MMI Gaelic

The MMI Gaelic Club meets weekly at Charlie Flaherty’s bookstore in downtown Marion to learn the Gaelic language, the ancestral language of all Americans with Scottish or Irish roots. Last year, History Instructor Dr. Sherling won a grant from MMI to take two students to Ireland to take part in a Gaelic language immersion program in western County Donegal. By all accounts, it was a great success. Not only did Dr. Sherling, Cadet Travis Connolly, and Cadet Gordon Lawless greatly further their knowledge of the Gaelic Language, but MMI got a lot of free publicity. The Irish press was simply fascinated by the fact that American military cadets were interested in learning the Gaelic language. (See coverage of last year’s trip here http://mmibeyondthebarracks.blogspot.com/).

Both Connolly and Lawless have continued to thrive in their second year here at MMI. Both benefited greatly from their five weeks in Ireland last summer, and have gained lots of confidence from their experiences of learning a new language and living in a completely different culture. Cadet Connolly has won an appointment from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and Cadet Lawless has won the prestigious Alabama Presidential Scholarship to attend the University of Alabama.

After the success of last summer’s trip to Ireland, the Gaelic club has grown, and there are many more cadets attending Gaelic classes every week. This year Dr. Sherling and the MMI Gaelic Club are trying to raise enough money to bring at least six people with them to Ireland.