Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin

…de la Evening Leader:

More schools in Wrexham should offer Welsh speaking places, according to a welsh nursery movement.

Voluntary organisation Mudiad Ysgolion Meithrin (MYM) has spoken out over the lack of places at Welsh medium schools and has insisted that Wrexham Council should provide more opportunities and more schools.

MYM aims to give every young child in Wales the opportunity to benefit from early years' services and experiences through the medium of Welsh and operates across the county borough to support parents who wish to send their children to a Welsh medium school.

It says there are not enough places at the moment to accommodate the demand, with some parents having to travel six or seven miles with their children to get them to school...

Gaelakanada vs. la Reĝino

…de Lá Nua:

Thiocfadh dó go gcuirfí bunaitheoir Ghaeltacht Cheanada go príosún as a bheith ag léiriú mídhílseachta don Bhanríon.

Ar 21 Eanáir, chaill Aralt Mac Giolla Chainnigh an babhta is déanaí dá throid sna cúirteanna chun nach mbeadh air dílseacht a léiriú do Bhanríon na Breataine.

De réir Acht Cosanta Náisiúnta Cheanada, alt 94, thiocfadh príosúnacht suas le 7 mbliana a ghearradh ar shaighdiúir ar bith a léireodh mídhílseacht don Bhanríon.

Tá an tUasal Mac Giolla Chainnigh, captaen in arm Cheanada, ag fanacht anois le feiceáil an gcuirfear an dlí air mar gheall ar a sheasamh i gcoinne comharthaí dílseachta do Bhanríon na Breataine.

Agus é ag caint le Lá Nua ar seisean, ‘Bhí an breithiúnas sa Federal Court mícheart.

‘Tá cuid de na comharthaí dílseachta seo don Bhanríon glan i gcoinne Chairt Ceart agus Saoirse Cheanada.

‘Tá achomharc tuillte, ach is ceist airgid an mbeadh sé ar mo chumas dul ar aghaidh agus sin a dhéanamh.”...

Liam Mulvihill

…de Ireland On-Line:

GAA president Nickey Brennan has led the tributes to Liam Mulvihill, who held a final press conference today as he retires as the Association's director general, a post he has held since June 1, 1979…

… Mulvihill is not leaving the glare of Irish public life behind - he will assume a new role with Irish language organisation Forás na Gaeilge in the coming weeks.

Doire Cholm Chille

…de la Derry Journal:

The ongoing fight for an Irish language Act for Northern Ireland is back on the agenda after Derry City Council agreed to show its support.

Sinn Fein Councillor, Kevin Campbell called on the council to write to Minister of Culture, Arts and Leisure, Edwin Poots, to introduce an Irish language Act.

Despite two extensive public consultations, Mr. Campbell said the results were being ignored by the minister….

…Colr. Mark H Durkan, SDLP, said: “It is an indigenous language of this island. It is protected an supported in the Republic of Ireland. The politicisation has made it hard to gain support across the communities. Many Irish speakers find this politicisation very offensive.We shouldn’t let one party use it for political reasons.”…

Faire Chaluim Mhic Leòid

...de la Daily News (Halifax):

Halifax residents Marc Almon and Nona MacDermid have received a Genie nomination for best live-action short film for their production, Faire Chaluim Mhic Leoid (The Wake of Calum MacLeod).

It is the first Gaelic-language film made in North America and was completed as part of the Atlantic Filmmakers Co-operative's FILM 5 program.

The film premiered at the Atlantic Film Festival in 2006.

Celtan

...de la Jerusalem Post:

Guy Kark has been mixing things for quite some time. The "things" in question are a multitude of musical strands from cultures around the world which he, and harpist wife Iris Eyal, have incorporated in a string of albums they have put out over the last 13 years.

Their Between Times group, for example, has recorded songs with seasoning from the Middle East, Greece, Spain, Ireland and other parts of the globe…

… The Irish theme runs through much of Celtan, but there are other inflections and colors in there too. Considering the geographic spread and cultural nuances embraced by the Celtic world, that is hardly surprising. "The Celtic culture not only included Ireland and Scotland, but you also find it in Brittany, in northern France, and in Galicia in Spain. That also has an influence on the way the music is played and sung."

