Bilingual poetry in Bantry Gaelscoil
March 6, 2014
Denis Connolly and his partner Anne Cleary were among the many Irish architects who moved to Paris in the early 1990s, a time when there was virtually no architectural work in Ireland and an abundance in France.
In the interim, most of their compatriots returned to Ireland and moved on elsewhere after the boom ended. The Cleary-Connollys, however, settled in Montmartre, where they live with their family. They have diversified into broader artistic expression and return regularly to Ireland to orchestrate artistic workshops in schools and public organisations. At the moment, they’re in Bantry for a special project in which they join forces with another Irish artist of major significance, also voluntarily exiled in Paris — Irish-language poet Derry O’Sullivan. O’Sullivan has been teaching in France for several decades, where he lives with his wife Jean. In 2012, he became the first living poet to receive the coveted Times Stephen Spender poetry award for an outstanding piece of poetry translated into English.
At their temporary base at the Maritime Hotel in Bantry, all four expatriate Irish appear to be infected with the childlike enthusiasm that their unique project has engendered. “There was a call put out for the Gaelscoil in Bantry and we thought that it would be nice to do something with the Irish language,” explains Denis Connolly. “Immediately we thought of Derry.” They had met at a fundraising event in Paris where some members of Ireland’s French diaspora had gathered. After a short email, Derry sent back a poem he had written on space travel entitled ‘Blip’. “It was perfect and what was extraordinary was that you always expected an Irish poem from school Irish to be something pastoral or about a little black donkey.” They all laugh at the reference to Pádraic Ó Conaire’s ‘M’asal Beag Dubh’ — a staple of the secondary school curriculum for most of their generation and beyond, and one which is referenced in ‘Blip’.
The notion of space travel and weightlessness gave them the visual key. “In this case, we do a participative phase with the kids where they talk about the poem and then we come up with a way in which they can participate in it,” says Connolly. “Derry read the poem in both English and Irish,” says Cleary. “We went through it and discussed every section of it with the children — interpreting data, space travel, the space race, weightlessness and the whole notion of what happens when you’re up in space.” Working through the three phases of participation, photography and print, the result ends up being a very thoughtful interpretation of a piece of poetry, using the imagination and energy of the students to create their own piece of permanent art in the school: a series of images and words are transferred onto the huge glass surfaces of the new school building.
All were impressed by the level of enthusiasm from the children, especially as they participated while on mid-term break. It just goes to show: if education becomes fun, the thirst for knowledge and artistic expression has no bounds.
www.irishexaminer.com
Lack of services in Irish dismays Higgins
March 6, 2014
President Michael D Higgins has expressed his dismay and concern at the State’s failure to provide services in Irish for Irish speakers.
Mr Higgins made his comments during a reception at Áras an Uachtaráin yesterday afternoon held in honour of former coimisinéir teanga Seán Ó Cuirreáin. Mr Ó Cuirreáin resigned in December over the State’s failure to improve services to the public through Irish. Mr Higgins described the former coimisinéir as a passionate defender of language rights. “I would like to pay tribute this evening to Seán’s honesty, his intellectual integrity and to his steadfastness. Speaking in Irish, Mr Higgins said: “Irish should never be seen as a thorn in the side of the administrative system”. “As President of Ireland, I wish to state that, not only am I dismayed, but that I am greatly concerned at the apparent low level of ability to fulfil the rights of citizens who wish to interact through Irish with the State and its agencies. “We should also tackle the poisonous myth that Irish is an obstacle to the acquisition of any other language. “In my own experience, those who hold that idea would only be happy with a monoglot entirely English-speaking Republic.”
Obstacles
“We need to carefully examine the obstacles that stood in Seán Ó Cuirreáin’s way as he tried to carry out his work; the type of obstacle that led him to believe that he would be better off if he stepped back from the role of an coimisinéir teanga. “Very serious doubts have now emerged as to whether the Irish language can continue as a primary spoken language even among the communities in the heart of the Gaeltacht.” However, Mr Higgins struck a hopeful note on the public’s attitude towards Irish. “A great change in the attitude of people to Irish is discernible in the results of the recent census. Irish no longer carries the stigma of being connected with poverty and emigration; to Irish people it is now an important symbol of identity.”
www.irishtimes.com
Loreto Abbey to open doors to Irish language post-primary
March 6, 2014
Gaelcholáiste an Phiarsaigh to start lessons in September after 10-year campaign.
