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(Gaeilge) SNA de dhíth, Gaelscoil na Laochra

February 29, 2016

Sorry, this entry is only available in Irish.

(Gaeilge) Meitheal Dúchas.ie mar Áis sa Seomra Ranga

February 26, 2016

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Full steam ahead for Raidió Fáilte’s new broadcast hub

February 26, 2016

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(Gaeilge) DIALANN DÚRADÁIN An teideal Gaeilge ar  ‘DIARY OF A WIMPY KID’

February 25, 2016

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Principal to volunteer at refugee camp

February 25, 2016

Carmel Nic Airt, a principal on leave from Gaelscoil Mhichíl Uí Choileáin in Clonakilty, is going to volunteer at Leros Refugee Camp in Greece.

The camp is home to scores of Syrian men, women and children who have arrived in rubber dinghies from Turkey.

Carmel is going for a three-week period at the end of February, where she will volunteer by helping refugees off boats, cooking and other duties.

The principal will be paying her own fare and all her own expenses personally, but hopes to raise some much-needed money before she leaves to donate towards a food kitchen.

In the refugee camp, €10,000 will feed 1,200 people for 90 days. Carmel has started a fundraising drive and with some friends already has a number of events organised which she hopes the public will support.

On 1 February, ‘Skip for Syria’ will take place in a number of primary schools in the West Cork area.

The skipathon starts at 11am to welcome the first day of spring and encourages the idea of children helping children.

On 6 February, there will be an afternoon tea and cake sale at Bealad Community Centre (the old national school) from 2.30-5pm.

9 February will see ‘Let’s Sing for Syria’, a gala concert at Fernhill House Hotel featuring the Clonakilty Brass Band, Cork School of Music Wind Ensemble, Hannah Collins, Fiona Kelleher, Jim Murray, Eugene Brosnan, Mattie Gordon and other local artists.

There will be a coffee morning held on 10 February in Baltimore from 11-2pm.

On 12 February, local secondary school students will be asked to donate the price of a Valentine’s Day card for ‘Have a Heart for Syria’.

O’Donovan’s Hotel will be hosting ‘A Taste of Syria’ which features food, poetry, music and art from the Middle East, on 16 February and this will start at 7.30pm.

On 23 February, there will be a celebrity table quiz at Scannell’s with celebrities sending in 10 questions each.

Check the ‘Island To Island’ Facebook page regularly for updates or contact Carmel on 087-4445310.

www.corkindependent.com

(Gaeilge) Blackrock Castle Observatory – Spásanna Teoranta do Thurais Scoile

February 25, 2016

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Free On-Line Irish language Learning Resources

February 25, 2016

Everyone who has signed up to Líofa is entitled to a free on-line learning resource from Gaelchultúr. Usually this course would cost £120 to buy.

If you are already registered with Líofa and want to request your resource, please contact us:

E-mail: liofa@dcalni.eu

Phone: 028 90 515 058

If you are not registered you can do so at www.liofa.eu

The word Líofa means ‘fluent’ and this is precisely what Líofa strives to achieve – a greater number of fluent Irish speakers.

Líofa encourages people to make a personal pledge to improve their level of Irish and, in doing so, join a community of people focused on using and learning Irish.

www.fermanaghherald.com

(Gaeilge) Folúntas: Gaelscoil Donncha Rua, Co an Chláir

February 25, 2016

Sorry, this entry is only available in Irish.

Kíla and Hothouse Flowers frontmen Westport bound

February 24, 2016

Liam Ó Maonlaí of Hothouse Flowers and Rónán Ó Snodaigh of Kíla will be taking part in two Westport-based events this coming March as part of a Seachtain na Gaeilge initiative facilitated by Gaelscoil na Cruaiche staff and parents. Both men are renowned Irish speakers with a long history of musical accomplishments to their credit in both Irish and English.

Ó Snodaigh says of his aspirations: “I like to mix melodies with rhythms that uplift them and I try to write words in my Irish and English vernacular that are catchy but thought provoking. I like mixing the simple and sophisticated, the old and new, the foreign and indigenous, the sad and happy in music and songs. It’s for this duality I search.”

