Eolaíocht na n-óg ag Pláinéadlann Ard Mhacha
February 11, 2014
Irish National Stud to offer Irish Language Tours for Seachtain na Gaeilge
February 11, 2014
As part of this year’s Seachtain na Gaeilge, the Irish National Stud in Co. Kildare will offer guided tours through Irish.
The guided tours will be available for members of the public or schools between 03 March and 14 March 2014 and must be reserved in advance.
Three distinct tours will be provided depending on the age of the students and the schools’ requirements. It is best to contact the Stud in advance to discuss which option is most suitable for your school.
A. Interactive SESE Discovery trail with Discover Primary Science activities.
This tour includes a special trail designed by Paddy Madden, with regard to the social, environmental and social education curriculum and include DPS activities. Students get the opportunity to visit the horse museum, the stud farm, the Japanese Gardens and St. Fiachra’s Garden.
This tour lasts for one and a half hourse, and costs €10.50 per student for groups of 30 or more students.
B. Discover Primary Science & Maths Trail
Worksheets are available for this tour which relate to the following SESE Curriculum Strands: Living Things; Energy and Forces; and Natural Environments.
A Tour Guide takes the children around the Stud Farm which takes about 45 minutes, then the Teacher takes the children on a nature trail through St. Fiachra’s Garden. The children learn how to measure a tree, how to tell the age of a tree, how to identify particular birds and will also learn about Swan Life and Food Webs.
The children return to school with their worksheets and when back in the classroom they carry out a Word Search & Crossword.
This tour last approximately two and a half hours and costs €7 per child.
C. Regular School Tour:
The children are met by a Tour Guide, where they are taken on a tour of the Stud Farm which is both educational and fun. Highlights include viewing of new born Foals & Falabellas (miniature horses) along the way. The tour also includes a visit to St. Fiachra’s Garden which is located beside the playground.
This tour last approximately one and a half hours and costs €6 per child.
If you would like to book a tour through Irish at the Irish National Stud, please contact reservations@instourism.net or 045 521617.
Further information in relation to the Irish National Stud is available online at: www.irishnationalstud.ie.
Gaelport.com
Dublin preparing for Lá Mór na Gaeilge
February 11, 2014
Large crowds to descend upon Dublin this Saturday
It won’t be long now until communities and groups from all around the country make their way to Dublin for Lá Mór na Gaeilge.
The march is taking place to highlight the rights of the Irish-speaking and Gaeltacht communities and will take place on Saturday, 15 March 2014. The rally will leave the Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square, at 2.00pm and the aim of the campaign is to show that the Government’s approach to Irish language affairs is in breach of Irish speakers’ language rights.
The campaign was established following the announcement by the Language Commissioner, Seán Ó Cuirreáin in December that he would be resigning as a result of the Government’s failure to implement language legislation at the level of the State.
According the to campaign organisers: “This campaign has been inspired by, and we have been motivated to seek the support of the wider community throughout the island for our rights following:
the announcement by Seán Ó Cuirreáin, the Language Commissioner, that he is to resign on the 24th February 2014 because of a lack of Government support in the south for the language rights of the Irish language and Gaeltacht community
the report by the Council of Europe that the promotion and development of the Irish language in the north is being blocked by hostile attitudes in Stormont, and a lack of support for its use in the courts and in education.”
Buses will travel to Dublin from Conamara, Donegal, Armagh, Leitrim, Cork, Kildare, Belfast, Meath, Tyrone and Derry.
The march will be a lively event which will celebrate Irish as a thriving spoken language and Seo Linn, members of Kila and Na Fíréin will close the say’s events.
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com
Minister Quinn launches the Final report on the Síolta Quality Assurance Programme for early years care and education
February 11, 2014
Report provides blueprint for achieving gold standard of care and education for 0 to 6 year olds
The Minister for Education and Skills, Ruairí Quinn T.D., today launched the Final report on the Síolta Quality Assurance Programme.
This programme is aimed at assisting those who care for children aged 0 to 6 to meet the quality standards of Síolta, which is the National Framework for Quality in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) settings. This would include child-minders who care for children in their homes, crèches, Montessoris, and infant classes in primary schools.
Publishing the final report today, Minister Quinn emphasised the importance of quality in ECCE settings.
