The Irish Language and Beauty | Dónall Ó Héalaí | TEDxBerkeley

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  • Опубликовано: 12 мар 2018
  • Language represents an essential component of humanity, revealing so much about culture, heritage, literature, and nearly every human endeavor. In his TEDxBerkeley 2018 talk titled “The Irish Language and Beauty,” Dónall Ó Héalaí shares his personal relationship with the endangered Gaelic language. Recounting ancient legends, singing a traditional Gaelic song and discussing the colonial induced displacement of indigenous culture and practices, Dónall ultimately encourages the audience to consider our own inner selves--aspects of ourselves that we fail to celebrate and hide from the rest of the world. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community.
    Dónall Ó Héalaí is an Irish actor and the founder of Celtic Consciousness, an initiative that aims to share the insights and beauty of the Gaelic language with a wider audience and use ancient Irish stories and songs as a medium for self-reflection. This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

Комментарии • 1,4 тыс.

  • @sarah-hz2ws
    @sarah-hz2ws 5 лет назад +1329

    Being from Northern Ireland I’m sad I never got the opportunity to learn the language in school because of politics … I’m trying to learn it now…it’s beautiful

    • @katinss9983
      @katinss9983 4 года назад +144

      It's so sad to think , Wales and Scotland learn their gaelic language at school but the people of Northern Ireland were denied, and why? To continue to suppress the Irish Indigenous People of northern Ireland.

    • @DomhnallOSuileabhainPrin-tm1fw
      @DomhnallOSuileabhainPrin-tm1fw 4 года назад +41

      I hope the day will soon arrive when protestants will no longer think that they are more connected to Nigel in Kent than Sean in Donegal.

    • @katinss9983
      @katinss9983 4 года назад +9

      @@DomhnallOSuileabhainPrin-tm1fw Sean in Donegal doesn't understand why they are still celebrating the 4th of July in Rossnowlagh.

    • @hazerdxhd4373
      @hazerdxhd4373 4 года назад +3

      @@liamb5546 Me too :(

    • @zulkiflijamil4033
      @zulkiflijamil4033 4 года назад +23

      @sarah
      Yes you are right. I too have just started to learn Gaelic. By the way my native language is Bahasa Melayu.

  • @LWWM
    @LWWM 3 года назад +534

    I'm from Kenya. I am of the Gikuyu people. My forefathers fought to the death so that I may maintain my identity and I am so grateful and humbled by their sacrifice for me to be who I really am.

    • @emmetor
      @emmetor 3 года назад +18

      I know some Kikuyu people living in Ireland, very kind, but very industrious and independent people with a very strong culture. The pride of Kenya!

    • @Mendelmandela
      @Mendelmandela 3 года назад +1

      @@emmetor not the pride of kenya, the curse of Kenya

    • @Investigate_Mermaids
      @Investigate_Mermaids 2 года назад +2

      @@Mendelmandela why?

    • @Fortyball
      @Fortyball 2 года назад +5

      @@Mendelmandela Ah here now man, be kind.

    • @Fortyball
      @Fortyball 2 года назад

      Ardbean

  • @tk2300
    @tk2300 3 года назад +225

    When a language disappears, the identity and future of a culture are in jeopardy.
    Never let Irish disappear.

  • @johnjslatteryherbalist
    @johnjslatteryherbalist 6 лет назад +915

    "Sometimes you have to leave home to come home." so true. Beautiful language...such an immensely rich heritage.

    • @michelleflood8220
      @michelleflood8220 5 лет назад +11

      John Slattery hence me learning it Ireland is my ancestral homeland so puts me in touch with my roots . I have links to three counties - tiobraid arrain ( Tipperary ) agus an cabhan ( Cavan ) agus contae corcaigh ( cork ) the last is through dads maternal grandmother she’s from there the rest is both parents families though Cavan only my mums maternal grandmother who was an O’Brien they are the Cavan family and there’s some Scots Irish / Ulster Scots amongst that lot plus others in both mum and dads families have either married Scots or those of Scottish heritage so the affinity is strong there ! So I’ve been learning both gaeilge and also gaidhlig the Scottish Gaelic language bit of cymraeg ( welsh ) as I potentially have welsh ancestry as well someone told me to look at the plantation of Munster to explain this possibility as mums maiden name is welsh in origin but my grandfathers family are from lorrha in Tipperary but when I did look it up welsh have been in Ireland since 1582 so it’s quite plausible it is how the Walsh and welsh and other variant surnames came to exist in Ireland ! All of these are beautiful poetic languages that I hope and pray don’t die but given the promotion through RTE , the Gaeltachts the fact it’s taught in schools and given the president Michael Higgins is endorsing and promoting its use I doubt it will any time soon do you ? ! It just needs more promotion in the north and use as a school subject and making it part of the Ni school curriculum and not just as a voluntary part of schooling even if it’s only as a dialectic level it’s something !

    • @AB-kc9qv
      @AB-kc9qv 4 года назад +12

      @Thicc Boi That's not true at all. Either you've never been to Ireland, or you've just met a couple of assholes over here, as you would in every country.

    • @AB-kc9qv
      @AB-kc9qv 4 года назад +4

      @Thicc Boi I'm glad I have American friends that prefer living over here

    • @MyIreallydontcare
      @MyIreallydontcare 3 года назад +5

      @Thicc Boi Bellend

    • @patrickmcnicholl5927
      @patrickmcnicholl5927 3 года назад +5

      Thicc Boi your leader is an orange, shut up

  • @ricejuice8982
    @ricejuice8982 3 года назад +626

    The biggest problem is that Irish schools teach it for the exam not to speak and the students find it extremely tedious

    • @bigyokes4747
      @bigyokes4747 3 года назад +52

      Absolutely, education needs an overhaul. The focus needs to move away from exams, especially in language related subjects. Schools don’t adequately prepare people for life. There needs to be more PE in schools, we’re creating generations of weakly, unhappy bookworms. Weakly in the moral sense too. Only encouraging obedience.

    • @AngryKettle
      @AngryKettle 3 года назад +8

      Absolutely but in defence of teachers if you can learn how to pass an Irish exam without learning that level of passable Irish, the problem was with the exam.
      It's a systematic problem that isn't easy to fix.

    • @ciaranspiddal
      @ciaranspiddal 3 года назад +15

      Look at other bilingual areas where the second language isn't widely spoken and they also blame the educational system. Tá neart Gaeilge agamsa ach níl aon deis agam í a labhairt. Níl áiseanna agus níl aon forbairt á dhéanamh ar na ceantair Gaeltachta. There needs to be development in Gaeltacht areas and there needs to be facilities provided where the language is relevant in the community. Non-speakers love to send their children to Gaeltacht areas but are they happy to fund the development of these areas where the language still remains. That is what is needed. Gaeilge exists in the margins at the moment and with no practical policies to make it possible for Gaelgóirí to stay and work and live in their own hometowns the language in its current form is dying out. Look at the Gaeltacht areas you visit- they are not thriving. You might see the biggest problem to be in schools but I assure you the language needs to be made relevant in the community and the communities that do speak Irish need to be supported with jobs and opportunities for the next generation to put roots in their áit dúchais.

