Scoil Scairte Self Paced 

A journey into the Irish language, culture and imagination in your own time, at your own pace.

22+ hours of rich, pre-recorded teachings, ritual and music
from some of Ireland’s most celebrated artists, writers, poets, activists and wisdom keepers.

An Invitation

Have you been longing to connect with the language, culture and heritage of Ireland but you don't know where to begin?

Whether you learned Irish at school, know only a cúpla focal, or are coming to the language for the very first time, fáilte, you are welcome here.

What if learning Irish isn't about getting it right?

At Scoil Scairte, we believe that the Irish language language doesn't live in a textbook. 

She lives in relationship.

Between people and places.
Stories and songs.
Culture and community.
Our ancestors, ourselves and the living world.

Scoil Scairte is more than a language course, it is an immersion into the psyche and soul of a powerful people, place and cultural heritage.

This is where an Ghaeilge comes truly alive.

Scoil Scairte Self Paced is a holistic journey into Irish language and culture, rooted in relationship with ourselves, each other, the land, our lineage and the living world around us.

This bumper edition gathers the most-loved elements of our award-winning Scoil Scairte programmes into one beautifully curated boxset, giving you the freedom to explore Irish language and culture in your own time, wherever you are in the world.

Our Approach

At Scoil Scairte, we believe that learning is about more than acquiring knowledge.
It can also be a practice of personal transformation, collective reimagining and cultural renewal.

Whether you grew up hearing Irish or are coming to an Ghaeilge for the very first time, you don't need to know Irish to begin.

We believe the language comes most alive when she is encountered through the relationships that give her meaning.

We don't teach Irish as an isolated subject, we place an ghaeilge in a wider web of interconnected relationships

land · lineage · story · song · body · place · people · kinship · community

This means you can begin wherever you are.

No prior Irish is required. 

You simply need curiosity and a willingness to enter into relationship with the language.

Rather than starting with lists of vocabulary and rules, we create experiences where language has somewhere to live in imagination, the body, place and our relationships with ourselves, each other and the living world.

When language has meaning and context, it becomes easier to remember.

When we feel safe enough to try, confidence can grow.

And when we learn with others, language becomes relational rather than transactional.

Longing becomes belonging.

This is at the heart of our Scoil Scairte pedagogy.

Course Overview

✦ 22+ hours of pre-recorded content: talks, teachings, music & guided rituals

✦ Contributions from 20+ bilingual guides & musicians

✦ 9 Language Lessons: accessible, beginner-friendly sessions

✦ 2 Immramas: bilingual, ritual immersions written & guided by Kathy Scott & produced by Brian Crosby

✦ Curated Field Notes & Resource List (to keep exploring long after course completion)

✦ Downloadable PDF teaching summaries to support your learning journey

Scoil Scairte Self Paced is an approach to Irish that feels welcoming, embodied, meaningful and alive. 

Language connected to culture and place: Encounter an Ghaeilge as part of a living culture, interwoven with the people, places, stories and traditions that carry her.

Language through lived experience:  Experience an Ghaeilge through stories, songs, conversation and creativity rather than isolated words and grammar to memorise.

The body as a pathway to learning: Explore simple practices that can help ease the fear, shame or self-consciousness that can arise when speaking a language we don't yet feel at home in.

Language in relationship: Discover how conversation, story, song and shared experience can bring the Irish language to life and give her somewhere to belong.

What you’ll experience inside the course

Scoil Scairte Self Paced offers a pathway back into relationship with Irish cultural heritage and our native language.

Somatically informed and trauma-sensitive, the programme brings together learning that is informative, playful, pleasurable and practical.

Here, learning happens from the inside out. We invite you not only to learn, but to unlearn some of the habits, expectations and “shoulds” we may have inherited around language, making space for Irish to become a felt, lived experience

An Ghaeilge opens up far more than words. She opens up worlds.

 You’ll explore the language and culture through:

Story & song

• Poetry, creativity & imagination

  Conversations with artists, activists & cultural custodians

  Exploration of  ancestral lineage, relationship with land & folklore

Meet your guides

Your experience will be guided by a collective of artists, activists, teachers, storytellers and wisdom keepers who bring Ireland's living culture into the learning space. Among these are:

Kathy Scott: Founder, curator, cultural activist and trauma-informed facilitator

Seosamh Mac Seoin: Ulster Irish teacher, actor and filmmaker

Scoil Scairte was first developed in collaboration with our dear friend and colleague, the late Manchán Magan. His extraordinary generosity, imagination and lifelong love of the Irish language are woven into the spirit of this course. He is featured throughout this course in materials recorded over years of our creative collaboration. 

Our Scoil Scairte: Self-paced Programme

Our self-paced programme is a dynamic Irish language learning experience curated with care. It offers a modern, multi-layered pathway into Irish language and culture that you can return to again and again.

Frequently asked questions

Scoil Scairte: Self-paced is a package of videos, audio files, PDFs and assorted digital files so you can complete the course independently at home. As such, there are no live elements in this course. Each module will have approx. 60-mins of video content to review at your own pace, with detailed Field Notes slides and lists of bonus resources for your own exploration. 

There is no set time to complete the course in and you will have lifetime access to all materials.

The programme is beginner-friendly as many of our participants are totally new to Irish or have been out of practice since school. We teach bilingually, in Irish and English, so everyone can follow. 

For those with intermediate or advanced Irish, our programme features language surrounding many niche subject areas, such as foraging and traditional craft making, that can deepen your connection with and conversations in Irish.

After completing your purchase, you will receive an email with a link to the course hosted on Kajabi. You will be prompted to create an account there and after doing so will have permanent access to the course materials.

You will have lifetime access to all course materials. You will be able to return to the materials at any point in future.

This course serves as a perfect introduction to the live Scoil Scairte series, and you are welcome to join any upcoming spirals to continue the journey.

We believe that Scoil Scairte should be accessible to people from all walks of life.

However, we understand that due to life circumstances, many people do not have the privilege to participate in a learning experiment like this, so we will offer a limited number of partial scholarships after all general admission tickets have been claimed.

If you or someone you know would like access to this work but circumstances are holding them back, please apply. Individuals from BBIPOC, LGBTQ+, marginalised communities and anyone who may experience economic hardship are encouraged to apply also.

In service of those in greater need, if you are in a position to be able to pay the full tuition, we kindly ask that you do not apply for a scholarship.

Note: with partial scholarship, the cost is reduced from €269 to €133. To apply, please reach out to us at hello@thetrailblazery.info and we will guide you through the application process.

If you have any further questions please contact hello@thetrailblazery.info