chathair i bhfad ar bith ó cheantar na hOllscoile ach oiread, mar atá Cultúrlann Mac Adaim-Ó Fiaich ar Bhóthar na bhFál agus An Droichead ar Bhóthar Ormeau. Gach bliain bíonn féile ealaíona ar Ollscoil na Banríona nach bhfuil a sárú le fáil ach i nDún Éideann.

Tá réimse cúrsaí ar fáil sa Roinn ag leibhéal fochéime agus iarchéime araon. Is cuid lárnach den chúrsa fochéime forbairt scileannateanga ar ardchaighdeán i nGaeilge, taobh le staidéar ar chultúr agus ar shochaí comhaimseartha agus stairiúil.

'The residential stays in Rann na Feirste at the beginning of second and third year were certainly a highlight.' (Conor McGahan)

Level 1

Core (obligatory) modules:

  • Irish Language 1 & 2
    • To give you an idea of how your typical week at Queen's might look see, our Sample Timetable

Optional modules (click on the title for further information):

Celtic Mythology

Module convenor - Professor Greg Toner

 

This module will explore the evidence for the religion and beliefs of the Celtic-speaking peoples from the earliest times. We will examine early Irish texts dealing with native gods and the Otherworld including the Battle of Moyturra and the Book of Invasions, and we will explore literary, archaeological and inscriptional evidence from Britain and the Continent for parallels among other Celtic-speaking peoples. We will also investigate the supernatural aspect of early Irish sacral kingship and mythical representations of Irish society, as well as the nature of goddesses and their connection with war and landscape.

Irish Folklore

This module explores the concept of folklore and its application in Ireland since the 19th century. Subjects under analysis may include (i) folk narrative and performance, (ii) ritual, belief, festival and worldview, and (iii) material culture and lifestyle.

Level 2

3 week residence in Donegal Gaeltacht in September - further information is available here.

Core modules:

  • Irish Language 3 (phonology) & 4 (dialects)
Optional modules (click on the title for further information):

Early Irish Myths and Sagas

Module convenor - Professor Greg Toner

In this module, you will read and analyse a selection of key, early medieval Irish myths and sagas including The Cattle-Raid of Cooley and the Tale of Mac Dathó’s Pig. You will be taught how to properly contextualise and critically analyse selected tales and explore recurrent themes such as love, greed and war. Although these tales can be read now like fiction and have inspired much of modern fantasy writing such as Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, we will see how medieval audiences viewed these tales as true accounts of their own past.

Irish Writing and the Short Story

Further information will be available soon.

Modern Irish Literature

Modern Irish prose (including the short story, the autobiography and drama), with an emphasis on Ulster writers.

The Irish Poetic Tradition

Module Convenor - Dr Charlie Dillon


This module deals with the Irish poetic tradition of the modern period. Poetry was a revered art form in Gaelic Ireland and its practitioners held a high status in society. As this society changed in the period during and after the disruption of the seventeenth century, the nature of poetry was transformed as new forms and themes were adopted, and the voice of the common people came to be heard. The module will allow students to appreciate the roots of the poetry and song still so vibrant throughout today’s Ireland.


NB This module is taught and assessed through the medium of Irish.

Scottish Gaelic Language

An introduction to Scottish Gaelic Language. The classes are held in the Language Centre, using the multi-media language laboratory. The textbook used is Gaelic: A Complete Course for Beginners (units 1 - 12), and each unit in it is supplemented by material that is accessed each week in class on the computer terminals. Students also have access to the computer material in their own time.

Level 3

3 week residence in Donegal Gaeltacht in September - further information is available here.

Core Modules:

  • Irish Language 5 (sociolinguistics) & 6 (placenames)

Optional modules (click on the title for further information):

Contemporary Irish Poetry

Module convenor - Professor Greg Toner

This module examines the evolution of modern Irish poetry from 1940 to the present day, including the major poets of the period such as Seán Ó Ríordáin, Máire Mhac an tSaoi, Máirtín Ó Direáin, Cathal Ó Searcaigh, and Nuala Ní Dhomhnaill. We will explore themes such as language, displacement, nationhood, existence, sexuality and religion.

Film and Narrative

Film and Narrative Photo This module examines film-making in Irish, focussing in particular on the nature of film culture from the 1950s to the present and the impact of television. A variety of genres will be examined with particular emphasis on the short film and the film documentary. The cultural, social and political ideologies that inform film in Irish will also be examined. Films examined will include Mise Éire, Caoineadh Airt Uí Laoghaire, Poitín, Budawanny, Draíocht, Une Histoire d’Amour, and short films from the Oscailt and Lasair series (Lipservice, Cosa Nite, Aqua, and Yu Ming is Ainm Dom).

Irish in Translation

Further information will be available soon.

Old Irish

Module convenor - Professor Greg Toner

This module provides an introduction to the Irish language of c.700 AD - c. 1200 AD in which the great sagas and myths were written. The language is studied through close examination of a selection of texts including samples from the Cattle-Raid of Cooley (the Táin). Particular attention is paid to early Irish verse in the original language, with particular emphasis on nature poetry.

The Novel in Irish

Further information will be available soon.

Translating Ireland

Module Convenor - Dr Charlie Dillon


This module analyses the relationship between Irish and her neighbouring languages, and how that relationship has been shaped and moulded, both historically and recently, through translation. Practical work will enable students to appreciate the dynamics of translation activity between two languages so diverse in idiom and structure as Irish and English. How are new words and technical terms dealt with? Can a perfect translation be achieved? What’s the Irish for Large Hadron Collider? These and other issues will be investigated.

NB This module is taught and assessed through the medium of Irish.

Varieties of Irish

An introduction to the varieties of Irish spoken in Ulster, Connacht and Munster with reference to phonology (sound system), morphology (word structure), syntax (sentence structure) and lexis (vocabulary).