SÉAMUS ABÚ!

...de la Irish Independent:

A serving US soldier from Brooklyn, New York, who learned Donegal Irish from the internet, progressed to the finals at a weekend Sean-nos singing competition.

Seamus O Fianghusa (33), or Seamus na Gaeilge as he is affectionately known in the Donegal Gaeltacht, was attending his second Oireachtas na Samhna, the most prestigious event in the Irish language calendar.

But he wasn't the only international competitor to impress judges at the competition, which drew up to 15,000 Irish language enthusiasts to Letterkenny, County Donegal...

Serĝento Seamus O’Fianghusa

…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.

“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….