New Gaelchara scheme offers €250 incentive to rusty Gaeilgeorí to improve their Irish with pals
‘GIORRAÍONN beirt bóthar/ Two shorten the road’ is the old Irish seanfhocal which is the inspiration for a new scheme to help people in the Múscraí Gaeltacht improve their Irish.
‘Gaelchara’ is the name of the scheme which is being launched this week by the newly appointed Oifigeach Pleanála Teanga for Gaeltacht Mhúscraí, Liadh Ní Riada.
According to the terms of this scheme, if you have a yearning to polish your rusty Irish, you could apply for inclusion in and be teamed up with a ‘cainteoir ó dhúchais’ or native speaker and you would each get €250 over five months of meeting up for walks, chats or other activities together.
“All we would ask you to do is to keep a diary or dialann detailing the time you spend together and the activities you get up to,” said Liadh.
“The scheme is a pilot but it’s worked well elsewhere and it’s really geared at people who have some Irish to get involved in - it’s not aimed at complete beginners.”
Under the scheme, both the learner and the native speaker will spend 30 hours together over the next five months.
“The aim of the scheme is to give Irish-language learners living in The Múscraí Gaeltacht an opportunity to practice Irish as a living, every-day, community language,” she said.
“The basic idea is that the learner improves his or her spoken Irish by participating in a day-to-day activity or pastime with a native speaker (the GaelChara) in a Gaeltacht setting.
“The learner will team-up with a native speaker and bothwill participate in a social, cultural or sporting activity, be that a craft, a pastime, asport or other activity or pastime and Irish will be the language spoken and practiced during this time.”
Those eligible to apply for inclusion in the pilot scheme will be living in Gaeltacht Mhúcraí while their ‘Gaelchara’ will also be from the mid Cork Gaeltacht.
Each will receive €125 when they accept the offer to be included in the scheme and the balance on its successful completion.
Those who are related be it by marriage or by blood are ineligible to team up on the scheme. Application forms are available from optmuscrai@ gmail.com which is open for applicants until September 30.
The former MEP took up the position of Language Planning Officer for the Múscraí Gaeltacht in July. She is one of a 18 language planning officials employed around the country to promote the Irish language in Gaeltacht communities. The Gaeltacht Act in 2012 provided that language planning areas in each Gaeltacht would draw up a plan to revitalise the speaking of Irish in their communities over a seven year period or face the possibility of losing their status as a Gaeltacht area and the associated benefits.