Old Irish

The Diploma in Old Irish is a beginner’s course that gives students a solid grounding in the language and literature of Old Irish (600–900). This is the period of the language in which ancient sagas like the Táin, some of the Irish language’s most beautiful poetry, as well as the so-called ‘Brehon’ laws, were written.



Is This Course For Me?

Are you fascinated by the Irish language? Do you want to learn to read the earliest Irish literature that has come down to us in the original? Do you want to explore Ireland’s ancient sagas and poetry and the society that produced them? If so, this course could be for you. Contact us to find out more.

The course consists of six contact hours per week, as follows:

• Introduction to Old Irish (2 hours)

• Tutorials in Old Irish (2 hours)

• Old Irish literature, including readings in lyrical verse (1 hour)

• Old Irish glosses and saga literature (1 hour)

Admission Requirements

This is a beginner’s course and assumes no prior knowledge of any period of the Irish language. The lectures are all delivered in English. Applications are normally accepted only from persons with a good Honours degree (II.1 or higher) in a cognate subject such as Modern Irish or another Celtic language, medieval languages, literature or history, archaeology.



English Language Requirements

All applicants to Trinity are required to provide official evidence of proficiency in the English language.



Applicants to this course are required to meet Band B (Standard Entry) English language requirements. For more details of qualifications that meet Band B, see the English Language Requirements page at

https://www.tcd.ie/study/english-language-requirements/

Closing Date 30th June 2025

1 year full-time.

Next Intake September 2025

Career Opportunities

This course prepares students to undertake independent research in the field of Medieval Irish in the future. It may also be of interest to librarians, archivists and others who work with or have a passion for older Irish-language material.