Michelle Schraudner
Life Editor
Increased interest in Irish culture in Pocatello has led to the creation of an Irish club on campus and a language class offered online. A local group called The Friends of Irish Studies, which celebrates the language and culture of Ireland, was instrumental in bringing Irish to ISU.
The class will be taught by native Irish speaker Ciara Ryan.
Ryan is from Limerick, Ireland, and is now a doctoral candidate and adjunct faculty member at the University of Montana.
Open to both ISU students and community members interested in Irish, the course credits can be transferred to ISU. However, the class will be worth three credits, instead of the four that ISU language courses are.
The class will have two sessions, each of which will begin with a two-day immersion weekend. The first was the past weekend, starting on Sept. 21, and the next will begin Sept. 28. Followed by two months of online study, the classes will each culminate in another immersion weekend.
Will Donovan, who teaches English 1115, Modern Irish Literature, signed up for the class alongside his wife and nine-year-old son.
“They’re doing it out of their interest in Irish culture but also as a fun, family activity. This is something we can do together and we can practice the language together,” said Donovan, who can often be found listening to Irish radio during his office hours.
Donovan’s son, Jack, won’t be the only youngster in the course. Chris Loether, director of ISU’s linguistics program, said 12 children are enrolled in the Irish language class.
The course will also be a part of Donovan’s professional development for his Irish Literature course, which will be offered again next semester.
Members of the language class and club will also have the opportunity to spend three weeks in an immersion program in Ireland next summer. Four scholarships will be offered through The Friends of Irish Studies, which is led by adjunct faculty member Garth Lambson.
Ultimately, Lambson hopes to generate enough interest that ISU will be able to offer an Irish language and culture minor.
“I don’t think you can separate the two,” Donovan said of the language and culture being intertwined.
Loether said the goal of Friends of Irish Studies is “to get a really active Irish community” in Pocatello.
