Mic Léinn ar Cuairt / Visiting Students

IRU11141 Irish Language and Literature I (10 ECTS)

Description
Early Irish saga segment learning outcomes:
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, and Sín’s cold-blooded determination to exact revenge on her ‘lover’ for the slaughter of her family.
Students will learn to:

• Recognise and describe the main cycles into which Early Irish literature is divided for purposes of analysis
• Understand and articulate the varying views of modern scholarship regarding the nature and function of early Irish saga
• Analyse the main features of heroic biography and apply the template to the sagas read
• Identify the underlying moral or message of the sagas studied
• Articulate the relevance of Early Irish saga for the modern reader
• Write a fully referenced essay drawing on the detailed bibliography provided for each saga

Modern Irish language and literature segment learning outcomes:
Students will learn to:

• Be conversant with the life, and work (in English translation) of a range of key 20th and 21st Irish language writers
• Be familiar with the history of Irish literature and language revival from the late 19th century up to today
• Be able to discuss how social, cultural and linguistic change during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries have had an impact on literature and critical thought in Irish.

IRU11041 Early Irish Sagas I (5 ECTS)

Description
Early Irish saga learning outcomes:
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, and Sín’s cold-blooded determination to exact revenge on her ‘lover’ for the slaughter of her family.
Students will learn to:

• Recognise and describe the main cycles into which Early Irish literature is divided for purposes of analysis
• Understand and articulate the varying views of modern scholarship regarding the nature and function of early Irish saga
• Analyse the main features of heroic biography and apply the template to the sagas read
• Identify the underlying moral or message of the sagas studied
• Articulate the relevance of Early Irish saga for the modern reader
• Write a fully referenced essay drawing on the detailed bibliography provided for each saga

IRU11181 Irish Language and Literature I (Modern Literature) (5 ECTS)

Description
Modern Irish language and literature learning outcomes:
Students will learn to:

• Be conversant with the life, and work (in English translation) of a range of key 20th and 21st Irish language writers
• Be familiar with the history of Irish literature and language revival from the late 19th century up to today
• Be able to discuss how social, cultural and linguistic change during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries have had an impact on literature and critical thought in Irish.

IRU11001 Old Irish Grammar (5 ECTS)

Description
Students will learn to:

• read and translate basic classical Old Irish
• describe the orthography of Old Irish and how it differs from its modern counterpart
• analyse the grammatical structure of basic Old Irish sentences with the appropriate terminology
• describe the concept of the ‘paradigm’ and apply it to the grammatical analysis
• recognise and explain the main differences between Old and Modern Irish
• apply the skills of grammatical analysis acquired in the study of Old Irish to any other language
• use textual glossaries competently.

IRU22161 IRISH FOR BEGINNERS (1) 5 ECTS)

Description
Having completed this module students will:

• be able to engage in basic everyday interactions in Irish;
• be able to introduce themselves in Irish and give some details about themselves and their background;
• build on their conversational skills and vocabulary;
• have a basic understanding of Irish grammar and phonetics.

This is an Irish Language module for complete beginners. [NB It is not suitable for students who took Irish at Leaving Certificate level.]

It is ideal for students visiting for the year / semester on Erasmus or other exchange programmes, for students from overseas studying for their BA at Trinity, or for those who never took Irish at school but wish they had a basic working knowledge of the language.

You will learn the basics of the grammar and phonetics of Irish and there will be a strong emphasis on getting students actively speaking Irish, learning Irish that would be useful in casual conversation.

IRU11152 Irish Language and Literature II (10 ECTS)

Description
Modern Irish language and literature segment learning outcomes:
Students will learn to:

• Be conversant with the life, and work (in English translation) of a range of key 20th and 21st Irish language writers
• Be familiar with the history of Irish literature and language revival from the late 19th century up to today
• Be able to discuss how social, cultural and linguistic change during the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries have had an impact on literature and critical thought in Irish.

The sources of Early Irish literature segment
Students will learn to:

• Read and describe a basic type of the Irish alphabet cló Gaelach
• Identify different types of dating criteria and apply them to dating a given manuscript (Irish or otherwise)
• Place Old Irish accurately in a wider continuum of development and transmission of the Irish language
• Provide an elementary assessment of the position of Irish within the wider linguistic family of Celtic
• Read and describe the Ogam alphabet
• Recognise and describe the basic features of Old Irish syllabic metrics.

