Last night we were able to witness Stags and Hens, an English play, performed by the local drama club. The Dungarvan theater was small and charming, much like what I would have envisioned the Abbey Theatre to look like years ago. Not only was the play a great way to experience the culture of Dungarvan, but our Irish language teacher, Seamus, was part of the cast! 
Throughout the play, I could not help but think about Wilde's writing style. Wilde was famous for including numerous epigrams in his literature. He specifically focused on criticizing the upper class for their superficial and shallow ways. In Stags and Hens, there were numerous examples of satire revolving around Irish language. For instance, one of the characters, Bernadette, continually poked fun at marriage as being "the end of your life and fun." However, later on in the play, she emphasized how her marriage really isn't all that bad, and she encouraged Linda that marriage was the right thing to do.
Further, we are learning a lot of Irish (the language) from Seamus. We have learned greetings, numbers, a few professions, several verbs, and family relations. I've really enjoyed learning the language, but it is much more difficult to learn than French. There are certain rules, but there are way more exceptions! Also, the majority of the words aren't really pronounced like their spelling. For instance, go raibh maith agat, which means thank you, is pronounced ga rev ma agut. Also, the numbers for counting are different according to the object you're counting. For example, some of the numbers change when you're talking about time and when counting people or objects. Basically, Irish is a tricky language!
Also, we acted out the play, Cathleen niHoulihan, by W.B. Yeats and Lady Augusta Gregory. I was the wife and mother, Bridget (a few pictures are on Facebook, I couldn't get them to load onto the blog). The play focuses on an Irish family that receives a visit from an old woman the night before their son's wedding. The woman is a representation of the nation of Ireland. She speaks of all the men that have fought and lost their lives for her, and those who have been forced to leave her for far away lands. It is a well known Irish poem, which somewhat critiques yet encourages Irish nationalism depending on how you read it. Although I'm not the best actress, it was a great way to study one of Yeats' plays.
We are leaving for Madrid tomorrow morning for five days! There is a national strike day there today so hopefully that won't affect our ability to travel! I'll have lots to talk about and more pictures in my next blog!