    • @jamesdonalfaulkner
      @jamesdonalfaulkner 3 года назад +1

      @@bigyokes4747 Ta me ar an aon ramh leat/ I could not agree more. If one had the same "acid test" for school leavers in mathematics, geography , chemistry - you name it - the same woeful level would generally be observed. It's not the teachers' fault or even the internal workings of the educational establishment. It is just that the whole system is not fit for purpose. All kids speak their mother tongue when they start school with no formal training at all. Many already speak two or more languages. Non-schooling for that works extraordinarily well.

    • @jamesdonalfaulkner
      @jamesdonalfaulkner 3 года назад

      @@ciaranspiddal Ta an fhirinn agat.

  • @adamhaughton561
    @adamhaughton561 2 года назад +154

    The speaker is 100% correct. Tá ár dteanga go hálainn. I'm on a journey as a 33yr old Dublin man to become as fluent in our native language.

    • @soulsurfer639
      @soulsurfer639 10 месяцев назад +4

      Iontacht! There are great pop-up gaeltachts in Dublin, loads of fun.
      Obair mhaith!!! 💚

    • @elizabethwallace-donnelly.2356
      @elizabethwallace-donnelly.2356 8 месяцев назад +4

      Iam on a journey ,from today to learn to speak my beautiful native Irish language at the age of 74 , going on 75 a month from today is mise Eilis De Bhailis ❤😊

    • @soulsurfer639
      @soulsurfer639 8 месяцев назад +1

      @@elizabethwallace-donnelly.2356 🙂❤🇮🇪

    • @liz-mm9qq
      @liz-mm9qq 6 месяцев назад

      ⁠@@elizabethwallace-donnelly.2356that’s wonderful! Such a beautiful language

    • @NiChionnaithB
      @NiChionnaithB 6 месяцев назад +1

      Fair play duit.

  • @Investigate_Mermaids
    @Investigate_Mermaids 2 года назад +100

    This man has singlehandedly convinced me to learn Irish

    • @jamburga321
      @jamburga321 11 месяцев назад

      Cool and how good are you on it?

    • @Investigate_Mermaids
      @Investigate_Mermaids 11 месяцев назад +1

      @@jamburga321 Absolutely shite :)

    • @jamburga321
      @jamburga321 11 месяцев назад

      @@Investigate_Mermaids Are you joking?

    • @Investigate_Mermaids
      @Investigate_Mermaids 11 месяцев назад +1

      @@jamburga321 No. My pronunciation is terrible lol

    • @jamburga321
      @jamburga321 11 месяцев назад +1

      @@Investigate_Mermaids you will get better at it though

  • @sarajundi8946
    @sarajundi8946 3 года назад +228

    Tá grá ollmhór agam don Gaeilge. Níl sí ag mo tuismitheoirí, níl sí ag mo seantuismitheoirí, ach deanfaidh mé cinnte go bheidh mo páistí féin líonta sa teanga.🍀❤️
    Translation :
    I have a huge love for irish. My parents can't speak it, my grandparents can't speak it, but I will make sure that my children will be fluent.

    • @tainahollo8567
      @tainahollo8567 3 года назад +3

    • @curtisunit
      @curtisunit Год назад +2

      Lîonta - filled with the language. Is é sin álainn.

    • @Aushul
      @Aushul Год назад

      💙💛❤

    • @Meggobro
      @Meggobro Год назад

      Mé féin freisin!

    • @Meggobro
      @Meggobro Год назад

      @@PatAudreyK bualadh bos! Well done! Best of luck an your language learning journey!

  • @norahlally3457
    @norahlally3457 6 лет назад +593

    My grandparents were from Cork and Limerick, then came to the Bronx in the 1940s. I grew up in NY in the 1970s & 80s listening to my grandmother's lovely accent, but I never knew much about the Irish language (although my grandfather from Cork did speak it as a child). Now my daughter and I are taking an Irish language class at the Celtic Arts Center in Los Angeles. To hear people speaking Irish is such a beautiful sound to my ears. I loved this Ted Talk and the precious song Donall sang at the end. Thank you.

    • @ctmjr2012
      @ctmjr2012 6 лет назад +3

      Beautiful song!

    • @liamdoes8580
      @liamdoes8580 5 лет назад +5

      Norah Lally how dear is an Irish language course in America I can't imagine it being cheap since its so obscure

    • @Ciaradexy
      @Ciaradexy 5 лет назад +2

      @@chloemilton7367 Gaelic isn't a language.

    • @colinobrien7784
      @colinobrien7784 5 лет назад +5

      My ancestry also traces to County Cork and Limerick! How cool! O'Brien here, pleasure to make your acquaintance

    • @emmacbarry1236
      @emmacbarry1236 5 лет назад +5

      Hey Norah! So nice to read your comment. I'm from Cork! Do you know where in Cork your grandparents were from?

  • @aoifek9709
    @aoifek9709 5 лет назад +820

    The Irish for jellyfish is smugairle róin which means seal snot lol

    • @mairead354
      @mairead354 5 лет назад +75

      Close - it's smugairle róin 😊 It means seal's spit, not snot.

    • @ruth540
      @ruth540 5 лет назад +9

      I swore it was spit :/

    • @garethdavies7488
      @garethdavies7488 5 лет назад +4

      @@mairead354 mhaith thú, is ceart

    • @aoifek9709
      @aoifek9709 5 лет назад +10

      Andre Knowledge357 and you're just an Asian with slightly different features. Your claim can be made about anything and anyone lol. Ireland is full of deep rooted heritage and history, rich culture, language and landscape and we are most certainly not "just" anything.

    • @emantsal7354
      @emantsal7354 5 лет назад +11

      @Andre Knowledge357 Hebrew was a completely extinct language, but is now the spoken by almost the entirety of israel. This could happen here too, even ignoring the fact that there are still areas where it is the primary language. This aside have you ever been here, or do you have any evidence to prove in the slightest that we are the same as Wales, England or Scotland, (the UK being a political construct)

  • @adamender9092
    @adamender9092 3 года назад +43

    I remember I was in Drogheda when I was around 10 and the shopkeeper asked me a question, "Ar mhaith leat mála?" And I couldn't understand him, he said it in English "Would you like a bag?" And I felt ashamed I couldn't speak Irish from that day on, that man changed my attitude towards it and now I can happily say Tá Gaeilig agam (I can speak Irish) :)

    • @chickhicks6208
      @chickhicks6208 2 года назад +2

      I live in Drogheda, do you remember what shop it was :)

  • @ptskater
    @ptskater 5 лет назад +287

    I'm from Portugal, and despite my language being so different, ever since i heard Irish i felt a strong bond and connection as if in a past life i knew how to speak this language... It's a strange but warm feeling. Peace from Portugal!

