Galf le Gaeilge
March 10, 2014
Blitz Tras-Tíre na nGaelscoileanna 2014
March 10, 2014
Irish language under threat
March 10, 2014
Sir, – As happens every year or so, the proxy debate over the Irish language rages between those who are “for” it and those “against” it.
I say proxy, because the debate is ostensibly between different theories or value judgments about culture or about one sentiment or another in the letter writers. But only ostensibly. The real issue is not about those different judgments or sentiments of one person or another. It is about the degree to which the judgments and sentiments of one group in society is imposed on another group through the exercise of State power in the education system. The whole debate could disappear by the simple action of making Irish a subject of choice in the Leaving Certificate. Then each contesting group could follow their own judgment and sentiment without having to persuade any other group of their infallibility and without having to take exceptional measures to impose their will on others. – Yours, etc,
DONAL FLYNN
Breffni Terrace,
Sandycove, Co Dublin.
A chara, – While Jason Fitzharris (March 5th) may be correct as to the proportion of census forms filled out in Irish, we must ask why the figure is so low. One valid reason is that the choice is not presented to the participant on the spot, suggesting that they are not available. I had to specially request my form. More hassle to me and to the collectors. If, as in Canada, we had an “active offer” of either language giving citizens a real choice, there would be higher uptake. – Is mise,
MAITIÚ de HÁL,
Páirc na Canálach Ríoga,
Baile an Ásaigh,
Baile Átha Cliath 15.
www.irishtimes.com
Irish was path to a job for life
March 10, 2014
Madam — I fully agree with the view expressed by Declan Lynch ‘A monument to our national failure’, ( Sunday Independent, March 2, 2014).
No doubt, there were Gaelgoirs who made a career out of being proficient in Irish as it ensured they had a job for life. In the early years of the State’s birth, this was important as the only alternative was the emigrant ship. There was a man I dealt with regularly over the years in business. In many conversations during our working relationship, he told me he was an enthusiastic Irish speaker as a young man in the early years of the new Irish State.
He, like many of his colleagues at that time, went to Irish classes to perfect their native tongue. Years later he met one of his former classmates in town. He greeted him warmly and addressed him by his English name. His former friend told him that he had changed his name years earlier and was now known only by his Irish name. And the cynical reason was that he realised early on in his career that if he became a fully fledged Gaelgoir, he would never be out of a job!
Those who were not cute enough to see the career opportunity took the boat to England. Would it not have been better to teach them good English rather than be seen as the thick Irish when they looked for jobs over there?
Brendan M Redmond,
Terenure,
Dublin 6w
www.independent.ie
Language shapes our very thoughts
March 10, 2014
Madam — Declan Lynch ( Sunday Independent, March 2, 2014), misses the point.
Language matters. It forms our thoughts and shapes our lives. The Irish language, because of exclusion from public life, has gone from being the majority language in the early 1800s to being a minority language today. This was the greatest social change in Irish history. Imagine had England been conquered and its language replaced by Spanish, French or German. Imagine an English population unable to read Shakespeare except in translation and cut off from their own history. Imagine the effect this would have on the psyche, confidence and sense of self. Now consider Ireland: an Anglophone State where officialdom uses Irish as an ornament, if even that.
Our English-only mentality costs us export markets and jobs. Our negativity toward speaking Irish saps morale. We need to open our minds to the wider world. Rejection of Irish, no matter how it is presented by Declan, is profoundly negative and shameful, rejecting as it does normal curiosity as to the meaning of place names, common surnames and historical sources. America and Australia are offshoots of English culture. We are not. Americans promoting English is an affirmation of self. The Danes learnt English without abandoning Danish and have a stronger economy than we have. Small open economies with educated multilingual confident populations do well.
It’s high time to stop being in awe of the Dutch or Finnish multilingual and become Irish multilinguals. Speaking Irish makes Ireland sound and feel like a regular European country. It is the recovery of our intellectual and cultural sovereignty and contributes to an inclusive Irish identity beyond colour or creed.
