Scaradh na gcompánach
Samhain 27, 2013
Tá Conradh na Gaeilge i ndiaidh éirí as ballraíocht Chomhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge, scátheagraíocht na n-eagras deonach teanga.
Tá an dá eagras in iomaíocht le chéile le stádas “ceanneagraíochta” a bhaint amach faoi scéim nua mhaoinithe Fhoras na Gaeilge. Dúirt urlabhraí ón chomhdháil go leanfadh an dá eagras den chomhoibriú. Mar sin féin, bhí sé de cheart acu mar “scátheagraíocht ar earnáil dheonach na Gaeilge, agus mar lárchomhairle phobal na Gaeilge … bheith rannpháirteach go hiomlán sa phróiseas a bhaineann leis an múnla nua maoinithe ag Foras na Gaeilge, agus gach iarracht a dhéanamh chun stádas ceanneagraíochta a bhaint amach, ar mhaithe le balleagraíochtaí uile na comhdhála, (iad siúd atá maoinithe agus iad siúd nach bhfuil), agus ar mhaithe le pobal na Gaeilge”.
A mhalairt de thuairim a bhí ag an chonradh. Thug siad le fios nár chóir don chomhdháil dul in iomaíocht lena cuid ball féin. Chreid an conradh “go láidir” nárbh é an ról a bhí ag an chomhdháil dul in iomaíocht le balleagraíocht má bhí sé “ar chumas na heagraíochta sin an obair a dhéanamh – ní hamháin mar gheall gurbh é sin atá luaite i mbunreacht na comhdhála, ach ar bhonn prionsabail chomh maith”. Lena chois sin, d’fhógair Foras na Gaeilge an tseachtain seo caite go raibh cuireadh tugtha do 13 eagraíocht aighneachtaí a dhéanamh faoin chéad chéim eile den phróiseas maoinithe. Bhuail Foras na Gaeilge leis na heagrais Dé Aoine, 15ú Samhain agus “rinneadh plé agus tugadh soiléiriú ar cheisteanna a bhain leis na haighneachtaí”.
Is í an Aoine, 6ú Nollaig, an spriocdháta d’aighneachtaí. Dhéanfadh an foras measúnú ar na hiarratais. Tá sé i gceist acu bualadh leis na heagraíochtaí a bheas ar an ghearrliosta ag tús na bliana úire; déanfaidh an bord cinneadh faoi na ceanneagraíochtaí ar 17ú Eanáir.
www.irishtimes.com
In the name of the fada: English giving us a lesson in Irish
Samhain 25, 2013
IT’S lessons in Irish – from England. After centuries in which the occupiers tried to wipe out the Irish language, that bastion of British education and culture, Oxford University, is making amends.
Oxford University Press (OUP) has launched an Irish-English visual dictionary for children from the age of eight. The aim, according to the OUP, is to support the local language revival and to assist parents, schools and children. In their publicity for the colourful dictionary the OUP says: “From the reign of Elizabeth the First through to the ravages of the Famine, Ireland’s language declined and almost disappeared in the 20th Century.
“However, since 2000 there has been a growing resurgence of interest in maintaining and reviving Irish Gaelic with a growing desire to teach the next generation the language of their forebears. This dictionary is a vibrant and fresh way to help children learn Gaeilge.” Each section of the new dictionary features a brief introduction and then numerous illustrations. In total, the book provides 1,500 vocabulary items in Irish and English. Children’s dictionaries publisher at the OUP, Vineeta Gupta, says: “Irish people are quite rightly proud of their heritage and want to keep it alive and pass it on for future generations – and part of our OUP mission is about helping to support language learners wherever they are.”
The language throws up some quirky surprises, the OUP says: “On a chilly day, you might advise your child to wrap up warm with a scairf (scarf) but be mindful you don’t say scairp, because that’s a scorpion.” The publisher says it is interesting that there are many similarities: a cat is a cat in both languages, shoes and belts are often made of leathar, whilst a piotsa (pizza) is popular with children everywhere. “The book is the result of painstaking work with language consultants, teachers, native Irish speakers and children themselves.”