    • @EdinSaonensis1
      @EdinSaonensis1 5 лет назад +28

      Amen brathar. Cheers by an Italian lad who lives in Scotland and feels the same thing with Scotland and Gahilig.

    • @realitywins9020
      @realitywins9020 5 лет назад +40

      The Portuguese are related to the Celts. Gaelic legends claim that the Scots and Irish migrated from Galicia in NW Spain in ancient times! The Lusitanian language of ancient Pre-Roman Portugal seems to have been related to Celtic languages like Irish. I've read that even today, many Portuguese words are derived from Celtic and are similar to words in Irish!

    • @realitywins9020
      @realitywins9020 5 лет назад +17

      @@EdinSaonensis1 I'm half Scottish and half Maltese! You know, Gaelic and Italian are distantly related and have some similar words such as òr for gold, muir/mara for sea, and so on. Northern Italy was Celtic in ancient times, and Latin and Celtic were related

    • @e_8842
      @e_8842 4 года назад +18

      Irish people share similar Basque DNA with people in Spain/Portugal

    • @ModderRhu87
      @ModderRhu87 3 года назад +6

      as a native english speaker, portuguese and irish sound sort of similar to me!

  • @petercurrin8413
    @petercurrin8413 5 лет назад +203

    What a regal, beautiful Irishman, gentle and enchanting.

    • @katinss9983
      @katinss9983 3 года назад +12

      I was thinking the same thing.

  • @hamedmohamed8594
    @hamedmohamed8594 5 лет назад +346

    Dia dhuit! From Egypt

    • @thisguy976
      @thisguy976 5 лет назад +16

      Hamed Mohamed ce chaoi bhfuil tu? From Benin.

    • @hamedmohamed8594
      @hamedmohamed8594 5 лет назад +10

      @@thisguy976 i'm fine, go raibh maith agat! What about you!?, wow Benin! I'm from Alexandria

    • @adaptablesmile9201
      @adaptablesmile9201 5 лет назад +8

      An mhaith mo chara, an bhfuil tú ag foghlaim Gaeilge?

    • @user-hm8wf2jf1h
      @user-hm8wf2jf1h 5 лет назад +2

      Hamed Mohamed 👏👏👏✌️❤️

    • @user-hm8wf2jf1h
      @user-hm8wf2jf1h 5 лет назад +2

      Hamed Mohamed go h-an mhaith Hamed, Conan atá tú?

  • @khaleesibell
    @khaleesibell 5 лет назад +85

    This video touched deeply my heart. To Know that Irish Gaelic is endangered really hurts me... I'm Brazilian, but I've been in love with Irish Gaelic since the first time I heard it in a CD with Irish folk songs bought by my mom when I was 13 year old... now I'm 23 and still hope to be able to learn this beautiful language one day❤️

  • @declanmurphy8957
    @declanmurphy8957 5 лет назад +386

    In Dublin we don't say " I love you", instead we say "Your aul wons a geebag" and I think that's beautiful.

    • @fionagallagher1084
      @fionagallagher1084 5 лет назад +35

      declan murphy haha brilliant.. And yer da's a poxy bollix 😁

    • @thetwoboyos8366
      @thetwoboyos8366 5 лет назад +17

      Oh brought a tear to me eye...
      And a pain to me side... stitches🐙

    • @aaronrowe4735
      @aaronrowe4735 5 лет назад +1

      🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

    • @liberalirishman1425
      @liberalirishman1425 4 года назад +7

      Up yizers gickers yis cunts yis... Gets me everytime.

    • @retardedamericans1
      @retardedamericans1 4 года назад +7

      Dublin muppet

  • @zlaire1
    @zlaire1 4 года назад +92

    I'm French and learning Irish really gives me another way to look at the world, there is so much beauty in it and fun also, I understand now that loosing a language means loosing an access to a different way of living and thinking this world. I hope on day I'll be able to translate it beautifully... The song was stunning, thank you.

    • @Charlz1980tv
      @Charlz1980tv 2 года назад

      Every language is a world in its own.

  • @iberius9937
    @iberius9937 5 лет назад +88

    This style of acapella singing he does is called SEAN NOS. It brings a tear to one's eye.....the celtic melody and singing from the soul.

  • @darlenearciga7888
    @darlenearciga7888 Год назад +17

    I am Mexican, yet even as a young girl I have always been strangely drawn to Ireland🇮🇪💚. I used to sit and watch Celtic Women on PBS just soaking in the beautiful songs. I fell in love with Danny Boy as a little girl, that song just touched my soul in such a way. and just recently read the lyrics of it playing it as a lullaby for my 9 mo old son and was even more in love with its story. It is such a beautiful song…
    I play Celtic lullabies to my baby and we both fall asleep so peacefully. If I ever had the opportunity to visit any place of my choice it would be Ireland in a heartbeat. I don’t know, but I have a sense I have some Irish in me. I could never explain this strange pull to Ireland but it’s there and hasn’t left. Recently bought myself a Claddagh ring for myself and my husband Bc of what they represent. Love, loyalty, and friendship. And now this awesome video has me wanting to learn Gaelic, another added love of Ireland in my book! That language is so unique and just poetry spilled. “God’s little cow” ☺️
    Thank you for this Ted talk 💚

    • @alisonuibhroin3109
      @alisonuibhroin3109 8 месяцев назад

      You must do a dna test to see if you any celtic dna, some Irish would have ended up in Mexico through slavery. A lot ended up in the Caribbean & parts of South America.

    • @hai6089
      @hai6089 7 месяцев назад

      Are you serious? I am the same way, I am Mexican. I was so drawn it was the first country besides Mexico I went to. It’s like a magnet to me.

    • @garlandthompson5970
      @garlandthompson5970 7 месяцев назад +2

      Irish also we're allowed to come to America on the condition that they fight against the Mexican government. As it was the Irish abandoned their obligations to fight the Mexican people and turned out that they became the first Europeans to fight with the Mexican people against America and joined their people instead

    • @prof.reuniclus21
      @prof.reuniclus21 Месяц назад

      New Mexican here! And same lol.

  • @kelsiecakes100
    @kelsiecakes100 3 года назад +25

    I went to an all Irish primary and secondary school here in Dublin. I learned a lot but the language was pushed on us so harshly that if we spoke English we would get suspended. Myself and most of the kids were embarrassed to speak Irish and we had a very negative view of it. The way it was thought to us was confusing. We didn't learn the history of the language, its origins or anything fun, we learned mostly words, grammar and how to pass our exams. Even though I spent 12 or 13 years speaking Irish I still can't say that I'm fluent because I'm really not and it's quite sad. I'm diving back in a reclaiming it with pride and joy. Wonderful video.

