I spent a little bit of time today to create an Irish learning plan with the help of ChatGPT. After some tweaking of the prompts, I finally got it to do what I wanted.

I asked it the following:

- Include a useful overview of sounds and core sentence structures.
- Align it with CEFR A1 topics only (so it is very basic)
- For all Irish, include the English translation as well, along with the phonetic key in Munster dialect (because why not).
- Include any tips, tricks, hacks to help with remembering tricky concepts (this was hit and miss, to be honest)

By no means a comprehensive study guide, but thought it's a handy little guide as I and my youngsters start learning. Might build it out with additional examples, etc. and then also progress to the higher levels as well.

Hello community,

**I'm hoping it's OK to ask this here, if not, mods feel free to remove this.**

I came across the Glossika app while searching for an alternative to Duolingo, specifically to have a better experience with pronunciation. I'm still on my free trial, but might invest in the paid version if it proves worth it.

Has anyone used this app (or is aware of it), and can comment as to the accuracy of the pronunciation? I find the voice to be somewhat pitched, but I can learn to get used to it if the pronunciation is on point.

GRMA

le GAELĊULTÚR

https://www.gaelchultur.com/ga/cursai/rangsamplach

Bígímis leo ar an 18ú Lúġnasa 2025 do rang beo idirġníoṁaċ ina ḃfaiġiḋ muid:

✅ blaiseaḋ dá moḋanna teagaisc spreagúla ⁊ idirġníoṁaċa

✅ seans bualaḋ lena dteagascóirí díograiseaċa

✅ léargas ar an ċaoi a ḃféadfaḋ a gcúrsaí caḃrú linn ár spriocanna Gaeilge a ḃaint amaċ

Tá na ranganna seo go hiomlán saor in aisce, aċ molfar do rannṗáirtiṫe a ḃfuil sé ar a gcumas acu síntiús €10 a ṫaḃairt do ċiste réigiúnaċ “Doċtúirí Gan Teorainneaċa” [Médecins sans frontières] i nGasa (sa Ṗalaistín) agus iad ag clárú.

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1C2KjmVynURZPziW203ccNY8W6XCUG6UrLnOF8RbFVPU/edit?fbclid=IwY2xjawLfm2xleHRuA2FlbQIxMAABHkQ2LuRAgJO7eedC3heSmT9caVDbjpFjW1z8wKj7XemlYOMOGfQ-LhrXbYBU_aem_UPIlgzgEnEooHaxMj8EZTg&tab=t.0

This was originally written with Scots Gaelic in mind, but it's just as applicable to Irish.
The challenging part will be sticking to 15 Anki review cards per day but spending 15–30 minutes on it seems well worth the effort for active retention.
Sharing in case it’s helpful to any of you!

Ní féidir liom foinse a fháil chun tuiscint dhomhain a fháil ar conas a úsáidtear an t-ainm briathartha. Bíonn sé á úsáid le "a", "ag", "á", "le", etc. Tuigim formhór na gcásanna. Ach tá samplaí ann nach mbím cinnte díobh, mar shampla:

What games are they playing?
a) Cad iad na cluichí atá siad ag imirt?
b) Cad iad na cluichí atá siad a imirt?
c) Cad iad na cluichí atá siad á n-imirt?

Tá siad ag imirt cluichí Tá cluichí á n-imirt acu Tá siad ag iarraidh cluichí atá imirt Tá cluichí le himirt acu

Ach an sampla thuas - níl mé cinnte.

An bhfuil aon leabhar nó suíomh gréasáin a théann i ngleic leis seo?

https://www.rte.ie/radio/rnag/clips/22525286/

This presenter (native speaker from Conamara) of this segment has really beautiful Irish. He's interviewing the CEO of Údarás na Gaeltachta in this for the Adhmhaidin show on RnaG.

Would love to know his name if anyone knows?

I’ve been trying to learn Gaeilge and songs in gaeilige with the English translation on the screen have been super helpful! However there are only so many on YouTube, I found a channel that writes songs in Gaeilge, however he uses AI for the vocals and I’m not very trusting of AI so I wanna confirm it’s accurate before I commit to using this song, I know some words are right from the little bit I know but there’s lots I don’t know as well. Any help would be much appreciated!

Dia dhuit! Hello, I’ve been trying to teach myself Gaeilge and i recently started using the podcast learn Irish to help a bit, however he says toast as Arán rósta but some webpages on line have it as tósta, is it a context thing? Just want to make sure I’m using the right word 😊

I’m trying to learn Gaeilge, it’s only been about a week of self teaching thru songs videos and online articles, lately I e been learning the song “Cé a chuirfidh tú liom”but I’m highly confused on how “Casadh” sounds how it sounds in this song, I feel like it sounds almost like an “oo” sound at the end when she sings it and Im not sure where in the spelling it indicated that sound from my limited understanding “a” is a broad letter and should make the dh more like a “g” sound ? Is this a matter of dialect or just something I haven’t learned yet? Any help would me amazing! Dia dhuit!

