(Original notes by Donald John McLeod)

This handbook has been adapted from "Bun Ghaeilge do Thuismitheoirí/Basic Irish for Parents" which is produced by An Comhchoiste Réamhscolaíochta.

It is intended primarily for the use of parents who are not Gaelic-speaking and whose children are learning Gaelic in playgroup or school. It may also be of use to others, such as teachers, who have regular contacts with Gaelic-speaking children and who would like to be able to speak to them in Gaelic.

In order to be sure of the pronunciation and the precise meaning of the phrases, it is recommended that you get a Gaelic-speaking friend to go over the phrases with you or, better still, that you attend a class.

It is particularly important that the language should be used at as early a stage as possible, and as frequently as possible, whether in the class setting, or with children both at home and, if possible, in playgroup, and other similar situations also.

This is an experimental first draft of the handbook. Suggestions for its improvement would, therefore, be much appreciated.

D.J. MacLeod, Comunn na Gàidhlig

---

(Notes on conversion to HTML)

The orignally handbook was distributed as photcopied typescript, produced in the days when it was still difficult to produce accented characters on word processors and printers. So the accents were just written in by pen afterwards and in many words they had been omitted. I have inserted accents to the best of my knowledge. In doing this I have preserved the distinction between acute and grave accents (which is lacking in the new spelling rules detailed in "Gaelic Orthographic Conventions"), since this is an aid to pronunciation.

Caoimhín Ó Donnaíle
SMO, 1996-02-24