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Eithne Shortall: There’s a big gulf between the cúpla focal and fair fluency

Enjoyable and rewarding though it is, Irish takes a lot of time and effort to master – and then you need the confidence to actually use it

Many people have hang-ups about the Irish language, often from the way they were taught it in school

We’re a few weeks out from Seachtain na Gaeilge – which isn’t actually a seachtain, but rather 17 days starting on March 1 – and I’ve been reflecting on the recent evolution of my own relationship with Irish. Until last year, I had only really used Irish in my adult life when abroad and wanting to discuss the people around me, specifically taxi drivers I suspected were taking the long route. But last autumn, I ...