Fáilte! Delaney is ainm dom, agus beidh mé i mo chónaí i nDún na nGall an samhradh seo.
For two months this summer, I have had the wonderful opportunity to live and work as an engineer in Dublin city – Baile Átha Cliath, as you would say in Irish. Dublin is a fine city with great opportunities, food, entertainment, and people. However, as several of the locals have impressed upon me, Dublin is not a wholistic representation of Ireland.
As I type this post, on the bus from Dublin to Letterkenny, that point is made abundantly clear. As I gaze out a drizzling Bus Eireann window, grey buildings are giving way to lush green fields, livestock, and colorful towns you see in Irish post cards. While Dublin may be at the forefront of Ireland’s global presence, bustling city life is not the reality for the majority of this country. The Irish language, too, acts as a geographical representation of that divide. While it exists in small ways throughout the country – road signs and town names, to name a few – it is only in the most rural parts of the island where it is still truly known and used.
Irish, in its most natural form, is a spoken language. While there certainly exists an impressive and important collection of written Irish works, I believe the heart of the language—and the culture—lies in its people. It lies in the Sean-nós song heartily performed in a lively pub; in the folktales passed down through the generations; in meaningful human interaction and connection. This is the experience that I hope to gain during my time in Donegal. This immersive interaction is not something I can get in an American university.
So – my goal over these next two weeks is to lean into that sentiment. I’ll take every opportunity to truly connect with the people around me, to hear their stories and tell them mine in the true language of this land.
Go dtí an chéad uair eile!