    • @LilyGazou
      @LilyGazou Год назад +1

      That’s interesting, how the method was not helpful. I went to a class in NY for six months and seemed to learn mostly that it would be forever beyond me. After studying Navajo for a year, I think I’m ready to try Irish again. It’s sad that my grandparents didn’t pas on the language to us.

  • @gigigigi1159
    @gigigigi1159 9 месяцев назад +3

    Please save this amazingly beautiful magical language

  • @helenrogers1400
    @helenrogers1400 5 лет назад +92

    “Sometimes you have to leave home to come home.” How very true. Thank you. 💚☘️🇮🇪

  • @ailfimacneacail8855
    @ailfimacneacail8855 4 года назад +86

    Tapadh leibh, from your brothers in Scotland. Alba agus Eire gu Bràth 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 🇨🇮

    • @precision2190
      @precision2190 3 года назад +2

      Personally I think it’s really cool how we have such similar languages. The only real difference between Irish and Scots Gaelic is the little stroke above the vowels. In Ireland we call them fadas, what do ye call them in Scotland?

    • @emmetor
      @emmetor 3 года назад +1

      Go raibh maith agat! Alba go bráth!

    • @geroutathat
      @geroutathat 3 года назад +1

      @@precision2190 There are way more differences.

    • @precision2190
      @precision2190 3 года назад

      @@geroutathat not really

    • @dcaimbeul8306
      @dcaimbeul8306 3 года назад +1

      @@precision2190 fadachadh

  • @riverdonoghue9992
    @riverdonoghue9992 2 года назад +22

    Irish is my soul's language. Love it

  • @dmtdisco3467
    @dmtdisco3467 6 лет назад +549

    Ladybug word in Russian translates "God's little cow" too. Indoeuropean..

    •  6 лет назад +70

      Russian has a concept of broad/slender consonants just like Irish. As a result I think Russians actually find it easier to learn Irish then most English speakers would. I was listening to a Russian speaker on RnaG, he basically said learning "Munster Irish" was the easiest as the phonetics were the most like Russian.

    • @gursur15
      @gursur15 6 лет назад +19

      I thought I'm the only one who noticed it. I was kinda shocked

    • @popkinbobkin
      @popkinbobkin 5 лет назад +19

      It translates EXACTLY the same. That’s really striking, wasn’t expecting that at all.

    • @ruremerjerpullche2150
      @ruremerjerpullche2150 5 лет назад +6

      +Artemij Brem in German it's usually (our Lady) Mary's bug, but in my dialect it's "our lord god's little animal"

    • @mouija1450
      @mouija1450 5 лет назад +10

      The same in Polish. biedronka.

  • @StonesAndSand
    @StonesAndSand 3 года назад +31

    If there ever were a soul who had a firm grasp on language, and the art of telling a story, it would definitely be this gentleman. I am in awe.

  • @dmtdisco3467
    @dmtdisco3467 6 лет назад +164

    Irish language is the most beautifull sounding in the world to me. Surpasing Frensh and Arabic. Its great that original phonology got preserved.

    • @eananrahy4725
      @eananrahy4725 5 лет назад +23

      Dmt Disco i know this comment is old haha, so excuse me for saying ; but i think it has a different type of beauty. at least to me, french and arabic are very sophisticated and almost aristocratic sounding languages. while gaeilge has always been reminiscent of a very wild and very warm sounding language. just a different beauty like

    • @jennah7724
      @jennah7724 5 лет назад +9

      Dmt Disco maybe all languages are beautiful

    • @iberius9937
      @iberius9937 5 лет назад +5

      I am actually in the process of learning all three and I love them all.

    • @regandonohue3899
      @regandonohue3899 5 лет назад +3

      @@eananrahy4725 Aye I actually get that. Irish has a very is appealing in a very folk way, much like its people.

    • @jamesestrella5911
      @jamesestrella5911 4 года назад

      Not quite. But close enough

  • @underground_man
    @underground_man 5 лет назад +144

    Gaelic is an incredible language! My "unclaimed language" is Spanish. My parents divorced and I only saw my father (who is from Puerto Rico) on weekends, and he never taught me. In Spanish classes, they always said my pronunciation was like a native speaker, yet I never really learned to speak Spanish. Though it feels inauthentic, I should learn it someday. I hope that those who speak Gaelic continue to do so from the heart.

    • @Ahmed-ob6ec
      @Ahmed-ob6ec 5 лет назад +10

      Spanish is not the language of Puerto Rico (or anywhere in the Americas for that matter). Spanish is the language of the colonial rulers who oppressed the natives and forced them to speak Spanish instead of their own languages. Your "unclaimed language" is Taino. Spanish to Puerto Rico is what English is to an Irish person.

    • @Ciaradexy
      @Ciaradexy 5 лет назад +8

      Gaelic isn't a language.

    • @shsnecarroll7087
      @shsnecarroll7087 5 лет назад +24

      @@Ciaradexy As someone who is also Irish I share the cringe whenever somebody calls it Gaelic. But come on, the guy is being supportive rather than anything else and I really struggle to see the use in rudely correcting him on something he'd have no reason to know regardless

    • @Ahmed-ob6ec
      @Ahmed-ob6ec 5 лет назад +1

      @@shsnecarroll7087 Well to be fair he didn't even know what his own language was let alone the language of a different ethnic group.

    • @krissee6961
      @krissee6961 5 лет назад +2

      Underground Man
      I learnt only a little from my grandmother but when I did classes, straight away the teacher, Scots Gaelic was his first language, said my pronunciation was perfect. Sometimes we take in more than we realise as children.
      The languages of our souls..💗

  • @yarahissen9444
    @yarahissen9444 2 года назад +8

    iam egyption and i adore the irish people and their lovely culture

  • @Vaa0162
    @Vaa0162 3 года назад +7

    Dia dhuit, conas tá tú? I am an Indonesian, I grew up in my mother tongue of Javanese language, but we have national language called Bahasa Indonesia. Feel so weird to speak Javanese but I am proud of it. Sending frindship hug from Indonesia

  • @OSTARAEB4
    @OSTARAEB4 4 года назад +41

    He very eloquently delivers the beauty of a language of the soul of the Irish people dealing with the horrors of colonialism.

  • @christopheriwanowski4630
    @christopheriwanowski4630 3 года назад +53

    Most sensitive TED talk ever. Beautifully executed. Well done!

  • @billycaspersghost7528
    @billycaspersghost7528 5 лет назад +175

    The language will not die out but it certainly needs nurturing in the right way.
    Looking at the comments they seem to vary between "compulsory irish" and "It was dreary at school".
    THe worst thing you can do in teaching a language is to hammer it into kids against any will or interest.
    Later people realise it`s value and regret they did not try harder.
    A basic appreciation of the language,history and culture would work but do not hang the weight of a National cause on very young shoulders.THey will resent it and look on it as onerous and a chore when it should a source of pride and acheivment.

