Gaeilge Thar Lear

Seacht mbliana tar éis dheireadh Game of Thrones, leanaimid ar aghaidh leis an scéal - an uair seo i mBonn, i mí Aibreáin 2019, agus Séasúr 8 ag teacht amach seachtain i ndiaidh seachtaine. Agus mé díreach tar éis bogadh go dtí an Ghearmáin, gan mórán struchtúir ná plean soiléir don chéad chéim eile den saol, bhí Westeros fós mar chineál compánaigh dom agus mé ag iarraidh mo bhealach féin a aimsiú.Sa dara cuid seo, labhraím faoi dheireadh na sraithe, faoi na “cracks” a bhí le feiceáil fiú roimh Séasúr 8, agus faoin gcúis nach gceapaim go bhfeicfimid rud cosúil le GOT arís. Ní hamháin mar gheall ar an tsraith féin, ach mar gheall ar an idirlíon, streaming, agus an áit a raibh muid inár saol ag an am sin.Seo eagrán faoi endings - deireadh sraithe, deireadh ré áirithe den idirlíon, agus deireadh tréimhse i mo shaol féin freisin.Faigh cupán tae, cuir ort na headphones, agus tar liom ar ais go Bonn, 2019.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Seven years after the end of Game of Thrones, we continue the story - this time in Bonn, in April 2019, as Season 8 arrived week by week. Having just moved to Germany, with no real structure and no clear idea what the next stage of life would look like, Westeros became a strange kind of companion while I tried to figure things out.In this second part, I talk about the ending of the series, the cracks that were already appearing long before Season 8, and why I don’t think we’ll ever see another cultural phenomenon quite like GOT again. Not just because of the show itself, but because of the internet, streaming culture, and where many of us were in our lives at that moment in time.This episode is about endings - the end of a TV series, the end of a certain era of the internet, and the end of a particular chapter of my own life too.Grab a cup of tea, put the headphones on, and come back with me to Bonn, 2019.

Seacht mbliana tar éis deireadh Game of Thrones, téim siar go dtí an tús — ó na chéad leabhair a léigh mé i gCorcaigh, go dtí an tsraith teilifíse a tháinig chun bheith ina cuid mhór de mo shaol sna fichidí. Seo scéal pearsanta faoi dhomhan Westeros, faoi charachtair a mhúnlaigh comhráite, cairdis agus blianta éagsúla den saol.Sa chéad chuid seo, filleann muid ar an mbuaicphointe — an t-am nuair a bhí Game of Thrones i lár an chultúir, agus i lár mo shaol féin freisin.Faigh cupán tae, agus tar liom ar an turas seo.__________________________________________________________________________________________________Seven years after the end of Game of Thrones, I go back to where it all began — from the first books I read in Cork to the TV series that became a major part of my twenties. This is a personal story about the world of Westeros and the characters who shaped conversations, friendships, and different chapters of life.In this first part, we return to the peak — when Game of Thrones was at the centre of culture, and at the centre of my life too.Grab a cup of tea, go for a walk with the dog, and come along for the journey.

Sa eagrán seo de Gaeilge Thar Lear — “Cuimhne na hÁite” — tosaíonn Oisín le focal amháin… agus an meáchan atá leis.Ón bpointe sin amach, leathnaíonn an comhrá amach go dtí an gaol idir teanga, talamh agus cuimhne — agus an chaoi a n-athraíonn rudaí nuair a chuirtear ainm nua orthu, nó nuair a shimplithear iad.Trí léamh pearsanta, taisteal trí smaointe, agus roinnt samplaí ón saol mór, tagann téama amháin chun cinn arís agus arís eile — an baol a bhaineann le castacht a laghdú go rud éasca, soiléir… agus mícheart.Eagrán machnamhach eile — ag fanacht leis an gceist seachas freagra a lorg.__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________In this episode of Gaeilge Thar Lear — “Cuimhne na hÁite (The Memory of Place)” — Oisín begins with a single word… and the weight it carries.From there, the conversation expands into language, land, and memory — and how meaning can shift when things are renamed, reframed, or simplified.Through personal reflection, reading, and a series of wider examples, one idea keeps surfacing: the quiet danger of reducing complex realities into something neat, simple… and incomplete.A reflective episode that sits with the question, rather than trying to resolve it.

Sa chlár seo de Gaeilge Thar Lear, labhraím le Étienne Rapacki — polaiglot iontach a bhfuil ocht dteanga aige, an Ghaeilge ina measc.Tharraing gearrthóg ar líne de Étienne ag labhairt i roinnt teangacha éagsúla — Gaeilge san áireamh — aird ar a chumas teanga. Sa chomhrá seo, pléimid a shaol mar dhochtúir i gCóbanhávan, a ghrá do theangacha, a nasc le hÉirinn, agus an ról atá ag an nGaeilge ina shaol féin.Óna óige le Fraincis agus Eastóinis, go dtí an Ghaeilge a fhoghlaim agus pobal a aimsiú tríd an teanga — is scéal suimiúil, pearsanta é seo faoi theangacha, féiniúlacht agus an méid is féidir leo a thabhairt dúinn.Bain taitneamh as!_________________________________________________________________________________________________________In this episode of Gaeilge Thar Lear, I speak with Étienne Rapacki — an Estonian-French polyglot who speaks eight languages, including Irish to a remarkably high level.A clip of Étienne speaking several languages — including Irish — drew attention to his linguistic ability. In this conversation, we explore his life as a doctor in Copenhagen, his connection to languages, his relationship with Ireland, and what learning Irish has brought to his life.From growing up with Estonian and French to building a deep connection with Irish and its community, this is a thoughtful conversation about language, identity, and the unexpected paths that languages can open.

