Would you like to learn about Poland? Or the Polish language?

You are in the right place!

If you're interested in learning about Polish culture, history, heritage or the Polish Language - you're in the right place.

We collect various handbooks for non-Polish speakers and will be delighted to help you with exploring our country and getting to know our traditions. At our library you can find books, guides and magazines about Poland, and these can help you along this journey. 

Feel free to contact us at: biblioteka@spgalway.com
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Learn more about Poland here.  ​

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Meet Lindsay!
The Irishwoman who decided to give Polish a try...

My name is Lindsay Shorten, I volunteered in the library at the Polska Szkoła w Galway from 2014 to 2015. I inquired about volunteering initially because I had been learning Polish for a year and was finding it quite difficult to learn Polish from books. I knew a more authentic,immersive experience would help me engage better with the language. I had heard about the Polska Szkoła online and was fascinated by the work they did and the community they had created in Galway. I got in touch to see if there was any way I could help out as I had done other volunteering projects while at university and also to get an insight into the Polish community in Ireland.

Each Saturday I would go along to the library and help out with the kids and the books as best I could but I must say it was a slight language/culture shock being surrounded by Polish the whole time! I remember feeling impressed listening to bilingual kids speaking just as fluent as me in English but way better in Polish! Saying that, it was all good practice for how I was going to use Polish going forward. I was really impressed by the effort and dedication that Agnieszka, her family and the staff had put into the school. I thought it really must take determination and love for Poland and the language to come to school on Saturday as a teacher, parent or pupil. There was always a very positive atmosphere at the school and I looked forward to coming in on my Saturday mornings. The school has a wealth of resources, books, lovely staff and very happy children attending the school.

For myself, volunteering at the Polish school hugely influenced the steps I was to take after my university studies. I wasn’t sure where to start after my final year but the one thing I did know is that I wanted to go to Poland and give teaching a go, a conclusion I had come to while volunteering at Polska Szkoła. I ended up in Gdańsk where I spent half a year teaching General English, Spanish and Business English in a private language school. My Polish got to the level where I could have deep, meaningful conversations and I made so many great friends in Poland.

In Ireland, the most widely spoken language, after English, is in fact Polish. Polish is spoken by more people in Ireland on a daily basis than Irish, our national language. For this reason, I felt encouraged to learn the language that is spoken so widely across the country and one that would shape the future of my country. Since learning Polish, I’ve gone on to learn several other languages and while Polish is still the most difficult language I’ve ever learnt due to the it’s complicated grammar, it remains one of the most useful languages I’ve learnt based on my own circumstances. I can go to the Polski sklep and buy some pączki in Polish, I can watch crime shows on Netflix in Polish, I can maintain the friendships I have developed with Polish people and build new ones – it’s endless the opportunities that await when you take an interest in someone else’s culture and language.

Volunteers Lindsay Shorten & Magda Grochola, 2014