Is mar gheall ar mholadh mo charad gur shocraigh mé dul chuig Coláiste Laichtín trí bhliain ó shin. Chuaigh mé ann don chraic agus ní raibh aon suim agam sa Ghaeilge ag an am. D’fheadfá a rá go raibh mé go huile is go hiomlán i gcoinne na Gaeilge toisc go raibh mé tar éis Gaeilge gnánleibhéal a dhéanamh don Teastas Sóisearach. Is cuimhin liom nar thuig mé focal ar bith ar an gcéad lá, agus níor thuig na múinteoirí focal ar bith a dúirt mé! Cuireadh an t-ainm ‘buachaill gan gaeilge orm’.
Go luath ina dhiadh seo shocraigh mé go ndéanfainn mo dhícheall feabhas a chur ar mo chuid Gaeilge ionas go dtuigfinn na múinteoirí ar a laghad. Ba mhór an cúnamh a thug múinteoirí an choláiste dom, bhuail siad liom roimh na ranganna agus d’fhán siad liom i rith sos na ranganna chun mo cheisteanna a fhreagairt. De réir a chéile tháinig feabhas uirthí, agus bhí mé gafa leí. Ag tús an chúrsa ní raibh mé in ann abairt a chur le chéile agus ag an deireadh, bhí mé i mo chaptaen den fhoireann díospóireachta.
Tar éis filleadh abháile tugadh cead dom bogadh go dtí an ardleibhéal don ardteist. Tar éis na hardteiste bronnadh gradam orm ón scoil as ucht an grád is airde a bhaint amach sa ghaeilge san ardteist. Anois táim i mbun céime sa Nua-Ghaeilge sa Choláiste Ollscoil Báile Átha Cliatha. Is mar gheall ar Choláiste Laichtín go bhfuil mé anseo i gCOBAC. Ó Ghaeilge gnáleibhéal go céim sa Ghaeilge, caithfaidh mé mo bhuíochas a ghabháil leis an gColáiste agus le foireann an Choláiste, d’fhéadfá a rá gur athraigh siad mo shaol.
Le dea-ghuí
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A friend of mine suggested I should go to Colaiste Laichtín three years ago. I decided to go and have some fun, I had no interest in Irish at that time. You could actually say I was opposed to the language as I was after doing Ordinary Level Irish in the Junior Certificate. On the first day I was totally lost and the teachers couldn’t understand one word I said. I was called ‘the boy with no Irish’.
Shortly afterwards I decided I would do my very best to improve my Irish in order to understand my teachers. The teachers were wonderful, they helped me before classes commenced and assisted me at break time. My Irish gradually improved and I was captivated by the language. At the beginning of the course I couldn’t put one sentence together, by the end of the course I was captain of a debating team.
When I returned home I was allowed to move to the Higher Leaving Certificate class in Irish. On completing the Leaving Certificate the school presented with an award for achieving the highest grade in Leaving Certificate Irish that year. Presently I am doing a degree in modern Irish in University College Dublin. All this is due to the experience I had when I attended Coláiste Laichtín. You could certainly say that Colaiste Laichtín changed my life, I have gone from Ordinary Level Irish to degree level in university, I wish to thank the college and all the staff.
Le dea-ghuí
