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Irish Examiner
2 days ago
- General
- Irish Examiner
Imasha Costa: As a migrant, learning Irish is my favourite way to integrate
One of the first things they teach you in Irish class is 'How are you?' and 'Where do you come from?'; sentences which help you illustrate your identity as you communicate in a new language. Last autumn, after celebrating five years of leaving everything behind and moving to Ireland, I decided it was time that I would learn Irish. This would have been my fifth language, and I knew it would help me integrate into Irish society further. If having a thick Cork accent was not enough, I now wanted to learn Irish, be able to order a pint of Guinness or Beamish at the bar as gaeilge, and finally try to understand a conversation that is being shared in Irish. My alma mater was offering Irish classes for adults at different levels, from beginners to intermediate, and I felt this was the perfect place to dip my toes in and learn. Learning a new language can be daunting at times; there are moments when you may feel lost and confused, but I knew I was enjoying every second of my two-hour-long evening classes, including the scheduled tea break. But I did not expect that these classes would end up with a trip to a Gaeltacht in West Kerry. It was there that I fell deeply in love with the Irish language, and the culture. It was a bleak May weekend, the rolling hills of the Kingdom covered with thick fog as we made our way West, entering the Gaeltacht. Dingle Bay was hidden away under the dense cloud as we drove along winding roads, salty air kissing our cheeks as we drove with the car windows down. We were 13 people from the adult course, staying in the village of Ballyferriter, a single street of four pubs, no shop and battering winds that push you back as you walk against them. During the weekend, a seanchaí told his family story. He told us about the history of West Kerry, how he only knew how to make the sign of the cross in Irish, and called the former minister of education Donogh O'Malley, who made secondary education free, his hero. At the pubs in the village, I ordered rounds of pints, asked how much a Guinness cost (€5.50), in Irish. I also met some of the Irish Rugby sevens team who were travelling around West Kerry. I love Ireland with my whole heart. But, Ballyferriter made me fall deeply in love with the Irish language and the people. File picture: Don MacMonagle I met a man from Cork City who now lives in Ballyferriter, locals who said I had the blas in English and in my beginner's level Irish. I sang Siúil a Rúin to a crowd in pub number two before being asked to give another tune. We sat drinking pints, chatting away and listening to stories before we were told to leave the pub well after closing time. We sheltered under the rain in Tigh Áine, near Dun Chaoin, eating our lunch as we stared out at the Atlantic Ocean. We spent time in the Blasket Island centre – reading and listening in Irish. The words of Muiris Ó Súilleabháin were etched into the wall at the centre. They will forever sit with me: '… 'But if you are not an Irishman', said he again, 'what are you?' 'A Blasket man, my boy, ' says I.' My heart was full of grá as I left West Kerry, knowing fully well that I would come back to see warm hearts and newfound friends who offered me the opportunity to milk their cows. Migrants like me have been taking it upon themselves to learn the Irish language, and according to a recent study from the University of Galway, offering migrants the opportunity to learn the Irish language could help with integration in some rural communities across the country. Imasha Costa: 'I am proud to be one of these migrants learning the language and supporting the current generation and the resurgence of the Gaelic culture.' File picture: Larry Cummins Ireland has been seeing an increasing migrant population, which has led to larger communities and the need for more support to help with integration. I am proud to be one of these migrants learning the language and supporting the current generation and the resurgence of the Gaelic culture. Almost every second person I know is a Gaelgeoir, and they have been so welcoming to a migrant like myself who has just a few phrases or sentences to carry some conversation. We are welcomed with open arms, and there is no problem with correcting our pronunciation. This August, I will be celebrating six years living in this beautiful country, which has welcomed me and made me feel like I am home. I love Ireland with my whole heart. But, Ballyferriter made me fall deeply in love with the Irish language and the people. Read More What Street Feast reveals about our hunger for community
Vancouver Sun
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- Vancouver Sun
Top ballet dancers in Vancouver to celebrate dance company's 20th anniversary