    • @mesofius
      @mesofius 4 года назад +5

      It needs to be made mandatory for some official purpose, all countries protect their languages this way, except for Ireland

    • @ricejuice8982
      @ricejuice8982 3 года назад +2

      @@mesofius cause it's not fun to be forced to learn

    • @mesofius
      @mesofius 3 года назад +2

      @@ricejuice8982 that's a pathetic excuse, lol. Boy did the English do a number on you!

    • @ricejuice8982
      @ricejuice8982 3 года назад +3

      @@mesofius well as I live in a poor town and attend a school with a low budget the teachers don't exactly try very hard to make us want to learn it

    • @ricejuice8982
      @ricejuice8982 3 года назад +2

      It's not a pathetic excuse it's exactly why Irish is failing nothing more nothing less

  • @thebomb78
    @thebomb78 4 года назад +24

    God Bless Ireland and The Irish 🇮🇪

  • @kevincastro6673
    @kevincastro6673 3 года назад +13

    "When a language dies
    the divine things,
    stars, sun and moon;
    the human things,
    thinking and feeling,
    are no longer reflected
    in that mirror.
    When a language dies
    all that there is in the world,
    seas and rivers,
    animals and plants,
    are not thought of, nor pronounced
    with traces and sounds
    that no longer exist.
    When a language dies
    it then closes
    to all the peoples of the world
    a window, a door,
    a different way
    of looking out
    at how much on earth is being and life.
    When a language dies,
    its words of love,
    intonations of pain and wanting,
    maybe old songs,
    tales, speeches, prayers,
    no one whatsoever
    will get to repeat.
    When a language dies,
    already many have died
    and many can die.
    Mirrors forever broken,
    shadows of voices
    forever silenced:
    humanity impoverishes itself."
    -Miguel Leon Portilla
    It's worth noting that this poem was originally written in Nahuatl.

  • @broncalnan5586
    @broncalnan5586 5 лет назад +51

    Sometimes when I serve welsh speakers in work, its nice to speak back to them in my Native Tongue🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 I love speaking the language its a big part of who I am especially durinv rugby season 🌻

    • @precision2190
      @precision2190 3 года назад +2

      Not gonna lie I don’t know how the English haven’t completely knocked the welsh language out yet. We got it a lot worse off here where the English made our language illegal to speak

    • @danieldeburgh8437
      @danieldeburgh8437 3 года назад +1

      @@precision2190 Welsh was restricted too.

  • @florafauna5883
    @florafauna5883 4 года назад +25

    Inspirational speech, especially for me being sardinian, I can relate very much to the fact that our language faces extinction as well, and when I was young I felt a sort of embarrassment when talking my mother tongue with other sardinians that spoke italian instead. I now live in Dublin for the last nine months, and I'm getting to know the irish, and I am falling in love with what I find to be 'The Irish Soul'. Reminds me of my island, Sardinia, and our relationship with Italy. My wish? To be able to speak irish one day.

  • @rahenyman
    @rahenyman 5 лет назад +39

    It would indeed be the death of beauty. Irish is so beautiful and so poetic and descriptive. There is not more expressive language in the world

  • @Katiedora122
    @Katiedora122 11 месяцев назад +2

    I'm currently trying to learn Irish as a 33 year-old whose family has been in America for a good few generations, so this is a lovely video for the algorithm to present me.

  • @Ogma3bandcamp
    @Ogma3bandcamp 7 месяцев назад +3

    Yorkshireman with Irish blood and Irish son here, 30 year resident, also still learning the beautiful tongue.

  • @fergalhughes165
    @fergalhughes165 3 года назад +41

    Sounds like he had a fairly normal and normalised teenagehood.
    My sons are doing second-level through Irish and when school's done, the last thing they want to hear for the rest of the day is Irish; the marvel heroes don't speak Irish, popstars don't sing in Irish.
    But I'm sure it'll all come full circle as it always does .. in a couple of decades, they too will wish they could speak the language of their ancestors better.

  • @slhurtt
    @slhurtt 6 лет назад +175

    So very soulful in the telling. Rarely heard gaelic spoken or even sung, and yet it is my ancestors language. How rich it is. Grateful to you for the lesson.

    • @LearnIrish
      @LearnIrish 6 лет назад +3

      S. Truth it is a beautiful tongue 😊

    • @OSTARAEB4
      @OSTARAEB4 6 лет назад +1

      We cry, and we smile young fellow man.

    • @Ciaradexy
      @Ciaradexy 5 лет назад +1

      Gaelic isnt a language.

    • @trabo1783
      @trabo1783 5 лет назад +3

      ciara murphy Well Gailic Irish is obviously implied. Blame the scots for speaking “Gaelic Scottish” instead of Scottish, hahaha

    • @karimasota2992
      @karimasota2992 5 лет назад +3

      He’s speaking Irish not Gaelic

  • @owengordon8165
    @owengordon8165 Год назад +7

    I live in Birmingham both sides of grandparents are Irish my dads dad is the only Irish speaking man in the family I feel strongly connected to Ireland and have just started my Irish language journey this was eye opening to my own life why I feel so weirdly guided to learn the language

  • @1papester
    @1papester 3 года назад +19

    I'm learning a few words in Irish but I'm from the US. If I lived in Ireland, I'd learn more than just a few words. Embrace your heritage. It's beautiful.

  • @ptheorist4670
    @ptheorist4670 4 года назад +31

    "A comfortable space to sit down while your soul catches up" a truly wonderful message. I've started learning Irish on Duolingo, and even though it won't be as close as living in Ireland and communicating as Gaeilge every day, I still feel happy I get to have the chance to learn what little I can. I hope more people celebrate this beautiful language in the future. Go raibh maith agat!

    • @supermarkmoo
      @supermarkmoo 2 года назад +2

      Is duolingo good? I want to learn irish myself and I'm struggling to find any language grinds tutors nearby where I live would you recommend it at all?

  • @dennisrowan1704
    @dennisrowan1704 5 лет назад +70

    Beautiful speech. Celtic consciousness...Brilliantly articulating the need for indigenous cultures to prevail against the continuing destructive forces of colonialism.

    • @Ruairoquai
      @Ruairoquai 5 лет назад +3

      Dennis R Colonialism isn't a thing anymore bro

    • @realitywins9020
      @realitywins9020 5 лет назад +10

      @@Ruairoquai agreed. Globalism is the threat now!

    • @craigriley6263
      @craigriley6263 4 года назад +5

      @@Ruairoquai the effects of colonialism still affect the present day

    • @adamgillespie3393
      @adamgillespie3393 3 года назад

      @@realitywins9020 globalism is a good thing bro

    • @mjc01
      @mjc01 3 года назад +3

      @@adamgillespie3393 Globalism on whose terms? To whose benefit?

  • @imperatorscotorum6334
    @imperatorscotorum6334 6 лет назад +629

    Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam.

