Its roots are from deep within the ancient celtic tribes that once inhabited almost all of mainland europe around 3000 years ago. Various strains of the celtic language sprung up through the years. Six if I'm mistaken. Three forms of Gaelic languages evolved from these and they are, Irish, Scottish and Manx. The word 'Gaelic' was coined by the Welsh and in turn the Irish called it Gealige.

Here are a list of related sites that offer a detailed, descriptive and informative insight into this great cultural treasure we call Irish:

1.  http://www.ibiblio.org/gaelic/arathair.html
2.  http://www.ceolas.org/pub/Irish.nat'l.anthem
3.  http://celt.net/Celtic/History/ogam.html
4.  http://www.ibiblio.org/gaelic/gaelic.html
5.  http://celt.net/Celtic/Myths/bran.html
6.  http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/lessons/article-59-10.html
7.  http://www.dnaco.net/~mobrien/irishptr/ptryindx.html
8.  http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ga-ge/coimeas.html
9.  http://homepage.ntlworld.com/r.a.mccartney/baile_nua/main.html
10. http://www.ceolas.org/ref/treoir.html
11. http://www.webcom.com/liam/gaelsong/list.html
12. http://www.shamrockirishmusic.org/id14.html

(1)At http://www.ibiblio.org/gaelic/arathair.html you will find contentabout similarities and differences between the irish and scottish gaelic dialectin the form of the lord's prayer. Sean o Miadhachain/Godfrey Nolan,The Lord's Prayer.

(2)At http://www.ceolas.org/pub/Irish.nat'l.anthem you will find the national anthem in irish, it's true form.Ceolas, Irish National Anthem.

(3)At http://celt.net/Celtic/History/ogam.html there is an interesting piece on the history of the ancient 'ogham' form of writng. Celtic Heart, Ogham, Ancient Celtic Writing.

(4)At http://www.ibiblio.org/gaelic/gaelic.html there is a page devoted to the three gaelic languages with links to six celtic languages. Sean O Miadhachain/Godfrey Nolan, Gaelic and Gaelic Culture.

(5)At http://celt.net/Celtic/Myths/bran.html a supernatural adventure story predating christain time can be found. Morgan Llywelyn/Maire Breatnach (originally by Kuno Meyer and alfred nutt, 1895), The Voyage of Bran.

(6)At http://www.irishgaelictranslator.com/lessons/article-59-10.html one can enter an educational page where emphasis is on pronounciation. It helps in translating and learning the irish language especially for beginners. Eoin, Deb et Al, Only God Can Judge Me.

(7)At http://www.dnaco.net/~mobrien/irishptr/ptryindx.html we are introduced to various poems and stories with translations also. Maureen O Brien, Medievil Irish Poetry.

(8)At http://www.smo.uhi.ac.uk/gaidhlig/ga-ge/coimeas.html the author compares irish to scottish gaelic. Caoimhin P O Donnaile, Comparrison of Scottish and Irish Gaelic.

(9)At http://homepage.ntlworld.com/r.a.mccartney/baile_nua/main.html we are faced with the problem of the irish language declining in our society.Imagine if England stopped speaking english! R A McCarthy, A Plan to Save the Irish Language by Creating a New Town in the Gaeltacht.

(10)At http://www.ceolas.org/ref/treoir.html we get an insight into the use of computers to aid the development of irish music. Sean O Cuinn, Traditional Music and the Internet.

(11)At http://www.webcom.com/liam/gaelsong/list.html there is a collection of traditional folksongs. Liam, Na hAmhrain.

(12)At http://www.shamrockirishmusic.org/id14.html you will find info and links to various topics including music, instruments and language. The Shamrock Traditional Irish Music Society, Irish Language, Instruments, Music history.