Kildare university welcomes €3.1m investment in its Irish language centre

Minister for Rural and Community Development and the Gaeltacht, Dara Calleary, has announced a significant investment of over €3.1 million in Lárionad na Gaeilge, Maynooth University’s Centre for Irish Language, for 2025-28.

The funding will support the continued development and expansion of four of the Centre’s key projects:

• Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG)

• Snas.ie, the online educational resource hub

• Certificate in Teaching of Irish (online)

• Irish-language programmes and events in the Centre Culturel Irlandais, Paris

The announcement was made as the Minister attended a special event in the Glenroyal Hotel, Maynooth, Kildare on Wednesday to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Lárionad na Gaeilge’s flagship project, Teastas Eorpach na Gaeilge (TEG).

In his address, Minister Dara Calleary said: ‘‘I am delighted that my Department is able to extend our funding for the TEG initiative by three years – a language certification system that has established a high standard over the past 20 years.

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“TEG is the only independent certification system available for the Irish language, and is transparently aligned with the Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) – the most widely used international framework for measuring language proficiency.

“Accordingly, TEG is of particular importance in terms of confirming the capacity of the public and the state system in the language, and will play a central role in the State’s efforts to empower the public in the Irish language in the years ahead.”

President of Maynooth University, Professor Eeva Leinonen, welcoming the increased investment, said: “We are deeply grateful to the Government and to Minister Calleary for their continued support of our Centre for Irish Language at Maynooth University.

“This €3.1 million investment is both a strong vote of confidence in our pioneering work and a commitment to ensuring the Irish language thrives in Ireland and abroad. At Maynooth, we are proud to mark the 20-year anniversary of TEG, our Irish-language testing service, and look forward to the positive impact it will continue to have in the years ahead.”

Speaking at the event, Director of Lárionad na Gaeilge, Aoife Ní Ghloinn thanked the Minister and the Department for their continued support for the work of Lárionad na Gaeilge. She also paid tribute to TEG Director, Siuán Ní Mhaonaigh, and to all TEG and Lárionad na Gaeilge staff, whose vision and dedication are at the heart of the Centre’s achievements and pioneering work.

Of the total Government funding of €3,142,877, over €2.3m has been earmarked to support developments in the TEG system over the next three years.

In addition to its work in language testing, Lárionad na Gaeilge has pioneered the development of Irish-language teaching and learning resources. These resources have now been brought together in a new online educational resource hub, snas.ie.

The investment of €331,079 in this project will enable Lárionad na Gaeilge to appoint a project manager, to expand the range of authentic materials developed in collaboration with Foghlaim TG4 as part of the SnasTV series, to further develop the Snas.ie website, and to produce additional resources based on TEG syllabuses.

The Certificate in Teaching Irish to Adults was established as an online programme in 2019, to provide training and mentoring to those teaching Irish in adult and community education settings and in third level institutions, all over Ireland and abroad. It is the only certified course of its kind and will receive €293,224 in funding for the next three years.

Finally, Lárionad na Gaeilge has been providing Irish-language classes in the Centre Culturel Irlandais (CCI), Paris since 2005. This collaboration is particularly special, due to the close historical links between Maynooth University and the Irish College in Paris, which houses the CCI today.

These popular classes are attended weekly by around 70 students at five levels, many of whom take TEG exams in Paris. The Lárionad also promotes and supports Irish language cultural events and activities in CCI.

Increased funding of €199,676 will further enhance this collaboration, including an increased number of Gaeltacht scholarships for students and the launch of an artist residency award at CCI specifically for artists working through the medium of Irish.