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 Deirdre’s love for Naoise, the story of Niall Frasach’s
judgement regarding the lesbian mother of a ‘fatherless’ child, Sín’s cold-blooded determination to
exact revenge on her ‘lover’ for the slaughter of her family, and King Conaire’s 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: Pádraig de Paor (depaorp@tcd.ie)
20th and 21st century literature in Irish is a miracle. Given the cultural traumas of the previous
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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 19 th 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 Ní Bháin (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 FolkTradition, 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 Cárthaigh (emaccart@tcd.ie)
Brian Merriman composed the Rabelaisian and highly entertaining poem Cúirt an Mheón-oíche / 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: Pádraig de Paor (depaorp@tcd.ie)
This course will introduce students to key aspects of 20 th 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: Jürgen 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.
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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 Centre’s laboratory as an auto-tutor facility.
IR1002; IR1004; IR1012; IR1013 Early Irish
Special requirements:
Duration:
Contact hours p/w:
Assessment:
Weighting:
Evidence of linguistic competence
Academic year
2/4 lectures; 2 tutorials
2 x 3 hour exams; weekly written exercises
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:
Duration:
Contact hours p/w:
Assessment:
Weighting:
Competence in Old Irish
Academic year
5 lectures
2 x 3 hour exams
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:
Duration:
Contact hours p/w:
Assessment:
Good competence in Old Irish
Academic year
6 lectures
Dissertation; 4/6 x 3 hour exams
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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.
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