Fáilte

Lehman College is the proud CUNY home to the Minor in Irish Language and Literature which was approved by the CUNY Board of Trustees in Fall 2008. Lehman College also boasts a full-time professor of Irish Language and Literature and for the third year in a row, a Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant, a native Irish-speaker from Co. Galway.

Irish language courses have been scheduled at Lehman College for over a decade. Students study Irish as part of their undergraduate study or audit courses as part of their adult education. All elementary level courses are offered 50% face-to-face and 50% on-line. Face-to-face sessions are scheduled at convenient locations for our students throughout the city. Intermediate and advanced courses are offered on-line. Many of the courses can also be taken during the summer in An Cheathrú Rua, Connemara, Co. Galway at NUI-Galway's Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge.

Why study Irish? Our students who represent many ethnicities report varied reasons. Many students want to try something different after studying Spanish or French for many years. Others are interested in Irish culture and traditional Irish music. Some students are married to Irish immigrants or are children of Irish immigrants. Others work in Irish communities here in NYC and want to learn more of the culture of their colleagues. In terms of instrumental motivation, some students complete their foreign language requirement at Lehman by taking Elementary Irish I, II, and III. Others who have already completed a bachellor's degree that had no foreign language requirement, return to complete NY State's required two semesters of a language for all school teachers. Some graduate students take Irish as one of their two foreign languages to complete a Ph.D. program. CUNY Graduate Center permits Irish to be used to complete this requirement for three of their Ph.D. programs. Lastly, many Queens College students take Elementary Irish I with us to complete their 3 credit requirement for the Irish Studies Minor.

Now students who are majoring in fields such as English, Comparative Literature, or history can both fulfill their foreign language requirement and opt to minor in Irish Language and Literature. Elementary Irish I, II, and III fulfill the foreign language requirement and also are the prerequisites for the Minor in Irish Language and Literature. The minor is made up of two courses at the intermediate level and two courses at the advanced level. The minor was designed over three years with funding received from the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs of which Minister Éamon Ó Cuív heads. It also gives adults returning to school an opportunity to obtain a certificate for their achievement.

Whatever your reasons or goals, you are most welcome to Irish @ Lehman! Enjoy your studies with the Department of Languages and Literatures.

Irish Language Learning

• Schedule of Course and Description of Courses

• Irish Language Learning Aids

Faculty

• John Gillen, B.A., M.A. (LEHMAN-CUNY), M.PHIL., PH.D. (CUNY)
  - Assistant Professor
  - E-mail: JGILLEN @hostos.cuny.edu
  - Office: A-507M, Hostos Community College
  

• Thomas W. Ihde, B.A. (ST. MARY'S U.), M.PHIL., PH.D. (DUBLIN)
  - Associate Professor
  - E-mail: thomas.ihde @lehman.cuny.edu;
  - Office: 188B Carman Hall, Lehman College- Web page

• Una Faherty, B.A., H.Dip.. (NUI-GALWAY)
  - Fulbright Foreign Language Teaching Assistant
  - E-mail: una @irishamericanstudies.com
  

• Elaine Ní Bhraonáin, B.A., M.A. (UCD)
  - Curriculum Consultant
  - E-mail: irishlanguage @gmail.com;
  
  
• Eimear Ní Cheallaigh, B.A., M.A. (NUI,GALWAY)
  - Curriculum Consultant
  - E-mail: eimear36 @hotmail.com

• Ailbhe Ní Ghearbhuigh, B.A., M.A. (NUI,GALWAY)
  - Curriculum Consultant
  - E-mail: ailbhenighearbhuigh @hotmail.com