Engineer’s Week 2013
February 27, 2013
As part of Engineer’s Week which will take place from 25th February-2nd March 2013 an event with the theme Fíorú Aislingí will take place in Trinity College in Dublin.
This Family Day will take place on Saturday 2nd March in Trinity College as part of Engineers week. Events throughout the day include talks and workshops.
These events are suitable for individuals aged 8 – 15yrs
Spaces are limited to reserve a space contact: Nicole Ní Cheallaigh Comhluadar
imeacht@comhluadar.ie / (01) 4789191
Celebrating Seachtain na Gaeilge in Co. Mayo
February 27, 2013
As part of this year’s Seachtain na Gaeilge which will see hundreds of event taking place all over Ireland and around the world many events will take place in Co. Mayo. Seachtain na Gaeilge will take place from 4th-17th March 2013.
Here are some upcoming events in Mayo to suit all ages.
6th March – John Spillane in concert in the Talboy Hotel in Béal a’ Mhuirthead @ 8pm.
9th March – Music session with Craobh Clann Lir, Branch, Trá Bhuí, Dú Thuama @9pm
14th March – Coffee Morning ‘Is Leor Beirt’ in Áras Inis Gluaire 11am-12pm. Music coffee.
14th March – Bodach an Chóta Lachna by the drama company Fíbín Teo and pupils from Coláiste Chomáin, Ros Dumhach – Áras Inis
Gluaire, Béal a’ Mhuirthead 8pm
15th March – Presenting art competition awards to primary schools – Áras Inis Gluaire, Béal a’ Mhuirthead 11am
16th March – Hide and seek, sean-nós dancing music session from 2pm venue: Ionad Deirbhile & Teach John Joe, Eachléim
18th March – Tromluí Pinnochio/Pinnochio A Nightmare, Áras Inis Gluaire, Béal a’ Mhuirthead 8pm. Bilingual drama suitable for children 11+
For further information e-mail: l.padden@arasinisgluaire.ie
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com
Seachtain na Gaeilge in East Galway
February 27, 2013
As part of this year’s Seachtain na Gaeilge which will see hundreds of event taking place all over Ireland and around the world Gaeilge Locha Riach are hosting a wide range of events in East Galway.
Seachtain na Gaeilge will take place from 4th-17th March 2013.
Here is a list of events
• Yoga in Irish for adults
• Lecture on Raifteirí by Gearóid Ó Tuathaigh
• International Book Day party in the library
• Spraoicheist Gael Linn – table quiz for national schools
• Scléip ar an Eachréidh … talent show for gaelscoileanna
• Spraoi in Irish in national schools with Spleodar
Competitions
1. Window Display Competition for Loughrea shops & businesses
2. Scrabble in Irish competition
3. Poetry & Art Competitions open to all school levels and youth clubs
Theme: Proverbs and sayings
Is binn béal ina thost
Dúirt bean liom go ndúirt bean léi
Is ar mhaithe leis féin a dhéanann an cat crónán
Deadline: 15 March
More information contact:
Ruth Ní Shiadhail
Oifigeach Forbartha Gaeilge
Gaeilge Locha Riach
Tel: 091 870718
Email: oifig@lochariach.com or visit www.lochariach.com
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com
Birr Celebrates Seachtain na Gaeilge
February 27, 2013
As part of this year’s Seachtain na Gaeilge which will see hundred of event taing place all over Ireland and around the world Biorra le Gaeilge who are located in Co. Ofally are taking part in the celebrations during Seachtain na Gaeilge from 4th-18th March 2013.
Here what’s going on in the area:
Saturday 9th March: from 10.30am, Coffee Morning at Emma’s Café.
Drop in for a chat, up ’til around 12.30. Try-out your Irish; all age groups very welcome.
(We can’t reserve a table but pull up a seat and join in!)
Saturday 9th March: 11am-1pm, Birr Library ‘Gaeilge agus Ceol’ – storytelling, music, and feature display of books as Gaeilge.
Art, Craft, Film & Irish Language at Tin Jug Studio, Brendan Street, Birr
sa Cruiscín Stáin, Sráid Bhreandáin, Birr.
Tuesday 12th March, 10am – 4.30pm, Padraig Larkin’s Basket Weaving Workshop, for adults bilingual event
(€60 per day, inclusive of materials). For bookings call Rosalind: 087 6681783
Wednesday 13th March at 7.30pm Tadhg’s Annual Film Screening of Irish Language Short Films at Tin Jug Studio, Brendan Street, Birr, Offaly.
€4 entry includes popcorn & refreshments (NB. all generations welcome, though some films may not be suitable for children.)
Wed.13th Biorra le Gaeilge’s monthly Ciorcail Comhrá (Conversation gathering) at Craughwell’s Pub, Castle Street, Birr (after film screenings) from around 9pm ’til late!)
Monday 18th March, 10am-4pm: One Day Irish Conversational class with Stella.
Suitable for Leaving Cert students/and adult learners. For Bookings call 085 7112211
Please check Biorra le Gaeilge on Facebook, & Tin Jug Studio (Tel: 05791 21818/087 668 1783) and also with Birr Library, Tel: 05791 24950, for updates and full information on Biorra le Gaeilge/ Seachtain Na Gaeilge events.
