Anton McNulty
TWO Achill schools were celebrating last week when they received their GLEO awards for their promotion of the Irish language throughout the school at a ceremony in Dublin.
Last week both McHale College and Dooagh National School travelled to the Alexander Hotel in Dublin along with ten other schools from around the country to receive their awards along with prize money of €3,000 from the Minister for Community, Equality and Gaeltacht Affair, Pat Carey.
GLEO, which stands for Gaeilge Labhartha san Earnáil Oideachais – Spoken Irish in the Education Sector, is an award organised by Foras na Gaeilge for the recognition of best practice in the promotion of spoken Irish in English-medium schools, at both primary and post-primary levels.
For the purpose of the award, Foras na Gaeilge divide the country into six regions with Mayo in a region along with Donegal, Leitrim, Sligo, Roscommon and Longford. In each region, two primary and one post-primary schools are awarded the prize, with Dooagh NS awarded one of the primary school awards and McHale College the post primary recipient.
Adjudicators from Foras na Gaeilge visited the two schools to see how the language was used outside of classroom.
Barry Kilgannon, the Principal of McHale College, said they were delighted to be awarded the GLEO award and praised the work of the teachers and students.
“This achievement whilst it is a reflection upon the abilities and strengths of the students, is also a reflection upon the staff that strive to promote Gaeilge in the school. Without the efforts of the staff encouraging and supporting and giving of time to the promotion of Irish language and culture, the students’ interest might not be so keen,” he said.
Dooagh National School is located outside the Gaeltacht but the school’s Principal, Irene Gielty said that Irish was very much at the heart of the school. Along with a number of other schools on the island, funding for the promotion of Irish through sport and music was cut but with the support of the parents, she said the school continues to fund the projects through their own means.
“Everyone here pulls together and the judges were particularly impressed that parents were so supportive of the initiatives undertaken by the schools. It is a great honour for the school to win this award and there is great respect for the language by the pupils and the parents and this award is a sign of that,” she said.
Terence Dever, the CEO of Comhlacht Forbartha Aitiuil Acla who are responsible for the promotion of Irish on the island said it was with great pride that the two schools were recipients of GLEO awards.
“This success has not come about overnight but indeed is a testament to the immense effort of the school’s teachers and parents. It is a core part of CFAA that all of Achill be in the Gaeltacht and achievements such as these will only help that case. The students of McHale College and Dooagh NS should be very proud of their success and build on their great work into the future. Is é tús maith leath na hoibre,” he said.
