I've just started learning Gaeilge from some books(Teach Yourself Irish and Irish On Your Own). But I am also trying to write a lengthy essay on the a specific point in the history of Gaeilge, how Britain's occupation of Ireland affected the decline of Gaeilge. Could anyone point me towards sources for this topic? Thanks.

A good starting point is http://www.fiosfeasa.com , it gives a good summary under the "Language" section.

Maybe you'll find something else from the links on that site.

Here's one:

http://www.wiccaweb.com/irishgaelic.php

And another:

http://www.local.ie/content/14845.shtml

http://www.irelandseye.com/aarticles/culture/talk/irishguide/histir.shtm


And here's a book on the subject:
http://www.arbedkeltiek.com/saozneg/books/short_hist_irish.htm

TJ -- Brian O Cuiv's "A View of the Irish Language" has several essay's on the topic. Don't know where you could find a copy. Obviously, you can't borrow mine. -- Tomás

Dia duit agus daoibh,

Caithfidh tú súil a chaitheamh ar shaothar Sheáin de Fréine am éigin a TJ. Bheadh an leabhar 'Saoirse gan Só' ar fáil ar athláimh thall is abhus i gcónaí.

A must for your reading a TJ, ought to be Seán de Fréine's 'The Great Silence'.
Is féidir léamh faoi i mBéarla anseo / You can read a bit about it here:
http://www.pgil-eirdata.org/html/pgil_datasets/authors/d/deFreine%2CS/life.htm

Ádh mór.
Take care.

Thanks for the recommendations!
I'm going to try to get a hold of the books mentioned since I can't use the internet as a source. Although, I'm sure that while the books may have lots of useful information, they may not meet the "original source" requirement(For some reason the sources used cannot have obtained information from other books), but the bibliographies will be useful(if any other the books mentioned are still in print). Anyhow, I've noticed a lot of people on Gaeilge forums I've looked at seem to be learning from the book: "Learning Irish," which seems to take an approach closer to those used in Language courses I've taken at school so I've decided to purchase it. Unfortunately, Amazon.com doesn't seem to have anymore of the audio tapes that go with the book.

Try e-Bay too. That's where I got mine from. $20, including shipping, with the tapes, all in brand new condition.
-Maidhc.

TJ -- You can get the most recent edition of O'Siadhail's "Learning Irish" from Yale University Press, the publisher. I believe it's about $27. Go to their website. -- Tomás

I went to a local Barnes & Noble and they ordered mine for me. I would imagine that most all major bookstores can do likewise.

are the books easy to understand