Bua do thuismitheoirí Ráth Tó
April 11, 2011
Irish to remain as Leaving Cert core-subject- for now
April 5, 2011
Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn TD has confirmed that there will be no change to the official status of Irish as a compulsory examination subject.
This follows an undertaking made in the Programme for Government which promised improvement in teaching methodologies at second level and that no review of the status of the language in the education system would take place until such steps had been made.
Speaking in Dáil on 24th March, he affirmed that a review would take place but he didn’t indicate a timeframe for this review.
“We must face up to the fact that many children who commence school with a positive attitude toward Irish do not, for reasons I do not fully understand, retain that attitude. We must examine why that is the case,“ he said during questions on the future of Gaelscoileanna.
“We must consider, for example, the amount of time teachers spend teaching Irish relative to and in the context of the outcomes achieved and the ability of young people to speak the language in an enthusiastic fashion. We must approach this issue honestly”, he added.
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com 05 Aibreán 2011
Ceoltóirí Reachrann, Scléip 2011 Winners
April 5, 2011
Tráth na gCeist – Gaelscoil Thaobh na Coille
April 5, 2011
Can You Turn Your Community Into TG4’s Next Top Irish Speaking Town?
April 5, 2011
TG4 and Adare Productions are producing a brand new series where non-Gaeltacht communities can compete against each other for the opportunity to call themselves The G-Team winners 2011 and win a €40,000 Foras na Gaeilge prize to use in promoting their local area. This new and innovative programme will be sponsorded by Foras Na Gaeilge.
‘The G-Team’ is a new 10 part series on TG4 that will feature non-Irish speaking communities from all over Ireland and challenge them to begin using their native tongue in their daily routines. Can your local butcher sell the Sunday roast in Irish? Can your local parents learn enough of the language to read their kids a bedtime story?
We are currently looking for Irish speaking Team Leaders in each region to put their town forward and spearhead their community’s effort as they work towards their very own G -Day (Gaeilge) Day.
G-Day is the day where the cameras will descend to watch the town in action as they hold a festival and use every effort throughout the day to use the Irish language. The team leaders will be across all aspects of their preparations leading up to and including their G-Day. The team leaders will also be responsible for encouraging their town to embrace the G-Team challenge and use Irish in their daily routine in the weeks leading up to their G-Day and beyond.
Are you a team leader? Do you live in a community that would benefit and embrace The G-Team challenge. Can you organise, focus and drive your local community to put their best foot forward and compete in a truly national competition? If so, we want to hear from you….
On the 11th of April 2011 the G-Team application form will go ‘live’ via the TG4 website. Starting on that day, for a 2-week period only, applications will be invited. We are looking for team leaders from any and all non-Gaeltacht towns from all across the country to apply.
For further information, please contact:
Adare Productions on 01 2843877
Scléip 2011 Winners
April 4, 2011
Congratulations to everyone who took part in the final of the Scléip 2011 competition, we had a great day on April 2nd in the Axis theatre in Ballymun. 17 schools took part in the final, and the day was a huge success. We had three judges for the show, Ríonach Ní Néill, Martin Tourish and Ray Mac Mánais, and they had a hard job choosing winners as the standard was so high on stage on the day. After much discussion and debate, they announced the results to the audience. We’d like to thank them for all their hard work, and to thank the teachers, parents and enthusiastic audience too, who gave the participants such encouragement. We wish the participants themselves all the best for the future; you’ve certianly got talent and we look forward to seeing you onstage again, whether it’s at Scléip 2012 or in the o2, who knows!
The winners in each category were:
- Traditional and/or Classical Music (solo) – Áine Ní Fhlanagáin, Coláiste Oiriall
- Modern Music (solo) – Peadar Ó Goill, Gairmscoil Éinne
- Traditional and/or Classical Song – Emma Ní Fhuaruisce, Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair
- Modern Music (group) – “Mo”, Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne
- Traditional and/or Classical Music (group) – Ceoltóirí Reachrann, Gaelcholáiste Reachrann
- Creative Dance – Domhaintarraingt, Gaelcholáiste Cheatharlach
- Variety – Gearóid Ó Gealbháin, Gaelcholáiste Chiarraí
- Drama/Mime – Eva Ní Dhoibhlinn & Ciarán Mac a Gheimhridh, Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair
Special Awards went to:
- Mattie Barker, Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne
- Grupa Thraidisiunta Colaiste FCJ Laurel Hill
- “Ceathrar Leaids”, Scoil Chaitríona
Grand Prix 2011:
- Ceoltóirí Reachrann
There are photos from the event in the gallery. If you have any photos or video clips from the day, we’d be delighted if you could email them to us: cspainneach@gaelscoileanna.ie.
