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Irish Times
a day ago
- Irish Times
Going to the Gaeltacht as an adult: All of the giddiness of a teenage trip with none of the awkwardness
For many, the ritual of heading to the Gaeltacht as a teenager holds fond memories of craic, ceol and céilí – even if the actual Irish classes weren't overly exciting. With the recent popularity in Irish language and culture – owed, in part, to Belfast rap trio Kneecap – you may be kicking yourself for not paying more attention when you were sent off to Irish college to brush up on your skills. What many don't know, however, is that you can actually take up a course in the Gaeltacht as an adult, which is exactly where I found myself in late June. Myself and a couple of friends registered for Gael Linn's Gaeltacht course for adults in Gaoth Dobhair, Donegal , booked a wee cottage beside Teach Hiúdaí Beag – known for it's Monday night music sessions with the owner himself taking part – and were on our way. The week's schedule is split between classes, social events, cultural evenings and trips to get the know the area – including a boat trip to Gabhla island which, in 2022, had a population of just 15. READ MORE A short trek around the island is an experience in itself – looking at the abandoned homes, walking alongside sheep and, in the quiet moments between conversations, listening to corncrakes cry with the backdrop of the Atlantic Ocean. Hike to the north of the island and take in the views of the Sea Arches, which look like something out of the Algarve, as well as a memorial to two people who lost their lives in 9/11. The classes themselves, which are held in a University of Galway building in the area, are broken up into six different levels. You choose your ability and, if you feel it's not for you, moving between the classes is easy. In the evenings, locals and cultural figures tell stories, sing songs and talk about the history of the area. And, of course, afterwards it's to the pub to practice what you learned that day, get to know your classmates, listen to some local music or practice a few céilí dances. You'll find all walks of life on the course. In our group, there were children of Irish emigrants to England – proudly learning their mother tongue with an English accent – people from the likes of France or the US who found themselves living in Ireland and wanting to understand the national language, retirees, students from other countries who have picked up Irish and people like me, who work full-time but after the Leaving Cert , felt the ability to speak the language slipping away over the years. Seven sisters mountains The only shop Gabhla Island By the end of the week, you could be best of friends with someone decades your elder or from the other side of the country, exchanging numbers to keep in touch or share information about ciorcal comhrás and Irish-language resources. One of the week's highlights is a big course céilí on Friday night, where you'll be swinging out of people you've hardly spoken to and singing in front of a group of strangers despite not having a note in your head. Even this crow – or préachán, as Gaeilge – gave a rendition of Beidh Aonach Amárach with my new friend Colm and a bodhrán to accompany us. [ Grown-up Gaeltacht: 'The week I spent in Ring - the people I met, the culture - was the best thing I could have done' Opens in new window ] Yes, you will be pushed out of your comfort zone but who cares? With everyone there for the sole purpose of improving their Irish, there is no pressure or embarrassment if you get something wrong. As Ian Mac Gabhann, adult education officer for Gael Linn, put it on our last day, heading off to essentially a week-long summer camp is not something adults do. But, why not? Heading to the Gaeltacht as an adult has all the giddiness and none of the awkwardness of being a teenager, meaning you can brush up on your Gaeilge, make friends and have plenty of craic in the scenic setting of Donegal. Gael Linn's second adult Gaeltacht course of the season takes place in Gaoth Dobhair from August 10-16th, but it is booked out.
Irish Examiner
28-06-2025
- General
- Irish Examiner
The Menu: Learning about food provenance — as Gaeilge
Daughter's departure to the Gaeltacht outside Dingle has transported me back through the decades to the late 1970s. However, while she is experiencing a rite of passage familiar to generations of Irish teenagers, summer camp as Gaeilge, my 'sentence' was of a different order. I had won a Gael Linn scholarship, six months total immersion, living with a Gaeltacht family, attending the local school, not a word of Béarla heard or spoken from morning 'til night. It would become a life-changing experience. It was also where, to my mother's ecstatic disbelief, an often sickly child through my early years, I began to eat properly for the first time in my life. Someone cadged a spin and late one cold Sunday night in early January, I was eventually handed over like contraband in Dingle's darkness, bundled into the back of my host family's van headed for An Riasc, near Ballyferriter, my new 'home'. Within days, I dreaded school as it became apparent my outsider status was immutably set in stone; just 11 years old, first time away from home, I began to miss my family. Bean an tí Cáit, a shrewd woman, saw me floundering. On Monday morning of the second week, she said she needed my help so I'd have to miss school. She kept me off for the entire week, having me muck in with chores she did twice as fast on her own. By Friday, she had made me feel like her third son. School never got better but I felt safe in my new home. I began to help, Ben, Cáit's husband, around the tiny farm, just 10 milking cows on 10 acres of land so poor, Ben had a side hustle, driving a truck. I began bringing the cattle to the milking parlour, hooking them up to the machine, except the aptly named Cantankerous who Ben milked by hand. Afterwards, I'd brush out cow dung and hose down the parlour. I began rising unprompted at 6am to bring the cattle in on my own for morning milking and would head to