Fittingly, Celtan includes a track in Breton - the indigenous language of Brittany - called "Tri Martolod" (Three Sailors)...

“Dim Digon o Ddefnyddwyr”

…de la BBC:

Ychydig o Gymry Cymraeg sy'n defnyddio'r gwasanaethau Cymraeg sy'n cael eu cynnig gan fusnesau a chyrff cyhoeddus.

Dyna y mae ymchwil rhaglen Dragon's Eye BBC Cymru yn ei awgrymu.

Dywedodd Cymdeithas y Cyflogwyr fod yr ystadegau'n dangos nad oes angen deddfu er mwyn sicrhau bod busnesau'n cynnig gwasanaethau Cymraeg.

Ond mae Cymdeithas yr Iaith wedi dweud bod yr ystadegau'n brawf pendant o'r angen am Ddeddf Iaith Newydd...

Skotgaela Televido

...de la BBC:

The BBC has sparked fury by splashing millions more cash to launch a little watched Gaelic TV service, which will cost the public a total £21 million a year.

As hundreds of staff face losing their jobs at the corporation, chiefs have decided to plough in almost £11 million annually to the project.

The service will cost at least £139 per year for every user - an equivalent amount to the current annual licence fee of £135.50.

“Ekscelenco, ne Ekskluzivemo”

…de The Herald:

…Founded as a choir school of St Mary's Episcopal Cathedral in Edinburgh in 1880, its directors resolved in 1972 to follow the great man's example and create a school for specialist young musicians. Its current director of music is Francis Cummings.…

…Cummings naturally rejects the notion of elitism - "excellence, not exclusivity" is also his mantra - and this claim is supported by a very healthy attitude to Gaelic culture. The language is taught at the school and the current roll includes a number of native Gaelic speakers and instrumentalists who might previously have attended a conventional Gaelic-medium or traditional music school.…

Joanna Newsom

...de la New York Sun:

Not many singer-songwriters have the guts to go out on the road and rock an unwieldy, if elegant, Celtic harp. Much less sing verse after verse of lyrics that take an almost archaic pleasure in language as a kind of lost kingdom: a fabulist realm where monkeys and bears are lovers, phrases like "hydrocephalitic listlessness" flow as easily as "moon" and "June," and the natural world becomes a boundless source for star-swept illumination.

Joanna Newsom, in fact, is the only one. And she's doing it again. In 2006, the 26-year-old performer toured with the small band behind her epic album "Ys" (pronounced "eees"; the name belongs to an ancient city of Breton myth)…

...Ms. Newsom is still engaged in that revelation, as she headlines shows tomorrow and Friday with members of the Brooklyn Philharmonic at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Howard Gilman Opera House....

Nova Irlandalingva Vortoro

…de Foras na Gaeilge:

Tá áthas ar Fhoras na Gaeilge a fhógairt go bhfuil conradh sínithe acu leis an gcomhlacht (LexMC) le tabhairt faoi Chéim 2A de Thionscadal an Fhoclóra Nua Béarla-Gaeilge, le Creatlacha Oibre Béarla a sholáthar don fhoclóír.

Cuirfear tús leis an chéim seo i Mí Feabhra 2008 agus tá sé i gceist go mbeidh an obair críochnaithe faoi Iúil 2010. Cuirfear na Creatlacha Oibre ar fáil don Fhoras ina gcodanna, ar bhonn céimnithe, ionas go mbeifear in ann tosú ar Chéim 2B, céim an aistriúcháin, ar bhonn comhuaineach, fad is atá an obair ar na Creatlacha Oibre fós ar siúl. Seachadfar an chéad chuid de na Creatlacha Oibre i Mí Iúil 2008...

