Living in the Gaeltacht

Living in the Gaeltacht


Anton McNulty

WHEN people find out you come from Achill and live in the Gaeltacht, they always ask, ‘So do you speak Irish all the time?’
If I was being mischievous I would say, ‘Ya all the time, once you enter the Gaeltacht no English passes our lips’. But usually the answer is the same, ‘No, not really’.
While Irish is not widely heard on the island, that is not to say people do not have it and are able to converse when pushed. At home we speak both English and Irish and while I would not consider myself fluent in Irish I am comfortable speaking and listening to it.
The village of Saula where I grew up and went to school was always known to have a strong Irish presence. At National School, the majority of our subjects including Maths were taught through Irish but English was the language of choice in the playground.
However, the one thing that ensured we kept a hold of the mother tongue was the ‘deontas’. The deontas was a grant received by households who spoke the language and once a year the ‘cigire’ would visit to speak to the children. Weeks before his expected arrival we would be warned, ‘Bí ag caint gaeilge, beidh an cigire ag teacht’, and God help any child who messed up and resulted in a family not getting the deontas. Those new windows wouldn’t pay for themselves.
One of the most important additions to the island in keeping Irish alive and spoken was the establishment of Colaiste Acla in the mid-nineties. Households, including our own, keep students throughout the summer and a strict Irish only policy ensured we spoke Irish all the time. When answering the phone, ‘Hello’ was replaced by ‘Dia dhuit’ and gradually you get used to thinking and speaking in Irish even if it was just for the summer.
Ironically now the most place I would speak Irish would be outside the Gaeltacht. At work I might speak Irish on the phone and on holiday a secret language always comes in handy, for obvious reasons!

Students to ‘blather’ as gaeilge on-line


Anton McNulty

A NEW Irish language blog which was launched in Mayo to help primary and secondary level students improve their proficiency in the Irish language is to be launched to a national audience.
The blog, www.bladair.com, was developed to encourage Mayo’s post primary school students to engage with the Irish language using the latest internet technology. The project is the brainchild of Art Ó SúilleabhΡin, Director of Mayo Education Centre who said it was aimed directly at students and teenagers using technology that they understand and use in everyday lives.
“I thought of ‘blogging’ in Irish and the word ‘blather’ came to mind as most Irish people will associate ‘blather’ with chat or talk. I felt that if children and young people could be encouraged to ‘blather’ in Irish then we could assist them with their ongoing learning of the Irish language. An important consideration for me and the Mayo Education Centre was to facilitate this learning in a safe environment so the ‘chat’ or ‘conversation’ or ‘blather’ is monitored by the Mayo Education Centre to ensure the safety and propriety of conversations.
“The service also has a teaching tool in the form of a ‘Big Brother’ who can point out small spelling or grammar errors so that students are actively using the language and learning in the process. To add to the fun element we will announce the best online ‘blather’ (bladair) each month and offer small prizes for this participation or engagement with the site,” he explained.
The promoters say that Bladair also has the potential to cater for a variety of ages such as Bladair na nÓg for children up to 12 years, Bladair na Teen for teenagers and Bladair na Múinteoirí as a resource for teachers. They also hope to launch it onto the national and international market for adults who want to either start to learn Irish or improve their use of the Irish language.
“We piloted the service in November 2009 and based on the fantastic response, we have decided to use the 2010 Seachtain na Gaeilge to spread the word about Bladair. People understand the concept of a blog ‘as Gaeilge’ and there are really exciting prospects into the future. Our immediate plans include a promotional mail shot to all the schools in Ireland,” Art concluded.