the creamery with Ben before school. A British study showed 90% of children alter their eating habits for the better when involved in growing/producing their own food. Each evening, this city boy reared on fridge-cold pasteurised, carried a jug of still warm raw milk across the yard to the house for our own consumption. Within weeks, I was supping all the way, eventually bringing along a separate cup. On Sundays after Mass, I would head up the lane to Bríd and Micilín, an ancient couple who seemed older than their famine-era cottage. Hooked up to the grid just five years previously, electricity powered a fridge chilling only milk and a solitary light bulb, rarely used. By the open hearth in semi-darkness, turf smoke stinging my eyes, I read about punk rock in the Sunday World, eating brown soda bread cooked in a bastible over the fire, smeared with raspberry jam, pot of tea always stewing nearby. One morning, bringing in the cattle, I noticed chalk white globes popping out from green grass. Mushrooms, the first I'd ever seen. The next day, I filled the straw sun hat I wore everywhere with fresh mushrooms which Cáit fried in butter with white pepper and salt for breakfast. We saved the hay by hand, slashing with scythes, neighbours pitching in, then moving on to their farms in turn. Early morning, we stashed glass lemonade bottles of milky, sugary tea in the ditch. Still scalding at lunchtime, it would slake thirsts like no ice-cold beer has ever done since, washing down sandwiches of batch loaf, butter and ham. Best of all were the duck eggs I'd collect from a woman a mile away on the road to Trá an Fhíona. Rich, viscous yokes of coppery yellow, I'd have two, boiled, in a sitting. Instead of going home as expected at the end of June, my mother forked out, buying me another month in my rural paradise. For the first time in my life, I was beginning to see the bottom of a plate and every night I dreamed in Irish. FOOD FARE Taste Waterford's City Select Taste Tour is a three-hour lunchtime walking tour of Ireland's oldest city, with five food stops, including blaa sampling and a coffee cupping tasting session, at Trade coffee shop, all the while learning about Waterford's serious food and beverage history from tour guide Pamela Flanagan. Fab food writer Blanca Valencia, with a serious history when it comes to combining food and art, presents a French gastronomy tour (July 3 at 5pm) for the National Gallery of Ireland July as part of Thursday Lates French Evening. Exploring French gastronomy as seen through the eyes of French and Irish artists, significant works highlight themes such as the pivotal role of French cafés in art, the importance of the meal and harvest scenes celebrating rural life, as well as Brittany's culinary and artisanal traditions in the works of Irish painters. The gallery café will serve up French and Irish artisanal products in homage. TODAY'S SPECIAL Garlic on sale at Dripsey Castle The magnificently refurbished Dripsey Castle Estate, a medieval castle, Georgian Mansion and vacation rental on 110 acres, 25 mins outside of Cork City, is growing wonderful chemical-free produce which I've been very much enjoying of late, including excellent carrots, onions and beets... a reminder of how well we grow root veg in Ireland. Garlic is especially good, biting astringency and potent flavours. But where do I get this fine fare, says you? Other than a few independent outlets around, not very easily, the point being that you need to seek out similar growers in your own area and support them as much as you can, as part of a great national rebuilding project to revive our ravaged horticulture sector. Details of Irish food events and new Irish food products can be emailed to Read More The Menu: Get your teeth into making the most of meat
Irish Independent
18-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Irish Independent
Wicklow students given award for breathing life into Irish language
Run by Gael Linn, 'Gaelbhratach' is a national initiative that encourages primary and secondary school students to speak Irish outside of the formal classroom setting, and when schools complete certain targets, they are awarded a 'Gaelbhratach' flag. Among the attendees were pupils from Scoil Naomh Iósaf, Baltinglass, who were recognised for their promotion of the Irish language through activities set up and run by the student committee, including Irish speaking competitions, yard games in Irish and by learning Irish songs and dances. As part of the celebrations at the awards ceremony, the students from Wicklow enjoyed interactive games led by former 'Gaelbhratach' committee members Máire Ní Churraoin and Barry ó Siochriú. Entertainment by Giggles the clown and games included an obstacles course, tug of war, a céilí and a well-earned ice cream to wrap up the day. A total of 163 flags were awarded to primary schools this year – over double the figure from last year – in recognition of the students' efforts to inspire and empower their school communities to speak Irish. In May of this year, a further 140 flags were presented to students from post-primary schools. Edel Ní Bhraonáin, Bainisteoir Gaelbhratach said: 'We were delighted to be back in Roscrea last week for the 'Gaelbhratach' awards. 'Gaelbhratach' gives young people of any age or background the opportunity to use and develop their Irish language skills outside of the traditional classroom setting. The programme aims to put the student voice at the centre of their learning through the 'Gaelbhratach' committee. The 'Gaelbhratach' initiative empowers students in Wicklow to take active ownership of their language use and learning while promoting Irish in meaningful, self-directed ways. 'The scheme is going from strength to strength each year, with over 90 primary schools taking part in the initiative for this first time this year. It's inspiring to see young people's growing passion for the language. The most rewarding part of the scheme is hearing feedback from both students and teachers about how they've woven the language into their daily lives and the positive impact it has made.'