One of Dublin’s most architecturally significant buildings is to resume use as a secondary school after lying idle for almost 15 years. Rathfarnam’s Loreto Abbey, which dates back to the 18th century, is to house Gaelcholáiste an Phiarsaigh, the first all-Irish secondary school to be established in south Dublin since Tallaght’s Coláiste de hÍde was founded in 1993. The former boarding school was recently purchased from Nama by the Department of Education for a reported €2.3 million and will reopen for lessons in September. The huge growth in demand for Irish language schooling has intensified the need for Irish language post-primary schools to accommodate the numerous Gaelscoileanna that have sprung up across Dublin city and county in recent years.
There are currently only seven post-primary schools catering for some 34 all-Irish primary schools in the region, and south Co Dublin is serviced by just three post-primary schools – Coláiste Eoin and Íosagáin in Stillorgan and Coláiste de hÍde in Tallaght. The new post-primary school will be multi-denominational and will cater primarily for pupils from Gaelscoil Thaobh na Coille in Kilternan, Lios na nÓg in Ranelagh, Scoil Mológa in Harold’s Cross and Gaelscoil Chnoc Liamhna in Knocklyon. Some 200 children have already registered with the school and 46 are enrolled to start in September. It is envisaged that this number will increase to between 500 and 600 once the school is fully operational. After campaigning for 10 years for a site to house an Irish language post-primary school in the area, parents were told in January that the Department of Education had identified a permanent location suitable for the school.
Commercial sensitivities surrounding the purchase of the site meant the location was only revealed this week. Speaking this morning, chairman of the school board, Lorcán Mac Gabhann, said he had been informed on Monday that the new school will be housed in the former abbey from September. He said the news brought a sense of relief to parents who had become frustrated at the absence of a premises as the new school year approached. The school will now concentrate on enrolment and determining the number of teachers required. “One major element was missing – the location of the school. Everything else depended on that,” Mr Mac Gabhann said, adding he hoped the attendance will be finalised soon. The school board is holding a meeting for prospective parents in Bewleys Hotel in Leopardstown at 8pm tonight to discuss the latest developments. “We are expecting 100 people at the meeting tonight. People are coming back who had registered for other schools.” An Foras Pátrúnachta, the patron body for the school, welcomed the development. General secretary Caoimhín Ó hEaghra said: “We are delighted that the school has found a permanent site at last.
“There has been a clear demand for a Gaelcholáiste in this area for a long time and this can be seen in the level of demand for places in Coláiste Eoin and Íosagáin. We hope the new school will cater for the need that is there at the moment and that we will see in the future. Mr Ó hEaghra said some renovations would be required to bring the building up to current standards, but that An Foras Pátrúnachta was working on this with the Department of Education. Built in 1725 by William Palliser, the original house was purchased by Archbishop Murray of Dublin in 1821 for the Irish branch of the Institute of the Blessed Mary. Described as early Georgian and classical in style, the main abbey building is where the school will initially be housed. The 1.82 hectare site consists of several buildings including the abbey itself, a concert hall, a church, a gymnasium and two gate lodges. A boarding school was established on the site in 1823 and the property was extended between 1863 and 1903 to include the concert hall and gymnasium. Previously run by the Loreto Sisters, the school closed in 1999 and was purchased by property developer Liam Carroll for £14 million. He planned to convert the property into a nursing home and to build 10 apartment blocks. He failed in his attempt to convert the former convent buildings into offices in 2004 and the site was subsequently taken over by Nama.
www.irishtimes.com
Irish language under threat
March 6, 2014
A chara, – Rather than continuing the unedifying spat on your pages between the pro- and anti-Gaeilge lobbies on the merits and demerits of the Irish language, may I suggest we defer to words of wisdom from our much-missed Nobel laureate Seamus Heaney: “Not to learn Irish is to miss the opportunity of understanding what life in this country has meant and could mean in a better future.
It is to cut oneself off from ways of being at home. If we regard self-understanding, mutual understanding, imaginative enhancement, cultural diversity and a tolerant political atmosphere as desirable attainments, we should remember that a knowledge of the Irish language is an essential element in their realisation.” – Is mise,
CONALL Ó MÓRÁIN,
Louvain,
Cluain Sceach,
Baile Átha Claith 14.
www.irishtimes.com
Camán key to students success at Schools Enterprise award
March 6, 2014
A company set up in a hurling-mad school has won a top prize at a student enterprise competition for its camán-shaped keyrings customised with school, club, and county crests.