But this is the first time Oxford has produced an Irish-English dictionary for children. The OUP’s enthusiasm for Irish does not mean they have got everything right, however. The illustration showing the different parts of the body gives the word lámh for arm, instead of géag. Lámh is the Irish for hand, géag is the Irish for arm.
Amach ar on líne!
www.irishindependent.ie
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 25 Samhain 2013
Irish Independent – John Spain
Eagraíocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta
Samhain 21, 2013
Níl deireadh ráite fós maidir le todhchaí eagraíocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta agus brú ag teacht ar Aire Stáit na Gaeltachta, Dinny McGinley, athsmaoineamh a dhéanamh ar chinneadh a Roinne deireadh a chur le maoiniú na heagraíochta.
Mar thoradh ar an gcinneadh sin chinn Eagraíocht na Scoileanna Gaeltachta nach bhféadfaí gnó na heagraíochta a chur i gcrích agus shocraigh siad deireadh a chur leis an eagraíocht agus cheana féin tá deireadh curtha le conarthaí fostaíochta fhoireann na heagraíochta.
Ó shin i leith tá an-bhuairt léirithe ag scoileanna na Gaeltachta agus iad á rá go bhfuil siad anois fágtha gan eagraíocht ionadaíoch agus go ndéanfar neamhaird orthu feasta. Tá an cheist ardaithe sa Dáil agus ag cruinniú de Bhord Údarás na Gaeltachta le déanaí léirigh an Bord a imní faoin gcinneadh deireadh a chur leis an eagraíocht. Chinn siad an imní seo a chur in iúl don Aire, go háirithe i gcomhthéacs feidhmiú na Straitéise 20 Bliain don Ghaeilge.
Le déanaí freisin ghlac Bord Oideachais agus Oiliúna na Gaillimhe agus Ros Comáin (Coiste Gairmoideachais Chontae na Gaillimhe roimhe seo) d’aon ghuth le rún ag iarraidh ar an Aire maoiniú a chur ar fáil in athuair don eagraíocht.
www.advertiser.ie/galway
School undecided on future intake
Samhain 21, 2013
The manager of a secondary school criticised for reducing intake from three classes to two is unable to say when a ruling will be made on whether to apply for extra buildings to cater for demand.
There is local anger that around 50 pupils have been unsuccessful in their applications for entry to Gaelcholáiste Mhuire at the North Monastery in Cork following changes to its enrolment policy. Many families are said to be preparing appeals to the Department of Education after the school limited admissions for next September to 58.
As some families and supporters protested outside the Dublin offices of school owners, the Edmund Rice Schools Trust, school manager Pat Keating said the 2014 admissions policy was designed to stabilise pupil numbers due to overcrowding. After three first-year classes were enrolled in 2011 and 2012, he said changes to the policy for entry this year were not enough to protect against overcrowding.
Mr Keating said his main concern is for the existing school community, and will hold talks with staff and parents of current students.
“I want to talk to everybody and if I’m happy there’s evidence there to approach the trustees with a plan for increased numbers, I would be very pleased to do that,” said Mr Keating.
He said the school is very well run, and careful planning would be needed over curriculum provision and buildings if any increased intake was allowed. Asked if a decision on expansion, or any associated application for temporary or permanent classroom accommodation, would be made in time for pupils applying next year for Sept 2015, Mr Keating said it was not possible to say.
Sinn Féin city councillor Thomas Gould, spokesman for the parents’ group pushing for three classes, and a board member of neighbouring primary Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers, which has had pupils refused enrolment, said some children have no place for next autumn because they applied too late or live outside the catchment area for other schools. Some have places in other schools but will have to travel to the city centre or Ballincollig, instead of their nearest gaelcholáiste, to avail of an all-Irish second-level education.
