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A hero in any language: Korean-American Gaelic warrior goes to war

By
APRIL DREW,
Irish Voice Reporter

Published Wednesday, September 23, 2009, 10:48 AM
Updated Thursday, September 24, 2009, 1:12 PM

 

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Sergeant Seamus O’Fianghusa
Sergeant Seamus O’Fianghusa

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,” O’Fianghusa told the IrishCentral’s sister publication the Irish Voice.

Growing up in Brooklyn, O’Fianghusa (Fennessy) spent his youth hearing tales of wonderful times in Ireland from his grandfather, who hails from Co. Limerick. His grandmother comes from Co. Clare, but going back further into O’Fianghusa’s Irish history, it’s Co. Donegal where most of his roots lay.

After spending years learning about the wonders of Ireland and the uniqueness of the Irish language, O’Fianghusa felt a closeness to it. Learning the language was a must.

However, life got in the way of his plans. 

“I was always aware that there was an Irish language and I always wanted to learn it, but I was always putting it off for a number of different reasons,” he said. 

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. 

“I began learning Irish from a tape, the Donegal dialect one. In fact I learned most of my Irish from tapes,” recalls O’Fianghusa proudly. 

In six months the sergeant was fluent. He was beside himself with delight.

“It’s like I was reborn in the Irish language when I turned 30,” he said. “When I speak Irish I love every word that comes out of my mouth.

“When I’m speaking English I feel it’s boring. I’m sick of it. I enjoy every single syllable when I speak Irish. And now the prospective of thinking in Irish is a tremendous gift that I’m grateful for.”

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