I moved to Connemara 10 years ago – I actually had to check that before I wrote it as it doesn’t seem like a decade. But yes in October 2016, I left the farm in Mayo and moved nearly an hour and a half away to Connemara.

I didn’t set out to move to Connemara or indeed any Gaeltacht area but the house, or more importantly the garden, made that decision for me. It was only when I went into the local shop and heard everyone speaking as Gaeilge that it started to dawn on me, that I was moving to the Gaeltacht.

When I say I live here I get a variety of reactions. Those who know Connemara ask me whereabouts I live.

That’s important in relation to Irish as not all parts of Connemara are in the Gaelteact. When I say I live near Inverin, they then assume I speak Irish. I’m embarrassed to say that even after 10 years I am still not a fluent speaker.

It is the first language in this area and I love to hear it spoken so freely. Often times when I get the bus to Galway, particularly during the summer months, the air is full of Irish, French, German and other languages. It feels so right to have our own language spoken freely with the languages of other nations.

So why am I not a fluent speaker? Many presume that as I live here I am immersed in the language so it would be easy for me to learn it. While I’m sure that might work for some, it hasn’t for me.

I have always struggled with languages and barely passed both Irish and French in my Leaving Cert. I have read there is scientific evidence that some people are naturally better at learning languages than others. I am definitely the others.

The longer I live here, the more I want to become fluent so I will shortly be joining a programme that pairs me with a mentor to work on my comhrá.

I have tried the language apps and in my opinion they have given me a broader vocabulary but haven’t improved my spoken Irish. I understand a lot of what I hear but lack the confidence to join in even with my improved vocabulary.

The longer I live here, the more I want to become fluent so I will shortly be joining a programme that pairs me with a mentor to work on my comhrá. Hopefully, the one-to-one will give me confidence to get more involved in a comhrá when I’m at my local shop or café.

Soon the roads in this area will be filled with teenagers attending the Gaeltacht. I love the energy they bring every summer. They arrive with cases filled with way more outfits then they need and in many cases, shoes that are not up to the Connemara weather or terrain.

They also bring an assortment of musical instruments, hurls, footballs and a very wide variety of county GAA jerseys. The roads are filled with their chatter with an odd guiltyface when they say something as Béarla.

While I love the energy they bring I would never be a bean an tí. Not only do I not have the required level of Irish, but I also don’t have the required level of patience.

I have nothing but admiration for the families who take in 12 or even 14 teenagers – I can’t even imagine that level of hormones, Lynx and fake tan in the house.

There are so many things I love about Connemara. High on the list are my neighbours who have been so welcoming to me from the start. My daily walk can take 20 minutes or over an hour depending on who I meet.

Those walks also allow me to admire the beauty and wildness of the area. I can often see the sun glistening on the windows of the homes on Inis Mór or the ridges of the karst landscape of the Burren. The narrow roads are lined with wildflowers and full of bird song.

High winds that bothered me in the early years are now part of life and I have learned to batten down the hatches at short notice.

Ten years ago I wanted to find a haven, a place that would support me and restore me after the death of my husband. Connemara did all that. Míle buíochas.