IRELAND - Part 2 : CELTIC IRELAND

1. IRELAND and the CELTS
Part 2

2. CELTIC IRELAND

3. The Irish are a Celtic people.

4. Thousands of years ago,
the CELTS came to Ireland from
western France and northern Spain.

5. The CELTS loved singing,
and horses, and stories, and they made
beautiful gold and silver jewellery.

6. Many men wore gold rings
round their necks and arms.

7. The Celts
were very
good fighters.
FINN MAC COOL
was a famous
Celtic fighter.

8. There are many stories about
FINN and his men, the FIANNA.

9. Another
famous Celt
was
CÚCHULAINN

10. CÚCHULAINN
was
also a
famous
fighter

11. CÚCHULAINN liked to play
a Celtic game called HURLING.

12. In HURLING , the players can carry
a small hard ball in their hands
and also hit it with a stick.

13. Celtic games, like HURLING,
are very popular in Ireland today.

14. Irish people play also the Celtic game
called GAELIC FOOTBALL.

15. In GAELIC FOOTBALL the players
can use their feet and hands.

16. Celtic stories and music are popular
too. There are many Celtic rock bands-
one of them is called FINN MAC COOL.

17. And some people in Ireland
speak the Celtic language called
IRISH.

18. IRISH is very different from English.
the Irish
for TREE
is
CRANN

19. and
the word
for
WOMAN
is
BEAN

20. But Celtic people in Wales, Scotland,
western France, and northern Spain
have languages very like Irish.

21. A hundred years ago,
Irish was nearly
a dead language.
Most Irish people
spoke English,
and only the poor
people in the west
of Ireland
spoke Irish.

22. No one taught Irish in schools.
No
IRISH!

23. Most Irish people speak English today
too, but many children learn Irish
at school, and many older people
in Dublin and Belfast learn it too.

24. They can listen to the Irish language
radio station,
RAIDIÓ NA GAELTACHTA

26. and watch Irish language television
on TG4.

27. The Irish Language is popular again.

29. Medieval discrimination
in a modern Ireland.

31. CELTIC IRELAND
End of part 2