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Press release

Grant of €957,795 approved for Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne, Co. Kerry by Minister of State for the Gaeltacht Thomas Byrne

Thomas Byrne, Minister of State for the Gaeltacht, announced today that a grant of up to €957,795 (or €319,265 annually) has been approved for Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne (OCD) in Co. Kerry to implement an agreed work programme for the period between July 2024 and June 2027.

This will enable OCD to promote their activities in order to strengthen the Irish language as a community language on both the Corca Dhuibhne and Uíbh Ráthach peninsulas, especially among young people and families. Opportunities to acquire and enrich the language will greatly contribute to the language planning process in the area while strengthening and nurturing Irish as the language of the community.

Support for the Tús Maith and traditional arts programmes will continue as well as three-year funding for the co-ordinator of the 'Droichead' programme in Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne.

A new pilot programme 'An Cnuasach Cainte' will be funded - a project in which contemporary Chorca Dhuibhne Irish will be preserved in video and transcribed form, and will be available to teachers and students alike.

Announcing this funding, Minister of State Byrne commented:

“I want to recognise the committed work that Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne has been doing in support of the Irish language for many years. Oidhreacht Chorca Dhuibhne is a pioneering organisation in the promotion of the Irish language on the Corca Dhuibhne peninsula. I am pleased that the department is in a position to approve this grant of almost €1 million to support the organisation’s activities under its three-year work programme 2024-2027.”

This funding is being made available as specific support for the implementation of actions 2.10, 5.46 and 5.49 of the government's Action Plan 2018-2022 for the Irish language.

Notes

OCD is a subsidiary of Comharchumann Forbartha Chorca Dhuibhne Teo, based in Baile an Fheirtéaraigh, on the Corca Dhuibhne peninsula, founded in 1980.

OCD provides its services to the families and communities of the West Kerry and South Kerry Language Planning Areas.

Among the various programs that OCD will be in a position to run as a result of this allocation will be:

  • Tús Maith - a scheme in which Irish is encouraged as a living language in the local community. Home visits are organised for families who wish to have Irish as the language of the home. Irish is strengthened as a language of social interaction through a network of events and sports
  • The Traditional Arts - singing and storytelling sessions as well as agallaimh beirte and lúibíni take place in schools as well as other events and opportunities for young people in the area
  • Pilot Youth Ecology Program - Focused on the higher classes in four primary schools in Corca Dhuibhne which will give students a wider understanding of conservation issues
  • Co-ordinator in Pobalscoil Chorca Dhuibhne - Coordinator to promote the Droichead program in the school. The coordinator works with students who do not have the ability to speak Irish to support their attendance in the Irish medium stream, which is the school's policy

This funding has been approved under the Community and Language Support Program.

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