“Bain trial aisti!”
Seo mana oifigiúil de chuid Seachtain na Gaeilge agus cuireadh brí nua leis sa Ghearmáin i mbliana. Ní amháin gurb í an Ghaeilge a bhí ina phríomhtheanga an lae i measc Éireannaigh, Gearmánaigh, Sasanaigh, Francaigh, Iaráicaigh srl. D’imir iománaithe Hamburg GAA cluiche na liathróide móire don chéad uair agus rinne roinnt daoine as Beirlín amhlaidh leis an iománaíocht.
Bhí Conradh na Gaeilge Bheirlín i mbun pleanála na hócáide seo, eagraíocht a bhunaíodh i 2011 agus atá gníomhach ar son na Gaeilge i bpríomhchathair na Gearmáine le cruinnithe coicísiúla agus imeachtaí rialta le rannpháirtithe idirnáisiúnta. Bhí Gaelgeoirí na cathrach i measc bunaitheoirí an Chumainn Lúthchleas Gael Bheirlín i 2014 agus tá an dá eagraíocht ceangailte go láidir ón lá sin amach.
I gcomhar le Berlin GAA, seoladh cuireadh chuig CLG Hamburg teacht go Beirlín agus bheith páirteach i dtraenáil na gcluichí Gaelacha agus tráth na gceist dátheangach Gaeilge/Béarla. Bhí an Ghearmáinis á úsáid freisin agus ba dheis iontach é do chách cleachtadh agus taithí cainte a fháil i chuile teanga. Lá breá earraigh a bhí ann nuair a chuir dhá scór imreoirí tús leis an dtraenáil. Tháinig focail agus abairtí Gaeilge air ais sa chloigeann acu go tapaigh agus iadá réiteach féin dosna chluichí.
Má cheapann tú gur teanga na Gaeltachta agus na Gaelscoileanna amháin í an Ghaeilge, tar go Beirlín agus éist le beirt Iarácach ag comhaireamh ós árd as Gaeilge i rith na réamhaclaíochta! Imríodh peil Ghaelach agus iománaíocht faoin ghrian agus an abairt a bhí le cloisteáil go minic ná “Níor cheap mé go raibh an méid sin Gaeilge agam fós!”
Um thráthnóna chuaigh an slua go tigh tabhairne an Oscar Wilde i lár na cathrach agus ghlac páirt i dtráth na gceist dátheangach. B’iad an dream as Hamburg “Na Buachaillí Dána” an grúpa is eolaí an iarriadh seo, ach bhain gach éinne taitneamh as imeachtaí an lae. Bhí na rannpháirtithe de chuid Hamburg GAA saśta lena gcéad dúshlán peile riamh agus duirtear gur chóir ócáid bliantúil a dhéanamh de. Go deimhin, cén fáth nach ndéanfaí?
Mar sin, pé má’s imreoir peile gan cleachtadh iomána thú nó a mhalairt, má tá Gaeilge bhriste agat nó í á fhoghlaim agat, seo comhairle a bheirimid duit: Bain triail aisti!
Féachaigí pictiúirí an lae agus físeán beag thíos!
“Give it a try!” is the motto of the Irish Language Week (Seachtain na Gaeilge) and it was given more meaning in Germany this year. Not only was Irish the main spoken language among players from Ireland, Germany, France, England, Irak and more on Saturday March 4th, new ground was also broken when the Hamburg GAA hurlers had their first football outing and some Berlin GAA players tried Hurling for the first time.
The idea for the day came from Conradh na Gaeilge Bheirlín, an organisation founded in 2011 which holds fortnightly conversation meetings and seasonal events through Irish for their international members. Some Irish speakers and learners were involved in founding Berlin GAA in 2014 and the two clubs have maintained a close relationship ever since, while becoming strongholds of Irish culture in the German capital.
An invitation was jointly sent to the hurlers and Irish speakers or learners in Hamburg to come to Berlin for an Irish language Gaelic Games training session and a bilingual table quiz in Irish and English. German was spoken during the day as well, giving an excellent opportunity to learners of any language to get practice. Over 40 players started training in the finest Berlin spring weather. Those who had learned Irish before remembered long-lost words, but it wasn’t only them who used their cúpla focal. Hearing team mates from Iraq counting the seconds from a h-aon to fiche during warm-up gives a perspective on the perception of Irish as a language of only the Gaeltacht or schools. The warm-up was quickly followed by a few football drills and a match with mixed teams. The training continued with hurling drills and matches and made many discover linguistic and sporting skills they thought they had lost, or never had at all. In the afternoon, the crowd moved to the Oscar Wilde Irish Pub in the city centre for the bilingual table quiz. Even though the Hamburg team “Na Buachaillí Dána” (“The bold lads”) emerged victorious on that occasion, it is fair to say everybody enjoyed the challenges of the day. Hamburg GAA were happy with their first challenge in Gaelic Football and there were already suggestions of holding a similar event next year.
So whether you’re a football player without much hurling experience or vice-versa, learning Irish or unsure about your fluency, here’s our advice: Give it a try!
Míle buíochas to Seachtain na Gaeilge for their support, Pádhraic Ó Dochartaigh for the pictures below and to all from Hamburg and Berlin for taking part in a great day, especially Arthur O’Sullivan (Football) and Michael Santry (Hurling) of Berlin GAA who led brilliant training sessions as Gaeilge!
Author: Robert Henneberg, Oifigeach Cultúrtha agus Teanga, C.L.G. na hEorpa
Language and Culture Officer for Gaelic Games Europe