Grekaj Katolikoj kaj la Irlandalingvo

…de la Greka Katolica Komunumo de la Hieramartiro Nikolao la Miralaboranto:

His Grace Bishop Hlib of Bareta, Apostolic Visitor of Greek-Catholics in Ireland, Italy, and Spain honored his Irish flock with an archpastoral visit to Dublin for the feast of the Holy Theophany and a few days before and after...

…On Monday, 21 January, Bishop Hlib offered a Requiem Divine Liturgy for the soul of the newly-reposed Patrick Purcell, father of Padraig Purcell, of our Dublin parish. About three dozen faithful attended; the service was sung in Greek, Church-Slavonic, Ukrainian, Irish, and English…

Fajrfokso

...de ZDNet:

A study from French internet traffic analysts XiTi Monitor, gratefully cadged from Wired….shows Firefox's presence in Europe continuing to grow. At its most popular, It's nudging 46 percent in the most vulpine market, Finland, and you'd have to be crazier than a Finn to suggest it wasn't going to hit the half-way mark by the end of the year.

…But then, what to make of Ireland and its four millon? They too speak American. (There is another national language, Gaelic, but there's no such Firefox.) Yet Ireland has nearly twice the British penetration of the open source browser - despite there being a Welsh Firefox bundled into the GB count…

.

[Laŭ Mozilla, Fajrfokso estas havebla en la Irlandalingvo.]

Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta

…de la Belfast Telegraph:

More than 200 delegates attended this year's annual Irish-medium education conference in Belfast yesterday.

Education Minister Caitríona Ruane opened the event at Coláiste Feirste, Belfast's post-primary Irish-medium college.

The conference was organised by Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta, the Department of Education sponsored body responsible for the promotion of Irish-medium education, in conjunction with the education and library boards...

Taith Gerdded

…de la Daily Post:

Anti-school closure campaigners will take their battle to keep rural schools open in Gwynedd onto the road next month.

Members of Cymdeithas yr Iaith (Welsh Language Society) intend to push a giant postbox 75 miles across the county to highlight the battle to save Welsh-medium village schools.

They will visit all the schools threatened by closure by the council’s controversial reorganisation plans.

Ian O'Doherty

…de la Irish Independent:

May this column be the first to congratulate school teacher Catherine Ryan on her High Court action forcing cigarette companies to print health warnings in Irish as well as English on their packets.

Sure, some people have said that it was a ridiculous waste of time and money and it was just the kind of cranky tokenism which makes people hate Irish language activists.

But thanks to Ms Ryan, the vast hordes of Gaeilgoraí [sic] who were dying in their thousands because they couldn't understand the English language warnings can now be protected from their habit.

Maith an cailín... or something.

Gaelscoil an Chaistil

...de la Belfast Telegraph:

A school in Ballycastle is working with pupils on a Scottish island to celebrate their local Gaelic traditions.

Gaelscoil an Chaistil has re-established traditional links with Scotland in its work with Ionad Calumchille on the island of Islay, which is only 20 miles away from Ballycastle.

Dr Réamaí Mathers, chairperson of the group, said: "It has always been a feature of our group to be open to all and to celebrate a local Gaelic tradition which has been here for hundreds and hundreds of generations.

Meirion Prys Jones

…de icWales:

The chief executive of the Welsh Language Board has come under fire for making 20 work trips to foreign countries in the past two years, it has emerged.

Detailed information released to the Western Mail shows that since the beginning of 2006, Meirion Prys Jones has been to Brussels seven times, to Amsterdam three times, to Bolzano in Italy and Dublin twice each, as well as taking single trips to Barcelona, Helsinki, the Basque Country, Strasbourg, Brittany and Friesland.

Many of the trips are in relation to two international networks of minority language groups.

The cost to the Welsh Language Board was around £3,200. Some of the trips were paid for by other publicly-funded organisations.

Monmouth Conservative MP David Davies said, “I can understand why he would take the occasional trip abroad, but this seems way over the top.

“I would have thought his first priority was the Welsh language. Strangely, he has not visited the only place abroad where Welsh is spoken – Patagonia.”

