Members of the Pop-Up Gaeltacht, Colorado could lay claim to speaking Irish at the highest levels in the United States.
Denver’s mile-high city is home to a group of Irish language enthusiasts, and while they may live at 5280 feet above sea-level they are firmly grounded in promoting and growing the Irish language.
They welcome all levels of learners and speakers “even if they’ve no Irish or very limited Irish,” says Donal Grogan, the founder of the group.
“We’re all learning together.”
Born in London to Irish parents, Donal and his family returned home to Kildare when he was twelve years old, which meant he was exempt from taking Irish at school.
His sister, Siobhain Grogan, and her husband are raising their children through the Irish language back home in Kildare so Donal vowed he would learn a few phrases.
A reflection of Donal’s devotion to the language was shown in those early days when he would practice his newly learned Irish phrases in the mirror daily.
“If you’re going to learn the language you have to do it every day. You can’t learn a language just on the weekends,” he says.
He seized the opportunity to start the first Pop-Up Gaeltacht in Colorado in the summer of 2019 when his sister and her family came to visit him in Denver. He created fliers, posters, used Irish connections in Denver, his Twitter account, and the proven Irish tradition of “word of mouth” to spread the news.
Bhí a lán craic ag gach duine. An-deas bualadh le daoine eile le suim sa Ghaeilge. @popupgael #Gaeilge #comhrá #comhluadar pic.twitter.com/1MkJke5Bb6
— Gaeltacht Colorado (@ColoradoPaddy) July 21, 2019
They decided that even if it was only the six of them in Denver’s Irish-owned Abbey Tavern pub, there was still enough of them to speak Irish.
“I’d no idea how many would turn up that first day,” he admitted.
He need not have worried for well over twenty people, of all ages and abilities, attended that first Pop-Up meeting.
There was traditional music, many introductions, and plans for future meetings. The goal was to speak Irish, and so they continued to meet up every month in the pub, and did so for six months before Covid forced their meetings to go online.
Donal is happy, however, that the Irish language group is “more accessible now” and people can join the Zoom meetings from Colorado and beyond, especially those who may have found it difficult to travel great distances to the in-person meetings in Denver.
In the pub meetings, Jonathan Morris, a Wexford native, brought some Irish language quiz games and everyone had fun learning new Irish words and phrases through the games.
Top USA States for Online Irish Language Learners https://t.co/Xnq5chJ3tL via #SnaGaeilge #SnaG2016 #Irishlanguage
— IrishCenterKC (@IrishCenterKC) March 8, 2016
When the Pop Up transitioned to Zoom meetings, Donal saw another opportunity and started a tráth na gceist.
Now it was the big time, and Irish language skills were met with general knowledge. Alan Groarke, a Kerry native, would just about manage to reign as King of the tráth na gceist every month.
“There’s advantages and disadvantages with Covid,” says Donal.
“We can’t be together in person,” is his main regret, and there are fewer people attending online.
Donal is happy, however, that the Irish language group is “more accessible now” and people can join the Zoom meetings from Colorado and beyond, especially those who may have found it difficult to travel great distances to the in-person meetings in Denver.
The meetings are held once a month on the weekends on Zoom and everyone just shows up online and they start talking about everything and anything in Irish. There is no set agenda, and sometimes the chat has prompted a song in the sean-nós tradition from Alan, the Kerry native.
Good craic, the Irish language, and a tráth na gceist are the consistent contents of the meetings.
Donal and other members of the group frequently post Irish language resources, news, videos, and, indeed, the occasional joke as Gaeilge onto the Pop-Up’s WhatsApp group. So this extension of the group is another opportunity to learn and speak the language in a fun and relaxed environment.
Veronica Kane, a native of Iowa, now living in Pueblo, Colorado, was delighted to make her first foray into Irish language learning with the Pop-Up group.
Denver, Colorado. It doesn't look like, well, the Connemara Gaeltacht but the Mile High City is home to some high level Irish speakers.
As a child she had been taught by her mother that if anyone asked, she was to say that her “people came from the County Mayo in the province of Connacht.” A grandmother now herself, Veronica grew up feeling that “our true identity was Irish” so she has always wanted to visit Ireland, and thought it would be nice to say a few words in “the old tongue” when she got there.
While Covid has delayed her travel plans to Ireland, it has not stopped her beginning her Irish language journey through the Pop-Up group, and this has led to her taking various online courses and studies in the language. “Irish ancestry, family lore, and a desire to visit Ireland,” says Veronica, are her reasons for joining the group to learn Irish.
Others have joined to brush up on their Irish language skills, to make a connection to home, to meet other Irish speakers and natives in the Denver area. And many more, like Veronica, have joined to learn and speak Irish - something they have always wanted to do.
Donal works tirelessly connecting the members to other Irish language courses, resources, and speakers, and often teaches classes himself. The group welcomes everyone to join, and not just those living in Colorado. ‘
“Anybody is more than welcome,” says Donal He can be contacted through his twitter account @ColoradoPaddy.
The group has been a source of connection and fun for many during the pandemic. While Denver can boast of over three hundred days of sunshine, the Colorado Pop-Up Gaeltacht Group continues to shine a warm and inclusive light on the Irish language: the common thread that has brought all these people together.
This is the first in a series of reports on how the Irish language is being learned and embraced across the United States.
