Galway Irish Language Schools Get Major Funding Boost

45 schools in Galway are to benefit from 1.5 million euro in funding under the Irish Language Assistants Scheme, according to the website "Celtic Language News". The new funding comes as part of a national support of 3.6 million euro for the Irish language.

The objective of the "rish Langauge Assistants Scheme" is to reinforce Irish as the spoken language among young people in the Gaeltacht. Two organisations, Muintearas Teo and Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne Teo, manage the scheme on behalf of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.  This service is delivered for the most part through the network of Gaeltacht primary schools. 

The 2011 census reported that 42% of the residents of Galway City speak Irish and 20% speak Gaelic in the home.  In important ways Galway City is the capital of the Gaeltacht. Galway is the home of the National Irish Language Theater and the Gaelic League (Conradh na Gaeilge) has a presence in the city. There are four Irish medium primary schools and an Irish medium secondary school. The Galway campus of the National University of Ireland (NUI) provides Irish medium education at all levels and its website declares “A unique aspect of NUI Galway’s role as a University is its strategic commitment to the provision of University education through the medium of Irish and the University’s aim to serve the Gaeltacht and the Irish language community, and to create an exemplary bilingual campus. “

Galway is also home to Gaillimh le Gaeilge, mentioned above, a quasi-government entity established in 1987 with the aim of promoting the Irish language as an economic resource and who work with Galway City Council and the local Chamber of Commerce to figure out how to make money off of the ancient tongue of the land.  In 2015 news reports on the announcement included the following on the motivation for the City Council’s action in declaring Galway a bi-lingual city: “In terms of tourism, the Irish language is worth 40 million euro per annum to the city and county. A new steering committee will ensure Galway’s bilingual status becomes a unique selling point.”

Muintearas is a community education and training organization. The headquarters of the organization is located in Tír an Fhia, Lettermore, Co Galway; and we have offices in the Donegal, Mayo and Kerry Gaeltacht areas. Education is provided for all age groups in the community, from pre-school to adult lifelong learning. Muintearas works in all aspects of education, training and services to the Gaeltacht community. Muintearas is known and recognized by organizations and Departments of State from dealing with the organization over the years. Youth programs are one of the most important aspects of the work of the organization. In recent years we have been actively promoting opportunities for remote communication technologies for remote communities. Muintearas is familiar with all Gaeltacht communities, not only in Connemara, but also in other Gaeltacht areas from working with them to tackle disadvantage, and to achieve a level playing field for them. 

Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne is a subsidiary company of Comharchumann Forbartha Chorca Dhuibhne, a local development co-operative founded over 40 years ago to improve the economic, social, community and cultural life of the Irish language speaking areas of the Dingle Peninsula of County Kerry or Corca Dhuibhne. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne, based in Baile an Fheirtéaraigh (Ballyferriter, Co. Kerry) is in existence since 1980 and through its various activities, publications and projects, including a regional museum, helps celebrate, promote and maintain the very rich linguistic, archaeological and cultural heritage of Corca Dhuibhne.

Celtic Language News:

45 schools in Galway are to benefit from 1.5 million euro in funding under the Irish Language Assistants Scheme, according to the website "Celtic Language News". The new funding comes as part of a national support of 3.6 million euro for the Irish language.

Galway’s Gaeltacht schools will split an allocation of over one and a half million euro with schools in Mayo and Meath. The scheme supports 113 language assistants nationwide, with the new funding allowing assistants to spend more time in both primary and secondary school classrooms, there by supporting further uptake in the language among students. In Galway, the scheme is administered by Connemara based organisation Muinteras on behalf of the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. Announcing the funding, Gaeltacht Minister and Galway West TD Sean Kyne says the new resources will better support the Irish language in both the classroom and the community.

https://www.chg.gov.ie/gaeltacht/the-gaeltacht/language-support-schemes-programmes/family-language-support-programme/irish-language-assistance-scheme/

https://celticlanguagesnews.blogspot.com/2019/07/45-galway-schools-to-benefit-from-irish.html

http://www.muintearas.com/index.html

http://www.oidhreacht.ie/