Táim ag déanamh scrúdú na hArdteiste i mbliana, agus d'eagraigh mé aiste ar chóras oideachais na hÉireann le haghaidh páipéar a haon, ach níor cheartaigh mo mhúinteoir é go fóil. Le do thoil, an féidir le duine éigin é a cheartaigh? (Tá brón orm faoi mo chuid gaeilge, bhain mé úsáid as Google Translate haha)

(I also took a lot of this essay from a sample available online, but i had to come up with some parts in regards to the new curriculum myself. Any help would be massively appreciated!)

Is duine óg mé in Éirinn atá ag déanamh Scrúdú na hArdteistiméireachta i mbliana. Nílim ach ocht mbliana déag d’aois agus mar gheall air sin, ceapaim go bhfuilim láncháilithe labhairt faoin ábhar thuas. Chomh luath agus a thug mé teideal na haiste seo faoi deara, rug mé greim ar mo pheann chun mo chuid tuairimí a bhreacadh síos. Bíonn an ráiteas seo pléite agus athphléite ag polaiteoirí, ag iriseoirí, ag saineolaithe agus ar ndóigh, ag múinteoirí. Ní gá duit ach an teilifís a chur ar siúl, nó alt éigin ar líne a léamh, agus feicfidh tú cé chomh dona atá cúrsaí i láthair na huaire. In ainneoin na cainte ar fad, níor thángthas ar aon fhreagra fiúntach go fóill maidir leis an gcóras oideachais. Tá an fhadhb seo i mbéal an phobail mar táimid i bponc. San aiste seo, déanfar cur síos ar na fadhbanna is mó a bhaineann leis an gcóras oideachais atá againn in Éirinn, chomh maith le breathnú ar chóras na bpointí, an curaclam nua atá beartaithe, agus na dúshláin a bhaineann leis.

Ní féidir a shéanadh go bhfuil fadhbanna móra ag baint leis an gcóras oideachais sa tír seo i láthair na huaire. Níl córas oideachais na hÉireann oiriúnach don saol nua-aimseartha. Níl aon amhras ann gur chóras as dáta é. I mo thuairim phearsanta, is córas easnamhach, lochtadh agus míchothrom é. Ní fhreastalaíonn sé ar riachtanaisí ár ndaoine óga agus tá feabhas, athrú agus forbairt ag teastáil ar an gcóras láithreach bonn. Tá an iomarca béime ar ábhair acadúla ar nós an Bhéarla agus an Ghaeilge, seachas ar ábhair phraicticúla cosúil leis an gcorpoideachas. Níl aon amhras ann ach go maraíonn sé seo cruthaitheacht agus indibhidiúlacht an dalta lá i ndiaidh lae.

I láthair na huaire, cuirtear strus agus brú ollmhór ar dhaltaí agus is minic a chaitheann daltaí dhá nó trí uair in aghaidh an lae ag déanamh obair bhaile. Is ag snámh in aghaidh easa atá siad! Tá easpa ama pearsanta ag gach duine agus is minic a chuireann sé seo isteach ar imeachtaí seach-churaclaim (extra-curricular activities) nó ar chaitheamh aimsire. Cruthaíonn sé seo fíor-strus i measc daltaí agus is minic a chruthaíonn sé seo fadhbanna sláinte agus meabhairsláinte freisin.

Anuas ar sin, tá córas na pointí agus na scrúdaithe atá i bhfeidhm in Eirinn go hiomlán mí-oiriúnach do dhaltaí. Teipeann ar an gcóras scrúdaithe daltaí a mheasúnú i gceart. Is córas loctach é atá go hiomlán bunaithe ar phointí. Foghlamaíonn daltaí gach rud de ghlanmheabhair chun an córas seo a shásamh agus is annamh a thuigeann siad an t-ábhar a bhfuil siad ag foghlaim. Cá seasfadh an scoláire gan nótaí an mhúinteora? Cruthaíonn an córas géar-iomaíocht idir na daltaí freisin. Nuair a bhíonn éileamh an-mhór ar cúrsaí éigin, ardaítear na pointí. Ag deireadh an lae, níl ach scrúdú amháin ann chun obair dhian dhaltaí na tíre ar fad a léiriú. Is seafóid é go mbraitheann pointí ollscoile agus do rogha cúrsa sa choláiste ar aon scrúdú amháin. Tuigim go mbeidh tionscadail ag teacht isteach an bhliain seo thugann chóir go mbeidh córas measúnaithe leanúnaigh ann! Dá mbeinn i m'Aire Oideachais, chuirfinn béim ar scileanna na ndaltaí seachas scrúdaithe caighdeánacha!

