Irish language community in Kildare hold annual conference Meitheal

The Irish language community in County Kildare met last Saturday, March 11, in the Glenroyal Hotel in Maynooth for the annual Meitheal. Gaeilge Nuada hosted the event for the first time in conjunction with Cill Dara le Gaeilge and they warmly welcomed Irish speakers from across the county: “Gaeilge Nuada was delighted to welcome Meitheal Chill Dara to Maynooth at the weekend. We were very grateful to everyone who took part in the event”
(Chairperson of Gaeilge Nuada, Póla Ní Chinnsealaigh).

The Meitheal focuses on language planning in County Kildare and we believe that it is vital to hold such a language planning event at county level. It provides a networking opportunity for the Irish language community, language activists, service providers, businesses and anyone with a general interest in the development of the Irish language within the county, where they can share news, exchange ideas and talk about plans for the years ahead. This year’s Meitheal was particularly important as a new 7-year language plan is being prepared for the county at present.

Over 70 people registered for the conference, the largest number ever, from across the county and from all municipal areas. In addition, a large group of young people attended a wide range of workshops organised by Gaeilge Nuada — music workshops with Comhaltas, sean-nós dancing workshops with winners of STEIP an Oireachtais, an art workshop and a radio skills workshop with Raidió na Life. The workshops were a new feature of the Meitheal this year and proved to be very popular.

A significant development compared to the first Meitheal in 2019 was that active Irish language groups have now emerged in four of the five municipal areas, Sult na Sollán (Naas/Sallins), Glór an Churraigh (Kildare/Newbridge), Gaeilge an Bhradáin (Celbridge/Leixlip) and Gaeilge Nuada (Maynooth) and very recently a new group has been founded in the municipal area of Athy. This reflects the progress that has been made in the county — in 2019 Sult na Sollán was the sole Irish language community group in the county.

This year’s guest speaker was Darren Ó Rodaigh, Executive Chair of Gaelchultúr - the largest provider of Irish language courses in the world. Darren spoke of the wide range of courses provided by Gaelchultúr, but also about the employment opportunities for Irish speakers, in particular since the amendments to the Official Languages Act were introduced in 2021.

A very important aspect of the day was the discussion groups at the end of the day on topics such as family, education, sports clubs, community groups and a discussion for people who want to (re)learn Irish. There was lively and interesting discussion in those groups and many ideas and suggestions emerged in relation to the future of the Irish language in the county.

Chairperson of Cill Dara le Gaeilge, Daithí de Faoite, described the day as follows “Cill Dara le Gaeilge and Gaeilge Nuada were delighted to welcome Irish speakers and language activists from every corner of County Kildare at Meitheal Chill Dara at the weekend. It was wonderful to have the opportunity for the Irish-language community groups in the county to exchange stories with each other and get to know each other better over a cup of tea or at the Pop-Up Gaeltacht afterwards. We are seeing the clear results resulting from the recent language planning in the county and we are very excited about the future of the Irish language in the county in the years ahead.”

If you are interested in finding out more about the language plan for Kildare, please contact
eolas@cilldaralegaeilge.ie.

For further information contact caoimhe@cilldaralegaeilge.ie; 085 8012956