When: May 29 & 30, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. Where: Vancouver Playhouse , 600 Hamilton St., Vancouver Tickets: From $44-$99 at Some of North America's best ballet dancers are congregating in Vancouver to celebrate the work of Joshua Beamish and MOVETHECOMPANY, the company that the B.C. dancer and choreographer created 20 years ago. The five pieces in the program include one remount and four Vancouver premieres and feature dancers from San Francisco Ballet, The National Ballet of Canada, American Ballet Theatre, Ballet Edmonton and Royal Winnipeg Ballet, as well as local dancers and former artists from Ballet B.C. Get top headlines and gossip from the world of celebrity and entertainment. By signing up you consent to receive the above newsletter from Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder. The next issue of Sun Spots will soon be in your inbox. Please try again Interested in more newsletters? Browse here. We talked to Beamish about the retrospective: A: If you had asked me that a few days ago, I would have said no. But today, now that we're in the thick of it, one could say 'possibly.' Except that the cast is absolutely phenomenal and the dancers have been working so hard. And we're incredibly fortunate as a community to have them here and to be able to see them perform. A: As a company, our identity is always kind of shifted between more balletic programming with work on point, and then contemporary and theatre work. And our ballet @giselle that we did in 2019 was a big success. We don't often see a lot of classical ballet here, outside of The Nutcracker. And because our last two productions, Source Amnesia and Salt, were more contemporary dance, it felt like the right time for a ballet-focused program. A: I think her experience, as she related it to me, was that she had so many memories of being back in the studio when we were making it. Her movements came back quite readily, and then it was all about approaching the movement with her body as it is now, 18 years later. We're in completely different places in our dancing, in our relationship to dance, and how our bodies approach movement. In my opinion, she looks better now than she did when we made it in our 20s. It's quite extraordinary how the knowledge we gain through a sustained career can allow us to approach virtuosity with a greater efficiency and therefore more freedom. And I've loved being able to reconnect with her, especially in the Dance Center building, where I held the first rehearsals of my career. A: I always wanted to make a ballet to pop, because I'm really interested in the rhythm of vocalization. And the Beach Boys are incredibly rhythmic in their approach to the way that they use their voices. Something I love about a lot of their songs is that they sound easy breezy on the surface, but the lyrics are kind of melancholy, there's a lot of hidden depth. That references the era and how it felt like things were free and groovy but at the same time while there was a lot of turmoil politically. The ballet is really about what's under the surface or the untold stories of that era, and also a celebration of being together. A: No. But you'll get Good Vibrations.
Dublin Live
18-05-2025
- Business
- Dublin Live
Dublin city pub's incredible happy hour deal with all pints €5 on weekdays
Our community members are treated to special offers, promotions and adverts from us and our partners. You can check out at any time. More info A Dublin city pub is offering an unbelievable happy hour deal on weekdays with all pints just €5. McGrattan's Pub, located on Fitzwilliam Lane in Dublin 2, has gone back to the noughties by offering all pints for just €5 from 3:30pm to 6:30pm Monday to Friday. The pub's happy hour is already proving successful with many opting to enjoy their afternoon pints there because of the great value. The pub's Damien McGrattan told us: "Happy hour 3:30pm till 6:30pm Monday to Friday incudes premium brands. "It's going very well with people in the offices and the Dail. We decided to do it to offer great value to our customers. We also do a lunch special with a 330ml Coke or Diet Coke for €12.95." Pints for €5 are a rare sight in Dublin nowadays, particularly after Diageo's latest price increase that kicked in earlier this year. Guinness, Harp, Smithwicks and Hophouse 13 increased by six cents per pint on February 3, excluding VAT, while Guinness 0.0 rose by nine cents per pint, excluding VAT. It marked the fourth time in two years that Diageo has raised their prices. It is understood that the price of Diageo's draught range is increasing due to wage inflation and the continuing rise in energy costs. Heineken also increased the price of its draught products in February adding around 6 cents to the price of a pint. The price hike applied to all of the company's draught products in Ireland, which includes Heineken, Coors, Birra Moretti, Murphy's, Foster's and Beamish. Join our Dublin Live breaking news service on WhatsApp. Click this link to receive your daily dose of Dublin Live content. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. If you're curious, you can read our Privacy Notice. For all the latest news from Dublin and surrounding areas visit our homepage.