Irish Independent
16-05-2025
- General
- Irish Independent
Award for Summerhill College students for promoting the Irish language
A treasure hunt, concerts, debates and quizzes in Irish are just some of the activities set up and run by the student committee in Sligo that was recognised for its promotion of the Irish language. Run by Gael Linn, 'Gaelbhratach' is a national initiative that encourages primary and secondary school students to speak Irish outside of the formal classroom setting. Students from Sligo attended the ceremony which marked the 11th year of the scheme in post-primary schools. A total of 130 flags have been awarded to post-primary schools this year – almost double the figure from last year. Flags were awarded in recognition of students' efforts to inspire and empower their school communities to speak Irish. Commenting on the awards, Edel Ní Bhraonáin, Bainisteoir Gaelbhratach said: 'Gaelbhratach gives young people of any age or background the opportunity to use and develop their Irish language skills outside of the traditional classroom setting. The programme aims to put the student voice at the centre of their learning through the Gaelbhratach committee. "The student-led committee plays a central role in guiding Gaelbhratach initiatives throughout the school year, empowering students in Sligo and beyond to take active ownership of their language-use and learning while promoting Irish in meaningful, self-directed ways. 'The scheme is going from strength to strength, with 65 schools being awarded a flag for the first time this year. It's inspiring to see young people's growing passion for the language. The most rewarding part of the scheme is hearing feedback from both students and teachers about how they've woven the language into their daily lives and the positive impact it has made.'
BBC News
16-03-2025
- Politics
- BBC News
English-medium schools 'distraught' at Irish language scheme axe
The end of an Irish-language scheme for English-medium schools is devastating, a school principal has told BBC News Bronagh's Primary School in Rostrevor is one of more than 80 in Northern Ireland which takes part in the Scoil Spreagtha by the language organisation Gael Linn, Scoil Spreagtha supports English-medium schools to teach 15,000 pupils in 82 primary schools were involved in the scheme and 80 schools were on the waiting list for it. But Gael Linn has said the funding is not in place to continue the scheme after the end of this school year in June all-Ireland Irish language body Foras na Gaeilge recently said it had to make savings of more than €800,000 (£669,000) and that would mean funding cuts to some groups operating in Northern Ireland.A number of language organisations subsequently staged a half-day strike in protest at the principal of St Bronagh's Primary School Jody Mussen said the Scoil Spreagtha scheme allowed non Irish speaking teachers to help pupils with Irish."The big benefits that we have seen from that are increases in self-confidence and self-awareness," he said."It's raising the profile of language in our school and we very much see the Scoil Spreagtha scheme as a gateway to allowing our kids to access new language and encourage the use of other languages."They're using other languages and coming in to showcase the bits of French or Spanish or German or Mandarin that they're learning."Mr Mussen said the scheme had been really beneficial to the school."It's devastating that all the hard work that went into the Scoil Spreagtha scheme and the promotion of the Irish language could potentially be pulled." A previous scheme to teach languages in primary schools was axed in 2015 due to Department of Education cuts at the time.Séamas Mac Eochaidh, from Gael Linn, said Scoil Spreagtha had been funded for two years as a pilot scheme."Now, with the fact that there are wider Irish language cuts we do not have the opportunity to roll the scheme out again and develop the pilot we have done," he said."So obviously the indirect impact that the wider Irish language cuts have had on this scheme means that we're not able to develop it."Mr Mac Eochaidh said the schools who took part wanted to encourage their pupils to develop a second language while at primary school."The manner than we do this is very much positive and creative in what we do, and the schools and teachers are more than welcoming to the work," he said."But the opportunity won't be there if this scheme does not exist."The majority of these schools are completely dependent on the scheme." 'Distraught' Gael Linn had been offering the scheme without ever having a full-time staff member to run it and that has become unsustainable given the interest in it."Because this is Irish language based, it is in the education sector but people tend to think it's passion over profession," Mr Mac Eochaidh said."It's not just about a passion.""In order for this scheme to develop and reach the demand that's there we need to have human resources behind the scheme."Mr Mac Eochaidh said schools had been "distraught" over the news that the scheme was due to end, but he hoped that more funding could be found."We're ready to roll this out as a three-year, five-year, seven-year project," he said."It's just a matter of the funding being made available."We know what we're doing with these types of schemes, we just need the support to do so." 'Hugely successful' Pól Deeds, deputy chief executive of Foras na Gaeilge, said the Scoil Spreagtha scheme had been hugely successful."But Gael Linn can't continue to carry the responsibility for this rapidly growing project without proper staffing and resources," he Deeds said they were "working with both governments to find a solution to this".He added: "We met MLAs from Stormont's education committee and we've been putting together a case for Gael Linn to be properly funded to deliver Scoil Spreagtha."The Department of Education, I think, needs to take this on as one of their strategic priorities because it is so effective."It is delivering on things like helping to address educational attainment and encouraging the use of languages."
