Most Irish tunes were never written down. They were learned by sitting beside someone who already knew them, listening, then trying.

Today we follow one tune as it travels from person to person, hear languages in song rather than speech, and ask a hard question: if every person changes a tune a little, whose tune is it?

Two soft Irish labels for our story (not a test): ceol (music) and amhrán (song).

1. Kitchen chain

Imagine a short Irish reel (a lively dance tune). Someone shares it with a neighbour. The neighbour listens twice, then tries it. A few notes land differently. Years later the tune is still recognisable, but not quite the first version.

2. Page version

Now picture the same tune printed on a page. Every note stays still. Anyone who reads the page meets the same shape. The tune no longer drifts from person to person.

Now listen with your ears working harder. These clips are sung, not spoken, so the guess is tougher.

Your teacher will play each clip twice on the board. Listen, then show which language you think it is when asked (point or thumbs-up). We check the reveal together and spot the clues that give it away.

Watch the language choices on the board before the first clip starts.

Look at the North America map on the board. When people left Ireland, Scotland and other places, they carried tunes in their heads, not in folders.

Watch where we stop. When we land on a place, be ready to say what might happen to a tune there: keep its shape, mix with local styles, or grow a new name.