Manhattan College government major Brendan Murphy '19 is a recent recipient of the Gaeltacht Summer Award, which will fund his studies in Ireland this summer. A resident of Lindenhurst, N.Y., he will study the Irish language in the Gaeltacht regions of Ireland.
"The Gaeltacht Summer Award will allow Brendan to immerse himself and gain hands-on experience in the language and culture he has been studying for the past year," says Marlene Gottlieb,
Ph.D., professor and chair of Modern Languages and Literatures. "His dedication and hard work have earned him this opportunity."
The Gaeltacht Summer Award of €2,395 is from the Ireland-United States Commission for Educational Exchange, and is sponsored by the Department of Arts, Heritage, and the Gaeltacht, the National Lottery of Ireland, and the Ireland-United States Commission for Education Exchange.
Murphy, an English minor, will spend four weeks at the National University of Ireland in Galway, while also learning at a field school in Gaeltacht. He will receive six credits and will have the opportunity to participate in lectures on Irish history, culture and music, and take excursions to areas in the West of Ireland, including the Aran Islands and the Cliffs of Moher.
"I am very grateful to have won this scholarship to study Irish in the Gaeltacht," Murphy says. "I am also looking forward to staying in the beautiful country that my family emigrated from almost 100 years ago, and taking in the history and culture that comes with it."