Aoife Curtis
As someone who doesn’t speak Irish at home, it was a nerve wracking decision to choose to do the MA i Léann na Gaeilge. Although I wanted to challenge myself with a level 9, I feared I wouldn’t be able to keep up with the class. A deciding factor for me was the lecturers. After successfully completing my undergrad with Fiontar agus Scoil na Gaeilge, I had experience with the lecturers and their expertise. I had full faith and trust that they would help me achieve the next step of my academic journey and I’m glad I took that initial jump.
As the course was conducted solely through the medium of Irish, I found my language skills improving quickly with every lecture, regardless of the module. I found myself listening intently to phrases and proverbs used throughout the lectures, phrases and proverbs that I still use to this day. This encouraged me to pursue Irish in a more professional setting, for example it prepared me for interviews through Irish. I now work in an Irish speaking environment and can’t imagine myself wanting to change that in the future, especially considering all the amazing job opportunities with Irish today.
The thing that sticks out to me the most about the programme was the great relationships formed between the students and the lecturers. As we had a small enough group, it gave us all a chance to develop relationships with the lecturers, which ultimately benefited us when undergoing assignments and seeking advice. This was especially a huge benefit when undergoing my thesis as I found it very easy and efficient to contact my supervisor. These relationships created a positive atmosphere in the lectures and made the course more enjoyable.
Since finishing the programme, I have worked in only Irish speaking environments. As I mentioned above, I found my language skills constantly progressing when undergoing the programme, which gave me a huge confidence boost when having to use it in a work setting. As well as the Irish language modules, the literary modules have opened my eyes to the different avenues there are with Irish today, that I am not restricted to one particular line of work.
In my current role, I do a lot of work with transition year students & it is great being able to relay some of the skills I’ve learned to teenagers looking to study Irish and dissect the many opportunities there are today with Irish.