Scléip is the national talent competition catering specifically for Irish-medium and Gaeltacht post-primary schools. The competition began in 2005 and it has grown steadily since then. The aim of the competition is to encourage pupils attending Irish medium secondary schools to use their Irish through the various performing arts by giving them the opportunity to take part in a innovative and exciting event. We hope to encourage gaelscoil pupils to speak and use Irish in their music and drama. We would like today’s pupils to be inspired in the same way as ex-gaelscoil pupils before them, such as members of Kíla, the Frames and Dara Ó Briain. It’s a great opportunity for secondary school students to showcase their talent on stage in front of professional judges and an audience, and to win a prize for themselves and their school.
Curaidh Comórtas Díospóireachta an Phiarsaigh Gael Linn 2011 ag ceiliúradh!
April 1, 2011
Well done to the debating teams from Presentation Secondary School, Thurles and Sandford Park School, Ranelagh, Dublin, winners of the All-Ireland Final of Comórtas an Phiarsaigh Gael Linn 2011 ! The debates were held in the Heritage Hotel, Portlaoise on Thursday last, 31 March 2011. This competition has been organized nationally by Gael Linn since 1960 and over 150 teams took part this year.
In the junior section of the competition, the young orators spoke knowledgeably on the topic ‘Tá déagóirí na tíre seo beag beann ar an gcúlú eacnamaíochta!’ ( Irish teenagers are impervious to the recession!). There were cheers of delight from their supporters when it was announced that the Thurles students were the 2011 All-Ireland Champions!
They won out over teams from Athlone Community College, Athlone, Co. Westmeath; Mercy Secondary School ( Mounthawk ), Tralee, Co. Kerry and St. Joseph’s Secondary School, Lucan, Co. Dublin. Teachers Edel Ní Mheachair and Eibhlín de Stainléigh helped and directed the team on their road to victory since November last.
Sandford Park School, Ranelagh, Dublin won the senior section of the competition against teams from Presentation College, Cork; Meánscoil Mhuire Secondary School, Longford Town and Coláiste Íosagáin, Portarlington, Co. Laois. They debated the topical motion: ‘Ba cheart fáil réidh le Seanad Éireann!’ (Seanad Éireann should be abolished!) and many interesting arguments were put forward by each speaker. The team mentor and teacher, Diarmuid Curraoin, was justifiably proud of his students.
Guest chairperson on the night, Senator Brian Ó Domhnaill, steered the proceedings with great aclarity and praised all the young orators for their command of current affairs. He expressed particular interest in the motion debated in the senior section for obvious reasons!
The winning teams in each section were each presented with the Gael Linn perpetual trophy and a cheque for €1,000, while prizes of €250 each were awarded to the other teams who had participated. As part of the prize also, the winners in the junior section, Presentation Secondary School, Thurles, have been invited to take part in ‘Ri Chéile’, a debating festival run by Comunn na Gaidhlig, Scotland and Gael Linn with funding from the organization, Colmcille. This festival brings together young debaters from both Ireland and Scotland for a few days fun when they will get the chance to explore the similarities between their respective languages. The 2011 festival will take place in Dublin in the autumn.
Congratulating the winners on their great achievement, Gael Linn CEO Antoine Ó Coileáin thanked the teachers for their help and dedication in preparing the teams and said: ‘The high level of participation and the high standard of debate bear testimony to an increased emphasis on developing students’ communicative skills. Gael Linn has always believed that pupils should acquire good levels of competence in spoken Irish and we are pleased that this will be rewarded by increased marks for the oral Irish exam from next year.’
Give us a choice of two Irish subjects
March 31, 2011
I AM writing to you to express my opinion on the way I feel Irish should be taught in schools.
A recent report has suggested that the teaching of Irish in the education system be split into two different subjects – Irish language and Irish literature. What a brilliant idea. The language itself can be a fun and interesting subject to do. This interest is dampened by the fact that students have to learn ancient stories and poems, in Irish, to pass their exams. This burden makes the subject unenjoyable and stressful, which puts many students off liking the subject. I’m all for learning the “cúpla focail”, but having to learn a poem about jam – for instance – really does seem ridiculous. By all means, keep Irish on the curriculum, but I think students should have a choice as to whether to do the language, the literature, or both. This would maintain a healthy interest in the subject and prevent it from dying out.
Daisy May Pemble (14)
Kinsale
Co Cork
Irish Examiner
Ashbourne and Ratoath to get merged Gaelscoil
March 31, 2011
Ashbourne is to get a second Gaelscoil, and parents in Ratoath who were hoping to have their Irish school recognised by the Department of Education, are to merge this school with the new Ashbourne establishment.