    • @tommykennedy4329
      @tommykennedy4329 5 лет назад +12

      tír gan teanga,tír gan teanga

    • @alexconnolly459
      @alexconnolly459 5 лет назад +8

      Aontaíom go mór

    • @imperatorscotorum6334
      @imperatorscotorum6334 5 лет назад +5

      Cathal O Neill no, anam (soul)

    • @shanemcnaoimhin233
      @shanemcnaoimhin233 5 лет назад +2

      @@imperatorscotorum6334 always a gombeen who can spell the best

    • @michelleflood8220
      @michelleflood8220 5 лет назад +14

      The Ó'Maolalaidh I know what that means and totally agree with the sentiment . Doesn’t this mean a country without a language is a country without a soul

  • @mkduffy8804
    @mkduffy8804 Год назад +2

    Him singing at the end is so haunting and mystical. I watch it all the time now.

  • @MrRiccardo1965
    @MrRiccardo1965 4 года назад +19

    my mother was from Monaghan , i'm Italian/Irish , I go to Ireland often for vacation , such a great country , so beauty , nice and unique people , one day I wish to spent the rest of my life in donegal

  • @GerryBolger
    @GerryBolger 5 лет назад +127

    The Irish for whiskey is "uisce beatha" or "blessed water" in English.

    • @CatholicWeeb
      @CatholicWeeb 4 года назад +2

      Why do you think the Irish drink it?

    • @BeefGeneral
      @BeefGeneral 4 года назад +8

      the word whiskey itself is a corruption of the word uisce

    • @gerryjtierney
      @gerryjtierney 3 года назад +13

      "water of life". Maybe don't go to Google Translate next time.

    • @Dabhach1
      @Dabhach1 3 года назад +3

      @@gerryjtierney Maybe respond without reference to the Encyclopedia of Sarcasm next time.

    • @gerryjtierney
      @gerryjtierney 3 года назад

      @@Dabhach1 Cringe-tier simping

  • @Elocinization
    @Elocinization 5 лет назад +46

    That last question he ended with hit me harder than I thought it would. I've been learning Spanish off and on all my life, and it's a part of my heritage, but it just always seemed so boring and uninteresting compared to the other languages I want to learn. I'm still not fluent in it. I've never thought of it as something I really wanted to claim or celebrate, but for the first time, I'm starting to wonder what I'm missing out on.

  • @angiem3068
    @angiem3068 5 месяцев назад +3

    Gosh, this resonates so strongly. As an American who has been learning Irish for the past 3 years (and majored in Celtic Studies in college), I have experienced *the things Dónall speaks of here as gradual realizations. Only a few weeks ago I told my Irish tutor that I had realized that Irish is more like spoken poetry, or even singing. There is a cadence to it, and a natural propensity for poetic phrasing and imagery - like Mac Tíre (which is what I called my dear old wolf dog, now gone from me these past two years - rip best friend) Coincidentally, one of the first things I did with my teacher, mo mhúinteoir, was to translate an old 17th Century Irish poem BACK into Irish. It is called Táim Sinté ar do Thuama (I am Stretched on Your Grave). I have heard it sung in English but never in Irish. Some here might be happy to hear that I will be recording this translated Irish version next week. This language is a gateway to deep beauty and creativity, as I have experienced first hand. Even though no one around me speaks Irish, every day I hear it singing and feel it growing inside of my heart, mo chroí, like an glowing, emerald ember.(*It is also important that the wise person in Dónall's story is Oghma - who is the Celtic God/dess of wisdom. Irish stories are always full of such gorgeous embellishment.)

  • @wellrideuponanomnibus2536
    @wellrideuponanomnibus2536 2 года назад +12

    What a language, what a country, what a spirit 💘💘💘 I think that the Irish as a people have something which most of other folks don't have , something very profound towards their land ☘☘☘🇮🇪🇮🇪🇮🇪

  • @bleumarin1968
    @bleumarin1968 5 лет назад +60

    the Irish accent is so beautiful !

    • @solytix1854
      @solytix1854 5 лет назад +8

      Yeah, I love the Irish accents too ;-)

    • @cmac7562
      @cmac7562 5 лет назад +2

      Shaw you could swim in it (-;

    • @johnkelly1787
      @johnkelly1787 5 лет назад +2

      Which one,? Lol, we have at least 15 different regional accents, slainte, Agus NA H Eireann go DEO.

    • @bleumarin1968
      @bleumarin1968 5 лет назад +5

      well, i don't know all of them, so it's hard for me to say, but having lived for a wee while in Ireland and having met people from different areas, i think i love them all !

    • @thebomb78
      @thebomb78 4 года назад

      Thank you 😊

  • @user-yu2ok8ek9u
    @user-yu2ok8ek9u 6 месяцев назад +1

    Mo choil thu, go n-eiri leat. My keyboard and predictive text won't do the Irish but thank you for this. You give me hope and courage that Gaelige is not dead, and that seibhreas na teanga will survive

  • @privateperson8289
    @privateperson8289 3 года назад +8

    Soothing voice, this man should read audiobooks

  • @iMacxXuserXx485
    @iMacxXuserXx485 5 лет назад +14

    I was never prouder of my culture in America until I lived in Paris. In NYC you want to be special by having a cool ethnic background, so it was cool that I was Filipino. When I went to France, though, I realized my childhood was unique in the world, growing up with superbowl parties, family football games, NY pizza, bowling alley birthday parties. I took it for granted, but it was special among other cultures.

  • @meganhasreturnedtorome4971
    @meganhasreturnedtorome4971 4 года назад +10

    "I have never heard grief sound so beautiful" is the exact relationship I have had with seán-nós singing and learning the Irish language. Go raibh maith agat.

  • @karangurtu
    @karangurtu 3 года назад +9

    Greetings from India! Been a few days since I started my Gaeilge learning course, shall also give Gaidhlig a try and understand the distinction.
    Best wishes to my Celtic friends and to the future of their wonderful Celtic fairyland. Erin go Bragh!

  • @bensy1704
    @bensy1704 Год назад +2

    I'm trying to learn Gaeilge And i come here anytime i need help with motivation and it never fails to help

  • @callummackay4282
    @callummackay4282 5 лет назад +328

    I hope Scotland never loses Gaelic either.

    • @TampaZeke
      @TampaZeke 5 лет назад +8

      Hear, hear!

    • @thenextshenanigantownandth4393
      @thenextshenanigantownandth4393 5 лет назад +16

      Scottish Gaidhlig seems to be doing better than irish Gaelic atm. Honestly Irish and scottish will inevitably go extinct but not lost. Just look at Latin for example.

    • @michelleflood8220
      @michelleflood8220 5 лет назад +18

      Callum MacKay hopefully not with bbc Alba using it and recent education reforms providing access to resources and staff to students wishing to learn it and the Gaeltachts should help to .