“Every parent who entrusts the care of their very young children to another person, or indeed a school, wants to be assured that their child is receiving high quality care and education. We know how important this is to promote children’s well-being, their development and also in laying the foundation for their future success in life.”
“The Síolta Quality Assurance Programme is a tool that will help those involved in early childhood care and education to achieve the gold standards that we all want to see in all settings involving our 0 to 6 year olds.”
The Síolta Quality Assurance Programme was piloted on a phased basis over the period 2009 – 2013 and 57 ECCE settings completed the programme during this time. The Programme involved each setting being supported by a Síolta mentor through an intensive twelve step process.
A key element of this process was self-assessment by the service of their own performance against the Síolta quality standards. These self-assessments were externally validated and included a site visit.
The Quality Assurance Programme was managed by the Early Years Policy Unit in the Department of Education and Skills with key support being provided through the Voluntary Childcare Organisations and Early Intervention Programmes.
Minister Quinn added, “There is clearly an appetite from ECCE practitioners to engage with the Síolta Quality agenda and aspire to achieving the highest standards possible. When they do, this engagement has made a really positive impact on the level of quality of care and education for young children.
“While I acknowledge that we have put in place a demanding benchmark that may take some time for all of our early childhood settings to achieve, I believe this is a worthy aspiration and with the right support and mentoring it can be achieved.”
Alongside the findings of this evaluation are a number of other important developments in the ECCE sector. These include the plans by the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs Frances Fitzgerald T.D. to establish a new National Quality Support Service for pre-school services. Consultations are on-going on its establishment following funding being provided for it in Budget 2014. The new support service will work directly with ECCE services to improve quality, including supporting services to implement Síolta and Aistear, which is the National Curriculum Framework for the early years.
To assist the development of this new support service, Minister Quinn has asked the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment to develop a set of practice guidelines drawing on core elements of Síolta and Aistear.
The guidelines will allow the new support service to focus their quality support actions on the areas of practice which have been identified though research as most in need of development, such as planning and evaluation, curriculum, identity and belonging.
The DES will continue to work closely with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs on these and other aspects of the national quality agenda to ensure that there is a clear emphasis on improving the quality of provision in the ECCE sector.
The Final Report on the Development and Implementation of the Síolta Quality Assurance Programme is available at http://www.education.ie/en/Publications/Policy-Reports/S%C3%ADolta-Final-Report.pdf
Eagraíochtaí Gaeilge ó thuaidh le plé ar Cormac ag a Cúig
February 4, 2014
Léirigh do nasc leis an nGaeilge – Caith Fáinne
February 4, 2014
Local App Developers Challenged to Help Belfast’s Gaeltacht Quarter Attract More Tourists
February 4, 2014
Mobile developers from across the region are being invited to put forward innovative new app ideas to help encourage more tourism in Belfast’s Gaeltacht Quarter. The competition, funded by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure, is designed to help bring new tourism app concepts to market and build on the cultural and creative assets which Belfast’s Irish-speaking community has to offer.
Delivered in partnership with Forbairt Feirste, the Belfast-based Irish Language development agency, the competition is offering developers up to £15,000 to design a new app which will be launched later this year. Uniquely, the winning developers will also retain the intellectual property rights to their idea, allowing them to use the project to attract even more business from outside the region.
Jake MacSiacais, the Director of Forbairt Feirste, explained: “The Gaeltacht Quarter is an area rich with the potent and vibrant legacy of Ireland’s cultural, historical and traditional heritage, an area where Irish has flourished igniting a range of 21st century cultural experiences. We need the creative co-operation of the best in their field to help deliver these cultural experiences through the latest technologies in ways which engage and excite visitors.”
The competition is being hosted by IGNITN, the new platform for innovation challenges launched in January by Derry’s CultureTECH Festival. CultureTECH Director Mark Nagurski added: “It is really exciting to be working with Forbairt Feirste on this project. The Gaeltacht Quarter has a rich and exciting cultural heritage that goes well beyond its recent history. By connecting them with the best of local creative and technical talent, we think there’s something really special to be developed that can make a positive impact on how visitors and potential visitors engage with the area.”
