Member Profile: Clydette Powell

Having been encouraged by native speakers she met locally in Washington DC, Clydette Powell took on the challenge of learning Irish and never looked back. Not only did she find it important to support a language that, as she puts it, “needs to stay alive,” but soon found that the more she understood about the Irish language, the more insight she gained into the Irish culture. Suddenly, the songs, literature and history of the island had more meaning for her.

Clydette has studied other languages, but finds Irish unique in how encouraging the learner community tends to be. She’s not afraid to admit that she looks forward to her Friday night grammar class, given how much she enjoys the other students. In addition to joining an Irish language choir in her home city, she put her Irish to use on her visits to Ireland—sometimes much to the glee of locals. In total, she never misses an opportunity to be active in spreading the language and connecting more people to it. You can even read about Clydette’s experiences speaking Irish to natives in Ireland!