Oideas Gael praised for resilience during the pandemic

The ongoing success of Oideas Gael in Gleann Cholm Cille and the resilience it showed throughout the pandemic was praised when Government Chief Whip and Minister of State for the Gaeltacht and Sport, Jack Chambers TD when he visited the facility on Friday.

He was accompanied by officials from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

During his visit, the Minister of State announced a funding allocation of €65,000 to support Oideas Gael
in running Irish language courses for adults in the Gleann Cholm Cille, Toraigh, and Gleann Fhinne Gaeltacht areas.

Announcing the grant for Oideas Gael, Minister of State Chambers said the meaningful work being carried out by the Oideas Gael organisation for many years to provide opportunities for adults throughout Ireland and the world to learn Irish in the beautiful surroundings of Gleann Colm Cille is widely recognised.

"Hundreds of people are attracted to the area every year as a result of Oideas Gael’s work, which adds greatly to cultural tourism and the economy of the area," he said.

This marked the Minister of State’s first visit to Oideas Gael and he had the opportunity to observe the organisation’s work.

Meeting with Oideas Gael staff and teachers, they discussed challenges and opportunities regarding the promotion of the Irish language and cultural tourism as the public health emergency period comes to an end.

Rónán Ó Dochartaigh, language director at Oideas Gael, said over the past two years, throughout the pandemic, Oideas Gael has had great success in providing online Irish language and cultural courses to 1,100 participants per year.

"That said, it was a source of pride to see the return of our in-person Irish language courses over St Patrick’s Weekend 2022.

"We are happy to offer a full programme of Gaeltacht courses over 14 weeks this year, as well as our online
classes, and hope to attract nearly 1,000 individuals to the Donegal Gaeltacht in the coming months."

Dr Aisling Ní Churraighín, language planning officer for the south-west Donegal region, was also in attendance to discuss the language planning initiative Béal an Phobail.

She detailed a significant programme of work completed over the past two years to make the Irish language visible, and encourage the speaking of Irish in all aspects of daily life, and referred to the strong cooperation between Oideas Gael and Béal an Phobail.

Oideas Gael has provided Irish language courses and cultural activity holidays for adults in the Donegal
Gaeltacht since 1984. Their 2022 programme is now available on www.oideasgael.ie

Participants this year can also take advantage of three new courses developed during the pandemic period: Language and Landscape, Our Heritage in Rock (Geology), and Béaloideas Thír Chonaill (Donegal Folklore).

Further information is available from oifig@oideasgael.ie or by phone at (074) 97 30248.