Having been involved with this site for nearly 3 years now, and having suffered the inevitable ups and the downs inherent is such a diverse community, I found myself today asking what has this site meant to me. In other words, what is it that keeps me coming back to this site? What is it in me that this site seems to satisfy? Then, in no great leap of logic, I wondered what others get from this site. So, in a means of query and invection I'll start:

First and foremost, this site has given me an unparalleled connection and insight into a heritage of which I knew very little. I've learned more about Ireland, Irish history, Irish politics and the Irish people on this site than anywhere else, save my one trip to Dingle and the area west of Galway.

Secondly, odd as it sounds, I've made friends with people I've never seen. I now feel like I "know" people in Dublin, Finland, Spain, Australia, Germany, New York....the list goes on and on. On a very personal note, I received a very uplifting e-mail from one of the regulars here while I was stationed in Africa. One e-mail half way across the world from an otherwise total stranger...an amazing gift.

Oh, and did I mention that I've also learned more about Irish on this site than I've learned in any book? To me, that's just to bonus.

OK... now it's your turn. What brought you here and what has kept you here? I'm not looking for soul searching, I'm just curious.

Le meas,

James

I'm here because questions like yours stretch my knowledge of Irish, and thus prevent it dwindling, as it otherwise might, to a purely kitchen language!

I also believe that there is a great camaraderie between the regulars on this board, which is pleasant.

Well... as I live in Dublin, I get next to no chance to use my Irish. As such, coming here keeps it fresh in the front of my mind, even if it doesn't improve it immensely. Consider if you were a brilliant driver, but then didn't drive a car for 15 years. You'd be starting from scratch. This place for me is like hopping in the car once every 3 years: while it won't immensely improve my driving, it will still maintain my level and improve it just a little.
And here comes some weird analogy type pun: When I get my car I'm going to drive out to the Gaeltacht and really improve my driving and Gaeilge!

I know that I don't post a lot on this site because I usually don't really have anything profound to say but I do come on here everyday and check the posts for the simple reason that I'm given the oppurtunity to learn. I could memorize four books on how to speak this language and since I have no one to really speak it with here, it's nice to know that if I have a question, I can come on here and be prepared to receive detailed explanations. Like has been said, it's nice to have an online community where you get to know people from across the world without worrying about all the internet terror that you're preached to about safety. It's also a good oppurtunity to begin to understand what's going on in other places besides my own little city. Whether we mean to explore that or not, we always do and I immediately return to my primary reason for ever coming on here: to learn.

James, a chara,

I keep coming back to this site because, although I've studied the Irish language since 1969, I'm willing to learn. Living in the UK I have, perhaps, even less oportunity than FnaB to put what I know into practice but I thrive on the expertise of the regulars such as our friend Aonghus and many others, together with questions and comments from such avid students like yourself.

My only regret is that my work often takes me away from home. Otherwise, like Natalie, I'd read the posts every day.

Incidentally, as a measure of my interest in this site in particular, the Daltaí site is set as the homepage on my version of Internet Explorer.

Le meas,

Larry.

I didn't have a choice

A Shéamais, a chara,

I was thinking that I'd been hanging around this site for two years until I saw your reference to your having been here for three, and unless you have an identical twin so like you that even your writing styles are the same, you would have to be that James whose unbridled enthusiasm for everything Irish snagged me so that I started checking in here everyday (three years ago) just to plug into that spirit and to see what project, plan, or perspiration you were working up. I recall you disappeared a couple times (as did I) only to return with renewed enthusiasm.

I'm reminded of some who seem to have dropped out of sight for good, and I must say I miss them. We operate here in a strange societal context in which we become friends with persons we never meet; although I did discover online photos of a bearded engineer from Dublin and a paramedic from North Carolina.

I remember Oliver G, another Jackeen with roots in Mayo who always had a gentle response and some really helpful insights into the language. And there was Phil, the lad from school with a fantastic grasp of Irish and a ready willingness to share it, so long as you didn't mind having it served with vitriol. I wonder what became of the girl from Eastern Europe who was writing the multilingual children's book and needed help with the sounds animals make as Gaeilge.

So what's my point? I guess the point is that for me, the people I encounterd on this site are what drew me and kept me coming back. I love the language even with all the difficulties it presents, but there are other sites committed to similar goals. Here the people manage to come alive the way characters in old time radio dramas did, leaving so much of their characters to the listener's imagination. And if Irish needs anything, it needs to be experienced i dtir na mbeo.

Sláinte agus go mbeannaí an Tiarna thú,

Patrick

Well... I suppose I was going to reveal this at some stage! Is mise the person that was posting as Phil. If there's any excuse I can make then it's just that I was young, misled, naive and ignorant ( I was 15ish at the time ) and I'd like to think that I've overcome that a lot now! Over time I realized just how unnecessarily rude and hostile my posts were, so I decided to just start from scratch with a new attitude and I prefer to new me!
"Phil" was a pseudonym by the way.

