Irish is far from being a dead language. All one has to do is visit the web site of Daltai na Gaeilge (Studies in Iish)www.daltai.com. This organization has been around for over 20 years and offers immersion weekends in various parts of the US for learners at all levels.

I live in a small city, Kingston, Ontario, where we have a thriving Irish language programme under the auspices of the local branch of Comhaltas Ceoltoiri Eireann. We hold an annual Irish Language Immerion weekend in the spring, which attracts upwards of a hundred people interested in perfecting or improving their Irish language skills. And these are people who live in North America, not Ireland.

There's a saying in Irish, "Tir gan teanga, Tir gan anam" which translated to English means "A country without a language is a country without a soul." Maybe one of the Irish speakers on this thread can correct any errors in that expression

Jack Hickman