Over 200 delegates attend all Irish schools conference in Kilkenny city
November 17, 2016
The annual conference for the Irish-medium education sector took place in the Ormonde Hotel, Kilkenny last week with over 200 delegates from around the country.
The event was secured for the city by president of the An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaiochta, Cathnia O’ Muircheartaigh, principal of the all Irish secondary school in the city and the principal of the all Irish primary school in the city, Sean O’hArgain.
The theme for this year’s event wass Realising the Vision. It provided the context for a celebration of naionrai, Irish-medium and Gaeltacht schools, and was organised by Gaeloideachas and COGG.
The Department of Education and Skills’ Chief Inspector, Dr. Harold Hislop, made a presentation at the conference on the newly published Policy on Gaeltacht Education 2017-2022.
“This makes this year’s conference one of particular significance”, says Blathnaid ni Ghreachain, Chief Executive of Gaeloideachas. “For the first time since the founding of the State, the vision of Gaeltacht communities for an education system that meets their needs is to be made a reality. This policy will give those communities confidence in both the ability and commitment of the State to develop an education system for the Gaeltacht that is of a high standard.”
Delegates were provided with a comprehensive and meaningful programme. “It’s an important event” Gaeloideachas President, Cathnia O’Muircheartaigh said, adding that it offered e continuous professional development opportunities and also as a public celebration of excellence in the sector. It is a honour for Gaeloideachas to be involved in that celebration”.
(Gaeilge) An Saol in Éirinn sa bhliain 1916: Scéalta ó Staitisticí
November 16, 2016
A school in Lucan welcomed the New Zealand rugby team with a special Haka as Gaeilge
November 16, 2016
ANTICIPATION IS ALREADY building for the Ireland vs New Zealand rematch in the rugby in Dublin this Saturday.
But some have been lucky enough to get up close and personal with the visiting players.
Yesterday, the 6th class students at Gaelscoil Eiscir Riada in Lucan, Dublin were paid a visit by the All Blacks themselves.
And they had a special ‘Haka Gaelach’ prepared.
Which started out with their own Gaeilge chants before transitioning into the Haka itself – and it was executed with military precision.
They then read out a specially prepared poem and sang their own version of Ireland’s Call.
Niall Leech was there to record it and post it to YouTube, where he wrote:
It contains a mixture of the Maori Haka – Ka Mate and a re-written version of Irelands Call, specially penned for this meeting of two cultures from distant lands. This beautifully written poem contains a subtle nod to Maori heroes, including Jonah Lomu and Apirana Ngata and Irish Legends from Cú Chulainn to Anthony Foley.
All the all Blacks players were there to watch it all go down.
There’s even a video of them all practicing for the big day as well – and the performance made the Six One News on RTÉ.
Hopefully the players were a little bit intimidated by this Gaeilge Haka – but mostly, they were probably just impressed by the quality showing put on by the pupils of Gaelscoil Eiscir Riada.
Well played.
Patronage awarded for new school in Dublin 15
November 14, 2016
PATRONAGE of a new 1,000-student secondary school earmarked for Dublin 15 has been awarded to the Edmund Rice School Trust (ERST).
The ERST promotes Catholic education and its charter includes a provision for “nurturing faith, Christian spirituality and Gospel-based values”.
The new school will begin enrolment shortly with a view to opening to first-year students in September 2017. The exact location of the school has yet to be determined.
Dublin West TD and Minister for Social Protection, Leo Varadkar, said the appointment of ERST at patron would enhance parental choice in Dublin 15.
“Currently, all of the secondary schools in Castleknock, including Carpenterstown, are either fee-paying or community colleges under the patronage of the Dublin & Dun Laoghaire Education and Training Board,” he said.
“There is no non-fee paying school under the patronage of a Catholic body in the area. There is a new Educate Together Secondary School not too far away in Hansfield.
“The decision to appoint ERST as patron will give parents in the area more choice about the ethos in which they want their son or daughter to be educated.
“The fact that it will not be a community college means it should have no impact on the admission policy that currently applies to Castleknock Community College and Luttrellstown Community College. It will, most likely, accept children from the general area.”
Minister Varadkar believes the new school should be located in Castleknock, east of the M50, on part of the undeveloped lands of the former Phoenix Park Racecourse.
