Fudge, farce, falsehood
December 9, 2013
It speaks volumes about the Government’s apparent lack of interest in its own policies towards the Irish language that the State’s first ever Language Commissioner, Seán Ó Cuirreáin, has chosen to resign his post early rather than carry on watching while the Government continues to shirk its obligations towards Irish speakers.
Mr Ó Cuirreáin has been measured and constructive in his duties as Language Commissioner and his concerns for the language are well-merited. His blunt assessment is that the Government’s lack of action in providing services in Irish for the Gaeltacht and adequate capacity in public administration may be seen as “a fudge, a farce or a falsehood”.
It is widely accepted, by both Gaeltacht communities and academics, that the language is in dire straits in its traditional strongholds. It will not survive unless people are given adequate reason and encouragement to speak it. Yet it seems that the Government expects the people of the Gaeltacht to save the language simply because they have just about managed to do so until now.
The truth is that the people of the Gaeltacht cannot keep Irish alive simply by dint of being native speakers. They need and are entitled to services in their own language from their own State. Mr Ó Cuirreáin has rightly noted they have been obliged to use English in their dealings with State agencies and that this should not be allowed to continue. That it has gone on for so long is not only an affront to the people of the Gaeltacht but a damning indictment of so many governments over so many decades.
That there are people in Ireland who wish to speak Irish, both in the Gaeltacht and in urban areas, is not in doubt. That they have rights in this regard too is not in doubt, particularly since the enactment of the Official Languages Act in 2003.
That it takes the resignation of the Language Commissioner to remind the Government about those wishes and rights is simply shameful.
www.irishtimes.com
Gael Linn – 60 bliain i saol na Gaeilge
December 9, 2013
What’s the Irish for ‘do not resuscitate’?
December 9, 2013
The Irish have always displayed a remarkable ability to pick the wrong argument at the wrong time.
In fact, we seem to have an almost comical capacity to take a step back from things, look at the bigger picture and then completely ignore it as we continue to be bothered only by what happens in our own small world. That’s what’ s infuriating about the recent push by Ming Flanagan to have a serious Dáil debate about the legalisation of cannabis. As it happens, I’d broadly agree with him, even though being on the same page as that spoofing little ham is enough to force anyone to have a long, hard look at themselves. No, my objections to this piece of political pantomime (Mick Wallace obviously has the role of the Widow Twankie, he’s been rocking her look for years now) are in the simple fact that now is not the time.
We have too many pressing, crushing issues to sort out to be wasting already limited Dáil hours arguing over something that isn’t going to go away any time soon. And, in a very different, yet very similar case, the head of Teanga, one of the main Irish language groups in the country, has resigned in a huff because there aren’t enough civil servants who can speak Irish. Now, I know that Seán Ó Cuirreáin, as the acting head of a body devoted to the Irish language has every right to be peeved about the lack of a working knowledge of Irish, but that’s not the point. The point is that, presumably, the only way for his concerns to be allayed would have been for the Government to pour more money down the endless toilet of the Irish language and send more civil servants off on a language training course.
He argues that Irish speakers are being discriminated against when they are forced to conduct official business through a cúpla focail and says: “Requiring the people of the Gaeltacht to conduct their business in English with state agencies flies in the face of any policy which suggests that the survival of the Gaeltacht is on the State’s agenda.” So far, so what? I very much doubt anybody, apart from the few cantankerous souls who stubbornly insist on costing the State money by demanding special accommodations for the language, really cares one way or the other if someone in Spiddal has to use their English name. I don’t mean to sound uncaring or inconsiderate here but … no, wait, I do. Because most people are sick to death with the juvenile posturing of the Gaelgeoirí Grenadiers who think that everyone should be as interested in a dead language as they are.
But in fairness to Mr Ó Cuirreáin, he has raised some very valuable arguments. For example, he accused the Government of ‘ hypocrisy’ by insisting that Irish be maintained on the respirator of being a mandatory subject, where it will never revive and is held in a kind of limbonic stasis, regularly drip fed just enough to keep it from completely flatlining. Don’t get me wrong, I have certainly views on Irish since I — sort of — lost an argument with former TG4 supremo Cillian Fennel. It was around the time of the station’s launch and we got into what could be politely described as a vigorous exchange of ideas on the subject. In my corner, the argument was that this was a ridiculous waste of taxpayers’ money being spent on something that, if it was an animal, we would have put out of our own misery.
Fennel believed equally passionately that the State has a duty to support the language and argued even more forcibly that the new channel would make the language hip again. Well, on that second point he was proved emphatically correct — TG4 is by far and away the most inventive and innovative broadcaster on this island. But I still don’t think it’s the Government’s job to fund it, or any other as Gaeilge boondoggle, for that matter. So if you think the Irish language is a vibrant part of our cultural identity? Well, good for you. There can never be anything wrong with learning and using a language. But you wouldn’t expect the Government to subsidise guitar lessons, or any other hobby. So why should we pay for something people can learn on their own time and, more importantly, their own dime?
www.independent.ie
Irish language story launch
December 9, 2013
Derry City Council is set to launch a new exhibition and guide illustrating the story of the Irish language in the area.