This search has taken him on a geographical mission, and from Borneo to Italy, Rónán has introduced people to Irish percussion and language, despite barriers in culture and language. One could argue that it is this quality that makes his music a series of charming contradictions; complex in its simplicity, intrinsically Irish yet borderless, part of a new world of music which pledges no allegiance to anything other than the beauty of sound.
That beauty of sound is something that occupies the compositions of his trusted ally Liam Ó Maonlaí. Like Rónán, Liam grew up in an environment that nourished all that was good about Gaeilge. His artistic soul also sought to intertwine various linguistic strands, at times occupying the charts in the New Ireland of the Hothouse Flowers, while the pull of the guttural growl of the sean nós was never far from his mind, or his mouth. Part innovator, part musical gypsy, he walks the line between modern and traditional. Perhaps an idyll we all wish to inhabit at times.

Children’s workshops
These musicians will be running workshops with the children at Gaelscoil na Cruaiche in early March, assisted by the musical staff at the school. The classes will be divided into two groups, the first comprising of Naoinán Beaga to Rang a 2 and the second group comprising of Rang a 3 to Rang a 6. They will be working on instrumental pieces of composition and Irish songs. It is hoped that the event will be a way to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the 1916 Easter Rising and to uniquely celebrate some of the aspirations of the proclamation, particularly those expressed regarding future generations.

Public concert
Then on Friday, March 4, in Knockranny House Hotel Westport, Liam and Rónán will be performing together in a public concert, to which all are welcome. The concert starts at 7pm. Tickets are €10 per adult, €5 for 12-18 year olds, while accompanied younger children are welcome in for free. So come along and enjoy the music, songs and dance. All proceeds are in aid of the ISPCC, so it will be one of those opportunities to indulge oneself while doing something good at the same time.
For further information contact Gaelscoil na Cruaiche on 098 28121, or book tickets through Knockranny House Hotel on 098 28600. Fáilte roimh chách!

Laura Golden is a writer who spent the last year as a teaching assistant at Gaelscoil na Cruaiche.

Mayo News

Donegal Independent TD outlines main threats to Irish language in the county

February 24, 2016

General Election candidate, Deputy Thomas Pringle (IND), has today published his Gaeltacht policy document outlining reduced funding for Donegal’s Gaelscoileanna and consistently high unemployment rates as the main threats to Irish language survival in Donegal.

Speaking on the issue, he said, “We’ve seen enough reports proving the unsustainability of the Irish language situation as we find it. This is due to previous Government failures to address the key issues threatening this unique socio-linguistic heritage in Ireland which are under-investment in education and high unemployment rates. Austerity policies have meant that funding for Údarás na Gaeltachta has been cut by €14 million since 2008, from €32 million to €18 million now. That is almost a 50% cut from the budget of the authority administering an area under threat of extinction.”

“Other candidates’ Irish policies state the need for a senior Minister for the Gaeltacht, an increase of expenditure in the Gaeltacht and a full Oireachtas Committee for Irish Language and Gaeltacht affairs and while I agree with these demands, my demands go further,” he continued. “Education and unemployment in the Gaeltacht need to be addressed. Serious investment is needed to bring the various Gaelscoileanna up to standard. You only have to look at Gaelscoil na gCeithre Mháistrí in Donegal Town which is still operating from prefab buildings, or Gaelscoil Bhun Cranncha which is operating out of a community centre despite countless promises.”

“High unemployment rates force young people to leave the Gaeltacht area making it very difficult to ensure that the language carries on from generation to generation. To address that issue, I would recommend a complete rethink on Údarás na Gaeltachta’s strategy on job creation. The current policy of focusing only on foreign direct investment is short-sighted and empty factories in the Gaeltacht area serve as a reminder that this is not a sustainable model.”

“I am recommending that Údarás focus on developing a team of Irish speaking mentors who can go around the Gaeltacht, speaking to local people about forming cooperatives to address unemployment in their own area and advising them on the best ways to go about setting up cooperative businesses in sectors such as renewable energy, such as biomass, wave and tidal energy and cultural tourism, and to derive proper community benefit from the advances made by the Wild Atlantic Way,” concluded Pringle.

Donegal Now

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