My first language is English. At the age of six, I began to learn the Irish language (Gaeilge). My training in translation began at the age of twelve with intensive practice in translation of classical Latin and Greek texts. As a freshman in college, I continued my study of those three languages, as well as having my first acquaintance with French. A few years later, I was able to study French as a part of in-service training in a government office. That training was delivered by native speakers of French, as were classes I took in the Dublin center of the Alliance Francaise. I used French to translate European Community legal and other documents while working in my job. 

Later, as a graduate student of philosophy in the University of Buffalo NY, I used French and took undergraduate classes in German so that I could read material for my PhD dissertation. For several years I worked in jobs that demanded a high level of research, writing, and editorial skill in a wide range of topic areas. My last recent 20 years have been spent creating reasoning tests that are used internationally for admission to university programs in law and business. Lately, I've been translating a late nineteenth-century poem from French.  

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