Eŭropa Komisiono

…de la Guardian:

The average age of the interpreters working at the European commission in Brussels, for instance, is now over 58, and this at a time when the numbers of languages spoken at meetings there has reached 23.

"More and more people are claiming their language rights," says Brian Fox, director of interpretation at the commission. "The Welsh, for instance, have contacted us about the possibility of having Welsh interpreting. Irish was added a couple of years ago and the Spanish government has requested Basque, Galician and Catalan." The biggest demand, however, is for interpreters who have English as their first language and fluency in two others.

Lingva Revigligo

...de Slate:

Last week, Chief Marie Smith Jones, the only remaining native speaker of the Eyak language, died in her home in Anchorage, Alaska. Chief Jones' death makes Eyak—part of the Athabascan family of languages—the first known native Alaskan tongue to go extinct…

…For almost 2,000 years Hebrew was extinct, but Jews around the world continued to use it daily in a limited capacity in prayer, religious ceremonies, and writing. The rise of Jewish nationalism in the 19th century spawned the movement to revive Hebrew as a native language…

…Sometimes linguists must borrow liberally from a family of languages. Cornish, the language of Cornwall, England, went extinct in the 18th century. It was revived starting in the 1920s using only a collection of Cornish passion plays and words and pronunciation borrowed from Breton and Welsh—two closely related Celtic languages. A few hundred people now speak Cornish, and some children are raised with it as a first language.

When filming The New World, a movie about the founding of Jamestown, Va., director Terrence Malick hired a linguist to recreate Virginia Algonquian, which had died nearly 200 years ago. Using a skimpy 550-word vocabulary that settlers had recorded, and borrowing heavily from other Algonquian languages, the linguist recreated enough of the Virginia Algonquian for the actors to perform.

Bretonalingva Skrablo!

...de Dolcerama:

En Loire-Atlantique : à Guérande et Saint-Herblain Dans le cadre des événements proposés pour les 30 ans du réseau des écoles Diwan (enseignement immersif en langue bretonne), le dimanche 3 février 2008 sera organisé dans 17 lieux en Bretagne le premier concours de scrabble en breton.

En Loire-Atlantique, le concours est proposé sur deux sites : à Guérande et Saint-Herblain. Le tournoi débutera à 14h30. Il devrait se terminer à 17h30. Une pause aura lieu afin de pouvoir souffler et de prendre un verre au bar.

Letero al Usona Kongreso

to: Reps. Richard Neal, Jimmy Walsh, Peter King, Joe Crowley, Eliot Engel and Don Payne.

Thursday, January 17, 2008.

Dear Friends,

Your trusted leadership is needed on another important issue, which threatens to harm the Irish peace-process and which undercuts the positive message of the recent Paisley-Mc Guinness visit.

Minister for Culture Edwin Poots, DUP, has embarked on a vengeful campaign against the ancient and beautiful Irish language and seems to be determined to institutionalize anti-Irish-language policies. He has sabotaged the Irish Language Act, agreed to by the St. Andrew’s Agreement, and he has killed funding for the Irish Language broadcast sector by removing it from his budget.

Historically, when bigoted Unionists wanted to show contempt for Nationalists in Northern Ireland they always did so by pouring scorn on Catholicism and on the Irish language.

While we all welcomed the positive signals Dr. Paisley was giving in Washington, back home one of his own Ministers and a leading member of his Party was using his power to show disdain for Nationalists.

This must not be accepted and I urge you to let Dr. Paisley know of your disappointment. Surely this is no way for the DUP to encourage American investment or support for the upcoming Economic Conference in Belfast that we all want to support?

Please take immediate action.

Thank you.

God bless America and God save Ireland.

Sincerely, Father Sean Mc Manus

President, Irish National Caucus

[Estas grava skribi al Rep. Joe Crowley tri Gregg Sheiowitz.]

Le Prizioù de France

…de Maville:

Les 11es Prizioù de France 3 Ouest ont été décernés à Ploemeur, samedi, lors d'une cérémonie en partenariat avec France bleu Breiz-Izel.