The Story of Irish tells the story of the Irish language from its first beginnings right up to the present day and explores the journey the language has made throughout the course of our history. The exhibition and the small book which accompanies it aim to develop awareness of the language among new audiences and the resource will travel to schools and community organisations throughout the Council area during 2014 and beyond.
The project was developed by Derry City Council in partnership with the local Irish language community and BT Portrait of a City, which now hosts an archive of interviews with a range of local people about the Irish language in the area. The Story of Irish project was funded under the Culture for All programme which aims to help communities participate in the 2013 City of Culture celebrations. The exhibition will be launched by the Mayor, Cllr Martin Reilly on Thursday at the Guildhall. If you would like to attend the launch event please contact Pól Ó Frighil, Irish Language Officer, Derry City Council, T: 028 71 376579, gaeilge@derrycity.gov.uk
www.derryjournal.com
Bricíní – Féile Leabhar do Dhaoine Óga
December 6, 2013
Pléaráca Chonamara are hosing Bricíní a Youth Book Festival (Féile Leabhar do Dhaoine Óga) which will take place in Conamara on Friday 13th & Saturday 14th December 2013. A wonderful two days of fun, reading, lecture and literature will take place. This event is aimed at primary and post-primary pupils. A wide selection of books will be on sale during the festival. On Friday 13th December the talented writer Darach Ó Scolaí will officially open the book festival. This will be followed by various events throughout the day with reading by Diarmuid de Faoite, Gemma Breathnach and a lecture on one of Ireland finest writer and poets Máirtín Ó Direáin from Inis Mór. At pm Beartla Broc will conduct a reading session. On Saturday 14th December a wonderful selection of books suitable for all ages will be on sale as well as reading by Diarmuid de Faoite prizes will alos be presented to pupils who entered the poetry and art competitions. Later in the afternoon Gwyneth Uí Ghaora and Tadhg Mac Dhonnagáin will delight the audience with their readings. The festival will come to a closure with a wonderful exhibition of drum sounds with Colm de Bhaldraithe & friends. Venue: Seanscoil Shailearna, Indreabhán Co. Galway
Further information
Fón: (091) 574882/574346 /
E: Oifigeachealaiona@gmail.com
www.plearaca.ie
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com
Commissioner resigns
December 6, 2013
A chara, –
It is a cause of shame that the greatest threat to the Irish language is and always has been the ruling State of the day.
As Coimisinéir Teanga, Seán Ó Cuireáin has made great strides in supporting our constitutional right to use Irish in public life despite the immense obstacles in our State bureaucracy.
It is the same bureaucracy that has made the role of an Coimisinéir Teanga both vital and impossible.
– Is mise,
Maitiú de Hál,
Páirc na Canálach Ríoga,
Baile an Ásaigh,
Baile Átha Cliath 15
www.irishtimes.com
Fury as education blueprint ignores integrated schooling
December 6, 2013
Government commitment to integrated education has been challenged after an official business plan failed to refer to the sector.
It is the second consecutive year that the Department of Education has omitted any reference to integrated education in its 2012-15 business plan, which is updated annually.
Alliance MLA Trevor Lunn (right) said it was astonishing that the department dedicated pages to projects promoting shared education and the Irish-medium sector, without mentioning integrated education.
The 37-page report focuses on shared education over three pages and references the Irish-medium sector. It lists targets to promote the debate on shared education, the development of 10 new shared education campuses, and a Programme for Government commitment for all pupils to participate in a shared education project by 2015.
Pupils of integrated schools – who hail from different religious, social and academic backgrounds – learn and socialise side by side all the time, instead of some of the time under the shared education model, it has been claimed.
The ‘rush’ towards sharing resources instead of all pupils’ classroom time risks turning integrated education into a “Cinderella sector”, Mr Lunn warned yesterday.
“It astonishes me that there is no mention in this plan of integrated education. I do not object to shared education, but it’s being used as a means to turn integrated education into a cinderella sector,” he said during a briefing to the Assembly’s education committee.
“What sort of message are we sending out to the integrated education movement when the department’s corporate plan does not mention it?”
Stormont departments are obliged to encourage integrated education under a pledge contained within the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
Tina Merron from the Integrated Education Fund (IEF) said it was disappointing that integrated education had been sidelined in the department’s plans again.
“It is a model which should surely be at the heart of the education system if the Executive is sincerely committed to a shared society,” she said.
Only 7% of children attend integrated schools in Northern Ireland, with the vast majority educated in the State or Catholic sectors. In June, a LucidTalk poll revealed that more than half of those surveyed believed politicians should set a target date for the complete desegregation of the education system.
Department of Education deputy secretary John McGrath has insisted the integrated education sector, which has not been reviewed in years and lacks specific targets, is “confident and stable”.
“Stable means it is not growing,” Mr Lunn said.
“To encourage and facilitate integrated education, it should involve at least a mention of where the department would like to see the integrated sector going.”
www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk
Quinn rejects claims over Irish language
December 6, 2013
Crisis in Irish-speaking community following resignation, warn activists
December 6, 2013
An Réiltín is Gile – dráma le Fíbín
December 5, 2013