I welcome the bashing :-) ...

Your perverse joke recently on this site about the IRA kneecapping a so-called UVF man sitting on a wall shows you still have a long way to go before your introspections can be respected.

Thanks for expressing your opinion Aontachtaí. The term "perverse joke" is a misnomer. If my joke was perverse, then it wasn't a joke at all. Obviously you did not interpret it as a joke. I, and many others, did. Everyone here is entitled to their own opinion and may interpret information however they please - just don't hold me accountable for you interpretations, because I really don't give a fcuk.

"because I really don't give a fcuk" -- (Fear na mbróg, September 2004). Your false bonhomie of late has made you a joke in light of the above. You have serious issues which you need to address if you are to become a respected and valued member of society.

Again Aontachtaí, with respect, I really don't give a fcuk. Please direct your criticisms elsewhere, they're neither appreciated nor given any weight here.

OK. Enough.

Future posts of this nature will be deleted.

Caoimhín

I first came to this site about 6 months ago when i was just trying to find a place where i could learn Irish. Being a 17 yr old from Melbourne, Australia i thought my chances of finding a place would be quite slim. To my suprise the day after my first post there were three replies and all of them useful. Although i now attend Gaeilge classes each week i still find myself sifting through the posts everyday and have Daltai.com set as my homepage. Although i dont post very often myself(mainly through lack of knowledge) i still love reading all the questions and comments that make this site great! As you can imagine theres not exactly a huge amount of Irish spoken in Melbourne so besides my weekly class this is the only place where i can speak or read any during the rest of the week. Keep up the good work everyone!
anyway thats just contribution....

Go raibh maith agat

Bhí amhras orm le tamall gurbh ionann Phil agus Fear na mBróg. Tá sé eirithe níos séimhe, ach briseann an dúchas...nuair a bhíonn cantal air.
Coiméad smacht ort fhéin, maith an fear. Agus ná bac leis an tAontachtaí. Bíonn daoine ann ó am go chéile a dhéanann tréan iarracht a dhéanamh amach go bhfuil muide a bhfuil grá againn don teanga mí réasúnta, achrannach, 7 rl. Neamhaird, nó stuaim agus béasa an t-aon leigheas. Ná bac na mionnaí móra sa Sács Bhéarla.

Patrick, Mo Chara:

Yes, I am one and the same as the "James" you reference and the "comings and goings", and comings again is exactly what prompted this question. Has this site (and some of those on it) frustrated me to no end? Absolutely! Has my love for the Irish language suffered as a result? Absolutely NOT!

One short story as to the "domino" effect of this site.

As I was serving my Duty Officer functions in garrison while over in Africa, I was unable to attend Mass. For whatever reason, I felt an uncommon need to attend but was unable. We had no military Priest, the Priest from the local French unit was nearly incomprehsible in his english and the local threat prevented me from taking a trip downtown to the Cathedral. I logged onto RnaG (a site I found as a result of the interaction on this site) and mangaged to catch a live internet broadcast, As Gaeilge, of the Mass from the church in An Spideal.

I understood about 1 word in 20 but it was an amazing experience. I caught the "Creidim" as we began the Nicene Creed, I caught "Siochan leat" and heard the rustling as the parishoners moved about the chapel....little words that I knew to be in the proper context allowed me to follow the ritual of the Mass. For one hour, on one Sunday in Africa, I was transported to a church that I had visited with my wife just a few years before. I heard the Mass in a language I was just beginning to comprehend...in a language long ago lost to my family but just as poetic and flowing as ever. It was about as spiritual an event as I had while "over there."

All of this...knowing about RnaG, knowing that Creidim means "I believe", that Siochan Leat means "Peace Be With You"....every bit of it was a direct result of the good and dedicated members of this site.

Do we occasionally fall into juvenile bickering? Yes, we do. That's not a testament to age..it is a testament to maturity! And, yes, I accept that I am just as guilty as any for it.

But, hands down..this is the most congenial, most dedicated and most amazingly educated group of people I have ever encountered on the internet. Do you think Ethel ever thought it would grow into this!?!?!

Oh...and FnamB...I KNEW it was you!!!! Your style (like mine) is just too recognizable. And, for what it's worth...we all have said and done things that we sometimes regret...even past the age of 15 or 16! You have matured a great deal over the past few years...and it shows quite nicely. Is the vitriol still there...well, sure it is but it's now running just below the surface rather than bubbling over with every post!! Thanks for hanging in there and thanks for your frequent and informative posts.

Pardon the rambling Mo Chairde...but like the title line says....this IS about an Moment of Effusive Introspection!

Le meas,

James

http://www.sacredliturgy.ie/massinirish.html

This may interest you! It amazing the things you can find on the Net if you look! Slan

Excellent find, A Dhiarmo! I have saved it as a text file so I can become more familiar with it. Go riabh mile maith agat.