Sunday World
06-05-2025
- Business
- Sunday World
Meet the price-busting Wexford pint of stout that's become a hit in the UK
'We are probably the only pub outside Dublin or Cork not selling Guinness, Murphy's or Beamish and still surviving.' An Irish pub which began brewing its own price busting pints of stout for €4.50 has proved such a success it has now won a deal serving it in one of the UK's biggest brewery chains. Brennan's bar in Enniscorthy Co Wexford is selling its own brand stout alongside O'Hara's Red Ale and Carling lager for a tasty €4.50. So popular has Brennan's Irish Stout being that not only is it now stocked in T&R Theakston Brewery's pubs in the UK but last week it was the only Irish beer to win a gong at the London Beer Awards. Brennan's pub in Enniscorthy, Co Wexford 'I created Brennan's Irish Stout a few years ago during lockdown and then it ended up going on sale here when Guinness and Murphy's stopped brewing,' owner Peter Brennan tells the Sunday World. 'We brew in Ireland, this is the homeplace for the beer. We are contract brewing at the moment, and are planning to build a small brewery in Wexford. 'Our stout is in between Murphy's, Beamish and Guinness. It's that kind of taste. 'It's now on sale in other bars in Wexford, and some in Cork and Dublin, while it has also recently gone nationwide in the UK across the country thanks to Theakston. 'We are a small family business, and we just want to build slowly and strong. You have to have to pick the right pubs and build slowly.' Punters enjoying a pint of Brennan's Theakston is the 16th largest brewer in the UK, and also one of the oldest. Peter grew up in nearby Courtown Harbour before moving to England in the 1980s, where he worked and in pubs in the Midlands area. 'We used to run the Peaky Blinders pubs, the Garrison, the Old Crown, the Marquis of Lorne,' he notes. 'The programme kind of made the Garrison famous.' Peter's mother Ellen is a native of Enniscorthy, owning the former pub the Boolavogue Inn in the 1970s. His dad Pat was from Sandymount in Dublin and also worked in the pub trade, while his granddad was a cooper. Peter Brennan and his wife Bernie raise a glass News in 90 Seconds - Tuesday, May 6th 'My mother and father used have the Holiday Inn and the Mariner in Courtown many years ago,' he adds. 'My dad sadly passed away, but my mum still helps out at the age of 82. 'I came back to Ireland just over 20 years ago.' He is married to wife Bernie and they have two daughters, Emer (18) and Lily (13). 'We took over the pub called The Tavern about a year ago, and it's over 100 years old,' he maintains. 'When we opened we never installed Guinness, we just sold Brennan's stout. We are probably the only pub outside Dublin or Cork not selling Guinness, Murphy's or Beamish and still surviving. Enjoying a pint of Brennan's 'I like to support other craft breweries, so we have beers from like the Wicklow Wolf, Wicklow brewery. We have a brewery from Cork we work with. We have another brewery from Dublin.' While he has the trio of pints for €4.50 – which match the same prices the pub last week we featured and which we suspect is Ireland's cheapest seller of Guinness and Heineken at €4.50 a pint, McNulty's of Creeslough Co Donegal – he also has more expensive brands. 'We have a craft cider, Fallen Apple, that's €5.80,' he confirms. 'Then we have Heineken and Coors for €5.80. Then we have Wicklow Wolf for €5.80 'Spirits are around €6, and a small bottle of wine €6.75. We also have a selection of bottles of beer, including Miller, Birra Moretti and Erdinger for €4 a bottle, while a bottle of Estrella is just €3.' He admits the prices go down well with locals and visitors alike. 'It's a mixture of locals and tourists as well,' he points out. 'One of our loyal customers, Michael 'Spider' Nolan, comes in every day to drink Brennan's stout and then goes around the other pubs of Enniscorthy and then comes back to us to get one last Brennan's and then his taxi home.' They also lately teamed up with local Enniscorthy butchers M&M Meats to produce pork and leak stout sausages, and won a gold medal at a recent national meat awards. Peter admits he finds the prices in some Dublin pubs 'exorbitant' – a prominent couple in Temple Bar are now charging €11.45 for pints of lager, and €10.45 for Guinness. 'We were up there last week, it was amazing, it would blow your mind,' he complains. 'You go to some bars, the price of wine can be absolutely crazy for my wife. You can kind of expect to pay that bit extra. But if you cross the river you would get cheaper pints. 'I think that's a bit harsh (laughs), but they're getting away with it. €10.45 for a Guinness, it's a lot isn't it? 'But they're running a great show at the same time, they have a lot of staff, they bring in a lot of employment., They have big overheads with rates and insurance, there's music a lot of the time 'It's very hard in this industry. I'm in it over 30 years and it's not easy out there. Some people are too overpriced though.'
