US woman learned Irish language in attempt to improve memory loss

Most of us are lucky if we have a cúpla focal, but one American teacher has put us all to shame by becoming a fully fledged Gaeilgeoir.

Shannon O’Neill was a final year Music Education student in Los Angeles when she was diagnosed with viral meningitis.

The condition affected her cognitive ability and both her short-term and long-term memory.  

Shannon described her diagnosis to TheJournal.ie: ‘’It’s like the flu, it can hit you at any time.”

‘’Being diagnosed with an illness, I sometimes explain it as, ‘I had to greet myself as a new friend’ because there are changes that you have to accept, and you need something to centre yourself around.’’

The condition inspired Shannon to reevaluate her life and she became determined to make something positive out of it.

So, in order to focus her mind and improve her memory, she stared learning Irish.

“I became really interested in the culture that I had no idea about. I started getting books out of the library on Irish culture, politics, literature and music.’’

Having fully completed DuoLingo’s Irish course Shannon now describes herself as an advanced beginner/intermediary speaker of Irish.

Shannon now plans to travel to Ireland and visit the Gealtacht regions in an attempt to improve her Irish.

‘’This summer, I’ll be using the rest of the money I’ve saved up for college to travel for three months around the different Gaeltachts and speak as much as possible.’’

After her trip, Shannon plans to return to her job as a substitute teacher and is hoping to incorporate the Irish language in to her lesson plans.

Shannon is a fifth generation Irish-American and admits she never felt entitled to claim her ancestry because she was so far removed, but we’ll welcome anyone who tackles the native language with open arms.