In this episode of Gaeilge Thar Lear, I tell the story of how I fell in love with professional cycling — and why it speaks to me.It starts in 1998, when I was seven years old, and takes me through the years — through the stories, the characters, the moments — to a steep hill in Belgium two years ago.This is an episode about sport, storytelling, memory, and the kind of complexity that makes a sport genuinely interesting. About the moments that stay with you — and the people who are there when they happen.And some moments — two metres from greatness — never leave you.___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________San eagrán seo de Gaeilge Thar Lear, insím an scéal faoin gcaoi ar tháinig mé i ngrá le rásaíocht rothaíochta — agus cén fáth a bhfuil sí fós ag caint isteach ionam.Tosaíonn an scéal i 1998 agus mé seacht mbliana d'aois, agus tugann sé mé tríd na blianta — tríd na scéaltaí, na carachtair, na momantaí — go dtí cnoc garbh sa Bheilg dhá bhliain ó shin.Is eagrán é seo faoi spóirt, scéalaíocht, cuimhne, agus an saghas castachta a dhéanann spóirt suimiúil i ndáiríre. Faoi na momantaí a fhanann leat — agus faoi na daoine a bhíonn le do thaobh nuair a tharlaíonn siad.Agus bíonn momantaí ann — dhá mhéadar ó mhórghníomh — nach ndéanann tú dearmad orthu go deo.

San eagrán seo de Gaeilge Thar Lear, insím an scéal faoin gcaoi ar tháinig mé i ngrá le rásaíocht rothaíochta — agus cén fáth a bhfuil sí fós ag caint isteach ionam.Tosaíonn an scéal i 1998 agus mé seacht mbliana d'aois, agus tugann sé mé tríd na blianta — tríd na scéaltaí, na carachtair, na momantaí — go dtí cnoc garbh sa Bheilg dhá bhliain ó shin.Is eagrán é seo faoi spóirt, scéalaíocht, cuimhne, agus an saghas castachta a dhéanann spóirt suimiúil i ndáiríre. Faoi na momantaí a fhanann leat — agus faoi na daoine a bhíonn le do thaobh nuair a tharlaíonn siad.Agus bíonn momantaí ann — dhá mhéadar ó mhórghníomh — nach ndéanann tú dearmad orthu go deo.________________________________________________________________________________________________________In this episode of Gaeilge Thar Lear, I tell the story of how I fell in love with professional cycling — and why it speaks to me.It starts in 1998, when I was seven years old, and takes me through the years — through the stories, the characters, the moments — to a steep hill in Belgium two years ago.This is an episode about sport, storytelling, memory, and the kind of complexity that makes a sport genuinely interesting. About the moments that stay with you — and the people who are there when they happen.And some moments — two metres from greatness — never leave you.

In this episode of Gaeilge Thar Lear, I reflect on the stories that stay with us — the ones we return to at different stages of life, and the ones that quietly shape how we see the world.From train journeys and books in different languages to old favourites that never quite leave us, this is an episode about reading, memory, comfort, challenge, and the strange power certain tales hold over us long after we first encounter them.Some stories entertain us. Some belong to a certain season of life. Others travel beside us for years.This episode is about the tales that really mattered.___________________________________________________________________________________________________San eagrán seo de Gaeilge Thar Lear, déanaim machnamh ar na scéalta a fhanann linn — na cinn a fhilleann chugainn ag céimeanna éagsúla dár saol, agus na cinn a mhúnlaíonn an chaoi a fheicimid an domhan go ciúin, gan mórán torainn.Ó thurais traenach agus leabhair i dteangacha éagsúla go dtí na sean-scéalta is ansa linn nach bhfágann muid i gceart riamh, is eagrán é seo faoi léitheoireacht, cuimhne, compord, dúshlán, agus an chumhacht a bhíonn ag scéalta áirithe fanacht linn i bhfad i ndiaidh dúinn casadh orthu den chéad uair.Bíonn scéalta áirithe ann le siamsaíocht a thabhairt dúinn.Bíonn cinn eile ann a shiúlann linn ar feadh na mblianta. The tales that really mattered.Is fúthu siúd atá an t-eagrán seo.

San eagrán seo de Gaeilge Thar Lear, déanaim machnamh ar na scéalta a fhanann linn — na cinn a fhilleann chugainn ag céimeanna éagsúla dár saol, agus na cinn a mhúnlaíonn an chaoi a fheicimid an domhan go ciúin, gan mórán torainn.Ó thurais traenach agus leabhair i dteangacha éagsúla go dtí na sean-scéalta is ansa linn nach bhfágann muid i gceart riamh, is eagrán é seo faoi léitheoireacht, cuimhne, compord, dúshlán, agus an chumhacht a bhíonn ag scéalta áirithe fanacht linn i bhfad i ndiaidh dúinn casadh orthu den chéad uair.Bíonn scéalta áirithe ann le siamsaíocht a thabhairt dúinn.Bíonn cinn eile ann a shiúlann linn ar feadh na mblianta.Is fúthu siúd atá an t-eagrán seo.______________________________________________________________________________________________In this episode of Gaeilge Thar Lear, I reflect on the stories that stay with us — the ones we return to at different stages of life, and the ones that quietly shape how we see the world.From train journeys and books in different languages to old favourites that never quite leave us, this is an episode about reading, memory, comfort, challenge, and the strange power certain tales hold over us long after we first encounter them.Some stories entertain us. Some belong to a certain season of life. Others travel beside us for years.This episode is about the tales that really mattered.