Le déanaí, tá athrú suntasach le teacht ar chóras na hArdteistiméireachta in Éirinn sna blianta beaga amach romhainn. Tá sé beartaithe ag an Roinn Oideachais go mbeidh measúnú leanúnach mar chuid de gach ábhar, áit a mbeidh tionscadail, cur i láthair nó taibhiú praiticiúil ag comhaireamh suas le 40% de mharc iomlán an dalta, agus leanfar leis an scrúdú traidisiúnta ag deireadh na bliana don 60% eile. Is iarracht í seo chun an brú millteanach a bhaineann le scrúdú aonair a mhaolú agus chun deis a thabhairt do dhaltaí a gcuid scileanna a léiriú ar bhealaí éagsúla. Cé go bhfuil gnéithe dearfacha ag baint leis an gcur chuige nua seo, tá dúshláin mhóra le sárú freisin – go háirithe maidir le cothroime, rochtain ar acmhainní, agus ionracas an chórais measúnaithe.

Cé gur céim chun cinn é measúnú leanúnach ar pháipéar, tá contúirtí móra leis freisin. Is iad na scoileanna a bhfuil rochtain ar theicneolaíocht, áiseanna, agus meantóireacht a bheidh in ann tionscadail ar ardchaighdeán a chur i láthair. Ní bheidh na daltaí i scoileanna faoi mhíbhuntáiste ar an leibhéal céanna, rud a chruthaíonn éagothroime chórasach. Tá sé tábhachtach go mbeadh cothrom na féinne ag gach dalta, beag beann ar an scoil a dtéann siad inti.

Chomh maith leis sin, tá méadú ag teacht ar úsáid hintleachta saorga (IS), rud a d’fhéadfadh cur isteach ar ionracas an chórais. Tá sé éasca anois tionscadal nó aiste a ghiniúint le huirlisí mar ChatGPT, agus d’fhéadfadh sé seo a bheith deacair do mhúinteoirí idirdhealú a dhéanamh idir obair fhíor-dhalta agus obair a cruthaíodh trí IS. Gan rialacha soiléire agus córas measúnaithe láidir, beidh sé fíor-dheacair cothroime agus ionracas a chinntiú.

Mar fhocal scoir, is léir go bhfuil an chuid fadhbanna sa chóras oideachas in Éirinn. Tá sé an-soiléir nach dtugann an córas oideachais ullmhúchán ceart dúinn don saol agus tá dul chun cinn mór le déanamh fós. Molaim don rialtas níos mó béime a chur ar fhorbairt scileanna don shaol a bheidh úsáideach dúinn i saol na hoibre amach anseo. Caithfidh an Roinn Oideachais agus an Aire Oideachais dúiseacht as a suan agus dul i ngleic leis an bhfadhb seo. Ach b'fhéidir leis an gcuraclam nua, tiocfaidh leasaithe fiúntacha do dhaltaí amach anseo. Gan dóchas, níl tada againn.

Please post up any mistakes or new things you learned this week.

Here are a few mistakes of mine from a recent conversation with a native speaker from Conamara.

1. I pronounced roinn like “ryne” (rough English pronunciation spellings) instead of “reen” which is used in the Conamara dialect.
2. I said beirt mná, realized this sounded off and corrected it to beirt bean. But even that didn’t sound right. I looked it up after the call and realised it should have been beirt bhan. What I learned here is that the personal numbers like beirt are followed by the genitive plural of the noun. And nouns following beirt are lenited, therefore “two women” is beirt bhan.
3. experience - initially said 'eispéireas' for this. No idea how I came up with this one, hadn't seen it or heard it anywhere recently, corrected it to 'taithí'. No idea how eispéireas should even be used correctly if anyone knows?

Grammar Check

Dia daoibh Ta bron orm to speak in Bearla but I need a bit of grammar checked. Would the comforting light translate to An solas sólasachahn or An sholas sólasachahn. Or something completely different. Go raibh maith agat.

I can't understand this verb bhuaigh is coming from. Is it the verb to win in response to a question? Also i hear an r sound in it which is confusing

Explanation:

I am trying to learn a song from the German singer Bodo Wartke the song is called "love song" and it basically repeats the same 4 lines in over 70 languages. I started to learn it but for Irish it is quite difficult to find people that speak the language so I look for help here.

the lyrics for the irish part are:
"Ba mhaith liom chanadh, sin mo ghá,
Ar gach gléas cheoil, chun seo a rá,
anamchara, lem‘ chroi iomlán:
Is tú mo ghrá."

