Irish - Folklore: Story-telling, Heritage & Traditions

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Description
If you’re interested in the uniqueness of Gaelic folklore and if you’d like to learn more about the wisdom to be gleaned from Gaelic customs, you’ll be interested in this remarkable course.

In this 10-week course we will focus on the customs and superstitions at the heart of the Irish-language community since olden times, some of which still pertain to the everyday life of Irish people. We will explore traditions relating to important aspects of community life – how people coped with death, the traditional remedies they used, their fear of the supernatural world which lurked about them, how they protected themselves from evil. These customs reveal the tremendous desire in people to survive in a world of uncertainty as well as some of the strategies they employed in their quest for certainty.

The course layout is based on the following themes: Fortune, Misfortune and Curses; Fairies (An Síofra/Changeling); Health and Remedies; Death; Holy Wells; Toponomy; Incantations, Riddles, Tongue-Twisters and Rhymes; Animals; Live Story-Telling; and Fóidíní Mearaí (spots of ground on which one is said to be led astray).

This course is suitable for those who already have advanced language skills. Concepts and language alike will be explored during the course. Participants will be given the chance to get to know each other through the facilitation of creative conversations. Idioms and aspects of grammar will be explored as they arise, thus giving participants the opportunity to enhance the richness of their Irish.

What does this course comprise?
20 hours of live classes online
A digital handbook filled with high-quality learning materials

Who is this course for?
This course is targeted at people who are fluent in Irish (C1 or C2) or who have already completed an advanced-level course. It will be of great benefit to those who have an interest in the folklore of the country or who wish to learn more about Irish culture.

Learning Outcomes
Below are the learning outcomes for students who successfully complete the programme:
- You will enhance your vocabulary and the richness of your Irish by listening to texts read by native speakers. Pearls of wisdom will emerge from the soundtracks and these will, in turn, be discussed in class.

- You will heighten your understanding of the development of the Irish language and of its grammar by reading texts and transcripts from various folklore sources. For example, among the most significant grammatical points under discussion will be the dative case in its written form before 1958, vernacularism and the main differences in the texts as you move from one locality to another.

Learning Approach
The course will last ten weeks and will comprise a two-hour class each week. The entire course will be held online. You will receive a handbook of course materials and you will also be provided with a range of aids and resources to support and develop independent learning, thus enabling you to pursue your own interests on your own initiative. The various folklore sources encountered will include:

www.duchas.ie/ga
www.bealoideasbeo.ie
www.doegen.ie

While language sources will include:
www.teanglann.ie/ga/
www.focloir.ie/ga/
corpas.focloir.ie/
www.potafocal.com/thes/
www.gaois.ie/ga/
www.logainm.ie/ga/acmhainni
www3.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaeilge/corpus/

Course Authors
This course was compiled and will be taught by Eithne Ní Ghallchobhair and Réaltán Ní Leannáin. Eithne Ní Ghallchobhair is a storyteller and writer from Donegal, who has received awards in both these fields. Réaltán Ní Leannain worked for many years as a lecturer in education but now teaches and practices creative writing, and she has received awards in both these fields.

* This course and/or the course ‘Folklore: Festivals, Customs and Superstitions’ may be undertaken in any order.

OUR TEACHING APPROACH
Gaelchultúr has developed comprehensive syllabuses and every class at every level follows these syllabuses.

The communicative approach to language teaching is used by Gaelchultúr’s teachers, giving learners the opportunity to play an active part in each class.

A strong emphasis is placed on group and pair work and learners therefore have a chance to practise what they’ve been taught. The main focus is on speaking and listening in all classes (with the exception of Cruinneas sa Ghaeilge), but reading and writing activities also feature.

Terms and Conditions:
Course fees may be refunded in full to a learner up to five working days prior to the commencement of the course. The refund must by requested by contacting Gaelchultúr’s staff by email or by phone.

If, following the first class, the student decides that he/she would like to discontinue the course, 60% of the total fee will be refunded to him/her. Thereafter, no refund will be made to the student.

Gaelchultúr Teoranta has the right to cancel a class or to amalgamate classes.

If it is necessary to cancel a class, every effort will be made to place the participants in another class or to register them for an online course. A full refund will be made to the customer if these options do not suit him/her.

A student may defer his/her registration only once. If he/she wishes to defer registration, he/she must notify Gaelchultúr’s staff of this by week three of the course.

No refund will be made to the student if he/she does not accept a place on the next course he/she is due to attend.

Gaelchultúr will accept no responsibility in the event that a student registers at the wrong level. We advise our students to do our online Irish test or to seek our advice to ensure that they are undertaking the correct level.

If a student wants to move to another level, we cannot guarantee that a space will be available for him/her at that level. Should a space be available, Gaelchultúr will charge a €10 administration fee for making the change. A change may only be made to another level following the first class.

Course fees must be paid in full prior to commencement of the course. Attendance on a course is subject to full payment of fees.

Gaelchultúr,
11 Clare Street,
Dublin 2,
Ireland.
D02 TD34
Phone number: +353 (0) 1 484 5220
E-mail: eolas@gaelchultur.com