Mr Keating said he can not meet parents or representative because their cases may be the subject of appeals against the school’s refusal to enrol their children.
www.irishexaminer.com
Deireadh i ndán do 14 eagraíocht
Samhain 20, 2013
Tá Foras na Gaeilge ag cur deireadh le 14 eagraíocht Ghaeilge – agus ag cur sé ‘cheann-eagraíocht’ ar bun
Tá an próiseas faoi lánseol agus tá a fhios ag na heagraíochtaí éagsúla cheana cé acu ar bhain siad an gearrliosta amach nó nár bhain.
Níor léirigh an Foras cé hiad na heagraíochtaí sin “de ghrá na rúndachta agus iontaofacht an phróisis” ach tuigtear gur léirigh 15 eagraíocht spéis sa phróiseas go dtí seo.
Beidh ar na heagraíochtaí eile aighneacht a ullmhú anois agus beidh ar cheannasaí agus ar chathaoirleach na heagraíochta tabhairt faoi agallamh.
Ach tá trí cinn acu slán nach mór ag an phointe seo – Oireachtas na Gaeilge, Coláiste na bhFiann agus Glór na nGael.
Ceaptar go mbeidh trí cinn eile de 19 – Raidió na Life, Raidió Fáilte agus an tÁisaoinad i gColáiste Mhuire Bhéal Feirste, slán le maoiniú ó chistí éagsúla de chuid an Fhorais. Agus tuigtear go bhfuil cainteanna ar bun idir grúpaí áirithe maidir le comhoibriú agus go ndéanfaidh siad comh-iarratas sa chéad chuid eile den phróiseas.
Comórtas
Ach tá Conradh na Gaeilge, an Chomhdháil Náisiúnta agus Pobal sa ghrúpa céanna i gcomórtas do scéim ‘Ardú Feasachta’ – ‘grúpa an bháis’ mar a bhaist foireann Chormaic ag a Cúig air. Bealach amháin nó bealach eile, tiocfaidh deireadh le dhá cheann de na heagraíochtaí sin, mar a bhí siad go dtí seo cibé ar bith.
Is balleagraíocht den Chomhdháil é an Conradh agus tá rún le cur ag an Chonradh os comhair chruinniú na Comhdhála ag iarraidh nach rachadh an Chomhdháil ar aghaidh sa phróiseas ach b’ionann sin agus bás éifeachtach don Chomhdháil.
Beidh Foras na Gaeilge ag fógairt thorthaí an phróisis i ndiaidh a chruinnithe ar an 17 Eanáir 2014.
Irish Independent, Seachtain – Ciarán Dunbar
Roll the dice for Ireland’s first board game festival
Samhain 19, 2013
Organisers are feverishly planning three days of tournaments, workshops and have-a-go sessions which will feature just about every board game you’ve ever heard of — and then some.
The board game extravaganza will take place in more than 18 venues in the West Cork town of Clonakilty and will feature everything from backgammon, to chess, chess as gaeilge, Monopoly, Scrabble and Where’s Wally.
The organisers, who are this week putting the final touches to a special website on the event, also promise an Inventor’s Corner — Neil Crowley, inventor of Crooks; and Clonakilty resident Murray Heasman, the inventor of the award-winning game Tara will attend the festival which is scheduled to run from February 7 to 9, while Una O’Boyle, the Irish chess champion will be available to meet fans, and is scheduled to give some chess tutorials as gaeilge.
“It’s a nice indoor, family fun event and February is a very quiet time of year, so we thought it would be good to have something cheerful happening around then,” said Miriam Cotton, one of the organisers.
The festival is the brainchild of board game fans and local business people, Phil Newton and Karen Moroney of Clonakilty Business Solutions. Phil recently started the Clonakilty Backgammon Club which, after just four months, is already the biggest in Ireland.
“We want to flag the fact that the festival is happening,” explained Ms Cotton.