IRU11192 Irish Language and Literature II (Sources of Early Irish) (5 ECTS)

Description

The sources of Early Irish literature learning outcomes
Students will learn to:

• Read and describe a basic type of the Irish alphabet cló Gaelach
• Identify different types of dating criteria and apply them to dating a given manuscript (Irish or otherwise)
• Place Old Irish accurately in a wider continuum of development and transmission of the Irish language
• Provide an elementary assessment of the position of Irish within the wider linguistic family of Celtic
• Read and describe the Ogam alphabet
• Recognise and describe the basic features of Old Irish syllabic metrics

IRU11002 Old Irish Grammar (10 ECTS)

Description
Students will continue to learn to:

• read and translate basic classical Old Irish
• describe the orthography of Old Irish and how it differs from its modern counterpart
• analyse the grammatical structure of basic Old Irish sentences with the appropriate terminology
• describe the concept of the ‘paradigm’ and apply it to the grammatical analysis
• recognise and explain the main differences between Old and Modern Irish
• apply the skills of grammatical analysis acquired in the study of Old Irish to any other language
• use textual glossaries competently.

IRU22182 Early Irish Law and Society (5 ECTS)

Description
Students will learn to:

• Give an overview of the early Irish legal system (‘Brehon law’)
• Characterise the structure of early Irish society and its institutions – in particular:
• Describe the early Irish system of law enforcement in the absence of a centralised state and associated police force
• Describe the status of women in early Irish society, including marriage arrangements
• Describe early Irish family structures
• Give an overview of farming and food in early Ireland
• Characterise the nature and background of Irish ‘sacral’ kingship and the concept of ‘truth’

IRU22052 Early Irish Sagas II (5 ECTS)

Description
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 timeless war of the Gods, Good v Evil in the exemplary myth, The Battle of Moytura;
• the Saga of Fergus mac Léti with its scandalous treatment of a young mother of an ‘illegitimate’ child, forced into slavery to save her son;
• the Death of Conchobar, a case of posthumous revenge and delayed execution allowing for baptism by blood on the night of Christ’s persecution and death;
• the Death of Conla at the hands of his own father, the famous Cú Chulainn, despite the protests and warnings of his wife, Emer;
• the Pseudo-historical prologue to the Senchas Már incorporating the showdown at Tara, i.e. the battle between Christianity and Paganism; the hound, hero and hospitaller triptych incorporating ‘hound and hero’, ‘hound and bogus hero’ and ‘hound and anti-hero’;
• the Birth-tale of Niall of the Nine Hostages incorporating the loathly Lady at the well, the Irish sovereignty Goddess.

IRU22172 IRISH FOR BEGINNERS (1) 5 ECTS)

Description
Having completed this module students will:

• be able to engage in basic everyday interactions in Irish;
• be able to introduce themselves in Irish and give some details about themselves and their background;
• build on their conversational skills and vocabulary;
• have a basic understanding of Irish grammar and phonetics.

This is an Irish Language module for complete beginners. [NB It is not suitable for students who took Irish at Leaving Certificate level.]

It is ideal for students visiting for the year / semester on Erasmus or other exchange programmes, for students from overseas studying for their BA at Trinity, or for those who never took Irish at school but wish they had a basic working knowledge of the language.

You will learn the basics of the grammar and phonetics of Irish and there will be a strong emphasis on getting students actively speaking Irish, learning Irish that would be useful in casual conversation.

IRU22162 IRISH FOR BEGINNERS (2) 5 ECTS)

Description
Having completed this module students will:

• be able to engage in basic everyday interactions in Irish;
• be able to introduce themselves in Irish and give some details about themselves and their background;
• building on IRU22161, extend their conversational skills and vocabulary;
• have a basic understanding of Irish grammar and phonetics.

This is an Irish Language module for complete beginners. [NB It is not suitable for students who took Irish at Leaving Certificate level.]

It is ideal for students visiting for the year / semester on Erasmus or other exchange programmes, for students from overseas studying for their BA at Trinity, or for those who never took Irish at school but wish they had a basic working knowledge of the language.

You will learn the basics of the grammar and phonetics of Irish and there will be a strong emphasis on getting students actively speaking Irish, learning Irish that would be useful in casual conversation.