Tyrone County Culture committee were delighted to present 161 members of 43 clubs in Tyrone GAA with a contribution towards their costs of going to registered Gaeltacht colleges to develop their learning of the Irish Language.
As an organisation, one of our fundamental aims is to preserve and promote the Irish Language, and to this end, year on year we try to support our members on many different levels.
We have organised and designed a suite of lessons accessible on the Tyrone County Board Website – Tyrone GAA/learn Irish section, ‘Bomaite ar líne’ post match interviews with those attending or playing matches at club level and National Anthem Workshops for clubs to help develop an understanding of the importance of our Anthem, assistance with pronunciation and encouragement to sing our National Anthem at all games with respect.
Wednesday night was a great spectacle to see more than 300 people, in a hugely colourful display of club colours, gathered in the auditorium at Garvaghy to show their support for their young people making an effort to learn our language. With the financial cost of the three week courses in excess of £700, any parent who encourages their child deserves huge respect for meeting this financial commitment.
We are proud as a county that applications for the bursary grows year on year and Irish Language is becoming more frequently heard at GAA matches and events.
The young members receiving the grants came from across the county hailing from forty three different clubs and sixteen post primary schools. Recepients were also given a celtic T pin to signify the link between our county and Ár Teanga.
The members of the fo-choiste look forward to seeing the number of applicants increase in the coming year.
The proceedings were lead by the entire committee of the fo Choiste Cultúir agus Teanga, which outlined Tyrone GAA’s commitment to all things cultural. Martin Sludden the County chairman was in attendance, supported by Dermott Mc Caughey, Leas Cathoirleach who congratulated the young GAA members on their interest in going to the Gaeltacht.
Irish Language officer, Richard McDevitt, equally encouraged the young people to enjoy and benefit from their time in the Gaeltacht Colleges in Donegal. Use the language they learn and let it become part of their daily lives, Equal encouragement was provided by the Culture and Language Chairman, Eamon Campbell, to use even the simplest forms of the language as a starting point and listen and watch the many posts on Tyrone’s social media platforms.
By Rory Cox Fri 6th Jun