“Our intention is to make it an annual event but at this stage, we have no way of knowing how popular it will be, though there seems to be a lot of enthusiasm about it already.”
She said: “Lots of board games will be represented — all the major ones and there will also be a centre with games that would not be as well-known, like Carcassonne.
“Some board-game players, for example in chess, bridge or backgammon, take it very seriously, while others just like playing the games for fun, and although we do our best it’s not about prizes or championships, more about family fun.
“We want to begin generating interest in the festival now in the hope that people will note the event in their diaries and make a commitment either to come along or to get involved. The festival is a free event, organised by volunteers so we need all of the support we can get!”
www.irishexaminer.com
St Ciaran’s College languages department continues to excel
Samhain 18, 2013
A HUGE congratulations to three Year 10 pupils from St. Ciaran’s College Ballygawley – Darragh Canavan, Niall McElvogue, Sarah Gartland and Ellen Rafferty who came 2nd out of 400 participants in an Irish quiz organised by Gael Linn in Dun Uladh!
St. Ciaran’s has a strong track record at this annual event, with school teams regularly successfully competing and bringing back awards. Ellen Rafferty, one of the pupils in the winning team said; “I am delighted to have come second out of so many competitors. I feel really proud of our achievement and grateful of the support our Irish teachers have given us.”
Irish and French students at St. Ciaran’s College are regularly involved in many extra-curricular activities in order to strengthen their understanding of the languages and develop their conversational skills further. Last term, Year 13 French and Irish students went to two local primary schools; Glencull and St. Mary’s Ballygawley to teach primary schools students there over a 6 week period.
This was a great success and Damian Cullen, principal of St. Mary’s Ballygawley said: “As a school, we have very much appreciated the input St. Ciaran’s students gave our Years 5, 6+7 pupils. It has been invaluable to the children at St. Mary’s in giving them an insight and a positive introduction to the language.”
This mutually beneficial initiative meant that both the primary school pupils being taught French and Irish and the Post 16 language students delivering the programme were learning and gaining invaluable experience.
Last year, Year 13 and 14 French and Irish students took part in the Juvenes Translatores contest, organised by the European Union. Pupils had to translate a one-page text in any of the 552 language combinations of their choice from among the EU’s 24 official languages and received certificates for their participation.
This year, St. Ciaran’s college is one of only 17 post-primary schools taking part in the contest later in November.
As well as this, ten Irish students from St. Ciaran’s attended the Gaeltacht over the summer months, with 6 of them being awarded scholarships for Gael Linn and the school was also awarded the Father Murray shield by Comhaltas Uladh for best spoken Irish in a secondary school.
Three students were also awarded scholarships for the Gaeltacht from Comhaltas Uladh for excellent oral work- Shauna Kelly, Grainne Gormley and Niamh Donnelly.Irish students ranging from years 8-11 thoroughly enjoy participating at the Feis each year and last year Shauna Stevenson, a current Year 11 pupil, received a scholarship from the Feis.
To coincide with the European Day of languages at the end of September, the French Onatti Theatre group came to the school to perform a play in French which was a great success and was enjoyed by pupils from years 9-14. This gave the pupils the fantastic opportunity to see live theatre in a different language and gain a greater appreciation of the language.
The Modern Languages department is a core one within St. Ciaran’s and is vital in offering students the opportunity to foster their knowledge and appreciation of both the Irish language as the native language as well as a deeper understanding of the French language and culture.
www.tyronetimes.co.uk
Group highlights importance of language learning for jobs
Samhain 15, 2013
A new group to highlight the importance of language learning for employment was launched in Trinity College Dublin yesterday.
Only 40 per cent of Irish people can hold a conversation in any second language, which is the fourth lowest rate in Europe.
One Voice for Languages is a group of more than 200 linguists, academics, teachers, parents, arts representatives and business leaders who have come together to “highlight Ireland’s deficit in 21st-century language skills”.
