VIDEO: Irish Classes in Brooklyn Help Keep Language Alive
WINDSOR TERRACE — In a city where hundreds of languages are spoken, a group in Brooklyn is working to preserve one that is considered endangered: Irish.
Through weekly classes, students are learning the language, reconnecting with their heritage and helping ensure it survives for future generations.
“A lot of speakers came here and stopped speaking it, and didn’t teach it to their kids,” said Dáithí Mac Lochlainn, an Irish language teacher.
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The decline accelerated after the Great Famine of the 1840s, when many Irish people emigrated, including to the United States. As families settled in their new homes, many stopped speaking the language and did not pass it on to their children.
The Gaelic League was founded in Dublin in 1893 to preserve and promote the Irish language. Its Brooklyn branch was re-established in 2016 and continues that mission through community classes, including Mac Lochlainn’s Tuesday evening lessons.
“I think it’s really important to keep all the languages alive, especially minority languages,” Mac Lochlainn said.
The language also reflects Ireland’s cultural and religious traditions. Mac Lochlainn explained that Irish expressions often reference God, including “le cúnamh Dé,” which means “with God’s help.”
He said these expressions are often used to express gratitude and praise.
For student Keith Brown, the classes offer a way to connect with his family’s Irish roots. Raised to take pride in his heritage, Brown said his family came from Belfast, Northern Ireland.
“I was really brought up to be very proud of my Irish heritage,” Brown said. “Having a way to really connect to the heritage has been really, really great.”
Brown began studying Irish through a language-learning app before discovering the in-person classes, where he could practice speaking with others who share his interest.
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For Megan Fitzpatrick, the weekly gatherings provide a path back to a language she once spoke fluently. Fitzpatrick grew up in Ireland, where she attended Irish-language schools, but eventually stopped using the language regularly.
The Brooklyn classes have helped her renew that connection.
“Speaking Irish, having a place to come speak Irish once a week keeps it alive for me more than it ever has,” Fitzpatrick said.
For Mac Lochlainn, Brown, Fitzpatrick and their fellow students, learning Irish is about more than vocabulary and grammar. It is a way to preserve a cultural legacy, strengthen community ties, and ensure the language continues to be spoken across generations.