Saoirse?

[NameNameNameNames]

Follow on from my Isla thread, another name I have in mind is Saoirse.

Sister would still be Hazel, and there’s very little chance of the name being mispronounced

I'm talking about Ireland not Northern Ireland.

@JaneJeffer you do realise that a lot of northern Irish people hold Irish passports and are Irish?!

I really don’t want to engage in an argument over what entitles a person to be Irish or whether Northern Ireland is to be excluded in conversations about Irish culture…

Suffice to say, it is important for someone considering the name Saoirse should be aware that this could be problematic in a third of the 32 counties.

Also re. southern Irish boyfriends, their friends and family - I tell a lie, they did know some Irish, the national anthem because it was required at the pub. Beyond that next to none.

Yes I realise that @Sparklecats but the poster in question said she moved to Ireland not Northern Ireland so therefore would have been required to learn Irish as per the curriculum.

And I do wonder about the types of pub frequented by people on this thread.

Exactly @JaneJeffer she never mentioned Northern Ireland at all, if she had that would have been a totally different story

@JaneJeffer @Liv999 you can apply for an exemption if you don’t want your child to learn it. Know several whose parents did this.

No idea about @Mooshamoo‘s experience.

But I do know that kids don’t “have” to because I knew several whose parents opted them out. Vast majority will take part and then drop it by secondary. But it isn’t compulsory like maths would be.

I can't be arsed any more.

Vast majority of kids drop Irish when they start secondary school???

Wut?

Neither can I.

People I know may have got the exemptions on the basis of them being dyslexic etc/having lived in north or elsewhere (with no prior Irish classes) before moving south. In retrospect…

But I can’t be annoyed arguing it exists, you can see it on gov website.

@Scruffington
Sorry by the end of secondary!!
like won’t use the language anymore

Yeah thanks @Sparklecats I'm well aware of the Department regulations on account of being Irish living in Ireland

You can apply for an exemption if your child has dyslexia OR if your child has moved from another country and is too old to start studying Irish, that's it, Irish is compulsory for ALL students in both primary and secondary, you can't just decide you don't want your child to learn it, it's compulsory for a lot of college courses in the ROI

@JaneJeffer yes you are the most Irish of them all - bravo!! 👏👏👏

Now you're just being silly @Sparklecats

Jesus at least @Mooshamoo was a bit of craic

I'm a Sorcha 🙂

I love my name now I'm an adult.

Also if your child is autistic but that's it I'm afraid, it IS a compulsory subject in the Republic, just as important at Maths, and is studied right up until Leaving Cert, still needed for lots of top jobs here and as I said lots of college courses too

I did have to learn Irish at the age of 4. An interesting point is my brother was 7 and I think I was just turning 5 when we moved over.

The school system in ROI gave my brother an exemption, but not me!

I got landed with having to learn Irish for 12 years.

My brother didn't have to learn Irish at all. He never had to take one. Irish class

It was so unfair!.

I guess they thought I was at the start. But I think everyone should be able to apllply for am exemption if you move to Ireland. It shouldn't be mandatory.

I'm still annoyed my brother got the exemption and I didn't. They wouldn't give it to me He never had to learn any Irish at all

@Liv999 could be some of the parents of people I knew were a bit creative with the truth or issues were more pronounced in school… I don’t know. As I say all did it in primary but not all at secondary. None used it as adults. But I don’t doubt it’s on leaving cert or important in certain fields.

@JaneJeffer

Sure I’m a Protestant, what did you expect 😊

I read that as sore-arse sorry…

He must have been a big lad @Mooshamoo

How though?

I and a lot of people I've talked to, don't think it should be compulsary. It's not fair. It should be optional.
I remember there being way too heavy am emphasis on Irish in my primary school. It wasn't a gaelschoil. It was a normal school.

We seemed to spend most hours of the day in that school, studying either Irish or Catholic religion .

I remembe we would do double Irish, double religion -learninf Catholic prayers. Then an hour of history or English. Is that an education? I don't think it is an education at all. Irish and Catholic religion.

Anyone that I've spoken to - no one wants to have to learn Irish. I'm sure some people do but it should be an optional choice. Not mandatory.