The Aran Islands Lifeboat has been saving lives at sea for almost 100 years and has been doing so mostly through Gaeilge.
The Aran Islands is known for the love of the Gaeilge and the love of the sea. For a lot of people living on the islands, Irish is still their first language. That goes for a lot of the crew members and staff at the Aran Islands RNLI whether it’s on board their all-weather lifeboat, in the RNLI shop or while fundraising for the local station.
Crew member and relief mechanic, Daniel O’Connell joined the lifeboat over 10 years ago. Although the Galway native didn’t speak fluent Irish when he first joined the lifeboat, he sure picked up a ‘cúpla focal’ along the way.
Daniel says ‘Starting out, it was a bit overwhelming, but I was used to hearing Irish every day through work on the island and at home with my wife, Lena. While certain equipment was always said in English due to standard operating procedures such as flares or lifejackets, the crew would often revert back to speaking Irish. Often it would be ‘Cuir ort do drysuit’ or ‘Fáisce an Lifejacket sin.’ This is how I picked up a lot of Irish because I was so immersed in it. It just shows you don’t have to be perfect at it, just trying is enough.’
Lena O’ Connell, fundraising and shop volunteer, grew up on Inis Mór and is a proud Irish speaker. ‘I love when people come into the shop and chat in Irish. I will try and promote it as much as possible, even if it’s just a few words. When we are over in Inis Oírr and Inis Meáin for a fundraising event, we only speak Irish. It’s a lovely connection that we have with our neighbours.’
It’s important to the Aran Islands RNLI station to continue working through the Irish language. This allows them to nurture and help grow the Irish language for the next generation and to continue to build a strong relationship with the local area.
