PREFACE.
My mind has been much exercised for some time over the position of persons who are anxious to learn Irish. There are two classes who wish to learn, viz., those who can speak Irish and those who cannot. Those who can speak it wish to learn to read it. Those who can neither speak nor read it wish to learn both. For the use of both classes there is nothing available but Father O'Growney's little books.
The Gaelic Journal is a splendid publication. There is more solid erudition within its small compass than within the compass of any English Journal twenty times its size. But it is only useful to learners when they have acquired a fairly good knowledge of the language. Even the grammatical and critical matter which is contained in it is not appreciated by those who do not know Irish. No one has ever yet learned a language from its grammar. In fact, a person must know the language before he can understand the grammar.
Then what about the other Irish matter which can be had in those volumes whose contents have been taken from the works of Irish writers of Keating's age?
