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Studies & Degrees in Irish and Celtic Languages

The Celtic languages form a branch of the Indo-European family. Six are in use today, in two groups: Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx (the Goidelic or Gaelic group) and Welsh, Breton and Cornish (the Brythonic group). A degree in Irish and Celtic languages combines learning one or more of these languages with their literature, their history and the older stages of the language, which survive in medieval manuscripts.

Irish is the language most programmes are built around. It has been one of the 24 official languages of the European Union since 2007. In Ireland's 2022 census, 1,873,997 people said they could speak Irish, 40% of the population aged 3 and over who answered the question, and 71,968 spoke it daily outside the education system, according to the Central Statistics Office.

What students learn

Programmes usually have two sides, and Trinity College Dublin's degree in Early and Modern Irish shows both. Early Irish is the language used in Ireland from the earliest records up to the year 1200. Students learn to read Old Irish, study sagas, poetry and law texts, follow the language back to its Celtic origins and take a course in palaeography to read the manuscripts themselves. Modern Irish covers the language and its literature from 1200 to the present, with advanced spoken and written skills, translation and Scottish Gaelic, which is an integral part of the Modern Irish course at Trinity. Third-year students of Early Irish may spend a term in Aberystwyth, Wales, learning Medieval and Modern Welsh.

Qualifications and levels

  • Bachelor's degree. Early and Modern Irish at Trinity College Dublin is a four-year, full-time honours bachelor's degree (level 8 of the Irish National Framework of Qualifications) with 15 places. It can be taken as Single Honours, Major with Minor or Joint Honours.
  • Postgraduate diploma and master's. Trinity's MPhil in Medieval Irish lasts one academic year of full-time study, starting in September, and is assessed by examination and a thesis of about 20,000 words. Applicants need a good honours degree (2.1 or higher) in Irish or a related subject such as history, archaeology or linguistics, and must apply by 30 June. Students with no Old Irish can first take the year-long Diploma in Old Irish.
  • Doctorate. Research degrees follow the master's, usually on a text, a period or a linguistic question.
  • Language certificates. Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG) is a series of Irish language proficiency exams for adult learners. Exams are offered at five levels, from A1 to C1, and are broadly based on the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). They are held at centres in Ireland and abroad.

Language of instruction and admission

Check in which language each part is taught. At Trinity, Early Irish is taught through English and the MPhil lectures are in English, while the Modern Irish course is taught through Irish and includes two months in the Gaeltacht, the Irish-speaking districts of Ireland. The Single Honours degree has a course-specific requirement of at least grade H4 in Higher Level Leaving Certificate Irish. International applicants without this school qualification should ask the university which evidence of Irish it accepts, and whether the Early Irish route is open to beginners in the modern language.

Where to study

SpainExchange lists 2 active schools for Irish and Celtic languages, one in Ireland and one in the United Kingdom. Trinity College Dublin, in the centre of Dublin, has a Department of Irish and Celtic Languages with the programmes described above. The University of Oxford is the school listed in the United Kingdom; ask the university which Celtic courses it currently offers and at which level. The subject is taught at a small number of universities, mostly in Ireland and Britain, so class sizes are small.

Careers

Trinity's Irish department reports that its recent graduates work in primary, secondary and university teaching, in translation and interpreting, and in television, radio and journalism, and that a growing number go on to postgraduate courses in media, business and education. The examples it gives include translators at the European Parliament and the European Commission, which need Irish as an official EU language. Library and archive work and the public service are other destinations named by the university. Teaching normally requires a separate teaching qualification.

Frequently asked questions

Which languages are Celtic languages?

Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx form the Goidelic group; Welsh, Breton and Cornish form the Brythonic group. University programmes concentrate on Irish, Welsh and Scottish Gaelic.

Do I need to speak Irish before I start?

It depends on the route. At Trinity College Dublin, Early Irish is taught through English, but Modern Irish is taught through Irish and the Single Honours degree requires at least H4 in Higher Level Leaving Certificate Irish.

Is there an official exam for Irish as a foreign language?

Yes. Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG) offers exams for adult learners at five levels from A1 to C1, broadly based on the CEFR, at centres in Ireland and abroad.

How long does a degree take?

The bachelor's degree at Trinity College Dublin takes four years full-time. Its MPhil in Medieval Irish takes one further academic year.