    • @realitywins9020
      @realitywins9020 5 лет назад +16

      Suas leis a' Gaidhlig agus a' Gaeilge!

    • @jimmckay2337
      @jimmckay2337 4 года назад +2

      Agreed

  • @barbara1904
    @barbara1904 3 года назад +120

    The trouble with Irish is, the Irish are English speakers who teach Irish to their children in school. But they don’t teach it in the same way we teach a foreign language.
    They teach it as though it’s not a new language, as though you should know it.
    They don’t concentrate on the spoken language and then work on the spelling.
    And to make matters worse there are different dialects, so your different teachers over the years could be teaching whatever dialect they know instead of the dialect of the area you live in.

    • @cigh7445
      @cigh7445 3 года назад +17

      And the teachers often don't leave university with the right phonetics. So the language taught to the people sounds like English with funny words instead of anything like the native language or it's dialects which have a completely different phonetic system and set of phonemes (sounds) to English

    • @bens6n168
      @bens6n168 3 года назад +6

      We should have Irish as our first language and then a choice of a modern foreign language for education

    • @jamesdonalfaulkner
      @jamesdonalfaulkner 3 года назад +2

      Of course all languages have different dialects...

    • @geroutathat
      @geroutathat 3 года назад +2

      There is also no standard pronounciation. Although there is a standard writing, spelling etc. When it comes to pronounciation you can do whatever you want. They are afraid to pick sides in the dialects so just step back. And yes this means leinster people end up with a jumble of words. Maybe raibh as rev, maybe as row, its a mess. They should just bite the bullet and come out with a broad with broad, slender with slender strict pronounciation guide.

    • @jamesdonalfaulkner
      @jamesdonalfaulkner 3 года назад

      @@geroutathat Very similar in UK English actually.

  • @karenramstedt4614
    @karenramstedt4614 Год назад +2

    This is one very beautiful man. Thank you for your talk 💝. I have Irish ancestry from my Mother's sad and enjoy learning more about Ireland and Irish people.

  • @mariahrock3335
    @mariahrock3335 2 года назад +24

    This was actually the best TED talk I have ever watched. Finding it by my own questions and inquiries, just makes the mystery that much greater ❤️

  • @anniedavis4569
    @anniedavis4569 3 года назад +13

    You speak so beautifully and yes Irish ☘️ language is beautiful. I’m from Donegal and I always went to the Gaeltacht to practice my Irish ☘️ in Gweedore Carraroe and Ballyferriter. The craic was mighty at the ceiles. Slan agus beannacht anois

  • @coffeerevival7812
    @coffeerevival7812 3 года назад +19

    I’m 89% African decent and 5% Irish. I’m so interested and n learning about Irish/Celtic Culture. Its so fascinating to me. This TedTalk is AMAZING in sharing the culture.

  • @george-n-com
    @george-n-com 2 месяца назад +1

    The importance of the message behind this speech cannot be underestimated. Brilliant.

  • @vanfernandes292
    @vanfernandes292 4 года назад +19

    I'm crying and i'm brazilian! Beautiful speech!

  • @margaretnesbeth593
    @margaretnesbeth593 Год назад +5

    I must get back to learning my native language again, thank you for your amazing lecture,

  • @radharcanna
    @radharcanna 3 года назад +8

    There now needs to be a campaign to encourage Irish-speakers in the Gaeltacht not to abandon the language. Many people are now raising their children as English-speakers, due to a post-colonial shame about their own language. It’s ironic that the Irish is so popular with urban learners and people from outside the country while the well-spring of the language is fast disappearing.

  • @Alagueesia
    @Alagueesia 3 года назад +5

    Currently learning Gaelic for the sake of my own pleasure and interest in Irish culture, thank you.

    • @carola-lifeinparis
      @carola-lifeinparis 2 года назад

      the language is called Irish, not Gaelic :)

    • @Alagueesia
      @Alagueesia 2 года назад

      @@carola-lifeinparis "Irish (Gaeilge in Standard Irish), sometimes referred to as Gaelic". I can see it's a misuse to say only "gaelic", but it can work as long as I put "Irish" before, right ? Or do we say only "Irish" and not "Irish gaelic" anymore ?

  • @richarddunne9802
    @richarddunne9802 Год назад +2

    I learned Irish for 13 years in school, passed the exam and can now barely remember a few sentences. I don't know why that is. I can remember so much more of the German I learned in school, probably because I visited there once or twice and was excited to use it. Somehow Irish seems to exist only in schools, road signs and a few specific areas in the West, where it's a living language.
    I've been to Wales many times and have heard so many people speaking the language, even on the streets of Cardiff. Wherever they're doing to keep their language alive, we need to do the same.

  • @katherinemorelle7115
    @katherinemorelle7115 5 лет назад +49

    “I had never hear grief be so beautiful”
    There’s a song, Crucan na bPaiste, which is a lament from a mother about the death of her daughter, laid to rest in a children’s cemetery (during the time of the potato blight, I believe).
    It too, is a beautiful grief. I can’t sing it, for I cry every time I try.

  • @rahenyman
    @rahenyman 5 лет назад +9

    It is one of the most beautiful languages in the world. Living abroad for over 30 years and I have never fallen out of love with my own language Irish or Gaeilge as we call it. Is deas an teanga an Gaeilge. It was be extremely sad to see it disappear. The method for teaching it needs to change. It must not die, it would be a very sad thing. Listening to you speaking Irish makes me feel proud and it is nice to hear a really native explaining it.

  • @MarleneSTaylor
    @MarleneSTaylor Год назад +4

    "Sometimes you have to leave home to come home" for me that statement was so true. However, after traveling so much and not feeling anywhere but where I lay my head was home, it was in Ireland, being mistaken openly as full blooded local Irish, finding my Irish family, and being welcomed back at any point in the future ... I swore to my soul to return to Ireland, being fully able to speak my Irish, and to keep my soul happy by staying, living on, and dying in Ireland. America has left my family with so much space to move around, between and rarely seeing us having settled all over (the north, the west, the east, and the south) so much mistranslated between, and so far apart, that I only feel like if my soul ends in Ireland will everything be good again.

  • @teaganreads
    @teaganreads 3 года назад +8

    After watching this i am definitely learning irish now. Almost all my ancestors are from Ireland so i hope i can go there one day and learn more of my family history❤️. Thank you for the video.

  • @Eochaidh32
    @Eochaidh32 5 лет назад +5

    Go raibh mile maith agat, a Dhonall. I am a 64 year old, first generation Irish American, who, by the time I was a child, my family only had pleasantries and directives in Irish. Luckily, I spent time on the Dingle Peninsula with my friend's uncle, Tomas O'Cinneide, who was a wonderful speaker of Munster Irish. Donall, may you succeed in every way. Le gah dea-ghui, Meidhligh MacEochadha O'Dochartaigh

  • @mlblja
    @mlblja 3 года назад +4

    I don't understand Irish. I felt that song deep in my soul and my eyes welled up at the beauty and sorrow conveyed in the harmony.

