Using Irish with your children

This article lists a few simple ways to use more Irish with your children.

Here’s a list of 5 easy things that you can do to bring Irish into your house today:

1. Use simple Irish phrases during the day; see below for some examples:
   • Instead of “Goodnight”, use “Oíche Mhaith” 
   • Instead of “Thank you”, say “Go raibh maith agat”
   • Replace “Good boy/girl” with “Maith an bhuachaill” nó “Maith an cailín” 
   • Use “Slán” instead of “Goodbye”
2. Read a book in Irish at bedtime. There are plenty of beautiful books out there, and reading won’t leave you searching for phrases to say!
3. Listen to Irish language radio such as Raidió na Gaeltachta, Raidió na Life or Raidió Rí Rá and watch TG4. This will help with language acquisition and pronunciation.
4. Create simple labels to put up around the house:
   • “Doras”, “Bosca Bruscar”, “Fuinneog”, “Staighre”, “Ríomhaire”, “Tolg”, “Cathaoir”, “Bord”, etc – don’t stop the list! Use www.focloir.ie to translate.
5. Think about taking one part of the daily routine (bathtime, breakfast, dinner, car journeys – whichever is least stressful!), learning the phrases/vocabulary needed and incorporating an ‘Irish-time’ into your day.

Glór na nGael organise a wide range of family events through their TeangaTí scheme. 

Date updated: July 2023