“It does not make sense to locate it too close to the existing secondary schools, which are both west of the M50. The Department would have to buy the site as the lands are privately owned.
“I am concerned, however, at the possibility that this new school might also provide for a home for a new Irish language medium Aonad.
“It is my strong view, supported by campaigners for an Aonad in Dublin 15, that the Irish language school should start its life and be located adjacent to Luttrellstown Community College.
“This would mean that the Aonad would have the assistance of an established school in its initial years, be close to the centre of the Dublin 15 and thus accessible, would not have a religious patron, and would be multi-denominational in line with the wishes of the community.”
Minister Varadkar said he would be seeking a meeting with Minister of Education, Richard Bruton, and his department officials to discuss his concerns.
Department’s Irish language proficiency criticised
November 14, 2016
The Department of Education has been criticised for the poor standard of Irish contained in a letter it sent to a retired teacher regarding pension issues.
A complaint about the letter was one of 13 made to An Coimisinéir Teanga, the Irish language commissioner, about the department’s service in Irish from 2014 to the present.
Email correspondence from the commissioner’s office to the department in March this year indicated a reply issued to the former primary teacher was hard to comprehend because of bad spelling mistakes.
The Irish word for letter was spelled “lotoe” instead of litir, while “ba chíor duit” was written instead of ba chóir duit.
The Office of the Revenue Commissioners was referred to as “na Roinne do Choimmisinéírí Ioncaim” instead of Oifig na gCoimisinéirí Ioncaim.
Statutory duty
An Coimisinéir Teanga’s office said the Department of Education had a statutory duty under the Official Languages Act 2003 when replying to written communication in Irish or English.
It reminded the department that public bodies must ensure they have appropriate systems in place to deal with professional correspondence in Irish.
However, the department said the occurrence of such errors issued in the response to the former staff member are atypical, and were rectified immediately.
Records released by the Department of Education show most of the other complaints about its service in Irish related to the publication and availability of certain forms and documents in English only
Since the beginning of the 2013 academic year, 118 department staff received a combined total of €21,456 in tuition-fee support to do undergraduate, postgraduate and short programmes in Irish.
Earlier this year, 18 employees attended a three-day residential course in the Irish language in Carraroe, Co Galway, costing a total of €3,557, according to a response from the department, issued under the Freedom of Information Act.
The department said such training is available to staff where a “business need is identified”.
Competency levels
A departmental report in April 2013 disclosed that less than 1.5 per cent of its administrative staff had a high level of proficiency in Irish, while 8.7 per cent had “a medium competency”.
The department’s internal Irish Language Scheme 2013-2016 – undertaken to comply with the Official Languages Act – stated it was committed to providing the “best-quality services possible” in Irish and English “to its customers”.
A total of 1,229 people work full-time at the Department of Education and Skills and “Irish language awareness is incorporated into staff induction training”, it said.
The department stated that work on the development of its 2016-2019 Irish Language Scheme began in October last year.
It is proposed that by the end of this year the department will “identify any posts for which Irish language competency is an essential requirement”.
DUP-led Department of Education ends use of Irish on official logo
November 14, 2016
THE DUP-led Department of Education has stopped translating publications and correspondence into the Irish language.
Minister Peter Weir’s department has adopted a new policy which makes clear that “the principal language is English”.
Under Sinn Féin, official letters contained English, Irish and Ulster Scots while department circulars and other publications were published in English and Irish.
Now, like other departments with DUP ministers, it will use English only.
Recent decisions taken by Mr Weir, and which affect Irish-medium education, have angered campaigners. They have pointed out that the DUP promised, in its assembly election manifesto, to “tackle the preferential treatment” of Irish medium.
A proposal for an Irish-medium pre-school unit at Gaelscoil na Daróige in Derry was turned down due to there being other schools nearby. The minister said opening a new nursery would “create sustainability issues”.
In addition, he rejected a separate proposal for a part-time Irish-medium nursery unit at Bunscoil an Iúir in Newry.
He also said Gaelscoil an Lonnáin could not relocate to the former St Comghall’s PS in west Belfast.
Mr Weir did, however, approve a proposal for a statutory nursery unit at Gaelscoil Éanna in Glengormley.
