Scrúdú Gaeilge á dhéanamh ag níos lú daltaí
August 10, 2012
Coláiste na bhFiann Fun Day
August 10, 2012
Coláiste na bhFiann will warmly welcome the public to a fun day taking place on Monday, 13th August in Co. Meath.
The day will be jam-packed with Irish language activities for all the family and will be an opportunity for the public to see Coláiste na bhFiann’s new headquarters in Droim Rí. The new youth centre is situated in the former Warrenstown Horticultural Centre and is surrounded by gardens, sports grounds and enough outdoor space to satisfy the most active of students that will come through the Coláiste na bhFiann doors in the future. The new centre will accommodate over 750 students this summer and hundreds more will attend other Coláiste na bhFiann courses in various locations around the country. The day will include entertainment from some of the 600 current students that will be in attendance. This will include music shows, dancing and drama. These performances will demonstrate the effectiveness of Coláiste na bhFiann’s objective of creating an environment in which students are comfortable and confident using the Irish language in social and informal settings. The Fun Day will give the public a taste of life as a Coláiste na bhFiann student and how easy it is to enjoy the language in everyday life. President of the GAA Liam Ó Néill will be there on the day to help celebrate Coláiste na bhFiann’s achievements over the last 45 years through their summer colleges and their weekly youth clubs run all over the country. The day will also include games and a BBQ, entertainment for kids and a céilí at the end of the day. The Lá Spraoi will begin at 4.00pm and continue until 8.00pm. For more information contact Cáit in Droim Rí on 01-8259342 or eolas@colaistenabhfiann.ie.
Áthas for principal and pupils as gaelscoil nua gets go-ahead
August 9, 2012
The principal of a Co Cork gaelscoil says she is delighted that An Bord Pleanála has granted permission for a new school, which she has been seeking for the past 18 years.
Carmel Nic Airt said that since Gaelscoil Chloch na gCoillte was founded in 1994, with 20 pupils and her as the sole teacher, it has been housed in various rented buildings around Clonakilty.
“This is a great and historic day for the pupils, parents, and staff of an gaelscoil,” she said after the announcement yesterday. “At last we can proceed with the building of a proper purpose-built school that will be suitable for the needs of the children and staff with all the facilities that they should have had years ago as a right.
“I want to pay tribute and say a sincere go raibh maith agat to the families who, through the many hard years, supported our school when we had far from ideal conditions for their children.”
The school has expanded since and now has almost 250 pupils and more than 20 staff.
“It is ironic today that there are young students enrolled in our school whose parents were here in the early years. “We also have one teacher on our staff who attended here as a pupil.”
She said there had been a number of false dawns, particularly around election times, when political candidates made various promises to build a new school. “We are now moving forward as we prepare to commence the building of An Gaelscoil Nua at the site at Fernhill Rd.”
“The taxpayers of the country will be relieved to know that their money will no longer to expended on rented private properties, thankful through we are to have had those over the years.”
The mayor of Clonakilty, Cllr Cionnaith Ó Súilleabháin, also welcomed the news, and paid tribute to Ms Nic Airt’s perseverance, “Seven years ago the Department of Education secured a site at Fernhill Rd, but it is only now, at long last, that the building is about to start,” he said.
www.examiner.ie
Loinneog Lúnasa promises a fun filled weekend
August 9, 2012
For the third year running, the Loinneog Lúnasa music and cultural festival will take place in Gaoth Dobhair from Aug 10th to the 12th, with a varied, quality programme of events to entertain both visitors and locals of all ages.
Internationally acclaimed trad artists Altan and Steve Cooney will headline evening concerts during the weekend festival, as will An Crann Óg, the young Gaoth Dobhair trad group that has been drawing fans around the country.
“This is the third year of the festival, and our ambition is to grow it gradually,” said a spokesperson for the organising committee. “We want to concentrate on quality events and activities which reflect the strong influence the area has on Irish music and culture, and I think it’s obvious from this year’s programme that we’re taking a huge step forward in that respect with internationally renowned acts, thanks to support from Údarás na Gaeltachta, Foras na Gaeilge and our local sponsors.”
The festival programme is filled with music and dance, workshops, family events and fun.
On Saturday, the Family Fun Day at Ionad Naomh Pádraig, Dore, starts at 12 noon, with nature walks starting from the same centre at 2pm. At the Crannóg in Derrybeg, there will be a food and crafts market starting at 11am on Saturday.
