Programme Description

Trinity College College has the world's oldest tradition of modern language studies, with chairs dating back to 1776. Today the School of Languages, Literatures and Cultural Studies combines the strengths of this tradition in a group of established Departments which between them teach almost a dozen languages at undergraduate and postgraduate level.

Students take languages with Trinity's distinctive two-subject degree, or in single-honor courses such as Germanic Languages, Early & Modern Irish, Irish Studies or the European Studies degree run through the Centre for European Studies. Students may also combine the study of a language with Law, Business Studies or Computer Science and Linguistics. A cluster of innovative taught postgraduate degrees offers a broad range of possibilities, leading to research or to professional practice in areas of language, literature and cultural life. The School's research in literary, language and cultural studies ranges from the medieval to the very contemporary.

This course is intended to provide graduates in related disciplines with a solid grounding in Old Irish language and literature. The course commences with an introduction to Old Irish, proceeds on to Old Irish literature, including readings in lyrical verse, and also covers Old Irish glosses and saga literature. The course lasts for the three terms of one academic year beginning in October and requires full-time study. Candidates are assessed by an examination consisting of two three-hour papers.