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Here's The Only Gaeltacht Outside Of Ireland

Here's The Only Gaeltacht Outside Of Ireland

There's a North American Gaeltacht in the countryside in Ontario, Canada, and it's the only Gaeltacht to be located outside of Ireland.

Mike Wood

Mike Wood

Trips to the Gaeltacht usually went one of two ways. Either it's an illuminating trip into our culture and a celebration of how great it is to be Irish, or it's an enforced holiday camp in the rain.

God love the people of Connemara/Gaoth Dobhair/An Daingean, but it does rain a lot, and can't really compete with Majorca and Salou as holiday destinations in the minds of 15-year-olds. Especially when it also involves reading more Peig Sayers than anyone should be subjected to.

Well, perhaps the kids of the future will have a slightly more glamorous place to spend their Irish immersion trips: Canada. There's a Gaeltacht near Toronto, apparently, and it does look a lot more appealing than what passes for summer in Donegal.

via GIPHY

Gaeltacht Thuaisceart on Oileáin Úir (North American Gaeltacht, for those of us who may or may not have forgotten their Junior Cert Irish) is close to the town of Erinsville, Ontario, and was founded by (unsurprisingly) Irish people in the late 19th century.

With over 22,000 Irish Americans claiming to speak Irish at home in their last census, plus a fair few Canadians too, it makes sense for there to be a place dedicated to our language on that side of the water. In fact, that 22,000 is almost the same number of people as live in the whole of the Donegal Gaeltacht.

"People like to connect with their roots. There's a sense of pride in that identity," says Sheila Scott, one of the founders of the North American Gaeltacht.

Though it has no permanent residents, it is a permanent space for the Irish language and was created to celebrate our culture and provide a place for language learning and immersion as well as dancing, Gaelic Games and traditional music.

It's very green and very rural, so you get that traditional Irish feel that you would expect: although they probably get a wee bit more snow than we do in the winter.

Either way, if you're going to spend an inordinately long amount of time learning Irish, there's a new destination to go for.

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Topics: Ireland