IRSH 101: Elementary Irish

Why Irish Language? 

One of the functions of Irish Studies at The University of Montana is to educate students on the Gaelic foundations of Irish and Irish-American identity and to dispel long-held notions that the Irish are fundamentally part of the English-speaking world. Their categorization under this cultural rubric originated in the Tudor period and gained increasing currency over subsequent centuries to become a part of conventional wisdom, this despite clear evidence that the core elements of Irish identity are not, in fact, of Anglo-Saxon provenance but indisputably Gaelic. The popularity of Irish music, dance and the demand for instruction in the Irish language in the United States speak clearly to this fact. The failure to recognize the fundamental importance of Irish Gaelic culture to Irish identity has led to misunderstanding and bogus interpretations of the dynamics of Irish political and cultural life. Our program addresses these issues and introduces students to the language and the culture it sustained. New perspectives on the ideological foundation of Irish Gaelic culture permits alternative interpretations of the 800 year long battle of civilizations, the Irish revival movement, the evolution of Irish nationalist politics and the creation of the modern Irish state. 

Access to Irish Gaelic culture begins with the language: knowledge of the language provides an insight to the Irish Gaelic mindset and opens up the door to Irish Gaelic literature.  

• IRSH 101.01  -  CRN 70812  -  MTWR 10:00am - 10:50am -  4 Credits 
• IRSH 101.02  -  CRN 73612  -  MTWR 11:00am - 11:50am - 4 Credits 
• IRSH 101.50  -  CRN 72663  -  ONLINE - 4 Credits
• IRSH 101.BO1 - CRN 73634  -  Blended Online & Thurs -  3:00pm - 4:20pm - 4 Credits 

IRSH 201: Intermediate Irish

Continue with the Irish Language! 

• IRSH 201.01  -  CRN 72323  -  MTWR 12:00pm - 12:50pm -  4 Credits 
• IRSH 201.50  -  CRN 73245  -  ONLINE -  4 Credits 

LIT 246L: Irish Ghost Stories

CRN 74317 | MWF - 10:00am - 10:50am | 3 Credits

This course will explore the rich and abiding tradition of the Irish ghost story. Ireland’s magical (and magically imbued) landscape – with its many ring forts, isolated hermitages, sacred caves, Neolithic portal tombs, and supposed meeting places of the faeries – seem to ensure that the supernatural and the spiritual remain part of daily existence for the Irish. We will consider how the currents of Irish folklore, the echoes and continuing resonance of its pre-Christian past, and, in particular, the appearance of ghosts (understood broadly) reveal something about the way the Irish view the world. The important part of our inquiry will be to uncover the cultural, psychological, and the socio-political implications of the presence of the supernatural, the unknown, the uncanny, and we will likely spend much time considering the spectral hauntings of Ireland as it responds to its various historical traumas (English occupation, the Great Famine, the War of Independence, the Northern Irish Troubles, etc.). Course texts may include Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, Stoker’s Dracula, Joyce’s “The Dead,” Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa, Trevor’s Fools of Fortune, McPherson’s The Weir, O’Connor’s Star of the Sea, Deane’s Reading in the Dark, Neville’s Ghosts of Belfast, poetry by Heaney, Boland, and others, and assorted folk tales, as well as a full-length film and various visual art.

This course is open to students of all academic majors. Meets Irish Studies minor literature requirement. 

IRSH 382: Rockin' Rebels: Popular Irish Music from Traditional to Punk

CRN: 74449 | TR - 11:00am - 12:20pm | 3 Credits

Satisfies Intermedia Writing General Education Requirement

Do you like music? Are you curious about how music informs cultural identity? Do you need to satisfy your Intermediate Writing requirement for General Education? If you said yes to any of these questions IRSH 382 is the course of your dreams!

In IRSH 382 we will explore the concept of “Irishness” through generative works of music by artists such as Seán Ó Riada, The Wolf Tones, The Pogues, Sinéad O’Connor, U2, The Cranberries, Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, and Soulé (not an exhaustive list). We will examine traditional Irish music as a cultural form. Next, we will move through genres and decades charting political and cultural shifts as represented in folk, rebel, rock, punk, and pop music. We will explore concerns of authenticity and hybridity in Irish popular music and apply theoretical ways of understanding the reproduction and marketing of “Irishness” in a global context.

Please contact Dr. Erin Costello Wecker with questions: erin.wecker@umontana.edu

IRSH 391.50: Special Topic: Traditional Irish Song

CRN: 73244 | ONLINE | 3 Credits

The Irish Traditional Song course introduces students into a highly ornamented genre of singing that traces its origins to pre-Christian Ireland. The songs tell the story of the Irish, recounting the major events and upheavals in Irish history as well as opening a window on everyday life as experienced by the composer. This course is ideal for all who love to sing, but is particularly beneficial for students of the Irish as they strive to master the phonemes of the language.

DANC 108A.08: Dance Forms - Irish

CRN: 74387| Monday - 1:00pm - 2:00pm | 2 Credits

Join us for Forms of Irish Dance offered Fall 2023 semester.