Department Of Education language policy for Irish

"This policy document sets out the administrative services that the Department of Education (DE) currently offers in Irish and informs those who wish to use Irish how they may communicate with DE through the Irish language. This policy reflects DE’s use of Irish solely for administration purposes. It does not cover the provision of Irish medium education or Irish language provision within the school curriculum." - Purpose

Is doiligh olann a bhaint as gabhar: tráchtaireacht an mhúinteora ar imleabhair Bhailiúchán na Scol

Like any historical source, the Schools’ Collection is a product of its era (the late 1930s), one shaped by contemporary ideologies; it shows the views and the prejudices of those who participated. The schoolteachers, in particular, decided which of the many available stories and themes were appropriate, valuable and interesting, and they directed their pupils as they saw fit - or, sometimes, took over the task themselves. The amount and quality of material collected is largely due to their input and influence. This additional editorial voice - and the consequent distance between informants and archivists - makes the Schools’ Collection different from other collections in the National Folklore Collection. Ar nós foinse stairiúil ar bith ní mór a chur san áireamh nach léargas barántúil ar a ré féin é Bailiúchán na Scol ach táirge a cruthaíodh agus a múnlaíodh de réir idé-eolaíocht a linne agus a léiríonn dearcadh agus claonadh na ndaoine a raibh páirt acu ann. An cnuasach ollmhór seo a bhailigh páistí scoile sna 1930idí agus a bhfuil digitiú déanta air le gairid, is toradh é ar roghanna a rinneadh ag an am. Ba iad na múinteoirí, go háirithe, a roghnaigh céard a bhí oiriúnach, luachmhar agus fiúntach i measc an iliomad scéalta agus téamaí a bhféadfaí díriú orthu. Ar an dóigh sin tá Bailiúchán na Scol éagsúil ó bhailiúcháin eile Choimisiún Béaloideasa Éireann (CBÉ) sa mhéid is go raibh fórsaí breise ag imirt tionchair ar chuntais na bhfaisnéiseoirí. D’fheidhmigh na múinteoirí seo mar idirghabhálaithe idir foireann an Choimisiúin agus a gcuid faisnéiseoirí agus tá gnéithe sainiúla ag baint le hábhar Bhailiúchán na Scol de thoradh ar an achar seo idir na béaloideasaithe lánaimseartha agus a n-ábhar staidéir. San alt seo, féachtar ar na múinteoirí úd le fáil amach cérbh iad féin agus cén tionchar a bhí acu ar ábhar Bhailiúchán na Scol. Baintear feidhm go háirithe as na nótaí a d’fhág siad féin sna himleabhair agus as sonraí eile atá sna leabhair chéanna le tulleadh tuisceana a fháil orthu. Léiríonn an fhianaise sin an ról lárnach a bhí ag na múinteoirí i roghnú agus i gcur i láthair an ábhair. In this article we look at those teachers to see who they were and what influence they may have had on the Schools’ Collection. Introductory and explanatory notes left by some teachers in the volumes of folklore they submitted from their schools provide the main source of evidence. Reviving the Irish language was regarded as a task for schools, and there is evidence of this, and of the perceived link between the language and ‘true Irishness’, in the teachers’ writings. There is evidence that some teachers enjoyed working on the Schools’ Collection enormously and were immensely proud of their pupils. Others were dismissive or apologetic about their submissions and wary of the cigire (inspector), citing poverty, misplaced local pride, the urban location or pro-British influence as reasons for inadequate submissions

Attitudes towards minority languages: an investigation of young people's attitudes towards Irish and Galician