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com
Buaiteoirí Scléip 2013 – Amharclann an Riverbank, Cill Dara, 26 Feabhra 2013
February 27, 2013
Buaiteoirí Scléip 2013 – Amharclann an Firkin Crane, Corcaigh, 22 Feabhra 2013
February 25, 2013
Let’s not lose our native tongue in outer space
February 21, 2013
OPINION: A celestial tweet as Gaeilge was loved. We should treat Irish far better on Earth
On Monday night, Chris Hadfield became the nation’s favourite Canadian astronaut when he tweeted a picture of Ireland from space accompanied by a message in Irish – “Tá Éire fíorálainn!” In charming us with a few judiciously chosen words of our native tongue, the commander was following the recent example of two more illustrious foreigners. In May 2011, the Queen of England left our then president Mary McAleese open-mouthed in disbelief with a majestically delivered “Go raibh maith agat” and, just a few days later, Barack Obama had a crowded College Green in raptures with that riff on his can-do battle cry for the ages, “Is féidir linn”.
On both occasions, the decision to respectfully acknowledge the existence of the Irish language was greeted with widespread approval. It appears that the sound of a stranger speaking Irish gives us a fuzzy feeling of self-worth, a feeling not to be had from, say, speaking Irish ourselves. Hadfield’s tweet from the great beyond brought a similar jolt of affirmation, and the Irish language became – for one night on Twitter at least – a little reminder that, as the poet Michael Hartnett once wrote, “We are human, and therefore not a herd.” On Monday, the tweet machine was positively glowing with gratitude, much of it for the commander’s use of a few words in Irish. “Wow, I can feel the warmth of the Irish all the way up here…” Hadfield later tweeted, adding a “go raibh maith agaibh!” that ensured there was more Irish used in the International Space Station this week than most Irish people would use in a year.
Lip service
It is easy to be cynical about these fleeting public expressions of warmth towards Irish, a language that has all but had the life sucked out of it by years of lip service.
Still, there was something genuine about the affection for the language evident in the response to Hadfield. Maybe this was because the commander’s tweet, for all its otherworldliness, was more authentic than either Obama’s or the banríon’s cúpla focal. While Obama’s mantra has entered the mainstream like no other phrase in Irish since “an bhfuil cead agam dul go dtí an leithreas?”, there was a hint of the rock star’s “Good evening, wherever we are! We love you!” about his “Is féidir linn.” For her part, Queen Elizabeth’s “go raibh maith agat” was burdened with such historical significance that McAleese’s silent “Wow!” felt like an overreaction almost immediately.
Oldest living vernacular
In the end, the charming Canadian commander outdid them both. Here was a language that clings stubbornly, if a little forlornly, to its status as the oldest living vernacular in Europe, fully alive again for a brief moment in the cosmos. And with those three words – “Tá Éire fíorálainn!” – Hadfield brought a little light from afar to our evening.
Meanwhile, in a galaxy not so far away called the Gaeltacht, Irish is dying as the language of the home and community. It is dying because that is what usually happens to languages like Irish, but it is also dying because of official neglect and a failure to take the measures needed to save it. The most recent study in this area suggested that unless radical action was taken, Irish had only 15 to 20 years left as the primary community language in even the strongest Gaeltacht areas.
That was in 2007.
In response, three years later, in 2010, the last government published a 20-year strategy for the language. Three years on and the present Government has been slow in implementing that strategy. Instead, it has diluted what was already an overly aspirational plan by making several decisions that undermine it. For example, it has withdrawn the support given to trainee teachers to study in the Gaeltacht, whereas the strategy is committed to allowing students to spend a greater length of time in Irish-speaking communities. It is difficult to ascertain how many people really care about the preservation of Irish as no government has been willing to take a political gamble that the type of affection provoked by Hadfield’s tweet might be sincere. This is despite the existence of plenty of earthly evidence that proves a considerable majority of us have a favourable attitude to Irish. Would the public support a radical, well-resourced plan to save the Irish language? Would such a plan work? We might never know. Because it seems that, to adapt the tagline from the movie Alien, in the Gaeltacht, nobody can hear you scream.
www.irishtimes.com
An Foras Pátrúnachta – Annual Conference
February 21, 2013
An Foras Pátrúnachta will hold its Conference and AGM in Kilashee House Hotel in Naas, Co. Kildare this Saturday. For more information contact us on: eolas@foras.ie or 01 6294110.
Irish language podcasts launched
February 20, 2013
Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin is now offering a series of free podcasts online to help people learn Irish.
The ‘Cultúr le Comhrá’ programme, funded by the Big Lottery Fund, was launched by the Mayor of Derry, councillor Kevin Campbell, and is designed to allow people to learn Irish from home.
The course is suitable for those who want to start from scratch and for those with some Irish already who want to improve their language skills. Each podcast is available to download free of charge from the Cultúrlann Uí Chanáin website.
Ciara Nic Lochlainn, project co-ordinator said: “Cultúr le Comhrá means Culture with Conversation and these podcasts which are based on conversation between two speakers are like mini Irish lessons.
“They give learners the opportunity to learn Irish in an easy way without spending any money and fit perfectly with the Líofa 2015 initiative launched some time ago.
“This series will run for 30 weeks and there will be five programmes broadcast per week. Cultúr le Comhrá will be divided into 3 Sections, 10 weeks of podcasts for complete Beginners, 10 weeks of podcasts for Intermediate learners and 10 weeks of podcast for advanced learners.”
The first podcast became available for download or to listen to yesterday at www.culturlann-doire.ie
For more information contact 02871 264132
www.derryjournal.com
Aip úrnua de chuid Raidió na Life
February 20, 2013