“We would encourage anyone interested in submitting an idea to be creative and take some risks in their proposal. At this stage we’re mostly interested in finding the best new ideas; something that’s going to really excite us. This is a tremendous opportunity for the right developers and we want them to use it to not only create something exciting but also to use it as a launchpad for attracting new work or turning their idea into a business in itself.” Mark added.
The competition, launched today, will be open for submissions until February 28th after which two shortlisted ideas will each receive £5000 to develop their concepts. One overall winner will be selected by a judging panel in late March to receive an additional £10,000 to bring their idea to market in partnership with Forbairt Feirste.
Interested developers should visit www.ignitn.com/gaeltachttourism to download an information pack, competition rules and sample content provided by Forbairt Feirste.
CultureTECH is Northern Ireland’s largest creative and digital industries event, taking place annually in Derry-Londonderry and attracting an aggregate audience of 24,000 in September 2013. CultureTECH is committed to promoting interaction between culture and technology and is developing a range of initiatives both online and off, including NI’s new competition platform IGNITN.com. For more information visit www.culturetech.co
Forbairt Feirste is a Belfast-based Irish Language development agency which strives to unleash the economic power of Belfast’s Irish speaking community to the benefit of the entire city, to develop and fully integrate the Cultural heritage of Belfast’s Irish-speaking community into the life of the city, to create economic opportunities and to strengthen the status of the Irish Language. For more information visit www.forbairtfeirste.com
This project is funded by the Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure (DCAL). DCAL is one of 11 Northern Ireland Departments created in 1999 by the Department’s (Northern Ireland) Order 1999. In Northern Ireland it is the Government Department responsible for arts and creativity, museums, libraries, sport, inland waterways and inland fisheries, linguistic diversity, archives, and for advising on National Lottery distribution. www.dcalni.gov.uk
Connor Doherty
T: 02871262379
E: connor@culturetech.co
W: www.ignitn.com / www.culturetech.co
Comments on the use of Irish by Protestants criticised in the north
February 4, 2014
Speaking at a rally to establish parade routes in North Belfast at the weekend, a senior member of the Orange Order warned Protestants who are learning Irish that “it’s part of the republican agenda”.
George Chittick, who is the Orange Order Belfast County Grand Master, claimed that the Irish-speaking community intends for Irish to have the same legal staus as English and that eventually, both languages would be a requirement for jobs.
According to Chittick, the language has been politicised by the Republican movement and, instead of seeking money for Irish language projects, Protestants should be funding initiatives that create employment in the community.
Chittick’s comments have been criticised by several groups including politicians, activists, and in particular Irish Language Development Officer with the East Belfast Mission, Linda Ervine.
Ervine said that Chittick’s comments have been rejected by many people in East Belfast, where over 120 people are taking part in the Turas project, which promotes language awareness among the Protestant community in the north through running classes in the community.
Ervine invited Chittick to visit the centre on the Newtownards Road where people from all types of groups and backgrounds are taking part in Irish classes.
Following the comments made at the weekend, the Orange Order said that the party has not adopted an official stance on the Irish language and while there are clear historical connections between the language and the Protestant community, any decision was a matter for individual conscience.
A recent report by the European Council Committee of Experts on the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages found that hostile attitudes persisted towards the Irish language in Stormont and sharply criticised the British Government and Northern Ireland Assembly for the “block” put on the language.
The Committee of Experts has advised that legislation is required to protect the Irish language and is strongly urging both authorities to provide an appropriate legislative base for the protection and promotion of Irish in the north.
Foilsithe ar Gaelport.com
Comórtas Ealaíne an Fhorais Phátrúnachta urraithe ag O2
February 3, 2014
Dianchúrsa Lae i nGaeltacht Ráth Chairn dóibh siúd atá ag dul don mhúinteoireacht
February 3, 2014
Suim agat sa mhúinteoireacht?
Ag iarraidh do chuid Ghaeilge a fheabhsú?
Interested in Primary Teaching?
Need to brush up on your Irish?
Dianchúrsa Lae i nGaeltacht Ráth Chairn dóibh siúd atá ag dul don mhúinteoireacht
Cúrsa Lae Ráth Chairn Satharn 8ú Feabhra 2014
10rn-4in
Tuilleadh eolais: 046 9432381/9432068
rathcairn@eircom.net
