Erris group set-up to maintain Gaeltacht status in area

Anton McNulty

THE future status of the Gaeltacht in Erris and ways to revive the Irish language in the area will be discussed at a public meeting in Belmullet next month.
The 2012 Gaeltacht Act (Acht na Gaeltachta) signalled a departure from the historic emphasis on geographic boundaries and puts the onus on each Gaeltacht community to decide for themselves whether they want to remain in the Gaeltacht.
As a result communities have to come together to prepare and implement an Irish language development plan for their area, and the Gaeltacht Minister now has the power to withdraw Gaeltacht status from an area if the community does not fulfil their requirements under this new legislation.

Three regions
The Mayo Gaeltacht is divided into three regions - Tourmakeady, Achill and Erris - with 70 percent of the Gaeltacht population living in the Erris region.
An interim working group has recently been formed in the Erris area under the guidance of an independent language planning specialist, an Dr Laoise Ní Dhúda. The aim of this group is to begin preliminary discussions and preparatory work required for the Act in north Mayo and to maintain and develop the region as a thriving Gaeltacht area.
“Instead of sitting back and expecting linguistic miracles to happen without any change, representatives from each parish in this Gaeltacht area decided to get the ball rolling themselves. The future of the Irish language and the North Mayo Gaeltacht depends on you and me,” the new group stated.  Anybody who would like to have their say on the Irish language in Erris is asked to attend a public meeting in Áras Inis Gluaire, Belmullet on Wednesday, November 4 at 8pm. For information email gaeilgeiniorras@gmail.com.