In its new language policy, the department said it would accept correspondence in Irish, Ulster Scots and other languages.
“We will however reply in English,” it read.
“We will respect the wishes of anyone who prefers to use the Irish or Ulster Scots version of their name in correspondence (or official business), provided that they are generally known by that name.
“When a person uses a lawful Irish or Ulster Scots street name, we will use that form in replying.”
All materials will be produced in English, the exception to this is publications issued to Irish-medium schools.
The department noted its statutory duty to encourage and facilitate the development of Irish-medium education. It also must meet the learning needs of pupils whose language of instruction is Irish.
“At our discretion we will therefore arrange, where practicable and financially viable, to provide information such as information leaflets to pupils and inspection reports in Irish.”
Circulars that have already been published and translated into Irish are still available on the department’s website.
Mr Weir’s party and Executive colleague Michelle McIlveen sparked a row when a fisheries protection vessel had its Irish name replaced with an English translation.
Banríon Uladh was re-named Queen of Ulster due to Ms McIlveen’s department adopting a single language policy.
DUP Irish language decision ‘motivated by hate’, says McGuinness
November 14, 2016
The DUP has been accused of “hatred” towards the Irish language following a decision to stop the translation of correspondence from the Department of Education.
It comes after DUP minister Peter Weir adopted a new policy which makes clear “the principal language is English”.
Official letters had previously been written in English, Irish and Ulster Scots.
Now they will not be translated into any other languages.
Responding to the news, Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said: “There’s a cohort of people within the DUP who hate anything to do with the Irish language”.
The Sinn Féin minister suggested some within the party “hate anything Irish”.
“We have to deal with the reality that the political institutions we’re part of are institutions that bring into government people who have different views about many of these matters,” told the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme.
Peter Weir said he will “try to treat everyone equally” while he is education minister
However, DUP MLA Nelson McCausland denied that his party hated the Irish language.
“I have no animosity towards the language,” he told the BBC.
“I have an interest in all minority languages, but the Irish language has been used and abused by republicans for political ends, that’s the core issue.”
Suggesting that the language had been used as a “cultural weapon”, the former culture minister pointed to a 1982 quote by a Sinn Féin cultural officer who said every word spoken in Irish was “a bullet in the freedom struggle”.
But Sinn Féin’s Niall Ó Donnghaile – who sits on the Irish Seanad – said the DUP had politicised the language.
“When you have a minister for education, who has a statutory obligation to promote and enhance the development of Irish medium education, taking the decision to shut out the visibility of Irish and saying it will be an English-only department, then that is ill intent, that is negative and that is politicising.
“The DUP are punishing thousands of children from every religious and cultural background.”
After taking up office in May, Mr Weir said he would be a minister for all schools and would not give preferential treatment to one sector over another.
During a visit to the Irish language school, Coláiste Feirste in west Belfast, he said that “no pupil should be disadvantaged by what is on their school badge”.
New Laois Bilingual secondary school gets green light in Portlaoise
November 10, 2016
The first secondary school in Laois to have a strong Irish language emphasis has got a green light, with a promise by the new patrons to enhance the diversity of education in Portlaoise.
The Department of Education and Skills last year announced that a fourth 1,000 pupil secondary school was planned for Portlaoise, one of the fastest growing towns in Ireland.
Last week news came that the patron chosen to run it is Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board, with trustee partner An Foras Pátrúnachta, who are offering a co-educational, multi-denominational option, with an Irish language unit for those who prefer to learn through Irlsh.
The school may pick up many of the 300 students from Gaelscoil Phortlaoise, and possibly some more from Gaelscoil an tSlí Dála and Gaelscoil Thromaire, who up to now had to go by bus to Kildare or Carlow to continue education through Irish.
However, the school will include education through english.
An Foras Pátrúnachta, the main patron of Irish-medium schools, says it will be the first time that an Irish unit is planned to grow into an independent Gael-choláiste, under the co-patronage of two organisations.
They were chosen over one other applicant, the Catholic ethos organisation Ceist who run St Mary’s CBS and Scoil Chríost Rí in Portlaoise.
Educate Together withdrew an earlier application .
Joe Cunningham, Chief Executive of LOETB, said the school will cater for diversity in Portlaoise. “It will be inclusive and represent all communities,” he said.
