The Skinny on Oideas Gael -- Tips From A Veteran

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People from all over the world attend Oideas Gael each year, including the President of Ireland. Much of its popularity can be attributed to these two things:  It is located in a visually spectacular part of Ireland, and you leave with better Irish than when you arrived.  Below is a list of tips that I feel will maximize your experience based on my time spent at Oideas Gael.

• Have fun.  Classes run from 10-1 and 2-5ish each day.  It is tiring, but rewarding.  Try not to get hung up on embarrassing yourself.  Everyone is there to learn, so jump in head first.
• Do the activities.  Each night the school organized some sort of cultural event.  Even if it seems lame (for me, poetry or dancing), go for three reasons.  First, it gives you a different angle from which to look at the language.  I was shocked at how much I got out of some of these sessions.  Second, it provides you with a group to go out with for the evening.  Third, sometimes it's someone amazing.  My first week at the school we were told that instead of having an evening of songs, every one should go up the road to Carrick as a local group was doing a concert.  I had never heard of the group but everyone one else seemed to think that The Beatles were in town, so I went.  We showed up, I gave them my five punts and sat in a wooden chair in the old village school-house.  I spent the next few hours mesmerized by Mairéad Ní Mhaonaigh and Dermot Byrne of the band Altan.  It was small and intimate and the artists knew most of the people in the room.  I got goosebumps on multiple occasions and became a fan on the spot.
• Go to the pub.  Even if you are not a big drinker, go to the pub(s).  I learned more Irish between 9 PM and sunrise during my stays than I did in class.  This is your chance to speak to people and use what you have learned.  The relaxed atmosphere (and drinks) help you lose that self-consciousness that can get in your way.  The next thing you know, you are speaking Irish to someone.  Often there are native speakers and fluent speaker who LOVE to help you develop your skills.  I have made many friends from these nights and truly relish these memories.
• You have two choices for accommodation.  If you choose B&B, you will be lodged by an Irish-speaking family.  I stayed with Brid Byrne in the townland of Drim (up at the top of the mountain) for three full summers.  She served up breakfast and dinner each day and the food was wonderful.  Her family is all native speakers and this is a great place to stay.  There are a couple of pictures from the house below:
  
  

  

  Oideas Gael B and B

  

  Oideas Gael B&B

  Your other option is Self-Catering.  This is less expensive, but you have to prepare your own food.  The main advantages are that you set your own meal times, you are a little bit more free to come and go as you please (since it isn't someone's home) and its easy to have guests over.



• When there are classes in Gleann Fhinne, go.  One or two weeks a year (always during "Fiddle Week"), Oideas Gael moves class into the Highlands.  This would be an excellent way to conclude your time at Oideas Gael.  Gleann Fhinne is about a 45 minute drive into the heart of Donegal  (The school will get you there if you need a lift).  Somehow it feels more remote than Glencolmcille despite being closer to a big town.  There was Irish EVERYWHERE.  I actually stayed WITH a local family.  There were three of us that stayed in the house.  It was like being a house guest, I was put in one of the daughters' rooms.  It was a big change to interact with the family (in Irish only).  They had three little girls who were eager to engage us.  This was a blessing for me, because we had similar levels of Irish.  A ten-year old girl is a lot less likely to bring up something complicated like politics.  It stretched my skills, and was a little intimidating a times, but I learned a lot!  This was true immersion.  There was far more English spoken at school than in our house!  I would recommend doing this a least one time, if not regularly.



• There are courses besides Irish.  Don't be afraid to take one of the other course offerings.  You can always speak Irish in the evenings with everyone if you would like.  I took the Archaeology course conducted by Professor Michael Herity and it was fantastic!  One of our stops was at the Portnoo Dolmen Centre outside of Ardara.  Here we are working hard at Kilcooney Dolmen:

Added Feb 17 2013:

I received the following comments about this entry, so I am writing this addendum to answer these questions…

Hi Kevin - thank you for the insight. My daughter is considering spending a week at Oideas Gael in the summer. It would be great if you or any reader could post any pluses and minuses between staying at Glencolmcille and Glean Fhinne:
Is there anything to do in evenings at GF?
Are the courses generally fully subscribed?

Hi Kevin - thanks for the tips. I'm thinking of going to Gleann Fhinne this summer. If you could give some plus minuses of GF compared to Glencolmcille that would be great.

First let me reiterate this, I cannot say enough how much I recommend Oideas Gael to anyone trying to improve their skills in spoken Irish.  The choice between the courses in Glencolmcille and Ghleann Fhinne is tough and really depends on what you hope to gain from your time at the school.  For anyone who is an absolute beginner, I would recommend that you attend a course in Glencolmcille first.  However, I think that you are likely to see more improvement in your Irish skills after a week in Ghleann Fhinne.  At both sites, the day has a very similar schedule.  Morning instruction runs until lunch time (1 PM), with a tea/coffee break in the middle.  After a one hour lunch break, classes resume and continue until about 5 PM (again with a tea/coffee break in the middle).

The primary difference in the classes the year I attended Ghleann Fhinne was the number of students.  Most weeks that year in Glencolmcille there were five levels of instruction (though in June there were only three).  Level 1 is always for beginners, after that everyone is divided evenly based on level of fluency.  During my week in Gleann Fhinne, there were three levels.  At this point, I was an Advanced Beginner and found the range of skills in my class to be challenging, but not unreasonable since I did not have the lowest skills in my class.

The biggest difference in the two locations is how time is spent outside of class.  In both cases, the school has arranged an activity for the evening.  In Glencolmcille, most students head out to the pubs following the evening activity.  In Glencolmcille, this is when I found the opportunity to actually stretch and improve as a speaker since I found myself engaged in real situations trying to converse.

In Ghleann Fhinne, there is only one pub and most of the houses where you stay are a fair distance from the small village.  Because of this, I only ended up at the pub one night.  The other evenings however, were spent with the family and other students in my house.  This time was incredibly beneficial as it gave the three students in our house relaxed, enjoyable time with four native speakers.  Unlike Glencolmcille where English is everywhere, English was hard to come by in Gleann Fhinne and nonexistent in the house where I stayed. 

The other main difference is the actual village.  While Glencolmcille certainly cannot be described as anything but a rural parish, Gleann Fhinne is a very small village.  There is a school, church, pub and houses.  Ballybofey and Stranorlar are a short drive away (maybe 10 minutes) and have everything you could want, but are too far for a walk.  The biggest plus for Ghleann Fhinne is you will be using your Irish every minute.  The only downside is that the nightlife is more subdued.  The pubs in Glencolmcille are filled with students every night until closing (though the evening is overwhelmingly English).  My evenings in Ghleann Fhinne were as enjoyable but more family oriented.  For example we took the 10 and 12 year-old girls to the dancing with us one night, and played monopoly as Gaeilge another.  I felt more like a big brother than a student staying in the village.

Overall, I feel like you get more bang for your buck in Ghleann Fhinne.  If your primary goal is to learn Irish, I think Gleann Fhinne is the best choice for one week.  Glencolmcille offers much more in the way of pure social activity, but much if not most of it will be conducted in English.  You can't go wrong with either location, and both certainly have their own charms.  Just typing this takes me back to Sunday morning in Gleann Fhinne and how incredibly peaceful it felt.