Coláiste Lurgan

Tá níos mó ná cupla scoil thumoideachais Ghaeilge ar fáil in Éirinn. Thug mé cheann amháin faoi dheara go háirithe, darbh ainm Coláiste Lurgan. Tá sí suite i gCois Fharraige- Indreabhán, Contae na Gaillimhe, go sonrach. Tharraing an cheann seo m'umhail uirthi, mar gheall ar an oiread seo ábhair atá saothraithe acu ar an idirlíon.

There are more than a couple Irish language immersion schools to be found in Ireland. I noticed one in particular, by the name of Lurgan College. It's located in Cois Fharraige, Specifically, Inveran, County Galway. It caught my eye because of the shear amount of internet presence they've done well to cultivate.

This is Irish as it lives and grows.

Tá trí shuíomh YouTube acu:

Lurgan

Lurgan Inniu - Lá sa gColáiste

Abair Leat - Teanglann ar Líne

..agus leathanach Facebook chomh maith:


Seo í an Ghaeilge mar a mhaireann is a fhasann sí sa lá atá inniu ann.

Seo cupla sampla de na físeáin ar fáil acu:

Ceol: Sé amhrán le Chéile
‪


Abair Leat!- Céard atá uait?‬
‪

Iris nua: nós*

nós* -- http://www.nosmag.com/
According to the site, "nós* is a new contemporary Irish language magazine for the modern age. From film to fashion, sex to travel, music to technology, nós* has it all."
(Including extra punctuation, apparently.)
Thanks to Will for pointing it out!

The Irish in Liverpool

If you happen to be in Liverpool, feel the need to connect with Irish culture and language, and can't get across the Irish Sea,

Despair you not!

Head on over to the St. Michael's Irish Centre

... and bring the kids!

Wiktionary!

For all your "see if they have that word as Gaeilge" needs

If they have the word you put in, Yay! You get to see what that string of letters may mean in other languages too.
If they don't have the word you put in, add it yourself. It's a wiki afterall.

Wiktionary

Colin and Cumberland

.....So I'm in this thing called school, and while in the larger picture I'm trying to figure out where I went so horribly wrong, I'm taking solace in the opportunities to see and do new things. For one of my classes I'm supposed to find an exemplary language-learning web site to present to the class. I'm down to hours-to-go (pardon me while I get the hyperventilating under control) with no particular luck...except that I have been reminded of the existence of Colin and Cumberland. I recall being at a conference where reps of some stripe gave a presentation about the project, just on the verge of being launched at that point. If I remember correctly, at that point it was only in Welsh, with plans for Irish and Gaelic off in the future yet.
.....Colin's a newcomer to town, having just inherited a run-down house and a dog from his grandmother. Cumberland's the dog, who is not only secretly able to speak, but is also fluent in the non-English language of the town. Quoting from the Irish section of the web site, "Colin & Cumberland is an introduction to the Irish language through television, radio and online. Short animated television programmes based on the comic capers of Colin and Cumberland introduce the viewer to their world and encourage them to visit this games-rich website and learn some key Irish phrases."
.....I don't know that this is the exemplary learning site I've been seeking, but I'll admit to having been sucked in for hours, between two of the three languages offered. I started with the Welsh site (canúint an tuaiscirt) but switched to Irish when I got a little too frustrated by the lack of translation/explanation. What can I say, I like structure.
.....In its defense, I am not in its target audience, at least from what I can tell. The tag line is "bone up your (Irish/Gaelic/Welsh)" -- in other words, people in Great Britain who may have at least a low-level exposure to the language in question on a daily basis. In that sense I think it succeeds in its attempt. It gets a user's attention and holds it with games and resources and the clips that were run on television in conjunction with the program. In keeping with the Great Britain focus, the Irish is the northern flavor, which kept me on my toes to be sure. I'm familiar enough with it, though, to catch that a few of the characters have, um, highly stylized voices. I'd suspected as much, when I was playing with the Welsh site, but just couldn't be sure. I wouldn't want this to be an absolute beginner's only auditory input for this reason, but I for one am looking forward to going back when I have free time to play. That's July 2008, I think.
.....So...anyone know of a really good language learning site? For any language?...
.....In other fun news: "MacGyver says 'Halo' to Ireland!" (nothing to do with Irish, though)

Crochadóir?

So I'm sitting here slogging through a long article on using technology for second-language learning when I'm suddenly bowled over by the memory of playing a Hangman game as Gaeilge on my old old computer. Obviously all progress must halt. Does anyone know of one that's currently available? I suppose I'd settle for an internet-based version, as long as it's good. And yes, I've done some looking of my own, but so far I'm not impressed.