Irish TV station “TG4” has has agreed to buy the format of a successful Welsh TV show. It is a reality television show which follows celebrities as they start learning Welsh. An language learning system called “suggestopedia”, based on visual imagery and memory techniques, will be used to teach the celebrities the basics of the language.
Bono to head world bank?
U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said on ABC’s ‘This Week’ that he wouldn’t rule out the possibility of U2’s lead singer as a potential successor to soon-departing World Bank President John Wolfensohn. Makes sense. If the World Bank ever went into the red Bono could bail them out with a personal loan.
Northern Irish eyes won’t be smiling on St.Patrick’s Day.
The White House will not extend invitations to any of Northern Ireland’s political parties because of “”lack of progress in negotiations in the Northern Ireland peace process.” You think he’d take the opportunity to get them all into the same room and maybe do some good, but… oh, forget it.
Radio na Gaeltachta.
I frequently tune into Radio na Gaeltachta, the Irish language radio station, from my office. As we’re 10 hours behind them, I catch their late-PM and early-AM programming, which is quite eclectic. Today I’ve heard an interesting mix of traditional Irish, including sean-nos, as well as classical, flamenco, latin, as well as other world music forms, but the DJ speaks in Irish. There was one solo guitar piece in there that was very similar to our own ki ho’alu (slack key guitar) traditional, but the DJ never mentioned the artist or song title, or if she did, I simply didn’t…
160 years after famine, Ireland has too many spuds.
I remember that during our trip to Ireland we got spuds with every dish, including lasagna at the kitchen next to Oideas Gael. My wife ordered salmon at a restaurant in Co. Sligo. She got a decent slab of salmon – surrounded by four huge boiled potatoes. I think she barely finished one of them.
Were there Celts, and is there such a thing as ‘Celtic guitar’?
About a month ago I joined a listserve where members discuss Irish traditional music. While the exact definition of that is obviously debatable, as is the definition of Hawaiian music, the discussion on the list has been fairly genial. One member posted a request for suggestions on educational materials for learning Celtic guitar accompaniment. He got a few nice suggestions, and then this… Excuse me while I throw up. There is no such thing as Celtic guitar accompaniment. There is no such thing as Celtic guitar. And there is no such thing as Celtic music. In fact, I can think…
Slainte! Guinness sales on the rise after a few years of decline.
I’ll be enjoying a pint of the dark beverage tonight.
Irish language has been loser in North-South clash.
There is some interesting conversation on Slugger regarding the state of the Irish language, and some suggest that it would benefit from a pairing with programs championing Ulster-Scots, another minority language of the country. It seems that advocates of the two language often find themselves in competition with each other as opposed to being support of each other in the face of English language homogeny.
Irish language schools land US windfall.
Lucky Irish-medium schools in N. Ireland will receive $40,000 that the founder of the Irish-American Cultural Institute left to them in his will.
Have you heard of Yola?
While I was aware of the variety of languages and dialects spoken in Ireland, I had never heard of Yola. The Yola Folk Park & Wexford Genealogy Centre has more. Slugger O’Toole always comes up with some great links.