Dáithí Mac Cárthaigh, BL,
An Leabharlann Dlí,
Baile Átha Cliath 7
www.independent.ie
Cluiche Ríomhaire nua – An Aimsir Óg ar PC CD-ROM
March 10, 2014
Féile Aisteoireachta Choirm Gael Linn
March 10, 2014
(Gaeilge) Cúrsaí Ullmhúcháin Gaeilge don Bhéaltriail – Gael Linn
March 10, 2014
Gael Linn is running preparatory courses for students who are preparing for the 2014 leaving certificate Irish Oral Examination.
Dates:
15th March 2014
22nd March 2014
Time: 9.30am – 2.30 pm
Fee: €85
Venue: Gael Linn, 35 Sráid an Dáma, Baile Átha Cliath 2.
Contact: Gael Linn ar r-phost: eolas@gael-linn.ie nó fón: (01) 6751200
Along as hosting Irish Oral Examination Preparatory Courses Gael Linn also host a wide variety of courses aimed at post-primary pupils they include:
Cúrsaí na nÓg – Oral Irish courses for students sitting the Leaving or Junior Certificate in 2015 & 2016
Cúrsaí Cumarsáide (Communications Courses) This course aims to give transition year students basic media skills in an Irish language setting.
Gearrchúrsaí Scannánaíochta – Courses in Film Making as well as Summer Courses.
To find out more visit: www.gael-linn.ie
Irish Language Summer Course in Donegal – Coláiste na bhFiann
March 10, 2014
Coláiste na bhFiann Teo. are delighted to announce that they are hosting Summer Irish language courses in Co. Donegal this summer. The new course will take place in Ionad Naomh Phádraig, Gaoth Dobhair, Co. Donegal
Course Dates: 01st – 21st June 2014
This is the first venue that Coláiste na bhFiann will have in Ulster and the fourth of its venues located in the Gaeltacht. They currently host summer courses in Ros Muc in Conamara, Ráth Chairn and Droim Rí in Leinster along with Killarney and Baile an Sceilg in Munster. Coláiste na bhFiann have over 45years of experience in hosting such summer courses for teenager. The courses aim to teach teenager Irish in a natural, fun and safe environment.
For further information on Coláiste na bhFiann Teo contact:
Michelle Ní Ghialláin, Coláiste na bhFiann, Droim Rí, Co. Meath T: +353 (01) 825 9342 | E-mail: michelle@colaistenabhfiann.ie
Oireachtas call for new school admissions process welcomed
March 10, 2014
Parents’ groups have welcomed an Oireachtas committee’s recommendation for a new “independent and transparent appeals process” to oversee schools’ admissions policies.
Áine Lynch, chief executive of the National Parents Council – Primary, said planned legislation aimed at standardising such policies should lead to fewer appeals but “parents do need someone else to go to” when schools fail to adhere to their own admissions policies or national guidelines.
The draft Admissions to School Bill proposes to remove the current system, known as a section 29 appeal, wherbye parents can appeal decisions to the Department of Education.
School managers have expressed some concerns about creating a new appeals process, arguing it may lead to more bureaucracy and create false expectations for parents.
However, the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Education and Social Protection comes down in favour of an independent appeals mechanism, saying “this could possibly be provided for on a regional basis”.
It says: “Consideration should also be given, in the context of such a process, to provide for independent appeals in relation to the refusal of a school to offer a pupil a place in Transition Year.”
The National Parents Council – Secondary welcomed a separate recommendation for the department to provide resources “within a statutory timeframe” to any school designated to enrol a student with special educational needs.
“If Ruairí Quinn is going to have this new admissions policy he needs to put in place the systems to ensure special educational needs are met, ” the organisation’s spokeswoman, Lynda O’Shea said.
She said her local school in Waterford, St Paul’s, was the only school in the city with units to cater for the needs of children with autism but these were now full, with a waiting list of about eight children.
Alluding to discussions about the Catholic Church surrendering patronage, the committee said: “Multiple patronage and ethos as a basis for policy can lead to segregation and inequality in the education system. The objectives of admission policy should be equality and integration.”
Atheist Ireland welcomed this statement in particular, calling it as “a significant and strongly-worded conclusion”.
www.irishtimes.com
