…de la Irish Voice:
Sergeant Seamus O’Fianghusa was born patriotic. At a young age he knew serving his country was something that was a must.
He also realized learning the language of his Irish ancestors was a high priority.
Growing up bi-lingual, (his father, James, is Irish American and his mother, Helen, is Korean), the 33-year-old U.S. Army sergeant wasn’t content with just speaking English and Korean. He wanted to learn Irish.
“My father used to speak a lot about the Gaeilge and I knew someday that it would be my duty to learn this language, the language of my ancestors,”…
…It was an encounter with a native Irish speaker from Donegal a few years ago that got O’Fianghusa’s skates on.
Sergeant Seamus O’Fianghusa was born patriotic. At a young age he knew serving his country was something that was a must.
He also realized learning the language of his Irish ancestors was a high priority.
Growing up bi-lingual, (his father, James, is Irish American and his mother, Helen, is Korean), the 33-year-old U.S. Army sergeant wasn’t content with just speaking English and Korean. He wanted to learn Irish.
“My father used to speak a lot about the Gaeilge and I knew someday that it would be my duty to learn this language, the language of my ancestors,”…
…It was an encounter with a native Irish speaker from Donegal a few years ago that got O’Fianghusa’s skates on.
“I met a lady from the Gaeltacht in Donegal who was fluent in Irish and I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t speak her -- and my -- language,” he said.
“Right there and then I made a decision to learn Irish. I couldn’t delay it any longer.”
In a short few months, O’Fianghusa, who studied linguistics in college, was spouting the Irish language just like the natives in Donegal….
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