Katie Kirkpatrick, learning Irish in Toronto

Today,  I’ll be chatting with Katie Kirkpatrick. Katie is from Saskatchewan but began taking beginner’s Irish with me two years ago here at the University of St. Michael’s College. Since then, she has gone on to win an ICUF Canadian Irish Language Award which enabled her to complete a four-week immersion course in Conamara in the summer of 2023. 

In this episode, Katie speaks about her motivation for learning Irish. Her course of study at the University of Toronto requires her to be able to sing in four different languages and she chose Irish as one of those. In this chat, Katie speaks about her experiences learning Irish in Toronto and in Conamara, how singing in Irish has enhanced her studies and of her love for the art of sean-nós singing. In the final few minutes, Katie flips the script and asks me questions about my experiences teaching Irish and Gaelic games here in Toronto. 

I would still encourage people to download the episodes and to share them with friends and family. Downloads are the easiest indicator for me to gauge how many people I am reaching with these conversations so I would really appreciate it.