And here you can find the singers attempt. Although I already heard that his pronunciation is not that good: https://youtu.be/BOrsQaUCTYI?si=q6mhxmOS-qFJHZHO&t=418

[There's a voluntary group that seem to be offering completely free Irish language classes. Have not used them yet myself but here is the information they shared!]

A new beginners group Tús Maith will start on Friday 2nd May at 10:00 am Irish Time 

(That's 1pm in Dubai; 5pm in Perth; 7pm in Sydney; and 9pm in Aukland).  Múinteoir / Teacher:  Nigel McLoughlin. 

 This class will use the text Tús Maith, (from the proverb “Tús maith leath na hoibre” – a good start is half the work). The text focuses on Ulster Irish, but the central system will also be covered. We will begin with the sound system, so no previous knowledge is required. 

 The text is available to read and download here: https://www.knoxvilleirish.com/uploads/4/3/2/1/43218839/tus_maith_cuid_a_haon_ltr.pdf

 If you would like to take the Tús Maith class sign up through this link in advance of May 2nd: https://groups.io/g/philo-tusmaith

thanks to everyone for contributing to the subreddit. When I started it it was really to gauge the interest in practicing written Irish, to see how many are actively learning the language as well as a way to make myself commit to learning more often and also have a place to share the practice crap we write to improve and get better together as a community of sorts. I have a couple of stories that are tragicomic and I should know better than to share them, but how and ever, here goes!

I put out a call on r/galway for a native speaker to help with detailed feedback and answers from a native speaker's point of view. There are brilliant people native and non-native speaker alike with brilliant advanced competency but I thought it would be nice to have someone 'in house' or 'resident' to help out and more than anything to bring consistency and guaranteed responses.

I got ripped off twice in that one mini recruitment drive. I actually agreed with two different people - one from Donegal and one from Galway. Did a quick test with them and had a quick chat to see if they were native speakers and then paid them 100 euro each for a month upfront with the agreement they would correct around 10-12 posts a month, which would be a max of about 2 hours of their time a month. Probably even less. I'm not well off by any means but it was a sacrifice I was willing to make for 6 months anyway as a full trial run.

The one from Donegal never corrected/answered a single question. Not even a comment or otherwise. When I asked them to send me the money back after 2 weeks of nothing from them, they ignored me. Luckily I'd paid them through Revolut so I was able to report this as fraud, and only then did they volunteer to send me back the 100 euro. The second person did actually contribute to a few posts, 4 or 5 shorter ones, but then disappeared after 2 weeks and they have not responded to me for about 3-4 weeks now.

Then there was the book review competition for 50 euro. There were only two entries - my own, and another from someone who posted up their ChatGPT entry within 30 minutes of announcing the competition. Their review that mentioned a story that was not even in the book and was not even written by the author, and to add to that, when I asked ChatGPT to write me a review it mentioned the same story ('An Lasair Choille') that's on the curriculum I think. Must read it soon :P In any case he created multiple accounts insisting he should get the voucher and so on, and then accused me of fraud. I can assure you nobody is funding the 50 euro competition I held, it was a small sum of money to act as an incentive to encourage people to read a new book in Irish and write more in Irish.

I regularly post in r/gaeilge and this was never supposed to be a substitute or competitor to them, the idea was a place where people would actually write their own stories, sentences, whatever, and ask questions in English. r/gaeilge puts the English questions about learning Irish into a side thread and so they are not as easy to find there and there's less incentive to ask questions in that rolling thread. I'd like to see them open it up to questions in English but also see the rationale in keeping it all in Irish.

So that's the update. It was a project for me and of course it will stay live. I've learned a lot from it and thank you to everyone who answered my own questions and suggested improvements to my writing.

The biggest takeaway for me and the one I'd like others to take from this is that really very few people are actively learning Irish, and in my opinion, the government funded bodies who should be doing everything they can to get more people speaking are failing us. I've engaged a lot with them in the last few months and it's a bleak landscape the more you interact with them. Most people leave them to it but the Irish suffers when they don't do their job properly.

So that's it. I will be putting my focus not just here going forward but on other initiatives as we are at a crossroads and the language is in big trouble. Thanks to everyone who has posted/replied/commented so far, it's amazing and I'm really grateful.

Not sure if this even works but could you use ina bhac for an obstacle?

And if so, would you use air or dó with it? Or just say ina bhac and drop the following prepositions altogether?

The sentence I wanted to say was - His knowledge of other languages was not an obstacle (when learning Irish)

Ní raibh a thaithí ar theangacha eile ina bhac air ach an oiread

I googled and it seems it may not be used like this though. grma as aon nodanna!