This study compares young people’s (aged 17-25) attitudes towards two of Europe’s lesser-used or minority languages. The first is Irish, spoken in the Republic of Ireland and the second is Galician, spoken in the Autonomous Community of Galicia in the north-western part of Spain. Quantitative data on attitudes towards these two languages were collected through a sociolinguistic questionnaire. This questionnaire was completed by a sample of 817 Irish and 725 Galician university students in Dublin and Vigo, Ireland’s and Galicia’s respective major cities. The results of the survey confirm general levels of support for each language. However, sizeable minorities, particularly amongst Irish students, were found to have consistently more negative attitudes. Moreover, despite general support for the presence of these languages within their respective societies and as symbols of identity, the study provides some evidence of the continued presence of deep-rooted stigmas which are attached to these languages. An analysis of the factors influencing language attitudes amongst the two student groups highlighted important differences between the Irish and Galician contexts. Most favourable attitudes towards Galician were expressed by students whose political and ethnic allegiances were most closely tied to the ideal of a Galician national identity. Positive attitudes towards Galician as a result of a strongly held Galician national sentiment were also found to be contributing to changes in the language behaviours of younger age-groups. The factors which were found to be most influential in determining attitudes towards Irish appeared to be related to these young Irish people’s experience with the language within the Irish education system. The level of support for Irish was affected by students’ academic performance in Irish as an examination subject at school, which in turn was found to govern their ability to speak and ultimately, to put the language into use

New speakers of Irish: shifting boundaries across time and space

While traditional Irish-speaking communities continue to decline, the number of second-language speakers outside of the Gaeltacht has increased. Of the more than one and half million speakers of Irish just over 66,000 now live in one of the officially designated Gaeltacht areas. While “new speakers” can be seen to play an important role in the future of the language, this role is sometimes undermined by discourses which idealise the notion of the traditional Gaeltacht speaker. Such discourses can be used to deny them “authenticity” as “real” or “legitimate” speakers, sometimes leading to struggles over language ownership. Concerns about linguistic purity are often voiced in both academic and public discourse, with the more hybridized forms of Irish developed amongst “new speakers” often criticised. This article looks at the extent to which such discourses are being internalised by new speakers of Irish and whether or not they are constructing an identity as a distinct social and linguistic group based on what it means to be an Irish speaker in the twenty first century

Féiniúlacht agus inspreagadh i gcás cúntóirí teanga i scoileanna Gaeltachta [Identity and motivation among language assistants in Gaeltacht schools]

San alt seo, cuirtear i láthair taighde a rinneadh ar ghnéithe éagsúla de chur i bhfeidhm Scéim na gCúntóirí Teanga (an Scéim feasta) atá á reáchtáil ag an Roinn Turasóireachta, Cultúir, Ealaíon, Gaeltachta, Spóirt agus na Meán. Cuireann an Scéim, atá ar bun ó bhí 1999 ann, cúntóirí teanga ar fáil do scoileanna Gaeltachta d’fhonn an Ghaeilge a láidriú mar theanga labhartha i measc daltaí scoile sna ceantair sin. Ba é aidhm mhór an tionscadail taighde ná iniúchadh a dhéanamh ar staid reatha na Scéime agus ina dhiaidh sin moltaí chun feabhais a chur ar fáil. Úsáideadh ceistneoirí, agallaimh agus grúpaí fócais le sonraí a bhailiú ó pháirtithe leasmhara na Scéime. San alt seo, dírítear ar shonraí a bhaineann le féiniúlacht agus inspreagadh na gcúntóirí teanga a tháinig chun cinn sna grúpaí fócais ar ghlac 50 cúntóir páirt iontu. I gcomhthéacs na féiniúlachta, is iad na téamaí a d’eascair ó na comhráite ná féindearcadh na gcúntóirí orthu féin, a ról i suíomh na hoibre, agus ról na hoibre a dhéanann siad i dtacú leis an phobal lena mbaineann siad. I dtaca leis an inspreagadh, bhain na téamaí leis an teanga féin, na páistí a mbíonn siad ag obair leo, tacú le céad ghlún eile chainteoirí na Gaeilge agus todhchaí na Gaeltachta. Pléitear ráitis na gcúntóirí i gcomhthéacs na litríochta ar fhéiniúlacht teanga agus inspreagadh múinteoirí teanga, mar aon le cás na Gaeilge agus na Gaeltachta. [In this article we present data from a research project which reviewed various aspects of the implementation of Scéim na gCúntóirí Teanga (The Language Assistants Scheme), which is run by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media. The Scheme, established in 1999, provides language assistants to Gaeltacht schools in order to strengthen spoken Irish among pupils in those regions. The main aim of the research was to evaluate the current state of the Scheme and to make recommendations for its enhancement. Questionnaires, interviews and focus groups were used to gather data from the Scheme’s stakeholders. The present article focuses on issues of identity and motivation which were discussed by the 50 language assistants who took part in the focus groups. In relation to identity, the themes that emerged were assistants’ self-image, their role in the workplace, and the role of the work they do to support their own community. As for motivation, the themes were connected to the language itself, the children they work with, supporting the next generation of Irish speakers, and the future of the Gaeltacht. The assistants’ statements are discussed in relation to the literatures on language identity and language teacher motivation, as well as the Irish language and the Gaeltacht.

