Starting To Learn (Term 1)
You don't need any books for this class. All course materials are provided in your virtual classroom for free through the the class' Links section.
Beginning & Intermediate Classes (Terms 2-7)
For these classes, you must have Progress In Irish by Máiréad Ní Ghráda. It's also called "the Green Book" or "Blue Book" around the world because of its green or blue cover. To go forward effectively in the language, you'll also need a good portable dictionary, a good verb book, and a good self-taught conversation course. By the time you get to Lesson 45 in The Green Book, you'll want to supplement it with a more detailed grammar. Therefore, we recommend:
* Oxford Pocket Irish Dictionary - great if you can get it but it's out of print. Try www.amazon.com , etc. for second-hand copies
* Foclóir Scoile ('School Dictionary') - This is not a pocket dictionary, but it's definitely portable, with nice big type for weak eyes like mine. For those with really good eyes, Foclóir Póca ('Pocket Dictionary') is the pocket-size version of this dictionary with tiny type
* Briathra na Gaeilge ('verbs of the Irish language') - excellent, full of verb conjugations
* New Irish Grammar from the Christian Brothers - You'll want this to connect some of the dots in The Green Book by the time you get to Lesson 45
* Buntús Cainte ('foundation of talking') - This is a 3 book/CD set. Very good value for the money. Your objective should be to go through all 3 books and their CDs in the roughly 3 years it will take to go through The Green Book. Finish one book/CD set per year.
Also, for a good on-line Irish-English / English-Irish dictionary, see www.teanglann.ie/en/ .
Advanced Workshops
Your teachers will designate books to be purchased for their workshops. By the time you get to our Advanced Workshops, it's likely you'll also want the following:
Gramadach Na Gaeilge agus Litriú Na Gaeilge ('Grammar of Irish Language and Spelling Irish,' re-printed often with original printing in 1958) - This is also known as 'The Official Standard' because it's the official standard of Irish language grammar and spelling put out by the Irish government in Irish
Niall Ó Dónail's Foclóir Gaeilge-Béarla
Tomás de Bhaldraithe's English-Irish Dictionary and
Rev. Patrick Dineen's Foclóir Gaedhilge Agus Béarla. This was the standard dictionary before the spelling change and switch to Roman letters in the 1950s. You'll want this for materials written before the 1950s in the Irish alphabet and in the old spelling.
Sources of Books
These books and CDs are available from on-line shops like:
www.litriocht.com in Ireland
www.ossianusa.com in the States
www.schoenhofs.com in the States.