Seanscéalta Éireannacha á n-athinsint do ghlúin úr – Leabhair chlóite agus ríomhleabhair arna bhfoilsiú
October 4, 2013
New leaflet published – Support for Parents
October 1, 2013
GAELSCOILEANNA TEO. have published a new leaflet on the support the organisation offers to parents. You can order printed copies to be sent to you free of charge by emailing oifig@gaelscoileanna.ie. Further information and answers to some of the questions most frequently asked by parents are available here, and the leaflets can be downloaded as PDFs below.
BBnaG visits Galway and Leitrim
October 1, 2013
Irish language seminar for postprimary students, ‘Buntáiste Breise na Gaeilge’, to visit Galway and Leitrim.
In two weeks time, Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge will begin the autumn series of Irish language careers seminars, ‘Buntáiste Breise na Gaeilge’ in four different locations across Ireland for students in fourth, fi¬fth and sixth year in secondary schools. In recent years Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge have organised over twenty five such seminars with 7,000 students from 201 post-primary schools from all over the country having attended the seminars nationwide.During the seminar, the advantages which the Irish language may afford you in your chosen career will be discussed. Guest speakers will give lively accounts of their own experiences, and will encourage students to consider Irish as they choose their own career-paths in the future.
On 16th October, the Landmark Hotel in Carrick-on-Shannon will host the first of this series of seminars, with a similar seminar taking place the very next day at the Salthill Hotel in Galway. Longford native Ciarán Mac an Bhaird, a lecturer in Business in Fiontar DCU will take to the stage in Carrick-on-Shannon alongside broadcaster Barbara Nic Dhonnacha who will speak about her role as a bilingual broadcaster on iRadio. Barra Mac Thiarnáin a native of Kiltubrid in Co. Leitrim who works as a Youth Officer with Coláiste na bhFiann will give an insight into the advantages that Irish gave him in carrying out his daily work with young people. Seán Ó Súilleabháin who originally hails from Longford but who has settled in Co. Leitrim for many years will speak about the role the Irish language played in his post as a County Librarian for over thirty years.
The Salthill Hotel in Galway will host the seminar on Thursday morning 17th October 2013. The former Galway hurler and GAA icon, Joe Connolly will give an account of the advantages the Irish language afforded him personally. Connolly’s 1980 speech as he raised the Liam McCarthy Cup in Croke Park is remembered in the history books as one of the most memorable speeches of all times. Actor Lochlann Ó Mearáin who plays Dara in the TG4 soap Ros na Rún will give an account of the doors the Irish language opened for him while RTÉ newsreader Siún Nic Gearailt and TG4 Jig Gig presenter Róisín Ní Thomáin will give an insight into their work within the media sector.
In November the seminar will take to the road again, with seminars to be held in the Silversprings Hotel in Cork on 13th November 2013 and the Malton Hotel in Killarney on 14th November. Among the panels of guests at these seminars are GAA legends Seán Óg Ó hAilpín and Mícheál Ó Muircheartaigh. Questions from students will be welcomed during the seminars, and students will be encouraged to take an active role in the discussion, and will have a chance to ask questions of the speakers, and to take part in what promises to be a lively debate.
If you are a secondary school teacher or an individual who would like to attend any of the upcoming seminar which may be taking place in your region please contact Brígíd at Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge, 01 679 4780 / brighid@comhdhail.ie
As spaces are limited all schools must be registered before attending these events.
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com
ESG to be dissolved
October 1, 2013
At an extraordinary meeting held last Saturday a decision was made by the Bord of Directors of Eagraíocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta (ESG) to wind up the company.
ESG, based in Baile Bhuirne, Co. Cork was established in 2006 as an umbrella body for primary and secondary schools in the Gaeltacht areas. The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht has announced it will not provide funding to the organisation from the beginning of next year. Since 2007, funding of €780,000 has been approved by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht for the organisation to employ a CEO and an administrator and to cover operating costs. .
