Department of Irish

N.B. Courses in Modern Irish are taught through the medium of the language and
are not therefore normally suitable for visiting students. Listed below are courses
in Modern Irish language and literature specifically designed for visiting students,
and courses in Early Irish, all of which are taught through English. Courses are
also available in Modern and Medieval Welsh (subject to the availability of staff),
Irish palaeography and Ogam and Celtic philology.
Intending visiting students with a competence in modern Irish are invited to write
for further details of courses available.
Irish Language and Literature
Duration:
First semester, second semester, or both (i.e. full academic
year)
Contact hours p/w: 2 lectures
Assessment:
1 long essay or 2 short essays per semester
Weighting:
10 ECTS per semester, 20 ECTS for the full year
Description:
This one-year course on Irish (Gaelic) literature and language is
designed specifically to meet the needs of visiting students. Its aim is to provide
students with an introduction to Irish studies, and topics to be dealt with include
Irish literature of both the early and the modern periods, Irish folklore and the
history of the Irish language. It is suitable for both one-semester and full-year
visiting students, as separate topics are taught in each semester, but the two
semesters complement each other as a year-long course.
Details of the content taught in each semester follow:
IR1014 Irish Language and Literature MT
Semester 1 (10 ECTS)
Early Irish Saga
Weeks 1 to 8 of Semester 1 (1 lecture per week)
Lecturer: Damian McManus (pmcmanus@tcd.ie)
This is a course in early (i.e. pre twelfth-century) Irish saga literature in which a
variety of texts, mainly from the Ulster, Mythological and King cycles will be read
in translation and discussed in class. Sagas to be read will include the tragic story
of Deirdres love for Naoise, the story of Niall Frasachs judgement regarding the
lesbian mother of a fatherless child, Sns cold-blooded determination to exact
revenge on her lover for the slaughter of her family, and King Conaires failure as
the earliest example of cronyism in Irish politics.
Modern Irish Literature I
Weeks 1 to 8 of Semester 1 (1 lecture per week)
Lecturer: Pdraig de Paor (depaorp@tcd.ie)
1

20th and 21st century literature in Irish is a miracle. Given the cultural traumas of
the previous centuries, it is incredible that the Irish language has survived at all.
The fact that it has a flourishing literature and vibrant cultural scene is nothing
short of miraculous. This course outlines the origins of modern Irish literature in
the language renaissance of the late 19th century and its development up to today.
The efforts to save and promote Irish and the heated debates and politics of the
language movement provide the background for understanding a literature whose
very existence is a triumph of the human spirit.
Irish Folklore
Weeks 9 to 12 of Semester 1 (2 lectures per week)
Lecturer: Maire N Bhin (mnibhain@tcd.ie)
This course will discuss various aspects of Irish Folklore and Oral Literature.
Among the topics covered are:- Brigit: Celtic Goddess and Holy Woman, The
Fairies in Irish Folklore, Marriage in Irish Folk-Tradition, The Banshee The Irish
Supernatural Death-Messenger, The Pattern, The Wake in Irish Tradition, The Sea
in Irish Popular Culture.

IR1015 Irish Language and Literature HT

Semester 2 (10 ECTS)
The Midnight Court
Weeks 1 to 8 of Semester 2 (1 lecture per week)
Lecturer: Eoin Mac Crthaigh (emaccart@tcd.ie)
Brian Merriman composed the Rabelaisian and highly entertaining poem Cirt an
Mhen-oche / The Midnight Court in 1780. We will read the poem in translation
and explore its meaning and the context in which it was composed.
Modern Irish Literature II
Weeks 1 to 8 of Semester 2 (1 lecture per week)
Lecturer: Pdraig de Paor (depaorp@tcd.ie)
This course will introduce students to key aspects of 20th and 21st century
literature and critical debate in Irish see Modern Irish Literature I above for
more information.
The Sources of Early Irish Literature
Weeks 9 to 12 of Semester 2
Lecturer: Jrgen Uhlich (uhlichc@tcd.ie)
This module will cover the following aspects of the transmission and wider context
of Early Irish documents: periods of Early Irish up to the beginning of Modern Irish
(c. 1200 AD); development of the Irish script; Irish manuscripts and their dating;
Irish glosses explaining Latin texts; other (more personal) Irish notes in
manuscripts; Irish as a Celtic language and a brief comparison with Gaulish; Ogam
inscriptions; Early Irish metrics and poetry.
2

Elementary Irish
Duration:
Academic year
Contact hours p/w: 2 classes
Assessment:
1 x 2 hour exam
Weighting:
Not for credit
Description:
The course is designed to enable visiting students to acquire a
basic command of the Modern Irish language. Though the course is non-intensive,
provision can also be made for use by the students of the Language Centres
laboratory as an auto-tutor facility.
IR1002; IR1004; IR1012; IR1013 Early Irish
Special requirements:
Evidence of linguistic competence
Duration:
Academic year
Contact hours p/w: 2/4 lectures; 2 tutorials
Assessment:
2 x 3 hour exams; weekly written exercises
Weighting:
30 ECTS (separate elements of the course may be taken with
weighting to be agreed)
Description:
The course provides an introduction to early Irish language and
literature. The Old Irish language (6th - 9th centuries) is taught ab initio, and
prose and verse texts in classical Old Irish (8th - 9th centuries) are read. In a
series of lectures, the sources of early Irish literature are outlined and a further
series deals with early Irish saga.
IR2001; IR2003; IR2005; IR2006; IR2007 Early Irish
Special requirements:
Competence in Old Irish
Duration:
Academic year
Contact hours p/w: 5 lectures
Assessment:
2 x 3 hour exams
Weighting:
30 ECTS (separate elements of the course may be taken with
weighting to be agreed)
Description:
The course provides the student with the opportunity to read a
broad selection of early Irish literature from Old Irish glosses and verse to Middle
Irish texts, particular attention being paid to the early Irish sagas of the Ulster
Cycle. A series of lectures investigates themes in early Irish saga and in a further
series, an introduction to early Irish law is provided (subject to availability of
staff).
IR3403; IR3404; IR3405; IR3406; IR3407; IR4001; IR4004; IR4011; IR4012
Old Irish
Special requirements:

Good competence in Old Irish

3

Duration:
Academic year
Contact hours p/w: 6 lectures
Assessment:
Dissertation; 4/6 x 3 hour exams
Weighting:
30 ECTS (separate elements of the course may be taken with
weighting to be agreed)
Description:
The course provides the student with the opportunity to read a
broad range of early Irish secular and ecclesiastical literature, both prose and
verse. Lectures also treat early Irish law, poets and poetry in early Ireland, and
Irish palaeography; while lectures on the history of the language cover the
relationship between Indo-European and Old Irish (6th - 9th centuries) and the
transition from Middle Irish (10th - 12th centuries) to Modern Irish (after 12th
century). The Welsh language (medieval and modern literary) is also studied, if
availability of staff permits.