Irish language print and online journalism facing the chop
March 10, 2014
At a Foras na Gaeilge Board Meeting on 28 February 2014, on a recommendation by the Newspaper and Magazine Committee, it was decided to discontinue the current funding arrangements for magazines Feasta, An tUltach, and NósMag and for the websites Gaelport.com, Beo.ie and Saol.ie.
The current funding arrangements for these magazines and websites will conclude on 30 June 2014, and no indication has been given by Foras na Gaeilge as to whether a new scheme will be introduced to ensure continuity of the services under a new or different funding model.
This announcement came as a surprise to the publishers of these services, who each received a telephone call last Tuesday informing them of the Board decision. Foras na Gaeilge has yet to write to each of the organisations to officially inform them of their decision.
It is unknown whether this was a sudden decision by the Board, or whether it has been an item of discussion for some time, as minutes of the Board meetings have not been published online by Foras na Gaeilge for over seven months.
Some of the services which face the chop are extremely successful. The site you are reading right now, Gaelport.com, receives over 1,000,000 hits a year, has over 7,000 subscribers to its ezines, and has won high praise and many accolades over the years.
Kevin De Barra, Director of Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge, the organisation behind Gaelport.com, stated: “When it was announced in January that Foras na Gaeilge would be discontinuing their funding to Comhdháil Náisiúnta na Gaeilge, we understood that we would be forced to let our staff go. At that time, we believed we would have the opportunity to pass on our projects, such as Gaelport.com, to other parties in order to ensure continuity in the service, however with this latest announcement it is unclear whether that would be acceptable to Foras na Gaeilge. It worries me that the future for each and every website and magazine funded by Foras na Gaeilge is now uncertain, and that no clear strategy to support print journalism in the Irish language has been put in place”.
A statement issued by Editor of Feasta, Pádraig Mac Fhearghusa, states: “One has to be worried about the future of the magazine, as it is not possible to run a literary or historical magazine similar to Feasta as a business in either Irish or English. However necessary as a service, the publication of short stories, poetry and book reviews is not a profit making enterprise. Grant aid is vital.”
In February 2013, the funding of newspaper Gaelscéal was discontinued with Foras declaring the disappointing sales figures did not provide value for money consistent with the grand aid provided. In December 2013, a new scheme was announced by Foras na Gaeilge to fund a weekly online Irish language newspaper. While the results of that scheme have yet to be announced, in the interim period a vacuum was created where the Irish language community were without a regular printed newspaper in their own language.
Gaelport.com
Lá Dearg i mBéal Feirste
March 10, 2014
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