Scottish Sun
30-04-2025
- Scottish Sun
Little-known Scottish tourist attraction in running to be crowned best in UK – and it's not in Glasgow or Edinburgh
Read on for the full list of venues GREAT SCOT Little-known Scottish tourist attraction in running to be crowned best in UK – and it's not in Glasgow or Edinburgh A LITTLE-KNOWN Scottish tourist attraction is in the running to be crowned the best museum in the UK. Five attractions across the country have been shortlisted for the Art Fund Museum Of The Year Award 2025. Advertisement 5 The Perth Museum has been shortlisted for the top award Credit: PA 5 The museum is the new home of the Stone of Scone, more commonly known as the Stone of Destiny Credit: PA 5 The Stone of Destiny was used during King Charles' coronation Credit: Culture Perth & Kinross/Rob McDougall And there is a chance to win a £120,000 prize. The Perth Museum is the only Scottish site to be shortlisted along with four other venues for a top award. It opened its doors in March last year following a £26.5million redevelopment project. When the transformation project was first announced, Culture Perth and Kinross also revealed that the museum and art gallery would be split into two separate attractions. Advertisement Following the multi-million redevelopment project, Perth Museum is now located in Perth's former city hall, with the space transformed by the architecture firm Mecanoo. It looks at 10,000 years of Scottish and world history through a local lens. The museum is the new home of the Stone of Scone, more commonly known as the Stone of Destiny. It was previously kept at Edinburgh Castle, and was used during the coronation of Scottish Monarchs. The Stone of Destiny was used during King Charles' coronation. Advertisement Another one of its main attractions is a permanent exhibition of Bonnie Prince Charlie's sword. The solid silver broadsword belonged to Bonnie Prince Charlie who was officially known as Prince Charles Edward Stuart - the grandson of James II, who was King of England in 1685. Science and Industry museum manchester While it was previously part of a private collection, it is the first time the sword has been on display to the public. Other objects of interest include a 3,000-year-old Carpow Logboat. Advertisement The museum will also feature a cafe, a gift shop and learning and event spaces. Beamish, The Living Museum of the North in County Durham, Chapter in Cardiff, Compton Verney in Warwickshire, Golden Thread Gallery in Belfast have also been nominated for the top award. The winner will be announced on June 26 at a ceremony in Liverpool, which will be the first time the award has been presented outside London. The four losing finalists will receive £15,000 each. Advertisement 5 Following the multi-million redevelopment project, Perth Museum is now located in Perth's former city hall Credit: PA 5 Another one of its main attractions is a permanent exhibition of Bonnie Prince Charlie's sword Credit: PA Beamish, The Living Museum of the North is an open air museum, looking at life in the north east of England in the 1820s, 1900s, 1940s and 1950s, while Chapter is a Welsh arts centre made up of a gallery, artist studios, theatres, cinemas, a cafe bar, and community garden. Compton Verney is an art gallery with six installations and the Golden Thread Gallery is a Northern Irish contemporary art gallery. Advertisement Art Fund director Jenny Waldman, who will chair the judging panel, said: "This year's finalists are inspiring examples of museums at their best - deeply connected to their local communities, responsive to the world around them, and alive with energy and ideas. "Each one offers a distinctive experience, showing the endless creativity and care that goes into making museums inspiring and exciting spaces for everyone. "Art Fund is proud to celebrate their work and support their ambition through Art Fund Museum of the Year. "We hope people across the UK will be inspired to visit these remarkable places and museums in their local area to discover the powerful role they can play in our lives." Advertisement The award aims to recognise inspiring projects and activity from autumn 2023 through to winter 2024, looking at the overall achievements of the organisation, impactful projects, staff and volunteers, and community engagement. The prize is funded by Art Fund members who buy a National Art Pass.
