It’s that time of year again! Seachtain na Gaeilge, the Irish-language festival which runs 5-17 March, is back bigger and better than ever. An annual affair which encourages people to use Irish at home and abroad, SnaG has a rich history stretching back to 1902. Events range from conversation afternoons to street céilís, blind dates to surfing classes, all conducted as Gaeilge. You can even have your eyes tested through the medium of Irish. The festival gives the opportunity to everyone to have a go at their cúpla focail, whether you’re a native speaker or have taken up the language.

In recent years, the festival has grown to become the largest celebration of our native language and culture in Ireland or abroad. During Seachtain na Gaeilge, many Irish language programmes will be broadcast on RTÉ radio and television while popular shows will feature short items in Irish to mark the week. In addition, a wide range of organisations and bodies including local councils, schools, libraries, music, sporting and cultural bodies will all combine to make 2012’s festival one to remember.
They have included presenter Craig Doyle, boxer Bernard Dunne, Danny O’Reilly, frontman with The Coronas and Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin, TV host and former Rose of Tralee.
This year’s ambassador is Eoghan Mac Diarmada, a Dubliner who has made his name both at home and abroad as a TV presenter on the hit RTÉ programme The Voice and as a drive-time radio DJ on XFM in London. Mac Diarmada is also an actor and a choreographer and has danced with world-class superstars such as Rihanna, Pussycat Dolls and
Chris Brown.
“I was massively flattered to be asked to be this year’s ambassador,” he tells Hot Press on the phone from London shortly before taking to the air for his drive-time slot on XFM. “I’ve taken a week off work to come home and join in the festivities. I’m really looking forward to it. I know a lot of the people in Seachtain na Gaeilge and I worked at TG4 so no doubt I’ll be working alongside some old friends and colleagues.”
From Knocklyon in south Dublin, Mac Diarmada is a fluent Irish speaker, although he is keen to point out that he isn’t a native speaker. “My mum is an Irish teacher but I wouldn’t say there was Irish knocking about the house all the time when I was growing up. I went to the Gaeltacht when I was about 13 and I really got into the whole thing in a big way – I even went out fishing in a currach (laughs)! Later I did a degree in UCD and was a teacher myself for a while.”
However, despite his love of the Irish language, Mac Diarmada wouldn't be a big fan of how it was taught in the past. “The one thing I can say hand-on-heart that I know to be absolutely true is that the system loses most people during the primary school years,” he says. “We have to change that. I love the language with a passion but I can remember disliking it intensely in school. For that reason I’m really looking forward to meeting up with second-level age students during Seachtain Na Gaeilge, because that’s where the real enthusiasm for the language can be encouraged.”
And so say all of us...
How Irish Became Cool
Foras na Gaeilge Príomhfheidhmeannach (CEO) Ferdie Mac an Fhailigh was in ebullient mood about the current state of the Irish language when Hot Press spoke to him last week.
“From where I see it, the Irish language is in an extremely healthy state and undoubtedly gaining ground. If you look at the number of Irish-medium schools and the number of new Naoinrí that have come on stream in the last few years, the growth has been phenomenal. Look at the number of young people attending Irish-medium schools and summer courses and activities holidays in Irish.
"For 2011/12, Foras na Gaeilge is funding 70 groups to run youth activities after school, where it might have been 45 to 50 the year before," he adds. "So we’re seeing a very significant growth in real terms over previous years. Of course the future of the language is in the hands of our young people, so it’s important that we focus seriously on them. Young or old, I don’t believe you can know who you are as a person, or where you are from, unless you know your own language. If you look, for example, at the anglicised versions of Irish place-names, they are often totally meaningless. To understand where you are from, in any real sense, you have to go back to the original Irish versions – which always means something significant that relates to the locality.
"Some feel that the growth of interest in the language has been sparked in part by Irish people meeting immigrants from Eastern Europe and elsewhere, people who also proudly speak their own languages. Young Irish see that and admire it. So speaking Irish has become a 'cool' thing for young Irish people to do, whereas there was a time when it was seen as something for old fogeys with large gold fainnes and tweed jackets! Also, let’s not forget that it’s not just Irish people speaking Irish. Lots of people from foreign cultures are drawn to it. I am confident the language will continue to gain ground.
"Today, there’s an endless number of ways in which people can study the language at all levels. If there’s somebody out there who has never even spoken a word of Irish and who wants to begin to learn, I would advise them that, no matter where they live, they should contact somebody in their local community to find out where Irish language classes are available for them in their locality. The same applies to people at all levels and all ages throughout the country.”
For further information go to
www.forasnagaeilge.ie.
All Roads Lead
to Donegal
Oideas Gael reports a growing interest in Irish culture at home and abroad, especially across North America and the EU. Gleann Cholm Cille in Donegal is an increasingly popular summer location, due to the stimulating programmes offered by Oideas Gael. As director Ó Cuinneagáin told Hot Press, “In Oideas Gael, Irish language and culture is presented in a manner that makes it accessible and fun for people. It’s not all study. There are varied activities including dancing, singing, and walking – all through the medium of Irish as well. There's a few late nights, needless to say!”
Last year, over 1,200 people from 30 countries attended courses and activity holidays in the picturesque Donegal valley. The Oideas Gael courses suit Irish language beginners, as well as those who are keen to refresh their conversational Irish. The courses focus on spoken Irish in a relaxed environment, and adults often discover a skill in language-learning beyond their expectations. Other courses enable the fluent speaker to improve vocabulary and grammar. Cultural courses also cover harp, bodhrán and flute playing.
For more see www.oideas-gael.com

Listen to the Music
Gael Linn Records is Ireland’s oldest record company. For more than 50 years it has released music from many of Ireland’s most popular and renowned traditional musicians and sean nós singers. Recent releases include Seoda an Riadaigh - the Essential Seán Ó Riada Collection, a 3 CD box set to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Ó Riada’s death; and Ceolta Mhúscraí, which comprises vintage archive sean nós recordings not previously released, including songs by the great Diarmuidín Ó Súilleabháin and love songs by female vocalists, from Máire Ní Scolaí to Mary O’Hara.