I would LOVE to learn more about this language....both the Scottish and Irish I should say. I checked my local Community Collegefor classes but thy don't offer any at this time . I know there are lots of useful websites and whatnot online but I am definitely a "hands on learner" and wondered if anyone had any specific textbooks or workbooks with audio that they would recommend?

Keep in mind I haven't the first clue and need to start completely from scratch! Basics are good...

Emily:

I would start with:

1) Tús Maith - CD w/Book
2) Glance Card (Little cheat sheet for the language)
3) Focloir Scoile - Paperback green dictionary with pronunciation guide

You can buy these all on-line from www.siopagaeilge.ie or www.litriocht.com

Unfortunately these are not a "Text", but the Tús Maith - Part 1 is a gentle introduction into the language with a whole lot of little cultural tips and aids. The author sings/teaches you a variety of songs and that helps in the learning process.

Then, get on Facebook and join "Gaeilge Amháin". It is an Irish only website, but is for folks learning. Just write whatever you learn and you'll be answered back in basic Irish. I think Fullbright is working on a text but I am not sure.

Adh mór ort (Good luck on you!)
Féabar Mac

I'd suggest Buntús Cainte with CDs for a beginner, also available from the sites Faber recommended. It has good basic conversations. If you're in the US the Daltaí site will probably save you on postage. Litriocht is a great site but ships from Ireland

www.kennys.ie is based in Galway but do not charge postage anyway in the world so they may be worth checking out. They should prove cheaper than www.litriocht.com

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I think the first step is to decide which dialect you want to learn first (even if you want to learn them all eventually).

If you want to dabble or compare both Irish and Gaelic, you could try Teach Yourself Irish and Teach Yourself Gaelic and see (and hear) the differences.

If you decide to go with Irish you should then decide which region of Ireland most interests you (or to which you have family connections) and choose one of the better courses based on that region.

For general Irish conversation with a Connemara/Munster (southern) slant, beagle's suggestion of Buntús Cainte is really good. I think Tús Maith has a northern emphasis, doesn't it?

The Glance Card is available here:

http://www.dfwgaelicleague.com/files/GlanceCard.pdf

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Múinteoir Gaeilge - Irish Teacher
My "specialty" is Connemara Irish, particularly Cois Fhairrge dialect, but I can also speak Ulster and Munster Irish with native-level pronunciation.
Is fearr Gaeilge ḃriste ná Béarla cliste, cinnte, aċ i ḃfad níos fearr aríst í Gaeilge ḃinn ḃeo na nGaeltaċtaí.
Gaeilge Chonnacht (GC), go háraid Gaeilge Chois Fhairrge (GCF), Gaeilic Uladh (GU), Gaelainn na Mumhan (GM), agus Gaeilge an Chaighdeáin Oifigiúil (CO).

I like Nancy Stenson's Basic Irish workbook for grammar. I like Colloquial Irish and Mícheál Ó Siadhail's Learning Irish, though those are both for the Irish of Cois Fharraige, for the most part.

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I'm a beginner, so corrections and suggestions are much appreciated!
"What? First we give a month to black history, now we're blowing seven days on the Irish!"
Pierce, upon hearing about Green Week

Excellent books but beyond the beginner level. I'd recommend the beginner books and then, if you still want to continue, the others. No need to invest in lots of books at once, only to find out that for some reason you don't want to go on

Have you had a look at the useful links page? There's quite a lot there for you. Anyway here's another suggestion - Usborne publish 'Irish for Beginners' ISBN 978-0-7460-4643-2 www.usborne.com - it has internet links. There's a CD with it, but unfortunately they haven't fully updated it as it refers back to the original edition of 1989 - they still talk in punt and pingin at the market rather than in euro, which you would have thought they could have done something about. You might be able to find a second-hand copy with the original recording on cassette - ISBN 0-7460-1257-8
PS you might find the music gets on your nerves after a while but if you can rerecord it on a cassette for example, you can edit that out - that's what I do with other recordings as well - often they go too fast and on a CD unfortunately you can't always stop it where you want to.
There's also the Collins Easy Learning series and Pota Focal srl (etc).
Slán
Franc

WOW! Thanks for all the suggestions! I will have to take a look at each of the beginner's books and I guess just see which layout I think will suit my "learning style" lol.

Thanks again everyone for all the help! You guys are quite the inspiration!

For some reason, my reply didn't post, so I'm reposting it:

I recently received a copy of Éamonn Ó Dónaill's "Gaeilge Gan Stró," and highly recommend it:

http://www.siopa.ie/?Lang=en

You can download a sample unit from that site to see if it looks like something that would be useful for you.

Redwolf