A team from another Cork school won the other main prize during this week’s Seachtain na Gaeilge for an Irish comic and CD about Cúchulainn and other legendary figures. For the four teenagers at Midleton CBS behind Hurling Hub, winners of the South Cork Schools Enterprise Programme, the choice of business venture was fairly simple. They designed hurley-shaped key rings, to which crests are added in production, and the school’s hurling tradition was a big influence.
“That’s really where we came up with the idea, the school being so sport-oriented, we thought it would be good to do something associated with sport,” explained company manager Kevin Moynihan. It also helped that the start-up last autumn coincided with Midleton’s path to a county senior hurling championship victory, so sales were strong for club-crested keyrings. With sales of more than €1,000 already achieved on the €2 keyrings — and the prospect of bringing production fully in-school instead of partly outsourced — they were on course for a win themselves going into the event earlier this week at University College Cork — where they also managed to make a pitch to supply college keyrings.
A desire to help primary pupils develop an interest in Irish language inspired the 14-member Coláiste an Spioraid Naoimh mini-company Pulse. The lads from the Bishopstown school decided a comic book, Fadó Fadó, telling the stories of Cúchulainn — himself a legendary hurler — could help make learning Gaeilge more fun for children aged nine to 13. The stories are illustrated by the students themselves, and also feature tales of Tír na nÓg and Cúchulainn. The comic has glossaries for tough words and games to make it even more of an educational aid for pupils and teachers, and helping the product win the Cork City enterprise award. The two firms emerged from almost 50 who exhibited at a showcase of young innovators at the regional final at UCC. The college is offering mentorship to both ahead of their participation in the Student Enterprise national finals in Croke Park on April 2, where they will have a chance to add to the €2,500 in prizes provided by the South Cork and Cork City enterprise boards.
Other category winners this week included a number of teams from fellow-Midleton school St Colman’s Community College, from Kinsale Community College, Coláiste Choilm in Ballincollig, and Regina Mundi College in Douglas. Find more details about the two overall winning companies check out @HurlingHub and @PulseCSN on Twitter.
www.irishexaminer.com
Negotiating the quagmire of Irish exemptions and college applications
March 6, 2014
Every year there are a number of CAO applicants who may not be taking Irish for the Leaving Certificate.
This may be as a result of a learning difficulty, other types of disabilities or because they were educated outside of the State until after fifth class in primary school. As a result of these difficulties some students may also not be taking a European language for Leaving Certificate. This may have implications for matriculation to some institutions. A number of universities require students to have a pass grade in Irish in order to meet the matriculation requirements. These institutions include University College Dublin (UCD) University College Cork (UCC), NUI Maynooth and NUI Galway. Trinity College Dublin (TCD) requires students to pass a language other than English. The University of Limerick (UL) requires students to pass English and another language. Students who do not take Irish and/or a European language will have difficulty meeting the requirements for these colleges. However, if candidates hold an exemption from Irish from the Department of Education they may apply to the institutions for an exemption from language-related entry requirements.
In order to apply for an exemption from the NUI institutions, candidates should first go to nui.ie and go to the ‘entry requirements’ section of ‘going to college.’ Here they will find PDF forms to be used to apply for a third language or Irish exemption. These must be completed and signed by the school principal. Completed forms should be sent to the NUI offices on Merrion Square, Dublin, and not to the individual institutions. There is no need for the candidate to contact the CAO or institutions directly as this will be done on their behalf if their application is successful. Applicants to TCD who may not meet the language requirement may apply to the university’s admission office for a similar exemption. Information is available from the Pathways to Trinity section of the TCD website. Similar arrangements exist for UL. If a student with a learning difficulty or hearing impairment wishes to apply to UL and does not study Irish or a European language they may apply for a language exemption by providing evidence of their disability and a copy of their certificate of exemption from Irish to the admissions office of the university. Further information can be found at the DARE (Disability Access Route to Education) and disability support section of ul.ie.
Dublin City University (DCU) requires students to have passed Maths and English for matriculation. The institutes of technology also require students to have passed maths and English. Therefore it is not necessary to apply for a language exemption for any of these institutions. It is important to remember that language exemptions and DARE are separate schemes. Students will need to make a separate application for language exemptions even with they already have submitted their DARE application. Important dates this week
Today
Stillorgan College of Further Education Open day
March 6
DIT Portfolio Submission Moate Business College Open day
March 7
Ballyfermot College of Further education Round 1 applications close
Westport College of Further Education Open day
March 8
GMIT CAO information event
Sound Training Centre Open Day
March 11
Clonakilty Agricultural College Open Day
Aoife Walsh is a guidance counsellor at Malahide Community School, Co Dublin
www.independent.ie
Irish language under threat
March 6, 2014
Sir, – EF Fanning’s use of the Census 2011 language question (February 26th) illustrates a statistical anomaly with a self-selective question such as how often people speak Gaelic, which tends to favour romantic sentimentalism over scientific accuracy.