The Bord contend ESG has an important role which is central to the implementation of the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language and that the organisation should be available to represent and lobby on issues pertaining to Gaeltacht education.
ESG and Gaelscoileanna Teoranta have been in talks towards amalgamating the two organisations for over two years, but while certain progress was made in this regard, the failure of both funders – Foras na Gaeilge and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht – to come to a solution in relation to future funding caused an insurmountable obstacle to the progression of the merge. The Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht claim it would have been inappropriate to get involved in talks relating to the amalgamation of two voluntary organisations while this process was still underway.
At the end of May, speaking at a conference held by An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta (COGG) Seán Ó Foghlú, General Secretary of the Department of Education and Skills announced his department is to undertake a full review of the provision of Irish medium education in Gaeltacht schools.
Ó Foghlú explained the objective of this review was to recognise the different choices in the provision of the Irish medium education which suit the needs of the Gaeltacht area planning according to The Gaeltacht Act 2012. It would seem strange that the recently announced decision by the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht to pull the plug on ESG funding should come in advance of the results of the review.
Mairéad Ní Chualáin, Chairperson of ESG said this is “a critical time for Gaeltacht education given the review intended by the Department of Education and Skills as well as the changes to curriculum being implemented in the next year. Now, the Gaeltacht schools will have no input in either of these processes”.
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com
New Irish language newspaper for students
October 1, 2013
Irish Independent launched a new service to replace ‘Foinse’.
Dáithí Ó Sé and Micheál Ó Muircheartaigh will provide regular content for the new publication, and last week’s edition featured articles written by journalists Tomaí Ó Conghaile and Ciarán Dunbar. This eight-page supplement which will appear as an insert with the Irish Independent will be part of a pair as Independent Media also aim to launch a second Irish language publication ‘Ar Fheabhas’ which will be distributed through schools.
It came as a shock to readers that ‘Foinse’ did not return to our shelves at the beginning of the school year as expected as a supplement in the Irish Independent. ‘Foinse’ was established in 1996, and a weekly Irish language newspaper was available nationally until summer 2009, subsidised with funding from Foras na Gaeilge. When the funding from Foras na Gaeilge came to an end, ‘Foinse’ was relaunched in autumn of 2009, with a new look and a new distribution system.
At the beginning of the year, Foras na Gaeilge announced a decision to cut all funding for the weekly Irish language newspaper ‘Gaelscéal’ before the contract was due to end officially. A low sales rate was the main reason given by Foras na Gaeilge for this action, with an average amount of 1,300/1,400 hard copies sold in shops weekly.
In a statement last February, CEO of Foras na Gaeilge stated: “There are difficulties with sales and distribution of newspapers worldwide. The Board and the Committee will now be looking at these questions as we move towards founding a new news service for the Irish Language community.” While Foras na Gaeilge has been researching this area since last spring, and have held focus groups and public meetings on the matter there does not seem to be much movement on finding or funding a successor to ‘Gaelscéal’.
Gaelport.com requested a statement from Foras na Gaeilge on this matter and were told that “the issue of Irish language news services will be discussed again by the Board of Foras na Gaeilge at their next meeting on 1st November 2013”.
While Independent Media have launched a new service for school students, those wishing to read their news through Irish on a regular basis are being ignored. It remains to be seen how long it will take to replace ‘Gaelscéal’ with a new publication funded by Foras na Gaeilge, whatever form that might take. While a Board decision is not forthcoming, the 1,400 regular readers which ‘Gaelscéal’ had built up are sure to be reading their news elsewhere. As ever, procrastination is the thief of time, and for a language under threat, time is not on our side.
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com
TEG Newsletter (Autumn 2013)
September 30, 2013
Information on 2014 Exams, TEG certificates presented to member of An Garda Síochána and Irish language preschool workers, new Teaching resources and much more!