He is determined to push ahead with plans.
“We hope to appoint a principal as early as possible. We will be seeking an early meeting with the Dept. of Education to plan the timeline and logistics for opening the school. No decision has been made on a site but given that the school is to open in September 2017, temporary accommodation will be required,” he said.
The school will initially take in only first years. A new school will be built in 2021, to cater for 1,000 pupils.
Parents can register expressions of interest for enrolment on the LOETB website, while a lot of calls are already coming in, Mr Cunningham said.
“It is very encouraging. We will keep the community fully-informed on all developments as they occur,” Mr Cunningham said.
He thanked the community of Portlaoise who supported their application, as well as his board and staff, particularly Director of Schools Linda Tynan and Coiste Bunaithe Phortlaoise.
Caoimhín O’hEaghra, General Secretary of An Foras Pátrúnachta is delighted.
“Choice is very important to us and we are delighted that parents’ preferences were considered as part of this patronage selection process. The new school will provide diversity in being both co-educational and multi-denominational.
“Our aim is provide Irish-medium education to every child who wants it. We will use our expertise to grow the Irish-medium unit in the new secondary school into an independent Gaelcholáiste under the co-patronage of the two organisations,” he said.
Laois TD, Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan welcomed the news.
“There has been a rapid population increase in Laois which has put severe pressure on secondary schools. Construction of a further secondary school in Portlaoise will ensure that there are sufficient school places for pupils in the area. The priority now is to ensure that the building is commenced without delay,” he said.
New school site is ‘too cramped’
November 7, 2016
A drive is developing to persuade Education Minister Richard Bruton to allow Gaelscoil Chill Mhantáin to remain at its current site rather than moving to Merrymeeting.
A petition was started late on Friday night and already had over 200 signatures at the time of going to press, while Independent TD Stephen Donnelly has also lent the campaign his support.
Calls are being made to allow the school remain at the site of the old Abbey Community College rather than moving to the Merrymeeting site which critics say is too cramped.
Deputy Donnelly said he has been contacted by a large number of constituents over the proposed building of a new school at Merrymeeting.
‘I visited the site earlier this week and it appears that the outdoor space available to up to 500 students will be the size of two basketball courts and a playground even smaller in area.
‘This is simply not acceptable.
‘It is difficult to understand why, in a county such as Wicklow, the Department of Education has decided to place this school on such a cramped site.
‘The school is currently located on the former Abbey Community College site. Although this site is not perfect, and further works will be required, compared with the costs associated with building a new school, they are tiny. Gaelscoil Chill Mhantáin have been waiting for almost a decade for a new school, but this is simply not the correct site.
‘I am calling on Minister Bruton to act to ensure that the school is located on a site with both the appropriate outdoor area for students and room for expansion.’
Supporters of the campaign to remain at the Abbey site also point out that 52 per cent of Gaelscoil pupils live in Wicklow town, 24 per cent in Rathnew and 24 per cent in surrounding areas.
So far the petition with over 200 signatures has only been launched online at Facebook, but campaigners plan to call door-to-door looking for further signatures.
The petition will then be presented to Education Minister, Richard Bruton, later in the month in a move to try and change his mind regarding a suitable, permanent home for the school.
‘Be safe and be seen’ as ESB visit two local schools
November 7, 2016
Dublin-based ESB staff have presented high visibility vests to Junior Infants at two Fingal schools in recent weeks.
The safety initiative has been rolled out at Gaelscoil Bhrian Boroimhe in Swords and at Gaelscoil Ros Eo in Rush.
ESB Networks have partnered with the Road Safety Authority (RSA) to distribute over 80,000 high visibility vests to Junior Infants students across the country who started school this year.
The RSA and ESB Networks are calling on parents, guardians and teachers to make sure road safety is top of the school checklist this year.
The high-visibility vests will help children be seen in the dark winter mornings and even darker evenings and is a welcome initiative from the ESB and the Road Safety Authority.
Carmel Hanrahan from the ESB had the pleasure of visiting Gaelscoil Ros Eo to hand over that school’s allocation of high-visibility jackets while it was the happy duty of Noeleen Daniels to deliver the vests to the children at Gaelscoil Bhrian Boroimhe.