The announcement that An Foras Pátrúnachta is to oversee the setting up of a new school in Ashbourne comes just weeks after an Educate Together school was earmarked for the town. Ashbourne already has a long-established Irish school, Gaelscoil na Cille. The new Gaelscoil and Gaelscoil Ráth Tó will merge to form an additional gaelscoil for the area which will be called Gaelscoil na Mí, according to Seán Ó Buachalla, of the board of management of the Ratoath school. Mr Ó Buachalla said that the board, the school’s supporters and all the Irish-language organisations involved in the ‘Aitheantas’ campaign were pleased that the Department had finally acknowledged the need for additional provision for Irish-language primary education in the area and hoped that this would lead to quicker recognition of new gaelscoileanna in the future. “The final location of the school has not been confirmed as of yet, but all those involved are committed to getting a choice location that will service both Ratoath and Ashbourne equally,” he said.
“The founders and local supporters of Gaelscoil Ráth Tó would like to express our deep appreciation to our patron body, Foras Pátrúnachta na Scoileanna Lán-Ghaeilge, and to all the Irish language organisations who provided us with invaluable support through the ‘Aitheantas’ campaign, both financially and in terms of lobbying the state on our behalf as well as to our first establishing teacher, Tricia Ní Mhaolagáin. Their support has helped a great deal to bring this solution about and we are delighted to have finally filled an educational gap in our area,” he added. Meath East Labour TD, Dominic Hannigan, said: “The opening of the new gaelscoil in September is welcome news but the Department of Education is still working on finding a suitable location. Among the options currently being considered are temporary classrooms in a local GAA club and a site on the Ratoath side of Ashbourne. I will be keeping up the pressure on the Minister for Education to tell me where Ashbourne’s new Gaelscoil will be located and when we can expect work to start.”
The Meath East TD is also keen to reassure parents that they will have a choice in what language their children are taught in. “The Department maintains the opening of the Gaelscoil will free up enough places in local national schools to cater for the student demand in both languages,” said Deputy Hannigan. He recently published a report, ‘Education in Meath’ which revealed that, as one of Meath’s fastest-growing urban areas, Ashbourne has a significant problem with school capacity. Since 2005, there has been a 17 per cent increase in enrolments in Ashbourne primary schools. One primary school in Ashbourne had an over-subscription of some 60 applicants in September 2010. Parents interested in enrolling their children in Ashbourne’s new Gaelscoil should contact An Foras Pátrúnachta, on (01) 805 7740 or email eolas@foras.ie
Parents who wish to enrol children in Ashbourne’s new Educate Together school in opening 2012 should contact Marie Ronan on (086) 387 3994 or email her at ashbourneeducatetogether@gmail.com
The Meath Chronicle – John Donohoe
Dowds to raise issue of suitable teachers for Gaelscoileanna
March 31, 2011
Dublin Mid-West Labour TD Robert Dowds is set to highlight the problems which Gaelscoileanna are facing in finding suitable teachers to fill vacant posts.
After meeting with representatives from the Gaelscoileanna sector, Deputy Dowds has become very concerned that some teachers in Gaelscoileanna may not have a sufficiently high standard of Irish to be able to teach exclusively through the language, and primary school children in Gaelscoileanna may be suffering as a result.
Under current arrangements, no teaching panel exists for Gaelscoileanna under the patronage of An Fóras Patrúnachta, the patronage body for most Gaelscoileanna.
As a result, Gaelscoileanna with teaching vacancies are forced into hiring from the standard teaching panel, which is comprised of teachers who may not have a sufficient standard of Irish to teach in an all-Irish speaking environment.
Deputy Robert Dowds, Labour Party TD for Dublin Mid-West, said:
“Having met with representatives from the Gaelscoil sector, it is clear that the current arrangements which are in place for the hiring of teachers in Gaelscoileanna are unsuitable. Gaelscoileanna are being forced into hiring teachers who may have a standard of Irish which may make them unsuitable for teaching exclusively through the language and working in an all-Irish speaking environment.
“Unlike Catholic schools or Church of Ireland schools, there is currently no specific panel of teachers for filling vacancies in Gaelscoileanna. I have submitted a parliamentary question on the issue and I am calling on the Minister for Education to establish a panel specifically for Gaelscoileanna, or failing that, to give Gaelscoileanna the authority to interview teachers from other panels to ensure that teachers appointed to Gaelscoileanna have an acceptable standard of Irish.
“If a situation arises, as is likely under current arrangements, that a Gaelscoil is forced into hiring a teacher with a standard of Irish which is not sufficient for teaching exclusively through the language, then it is the pupils who will lose out through lower education outcomes and language skills than a suitable teacher would otherwise provide.
“That is not an acceptable outcome, and I am urging the Minister for education to establish a specific teaching panel for Gaelscoileanna as soon as possible.”
