I had the good fortune to join veteran Derry Gaeilgeoir Gearóid Ó hEara in a city-centre meeting on Thursday past to explore ways in which we can promote the Irish language media in the northwest and ensure the wonderful new Gaeláras, recently listed as number 10 of 65 new European buildings at the Venice Biennale, is full of activity.
Without a doubt, the £4m Gaeláras is not only an excellent piece of architecture but it also is the most important development for the Irish language in a generation — with the exception of the Irish schools.
It even trumps our own groundbreaking Cultúrlann in Belfast because, from the off, it belongs to the Irish language community.
And now to bring you back down to earth, here's the judgement from Wednesday's black day in Belfast High Court which upheld the mean and racist 1737 block on Irish in Northern courts.
The Irish Government should be shouting from the rafters about this type of intolerance....though they don't have their sorrows to seek given that Éamon Ó Cuív had to meet in Gaoth Dobhair this person with our new Culture Tzar Nelson McCausland (his toecringing Thursday interview on Radio Ulster this morning will be the stuff of legend with the sports minister saying he didn't know who were the All-Ireland GAA champions and justifying his ignorance by saying he couldn't name the squash champion either. To top it all, he won't be going to any Catholic churches ever nor to events on a Sunday, with the exception of, you got it, Orange parades.)
And, by the way, Happy Twelfth.
5 comments:
I presume, if you pump 4 million into a building, but at the same time, refuse to put one penny into a new gaelscoil here in Derry City, or keep an the sole existing meanscoil open, everyone can and should be quite proud of themselves.
I remember 7 or 8 years being told by a prominent former community worker in the Lower Shankill that when an organisation buys a building that is the end of any good work they do. Their interest is then to protect their building.
The reality in Derry City is that the secondary Irish unit has been shut down. There are 3 buncoileanna, one has had their funding by the Department of Education stopped because they are too independent. and coincidentally, this bunscoil is the most successful in terms of new intake, and the other two schools are on life support. And the reason for the life support is the lack of leadership or rather the negative-leadership and the absence of any inspiration.
There should easily be half-a-dosen bunscoileanna plus a thriving meanscoil in Derry City, but that is an anathema to the people who build cathedrals to honour themselves.
Derry City has ugly problems. The cathedral builders have stuck it to the gaelscoil movement.
Children and their futures nor the interests of the working class-community are of the slightest concern to the cathedral builders, only power and self-glorification matter.
Those same cathedral builders refused to take part in the building of the gaelscoileanna when times were difficult. They have not changed their position today.
Community initiative be damned.
Tragically and unfortunately,
the concept of shame no longer exists in some quarters in Derry City.
wouldnt agree with all thats said above but i would take the main point that a nice building is one thing and what goes on it is another. 2 areas of concern already voiced in the town is the status of Irish in both management and in the 'business units' being hosted therein. apparently irish isnt a pre-requisit in both cases. what would the pioneers of the belfast culturlann have said to the suggestion of english businesses being set up inside as an integral part of the culturlann?
as regards the independent bunscoil in Derry, which did indeed submit one of the north's highest gaelscoil P1 intake number by january's deadline to the Board, there is currently an open consultation on the renewal of its funding this september and if people want to take an active stance in supporting it rather than spitting at the laptop monitor as we tend to do, i suggest writing into the Development Branch, Rathgael house, Bangor in support of the proposal. people should also put heavy pressure on sinn féin and their minister to support the proposal as the most pressing issue to face gaelscoileanna this summer.
personally i wish them all the best at the culturlann uí chianáin as i'd support any positive initiative involving the irish language no matter how imperfect some percieve it to be. and at least when the dust settles and the centre opens we can get down to the real big business of 2nd level education in this town.
is fíor do Mháirtín go bhféadfadh tionscnamh seo na gCultúrlanna a bheith tabhachtach ó thaobh cur chun cinn na Gaeilge taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht de dá ndéanfaí forbairt air ar scala forleathan ach is fíor fosta don duine uasal gan ainm go bhfuil sé deacair ,sa sochaí ina maireann muid, an bearla a choinneáil ó dhoras agus go mbíonn agat a bheith go síoraí ar an airdéail.Bheadh leisce orm aon rud a mholadh do dhream ar bith eile a bhí ag iarraidh tioncsnamh mar seo a chur ar aghaidh ó tharla nach dtuigim na dala ina maireann siad ach thig liom a rá gur streacailt a bhí agus a bhíonn ann i gcónaí sa Chultúrlann i mBéal Feirste an Ghaeilge a choinneáil in uachtar ainneaoin ar míle dícheáll agus ní i gcónaí a d'éirigh linn é a dhéanamh ach oiread, go hairithe nuair atá tú ag iarraidh an áit a bheith oscailte do gach duine bíodh Gaeilge acu nó nach mbíodh.ach ar scor ar bith bhí sé de chuspóir againn ó thús go mbeadh gach cruinniú coiste i nGaeilge agus mar sin,de facto. nach mbeadh ar an choiste ach Gaeilgeoirí. chomh maith le sin thug muid tús áite do dhaoine a raibh gaeilge acu agus muid ag fostú daoine ach ní i gcónaí a thig leat Gaeilgeoirí a fháil a bhfuil lámh acu ar cheirdeanna éagsúla,oibrithe cistíne srl ach rinne muid cinnte go mbeadh Gaeilge ag daoine a bhí ag plé leis an phobal go díreach.Rinne muid amach nach reachtalfadh an Chultúrlann í féin aon rud i mBearla amháin in am ar bith ach dar ndóigh ligeann muid seomraí agus an amharclann ar chíos do dhaoine fá choinne cruinníthe srl le beagan airgid a thabhairt isteach agus is i mbearla bheadh siad sin go hiondúil ach ní faoi choimirce na Cultúrlainne atá siad.Tá tuairim's 11 grúpa éagsúla ag obair insan Chultúrlann agus is Grúpaí Gaeilge iad uilig agus gan aon amhras bhí sin ina chuidiú againn an Ghaeilge a choinneáil sa chéad áit i gcónaí.Is cinnte gur ceart go mbeadh cuspóir láidir Ghaeilge ann ó thús nó dala "fliú na muc" oibreoidh an Bearla a bhealach isteach ar dhóigh éigin. Ach ainneoin sin uilig nach bhftil sé iontach go bhfuil an oiread sin déanta ag muintir Dhoire le seo a thabhairt i gcríoch, moladh go deo leo
A Chara
Maybe someone up at the that talking shop in stormont will take issue with the Irish Governent down here about the the State of Irish Language Schools . Here in Clondalkin,Dublin Nr the Red Cow we have 225 kids being taught in 30 year old pre fabs.1 class has just been shut due to structual problems.and the State doesn't give a fiddlers. so much for protecting the children of the nation. The school Gaelscoil Na Camóige is a disgrace.What is it all about with our kids are being treated like this.You pay your taxes and then you don't see any return.You want the Irish language to continue and they won't give you decent schools to teach them in.Come on our goods freinds in the North lets start shouting about the human rights in the south
What injustice is this? Civil servants in the south having to take pay cuts of €150 - is that per week or per year?
What about the bould soldiers of Foras na Gaeilge? Are they taking any cuts - or are 'workers' and 'board members' of the cross border bodies immune from cuts to their salaries/stipends, (but not from cutting funds to frontline organisations)????
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