The group said language learning is important for employment, education and intercultural understanding. It also claimed language learning is the subject of a “diminishing status” in the Irish education system.
The group came together to raise awareness of the issue following “repeated calls” from industry leaders, employment specialists and experienced linguists.
Dr Ann Devitt said the group was seeking to “highlight how important languages are for Ireland, not only in terms of skills for the economy but also in terms of societal and cultural benefits”.
www.irishtimes.com
New campaign aims to boost languages in our education
Samhain 15, 2013
ENGLISH is no longer enough – that is the message of a new campaign to give languages a greater voice in education.
The big focus on science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) has prompted concern that languages will get left behind.
While so-called STEM subjects are much in demand from employers, proficiency in foreign languages is also essential for many jobs.
Many businesses and industries operate in a global market, and their staff need to be able to communicate across the world.
Employers in Ireland regularly complain about the lack of home graduates with the necessary language skills.
Now the languages fightback has started, backed by more than 200 linguists, academics, teachers, parents and business leaders. It represents the first coming together of all levels of the education system, as well as business leaders and social entrepreneurs, to support language teaching and learning.
The One Voice for Languages campaign argues that employment is not the only reason for students to develop their linguistic skills.
They point to national and international research, demonstrating the direct benefits of language learning in boosting literacy, at both primary and post-primary level.
Proficiency in foreign languages also brings wider social and cultural benefits, they say.
French is the most popular language in the Leaving Certificate, taken by about 25,000 of over 55,000 candidates this year. A long way behind comes German, at about 6,600 candidates, Spanish with about 5,000, with Italian, Russian and Japanese trailing at around 300.
In the Leaving Certificate, male students are less likely to take languages than females.
Dr Ann Devitt, assistant professor in modern languages in Trinity College, said Ireland, with its own national language and migrant populations had the potential to become a place of rich linguistic diversity.
But this potential wealth was not being developed, with only 40pc of Irish people claiming they could hold a conversation in any second language – the fourth lowest rate in Europe, she said. Ireland is the only country in Europe, other than Scotland, where a non-indigenous language is not compulsory at any stage of the mainstream educational curriculum
www.independent.ie
Seoladh Rith 2014
Samhain 14, 2013
Cuirfear tús le Rith 2014 i mBaile Bhúirne, Co Chorcaí, ar an 7 Márta 2014, tráth a chuirfear tús le ollrith 1,000km go Béal Feirste.
Is ollrith náisiúnta arson na Gaeilge atá i gceist le Rith 2014 agus le linn don ollrith beidh baitín sealaíochta, ina bhfuil teachtaireacht rúnda laistigh de, ag athrú láimhe idir daoine agus grúpaí reatha gach ciliméadar ar feadh naoi lá. Críochnóidh Rith 2014 le féile ollmhór pobail i gcroilár Bhéal Feirste ar an 15 Márta. Rachaidh an t-airgead ar fad ó Rith 2014 go Ciste Gaeilge a chuirfidh maoiniú ar fáil do ghrúpaí pobail Gaeilge ar fud na tíre.Arsa Cormac Ó Feinneadha, bainisteoir imeachta Rith 2014: “Tá áthas orainn go bhfuil an cúrsa nua do Rith 2014 leagtha amach anois.
Tá éagsúlacht ann i 2014 toisc go mbeidh muid ag rith thar oíche i mBaile Átha Cliath. Tá Rith tar éis dul ó neart go neart ó thosaigh an fhéile i 2010.”Is é Rith 2014 an tríú Rith a eagraíodh ó 2010, d’éirigh go hiontach lena himeachtaí i 2010 agus i 2012, ag mealladh suas go 20,000 agus 30,000 duine le páirt a ghlacadh iontu. Tagann an smaoineamh ó Thír na mBascach, áit go bhfuil an Korrika á rith acu ó 1980 i leith agus áit a nglacann breis agus 600,000 duine páirt san fhéile.
Tuilleadh eolais ag www.rith.ie
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