A new eight-week term of Irish classes for adults is set to begin at The Arches Hotel, Claregalway, from Tuesday, September 29, next.

Using the same format as last year, there will be two levels of classes at The Arches Hotel over the eight-week term.

A fully qualified primary school teacher, Katie Ni Dhonnabháin, will take charge of the classes in which there will be an emphasis on conversation and fun.

Spaces are strictly limited and tickets will go on sale on our Eventbrite page next month. The cost is just €70 for eight one-hour lessons.

We will be taking a one week break for Halloween on October 27 and the term is due to conclude on November 24. As we did last year, we hope to return for follow-up terms after the Christmas and Easter school holidays.

If you are a complete beginner, or have not spoken a word of Irish since school, you are encouraged to take the lower level class from 7 to 8pm. Katie, who teaches in the Gaelscoil in Annaghdown, will teach students basic conversational phrases with an emphasis on communication, group work, and having fun.

Students who believe they are at the Intermediate (B1) level are encouraged to join the second class from 8.15 to 9.15pm. If you understand ‘Ros na Rún’ or match commentaries on TG4, but are maybe a bit “rusty”, then this is the class for you.

Gaeltacht an Eachreidh strongly urges you to check out your level of Irish online before people begin the process of registering for one of the classes. Gaelchultúr have a brilliant online level test which is easy to use and takes about 10 to 20 minutes to complete: https://www.gaelchultur.com/en/assessment

It is worth doing the level test to work out which is the best class for you.

The Beginners’ class (A1 and A2, 7 to 8pm) is for those who have very little or no Irish, feel they are very “rusty”, or only remember a few words or phrases from school. It is not for people who have never studied any Irish before.

The Intermediate class (B1, 8.15 to 9.15pm) is for those who can communicate in basic Irish, are able to greet people, introduce themselves, or talk about their lives and families.

The Arches Hotel has been the location of our weekly ‘ciorcal comhrá’ in Claregalway since February of last year, regularly hosting our classes and events, and we are delighted to be extending our friendship with this family-run business which has been at the heart of the Irish speaking community in Gaeltacht an Eachréidh for generations.

Please note that you will have to pay the €70 for the eight-week term in advance on our Eventbrite page and it will be much better for you and everyone else if you complete the level test before registering. There will be a maximum of just 14 students in each class.

Tickets will go on sale in early September.

Both of these classes sold out in advance in October of last year and again in January, when a crew from Nuacht TG4 even came to The Arches to find out why Irish has become so “trendy” in Claregalway!

If you want to stay informed about these classes and book a place as soon as the tickets become available, please register for our monthly newsletter at the QR code below. We will have the link for booking our Irish classes in the next edition of the newsletter which is due out in early September.