On Sunday there will be a Family Day organised by Cumann na gCurrach Ghaoth Dobhair at the pier in Magheragallon. The festivities kick off at 2pm and will include a currach exhibition, music, food and other fun. Selki Sailing will also be there to provide an open session for anyone interested in trying a variety of watersports.
But of course, the Gaeltacht parish of Gaoth Dobhair is particularly known for Irish music and culture, and the heart of the weekend festival is culture: music, dancing and the Irish language. On Friday morning there will be a traditional music and creative dance workshop for children in the Leabharlann Ghaoth Dobhair, starting from 11am to 12 noon. This workshop is free of charge with more details available from the leabharlann, 074 9560862.
Later, at 5pm on Friday, there is a poetry workshop in An Crannóg, with highly regarded Irish language poets, Máire Wren and Collette Ní Ghallchóir. The cost for the evening poetry workshop is €10 for adults and €5 for teenagers.
There are a number of top-class concerts over the weekend, kicking off in style on Friday at 8.30 with the local legends of Irish traditional music, Altan, taking the stage at Ionad Cois Locha, Dún Lúiche. Steve Cooney and Friends will perform at Ionad Cois Locha at 8.30pm on Saturday night. Both concerts are Tionscnamh Lúgh promotions.
Altan’s music has always been true to the roots from which it has grown, always injecting something new as they approach a set of tunes, or something beautiful when Mairead’s voice floats over slow air or a love song.
Australian-born guitarist, bassist, producer and didgeridoo player Steve Cooney is one of the most dynamic modern performers in traditional music. He’s also a fine composer, known mainly for the reel Skidoo which was originally recorded by Stockton’s Wing and since recorded by Sharon Shannon amongst others.
Also on both nights there will be céilí and set dancing in Teach Jack in Glassagh, while on Friday night in Teach Hiudaí Beag in Bunbeg, there will be a night of music with the Derry and Antrim Fiddlers Association, who have become regular visitors to the area.
Saturday begins with music workshops in the Crannóg in Derrybeg, delivered by two internationally renowned musicians, Gay McKeown, CEO of ‘Na Píobairí Uilleann’, on uilleann pipes and Steve Cooney on guitar. Workshops run from 10am to 2pm and cost €20.
There’s something for the dancers young and old at 2pm on Saturday. That’s when the Irish-speaking Tura Arutura, who came to Belfast from his home place of Zimbabwe, offers a workshop in hip hop and sean nós. Booking for the workshop through the Crannóg, 074 9532208 or cfgd@yahoo.ie. The workshop costs €5 and is supported by Ógras. There will also be céilí and set dancing, including workshops, all weekend in Teach Jack in Glassagh. More information on that available from 074-9531173.
Singers will want to be in Teach Hiudaí Beag’s at 4.30pm on Friday for “Ailleog Cheoil”, an open singing session that is offered free of charge.
Following on from his very well-attended lecture at last year’s festival, RTÉ’s music archivist, Ian Lee, will give a presentation about the Donegal heritage in the RTÉ archives entitled “Oidhreacht cheoil Dhún na nGall I gCartlann RTE ó na 40dí & 50dí”. Ian’s address is scheduled for 2pm on Saturday in the music room at Ionad Naomh Pádraig.
“Draíocht na Mara” is a seafood-themed night which happens at Ionad Naomh Pádraig with music, food and craic, and more music from the Derry and Antrim Fiddlers Association. The always popular evening starts at 8.30pm and admission is €15.
After the fun at the pier on Sunday evening, there will be songs and plenty of craic with “Na Sinanigans” in Teach Shein Óig in Derrybeg from 6pm. Then to finish off the weekend, there will be an evening of music and song in the world-famous home of Clannad and Enya, Teach Leo in Brinaleck, with the renowned local group of young trad musicians, An Crann Óg, and guests.
The full festival programme is available on www.loinneoglunasa.com and on Facebook.
www.donegaldemocrat.ie
Intensive Radio Skills Course
August 8, 2012
Raidió Fáilte 107.1fm are inviting Irish speakers to take part in an intensive course in radio broadcasting and production skills . The groundbreaking course is funded by the Irish Language Broadcast Fund and backed by Northern Ireland Screen. The participants will learn how to prepare, present, record and edit their own radio show. More advanced radio skills interviewing and presenting techniques will also be covered. The participants will be given the opportunity to use Raidió Fáilte’s high tech recording equipment and editing suite in order to record and produce high-quality radio broadcasts, as well as training to use hand-held recording devices to record voxpops, interviews and community events. The course will also cover how to research a topic and write a radio script.