  • @janejohnstone5795
    @janejohnstone5795 2 года назад +2

    It's an ancient language, goes back thousands of years...please keep it going....be proud of it,...more.

  • @catherinelavernedickinson3620
    @catherinelavernedickinson3620 6 месяцев назад +1

    I am so very proud of my Irish heritage. My mother was a Fitzgerald. The Irish language is so very musical and beautiful! I wish so much I could talk in the Irish Tongue!! It was enjoyable watching this young man speak.

  • @Southpaw128
    @Southpaw128 Год назад +6

    As beautiful as the civilizations that span Europe are, very few indigenous cultures remain on the continent that stress the spiritual connection to the earth like the Gaelic speaking Irish. To hear this language spoken is like a window to the heart. So many of us have colonized hearts. A distaste for our past, a disconnect to our ancestors and from the land they lived in harmony with. Being born and raised in New York with split ancestry between all my grandparents, one of which came from Cork, hearing the language spoken and sang gives me a feeling of connection to my ancestors even if I’ll never know their names or hear their stories. I intend to do the same with my other ancestral cultures while honoring and treasuring indigenous cultures around the world that are threatened by “progress” and globalization. Thanks for sharing your language and culture!

  • @logos513
    @logos513 6 лет назад +37

    I grew up in Wales and been living in Oz for 20 yrs! I fully relate to this mans talk! well said...and sung!

  • @gardenerkatecarter5911
    @gardenerkatecarter5911 2 года назад +5

    Good looking men and that romantic accent have always been able to find a prosperous pathway in America,they are our ancestors! Love this guy!

  • @Ukitsu2
    @Ukitsu2 3 года назад +8

    Charlemagne, about 1300 years ago, used to say something like "Learning a new language is like having another head/mind".
    I was born in Argentina and my ancestors were French, Irish, Spanish and Italian. I speak Spanish/Castilian, English and French, I can also understand Italian most of the time.
    I'm missing Irish, but I'd like to have a bit of that fifth head someday.

  • @ldawn1540
    @ldawn1540 3 года назад +6

    So beautiful a language... you can hear it blend east & west. This is why we can't lose this language! It is a page torn out of our history, if done. God Bless everyone.

  • @briannemorna4268
    @briannemorna4268 5 лет назад +22

    my grandmother was Irish and now I feel as if my heart is breaking. this was so beautiful. now I believe I will just let my soul catch up for a while. Thanks. so beautiful

  • @jessejames1424
    @jessejames1424 5 лет назад +16

    Well I smiled, I cried...And I understood! Gaelic is such a beautiful language, it would be the world's loss if we ever let it fade away!!!! One of my favorite Ted Talks by far!! Loved every minute of it, and even every tear it caused.. Don't let this language die out!!!

  • @threeicys
    @threeicys 5 лет назад +16

    Why does my heart swell and yearn when I hear this song?

  • @user-cs1gh4pu9v
    @user-cs1gh4pu9v 5 лет назад +24

    For as long as I can remember, I've felt this not belonging. I was born in America (white) and spoke English, but becoming aware of different languages and my ansestors coming from different places, developed an appetite for discovering my roots (age ~7). I can only share English, but had always "wanted to learn..." But this is helping fuel the flame of desire to learn Gaeilge, wish me luck
    Beauty, no words can voice for how beautiful this language appears to be. I hope to visit Ireland

    • @fightinandirish
      @fightinandirish 4 года назад +2

      Best of luck with your journey. It can be frustrating at times, like most things that are worthwhile! Àdh mór ort.

  • @essuede
    @essuede 5 лет назад +66

    damn. as having half korean and half irish heritage. really makes me want to discover my roots.

  • @kathleensmith8365
    @kathleensmith8365 Год назад +1

    Beautiful. It was just a few years ago through my DNA of the maternal line we finally found my maternal great grandmother was from Connemara. From my mother I grew up with my great grandmother's love, Irish religion, recipes and sayings even though she died when my mother was 10 yrs old. Ellen Folan of Connemara is loved even though I never met her.

  • @basketballfan5763
    @basketballfan5763 6 месяцев назад +2

    Well I wasn't expecting that... Absolutely loved the singing🎙️🎹🎸🎚️🎺🎧🎶🎵🎼🎻

  • @ivtch51
    @ivtch51 3 года назад +4

    Beautiful Dónall. When your voice wavered I knew you meant it with all your heart.

  • @alexanderschestag3247
    @alexanderschestag3247 6 лет назад +36

    WOW! Your singing made me cry! This and the message of your talk was really beautiful!

  • @michaelcaza6766
    @michaelcaza6766 3 года назад +3

    Brought tears to my eyes I’m a Canadian and have Scottish and Irish roots.

  • @cindyburroughs7870
    @cindyburroughs7870 6 лет назад +37

    Oh Donall,my friend, I don't have the words in English much less in Irish to describe how soulful and deep I found this to be! You will be the perfect person to lead this group to the Dingle and to the language. I feel very fortunate to already have a little glimpse of how it will be thanks to our friends at Turas d'Anam. You are a joy to be with. The best of luck !

  • @crstn111
    @crstn111 6 лет назад +268

    To me people speaking Gaelic are just superheroes!!! :) The funny thing...ladybug in Russian is actually also translated God's little cow haha!

    • @dmtdisco3467
      @dmtdisco3467 6 лет назад +14

      Kristiina Rokashevich Indoeuropean root plays out. Plenty of struking similar sayings(пословицы) as well(myself experienced it in English/Russian,but should be true for any Indoeuropean language) Some similar sounding vocabulary like mother, brother, sister, son, sun, daughter, wolf, water, river etc.

    • @greenbelly2008
      @greenbelly2008 6 лет назад +18

      I´m from Argentina and in my province (Entre Ríos) it´s translated from Spanish into English as San Antonio´s little cow. I wonder what cows have to do with them heheh

    • @eibhlin5940
      @eibhlin5940 5 лет назад +7

      @irish rover is iris not a part of your eye 🤔

    • @Odinsday
      @Odinsday 5 лет назад +6

      irish rover There’s Irish Gaelic and Scottish Gaelic. So, what are you talking about?

    • @livingstranger
      @livingstranger 5 лет назад

      Probably the Indo-European connection.

  • @SeamusOCleirigh2002
    @SeamusOCleirigh2002 3 года назад +17

    Táim ó Bhaile Átha Cliath ach is Gealgóir mé agus Is brea liom mo dteanga, is brea liom Gaeilge 💚🇮🇪

  • @TampaZeke
    @TampaZeke 5 лет назад +1

    I could look at and listen to him all day long.

  • @knotyboy11
    @knotyboy11 3 месяца назад +1

    "Thanks for Gracing the World with your words" ......