Old Irish (sometimes called Old Gaelic) is the name given to the oldest form of the Goidelic languages for which extensive written texts are extant. It was used from the 6th to the 10th centuries, by which time it had developed into Middle Irish. Old Irish is thus the ancestor of Modern Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Broadly speaking, the grammar and sound systems of the modern languages are simpler than those of Old Irish.

Contemporary Old Irish scholarship is still greatly influenced by the works of a small number of scholars active in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, among them Rudolf Thurneysen (1857–1940) and Osborn Bergin (1873–1950). Their books are viewed as required material for any enthusiast of Old Irish even today.

A still older form of Irish is known as Primitive Irish. Fragments of Primitive Irish, mainly personal names, are known from inscriptions on stone written in the Ogham alphabet. These inscriptions date from about the 4th to the 6th centuries. Primitive Irish is still very close to Common Celtic, the ancestor of all Celtic languages.

Old or OLD may refer to:

Irish may refer to:

Daniel Francis Noel O'Donnell (born 12 December 1961) is an Irish singer, television presenter and philanthropist. O'Donnell came to public attention in 1983 and has since become a household name in Ireland and the UK. He has also had considerable success in the US and Australia. He is known for his close relationship with his fanbase, and his charismatic and engaging stage presence. His music has been described as a mix of country and Irish folk, and he has sold over ten million records to date. O'Donnell is also known for his tenor voice. In Ireland, he is widely considered a 'cultural icon', and is often parodied in the media. He is a prominent ambassador for his home county of Donegal, and he is affectionately known as 'Wee Daniel'.

O'Donnell was born and brought up in the village of Kincasslagh, in the Rosses region of County Donegal. He grew up as the youngest of a Roman Catholic family, with his parents Julia (née McGonagle born 1919) and Francis O'Donnell and his siblings: John (the eldest), Margaret (Margo), Kathleen, and James. He has described his upbringing as mostly happy, with the exception of the death of his father after a heart attack when O'Donnell was just six years old.