It is highly likely that most of the 119,000 Polish speakers are actually fluent in that language. I sincerely doubt the same could be said of the 1.77 million people who claim to be able to speak Gaelic. But the 1.77 million includes schoolchildren. In fact, only 77,185 people, or 1.7 per cent of the population, claimed to use Gaelic on a daily basis outside of school. It is probable that there are more daily users of Polish than Gaelic. Perhaps the question could be rephrased to ask if you are fluent in Gaelic, or maybe the question should be asked in Gaelic on the English form to see how many people are able to answer it.
Speaking of the English form, for Census 2011 people were offered the choice of the English or Gaelic form. A total of 1,654,447 English forms were collected, whereas only a measly 7,806 Gaelic forms were collected. Or, to put it another way, only 0.47 per cent of census forms were the Gaelic version! Instead of lecturing English speakers, criticising Government for lack of services, or demanding more force-feeding, perhaps Gaelgoirí should start with themselves and actually use the Gaelic form for Census 2016. – Yours, etc,
JASON FITZHARRIS,
Rivervalley,
Swords,
Co Dublin.
Sir, – On Saturday last, in a replica Irish cottage in the centre of Phoenix, Arizona, I was shown a small room where children of age five and upwards learn Irish in much the same setting as they would in an Irish national school. They can then cross a small plaza to the Irish-language section of the recently completed McClelland Irish Library (linked with the main public library across the road), or join the adult Irish classes in the fully equipped learning suites adjoining. Someone should tell them about how Ireland feels about all of this before they waste any more time or resources. – Yours, etc,
DENIS BERGIN,
Schoolhouse Road,
Mount Pleasant,
South Carolina.
www.irishtimes.com
Na Déise celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge
March 6, 2014
As Seachtain na Gaeilge is in full swing at the moment many events are being organised in various towns and villages in Co. Waterford to suit all ages. Many Irish language events will take place in the county from 1-17th march 2014. Events include children’s events, bingo as Gaeilge, Irish language gatherings. On Wednesday 12th March a wonderful morning of children’s storytelling will take place in Dungarvan Library with Jacqui de Siúin reading many stories to children from 10.30am. This event is free and is suitable for children aged 0-3 bhliain years and storytelling suitable for primary school children will commence at 11.30am. Jacqui de Siúin will host a storytelling morning aimed at primary school children in Tramore library at 11am on 14th March. An Irish language bingo will take place in the library in Tramore. This bingo is aimed at primary school children to book a place contact: (051) 381479. A weekly Irish language gathering will take place each Thursday evening from 7-8pm in Tramore library, everybody welcome to come along. For further information contact: Máire Seosaimhín Breathnach, Oifigeach Gaeilge (058) 20884
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com
Meeting re Gaelcholáiste an Phiarsaigh, 5th March 2014
March 4, 2014
Meeting about Gaelcholáiste an Phiarsaigh in Bewleys, Leopardstown, BÁC 18 at 8pm tomorrow.
Pat the pipe Píobaire
March 4, 2014
The radio drama “Pat the pipe Píobaire” will be launched in The Glens Centre on tuesday 11th of March at 6pm. It’s a mockumentary based on the book of the same title by Colm Ó Snodaigh and published by Coiscéim.
It was produced by An Puball Gaeilge and was directed and adapted for Radio by Proinn Ó Duigneáin agus Rossa Ó Snodaigh. They both have acting roles as do the well known actors and performers Dónal O Kelly, Sorcha Fox, Lochlann Ó Mearán, Des Bredin, Breandan de Gaillí, and two newbies Muiris Ó Conchubhair and Ruth Smith.
Jacques Pellen provided the theme music from his CD A Celtic Procession and Eoin Dillon mimicked the piping efforts of the main character Pat.
It was recorded in The Glens Centre (cluainín) and An Stiúdeó Dearg (BÁC) with sound supervison by Ray Duffy.
The mockumentary will be broadcast on Raidió na Life 106.4 in two parts on Fridays 14th and 21st of March at 8.30pm.
This project was funded by the BAI’s ‘sound and vision scheme’ and by Foras na Gaeilge.