An Irish manuscript at Glin Castle

Description of an eighteenth-century Irish manuscript from Co. Limeric

Na coláistí Gaeilge mar ghne d'athbheochan na Gaeilge, 1904-1912

Cuireadh coláiste Gaeilge ar bun i mBéal Atha an Ghaorthaidh, Co. Chorcaí sa bhliain 1904 chun múinteoirí scoile náisiúnta a ullmhú chun an Ghaeilge a theagasc i gcraobhacha Chonradh na Gaeilge agus sna scoileanna Náisiúnta ar fud na hÉireann. Ceadaíodh teagasc na Gaeilge mar ghnathabhar ar churaclam na scoileanna Náisiúnta den chéad uair riamh ó bunaíodh an córas oideachais náisiúnta in 1831 i scoileanna Náisiúnta na Gaeltachta nuair a fógraíodh an Clár Dátheangach in Aibreán 1904. Ba chuid den obair athnuachana ar an churaclam naisiunta a tosaíodh i 1900 é an clár. Chonacthas, áfach, nach raibh dóthain oidi oilte ann chun dul i mbun theagasc na Gaeilge sna scoileanna. Chuir an Piarsach agus an Craoibhín bunús an mhilleáin ar an Bhord Náisiúnta agus ar na coláistí oiliuna stait. Ba iarracht í búnu na gcoláistí Gaeilge an fhadhb seo a réiteach . Glacadh go réidh leis na cúrsaí a bhí á n-eagrú i gColáiste na Mumhan agus níorbh fhada gur oscláiodh colaístí Gaeilge eile sna ceithre chúige idir 1904 agus 1912. Mheall na cúrsaí seo na sluaite oidí chun na ceantair ba láidre Gaeilge ina raibh na coláistí bunaithe iontu. Bronnadh teastais inniúlachta orthu siúd ar éirigh leo sna scrúdaithe a reáchtáladh ag deireadh na gcúrsaí. Thuig an Bord Náisíunta fiuntas a gcuid oibre agus d'aithin sé teastais na gcoláistí mar cháilíocht oífigiúil muinteoireachta. Tá tábhacht ag na colaístí Gaeilge in éabhlóid theagasc na Gaeilge. Is iad a chuir oidí ar fail don chóras oideachais. Bhi scoláirí móra na Gaeilge ar nós Eoin Mhic Néill, Risteard Uí Dhálaigh, Risteard de Hindeberg, Thomáis Uí Cholmáin, Mhíchíl Breathnaigh agus Úna Ní Fhaircbeallaigh ag croílár obair na gcolaístí seo. Mar sin ba chéim chinniúnach e an feiniméan lenar bhain siad i scéal na Gaeilge sa chóras oideachais. Seasann na coláistí Gaeilge don idéalachas a spreag treaníarracht na gConraitheoiri deiseanna oiliúna a chur ar fáil d'oidí scoile na tíre an Ghaeilge a theagasc d'aos óg agus do dhaoine fásta an ama sin nuair nach raibh rialtas na tíre sásta na deiseanna sin a chur ar fail. Is e sin abhar agus fócas an tsaothair seo