Member Profile: Kate Boswell

Although born in New York, three of Kate Boswell’s four grandparents were of Irish and/or Scottish extraction. The grandmother to whom she was closest was from Belfast, with roots in Mayo. She sang old songs to Kate, and there was magic in her eyes and in the way she spoke. Kate’s mother told her that her face was “the map of Ireland”, and she decorated her outfits with claddagh brooches and the like. Kate had the unmatched privilege of being included on a number of family trips to Ireland and Scotland.

As an older kid, Kate discovered that she loved to study languages, and she was the only student in her school to pursue French, Spanish and Latin all at the same time. However, finding free learning resources was not as easy as it is today. One day, Kate found a copy of the 1972 edition of ‘Teach Yourself Gaelic’ in a used bookshop. No tapes or anything – nevertheless, a passion of rediscovery was born. She followed Gaelic all the way to the University of Glasgow a few years later.

Life intervened; Kate joined the US Navy and became a Russian translator. After her service, she found myself living in Northern Virginia, where all the defense contracting jobs are. Feeling unmoored, Kate went looking for a Scots Gaelic-speaking community in Washington DC: “I didn’t find it, but I did find Let’s Learn Irish! It was then an in-person operation. I started with a one-day intensive class. I remember I signed my name to the Líofa program, an endeavor of the government of the North, and Rónán said with a smile, “You don’t know what you’re getting yourself into.” He was right! I was hooked.”

Kate continues: “Let’s Learn Irish has been a blessing in my life. I’ve been taking classes consistently now for a year and a half, since returning from Ireland right before the pandemic hit, and I’m ever so grateful to Ronán, Caitríona, and my fellow students. I’m particularly excited about my new course, as I have a son now, and I’m bound and determined that he’ll have Irish too, so I can give back to the language all that it has given me.” Go n-éirí an bóthar leat, a Kate!