Coláiste Ghlór na Mara prepares for 2014
September 30, 2013
Coláiste Ghlór na Mara is going full steam ahead. The school will open its doors to First Year students for the 2014/15 academic year.
The uniform has been chosen and at present a supplier is being sourced. We will reveal it here when we have it ready!
The Board is also actively looking into the possibility of pupils having an ‘electronic schoolbag’ as pupils of Coláiste Ghlór na Mara and again we will release that information as soon as we have a definite plan.
During the month of October the position of Príomhoide for Coláiste Ghlór na Mara will be advertised with a view to filling that post and having the Príomhoide appointed from February 2014.
In November the Board will make contact with those who have registered an interest in attending Coláiste Ghlór na Mara for the academic year 2014/15 with a view to registering the pupils that are currently in Rang 6.
http://colaisteghlornamara.com
Dea-scéal do Gaelscoil Shliabh Rua
September 30, 2013
Tá suíomh buan faighte againn i mBaile Uí Ógáin sa Chéim. Táimid ag súil le bheith ag bogadh isteach i Mí na Samhna 2014!!
We now have a permanent site in Ballyogan Lands, Stepaside. We expect to move in in November 2014!!
BEO 2013 – Comórtas d’amhráin nuachumtha as Gaeilge
September 30, 2013
Minister Quinn announces patronage of new primary schools to open in 2014
September 26, 2013
Educate Together appointed patron of new schools in Sandymount/Ringsend and Knocknacarra, Galway
The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D., today announced the outcome of the patronage determination process for new primary schools due to open in 2014.
This is a further step in the process that began in June 2011 when the Minister announced that 20 new primary schools are to be established up to 2015 in a number of locations to cater for increasing pupil numbers.
At that time the Minister also announced new criteria and arrangements for the recognition of the new schools. The arrangements included the establishment of a New Schools Establishment Group (NESG), an independent advisory group, to advise the Minister on the patronage of the new schools following its consideration of a report prepared by Department officials.
Announcing the patronage of the new schools, Minister Quinn said: “In making the decisions on the patronage of these schools, I was particularly conscious of taking into account the clear parental demand for plurality and diversity of patronage.
“The new schools getting the go-ahead will optimise parental choice and strengthen diversity of provision in the areas where they are being established”.
Educate Together has been appointed as the patron of a new 16-classroom school for the Sandymount/Ringsend area in Dublin and of an 8-classroom school for the Knocknacarra area in Galway.
The Minister said that consideration is to be given to the establishment of a further 8-classroom school for the Knocknacarra area in 2015 under the patronage of Lifeways Ireland Limited. This will be subject to further prior confirmation that parental demand will support this model and size of school adequately at this time.
The Minister has agreed to defer the establishment of new primary schools for Swords in Dublin and for Middleton/Carrigtohill in Cork pending further reviews of these areas by the Department.
In assessing the applications received in all cases, all of the published criteria as set out were considered, including the extent of diversity in existing schools and the scale of diversity to be provided by the new school or schools. This was considered in conjunction with the level of parental demand for each of the patron applicants.
The Minister expressed his thanks to the members of the NSEG for their valuable input to the process.
He said: “I initiated the revised system for the establishment of new schools and the appointment of the school patron so that it would be an objective and transparent process. The role of the NESG is critical to achieving these aims and I want to thank them for their work in this area.”
Department officials will be in contact with Educate Together shortly in regard to the logistics of establishing the new schools that are going-ahead.
The Report of the New Schools Advisory Group is available online at: http://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Information/Establishing-a-New-School/New-Primary-Schools/Report-of-the-New-Schools-Establishment-Group-on-the-Patronage-of-Primary-Schools-Scheduled-to-Commence-in-September-2014.pdf
Lifeways Ireland Ltd. is a company limited by guarantee with charitable status. It is currently the patron body for two Steiner National Schools both of which have provisional recognition from the Department.