This is a great opportunity to kick-start a career in the media as a presenter or as a journalist and to produce your own programme on an all-Irish radio station. As part of the course, guest speakers from various national media services will offer advice based on their experience in the media. Participants who successfully complete the course will get the opportunity to have a regular slot on the busy schedule of the awarding winning Irish language station Raidió Fáilte.
To book your place on the course contact Dónall at 028 90 310013 or donall@raidiofailte.com before 03 September 2012.
Cúntóir Riachtanas Speisialta ag teastáil ó Naíonra Bhaile Brigín
August 7, 2012
Muinín go mbeidh gaelcholáiste i Maigh Nuad
August 7, 2012
Scoláireachtaí €2,000 do mhic léinn
August 7, 2012
Cá bhfuil plean teanga an stáit?
August 7, 2012
Irish language gets new Rule Book
August 7, 2012
A new version of an official guide to standardised rules of grammar and spelling in the Irish language has been published- fifty four years after the original guide was printed.
The new revised standard, ‘An Caighdeán Oifigiúil Athbhreithnithe’ went on sale in shops earlier this week.
There will be some changes to the written language as a result, according to Vivian Uíbh Eachach, Chief Translator with Rannóg an Aistriúcháin, the official translation service for the Houses of the Oireachtas in Dublin.
The publication follows another Government-sponsored review of the official standard for the language; however it is the recommendations of the translation service that are contained in the new grammar guide.
“There had been a public review undertaken by a central government translation unit, but that ended when the unit was disbanded earlier this year. Those recommendations have been presented to us and we intend to include them in our next review”, says Vivian.
The translation service is charged with providing the official translations of Acts of the Oireachtas as well as providing a simultaneous translation service in Leinster House. It also provides guidance on the official rules of grammar and spelling in the Irish language.
The department is located in Kildare Street across from Leinster House and a staff of twenty one translators, including staff from the now disbanded central translation unit.
“The original publication of An Caighdeán Oifigiúil was an enormous feat for the Irish language at the time”, says Vivian.
To put it in to context, the original standard was published the year Peig Sayers died, at a time when Éamon De Valera was still Taoiseach, and years before the establishment of central Irish language media outlets such as Raidió na Gaeltachta or TG4. It is unsurprising then that the language has changed radically since as its use has spread outside of traditional Gaeltacht areas into more urban areas.
“ The Official Standard was originally published in 1958, and since then the department has noted that there were some rules that needed to be extended and perhaps that there were other rules which merited inclusion and were not present in the original edition, it’s on this basis that we went about the review”, he adds.
The new amended standard was published on July 30th and contains eleven chapters on various elements of the language. It includes new chapters on the copula, pronouns, adverbs and the definite article, but also gives further credence to dialectical variations when it comes to the dative case following the definite article.
One of the more substantial changes has occurred in the area of verbs according to Vivian. “I suppose there is some degree of change as we are now recognising variations still alive in the dialects such as the form muid (we or us)”.
“There is also more guidance on the used of numbers and in certain cases we have extended the rules when it comes to the use of the nominative case instead of the genitive case and there will be more instances where the nominative case is used”.
“For example it was the case that someone could say they were making a cup of tea ag déanamh cupán tae but going for a cup of tea Ag dul le haghaidh cupáin tae, but now the nominative will come into play in cases such as this so that ag déanamh cupán tae/ ag dul le haghaidh cupán tae will both use the nominative case.
This has brought the written language closer to the spoken language but at the same time there has been an effort to avoid accepting new structures which would be overly influenced by the English language.
Does he think that the changes will confuse people, when there are complaints the rules for the written form of the Irish language are already complicated?
“ Well I suppose there will always be those who say that the changes haven’t gone far enough and those who say that too much has changed”, he says diplomatically.
“ We tried to steer a course between the two arguments and we recognised that there many rules which needed more explanation such as the rules surrounding the copula.
“I guess that people will be happy as we haven’t forbidden the used of many forms and instead have added to the number of acceptable variations, for example the construction bhaineamar (we won) is still acceptable as is the new form bhain muid. We are constantly adding to the standard”, he adds.
An Caighdeán Oifigiúil- Caighdeán Athbhreithnithe will be available to buy from July 30th and is also available for download for free on the website of the Houses of the Oireachtas.
