Member Profile: Lisa Maloney

Lisa Maloney might very well be described as a dedicated student of Irish, thanks to her habit of attending online classes that began at 6am local (Alaska) time. As Lisa admits: “I suppose getting up that early did take some dedication, given that large amounts of caffeine don’t agree with me; it certainly cost me some sleep! But that was and is a price I’m happy to pay because, as you might imagine, live Irish classes don’t grow on trees in Alaska.”

Lisa’s interest in learning Irish was a natural, if unexpected, outgrowth of her interest in traditional Irish music and dance. Over the years, Lisa found herself enthralled by the culture, and the community. She began with a bodhrán, then a penny whistle, then somebody put a fiddle in her hand…next it was a bosca ceoil (button accordion), playing for the dancers. Lisa credits a few friends with sharing some Irish words and phrases with her along the way: “Sometimes the ‘cúpla focal’ was all they had – but the point is that they shared it, and as soon as I showed even a blink of interest, they encouraged me to use what they’d shared.”

There were other factors that helped kickstart Lisa’s language journey too, such as the example of Alaska Native people in her locality, who dedicate immense energy to preserving their indigenous languages, as well as a chance encounter with Irish-speaking set dancers in Corca Dhuibhne. These experiences all played a small part in leading Lisa towards learning Irish…

Taking those first steps was not simple: “I will say that, although I made a few abortive attempts at learning with Rosetta Stone, Duolingo, and Mango Languages, the language didn’t really start taking hold in me until I found Let’s Learn Irish’s online classes. That’s not a surprise, because I went through a similar cycle when learning Spanish: First trying a self-guided approach, then recognizing that I really require adult supervision to learn a language well. The sense of community helps, too – knowing that I’m one small part of a bigger whole, all moving in the same direction for our own, unique reasons.” Lisa sees herself continuing on her Irish language journey for many years to come. As she puts it: “I see every language as a window into another world, and I suppose my life experiences until now have been the stepping-stool that lifted me up to this particular window. Overall I love what I can see through this window, and hope to stay for as long as I’m welcome.”

“Tús maith, leath na hoibre”, mar a deirtear!