Read an Irish Voice interview with Sergeant Seamus O’Fianghusa here
A US soldier who is fluent in Gaelic has become the subject of the first ever Irish war zone documentary.
Seamus O’Fianghusa (35), who was born to Irish American and Korean parents and grew up in Brooklyn, was asked to contribute to the TG4 documentary in 2010.
The documentary, “Dushlan”, follows him from New York to Belfast and Donegal, then onto Afghanistan.
"I would like it to be successful because it highlights the Irish language and culture in a way that is not at all traditional," he told the Irish Independent this week in Dublin.
"Irish has an international relevance. Our language is vibrant and capable of change in modern circumstances, as well as having its traditional associations."
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The soldier has been back to Ireland eight times since his first trip to Ireland in 2008. A regular visitor to the Gaelic region of Gweedore in Donegal, he took a rare break from combat while serving in Afghanistan to visit the Northwest.
"I was out in the middle of nowhere in Central Asia between life and death and then the next thing I am chilling out with a pint of Guinness in the Gaeltacht," he said.
"I pressed for those dates because I wanted to go home and sing and speak my Irish."
The TG4 documentary explores various characters in extraordinary circumstances and places.
The feature on O Fianghusa was filmed in the Logar province in Afghanistan, where he was on patrol for nine months.
"It's very different from anything else you would see anywhere else in the world," he reflected.
"The brotherhood you have with your fellow soldiers, being in life-threatening situations every day, bonds you more than anything else could.
"We endured many violent encounters -- being shot at, IEDs -- but I never really thought about how dangerous it was until I got home."
'Dushlan' aired on TG4.
Here's the trailer for the documentary:
5 Comments
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Switch to the desktop site to post a comment.IrelandNorth | Jan 16, 2012, 07:21 AM EST
Beidir go bhfuil se ag caint as Kandahar teanga. An bhfuil aon Chonradh na Gaeilge no Gael Linn san Afghanistain, no an bhfuil se sinn a load of Kabul? Portia777, all soldiers are trained to kill, including Irish Defence Forces, regardless of the legitimacy or otherwise of US Foreign policy. Take it up with Seoirse Bush agus Risteard (Dick!) Cheney. Ta an Searsint Fianghusa amach ar a aonar.
CitizenWhy | Jan 15, 2012, 07:27 PM EST
The soldier accurately uses Irish, not Gaelic, to name the language in English. I wonder if he also knows Korean.
Portia777 | Jan 15, 2012, 10:22 AM EST
Does it matter? This man is a soldier- trained killer- do we Ayrish wish to be associated with war and killing? I choose not to.
GeorgeDillon | Jan 15, 2012, 07:56 AM EST
faberm1: An bhfuil cead agam ceartuchan beag a dheanamh ar do chuid Gaeilge? An frasa sin "an dearcadh an shaighdiúir sin", is droch-Ghaeilge e. Sa chead ait, na husaid an t-alt, abair "dearcadh", na habair "an dearcadh", mar go bhfuil alt eile eile ag teacht ina dhiaidh. Agus nil an tuiseal ginideach cui agat do "saighdiuir". Is e an leagan ceart na "an tsaighdiura", mar gur focal firinsneach e. Mar sin, an leagan iomlan na "dearcadh an tsaighdiura". Gabhaim pardun nach fios dom na sinte fada a chur isteach. Rud beag eile, ta seimhiu de dhith in "an suimiuil". An leagan ceart na "an-shuimiuil", mar tagann seimhiu theis "an" nuair "very" is bri leis. Taobh amuigh de sin, ta do chuid Gaeilge maith go leor.
faberm1 | Jan 14, 2012, 08:44 PM EST
Chonaic mé an clár sin, agus bhain mé sult go leor leor as. Ach, ní aontaim leis an dearcadh an shaighdiúir sin agus cibe bhí sé an suimiuil. / I saw that program, and I really enjoyed it. However, I don't agree with the viewpoint of the guy, but I found it very interesting.