Les Prizioù récompensent l'innovation en langue bretonne dans cinq domaines…

“Tradukoj”

...de The Herald:

Cultural colonialism was seriously on the agenda when Brian Friel's play about language, identity and a whole lot more things beyond words premiered in 1980. Set in nineteenth-century rural Ireland, it's the sort of big historical play that doesn't get written much these days, which is why it's such a treat to see Andy Arnold's new production for his Arches company being given space to breathe on the Citz's main stage. With Arnold's appointment as new artistic director of The Tron, it's something we should be prepared to get used to.

A makeshift school in a barn becomes the hub of the community, only to be rocked by the return of the schoolteacher's son, now a British army translator. His masters are intent on re-mapping the landscape with place-names of their own, beyond a Gaelic they can't understand.

[Estos Translation ankaŭ en Vaŝingtonio.]

Radio Telefís Éireann

...de la Guardian:

One of the principles enshrined in the 1998 peace accord was that nationalist/republican culture would be given "parity of esteem" with unionist/British culture. The British government agreed to pour millions into Irish-language projects, for instance, and the Irish government extended its television broadcasting reach far into Northern Ireland. The Irish-language state television station, TG4, can now be viewed in most parts of Northern Ireland.

Bradley and other northern critics of RTE's decision to scrap its medium-wave radio signal say that the broadcaster is depriving nationalist listeners of a vital daily part of their culture.

The Republic's foreign ministry is so concerned about the fears of northern nationalists that it has consulted the department of communications about what can be done. It is understood that one option being considered is for RTE to invest in technology that will allow its FM services to be received all over Northern Ireland...

Marie Smith Jones

...de la Guardian:

Marie Smith Jones was the world's last Eyak speaker - by the time she died last week, she could use her mother tongue only in her dreams. But the loss of a language is not just a personal tragedy, says Mark Abley, it is a cultural disaster

Some deaths come as a shock. The death last Monday of Marie Smith Jones did not. She was 89, blind, a heavy smoker and a recovering alcoholic, who had borne nine children and buried two of them. People had been expecting her death for years…

…For a minority language to flourish, its speakers need a sort of bullheaded confidence. Such stubborn self-belief emerges from a sense of cultural power and feeds back into it. The classic example is the astonishing rebirth of Hebrew a century ago in what would become Israel. In our own time the Basques and the Catalans, the Welsh and the Maoris display a similar faith.

These are the groups who should now act as poster children for minority languages: the Maori boys and girls in pre-school "language nests", the artists and producers who mutate the mass media in Welsh, the Catalan activists who have peacefully forced Spain to rethink its identity. The vigour in these cultures, and many others, belies the easy notion that all minority languages are doomed.

Jean Le Lu

...de Le Télégramme:

Jean Le Lu, 74 ans, doyen de l'assemblée a profité du dossier agricole qui lui est particulièrement cher pour officiellement, selon son expression, « tirer sa révérence ».

Le conseiller général de canton de Cléguérec de 1982 à 1994 et à nouveau depuis 2001 a, en effet, choisi de ne pas se représenter en 2008 , a-t-il prévenu « Foncez, osez, battez-vous ! Le Morbihan est un diamant que nous façonnons depuis des années.

Il est en train de révéler tout son éclat.

Défendez notre identité, qu'elle soit de langue bretonne ou gallèse. Je suis un agriculteur. Je viens de la terre. C'est mon bon sens terrien qui a guidé mon action. Je ne crois pas aux incantations. Je crois à l'action, sans chichi, ni baratin. Je suis fier du Morbihan. C'est cette fierté que je veux vous laisser en héritage », a clamé Jean Le Lu avant d'être applaudi par tout l'hémicycle.

Simon Miller kaj Seachd

...de This Nottingham:

No Cinema had ever shown a Scottish Gaelic film until former city schoolboy-turned-director Simon Miller entered the frame.

Now his picture in the language is showing across the UK.

Seachd: The Inaccessible Pinnacle is the first feature film from the former Nottingham High School pupil, who wrote and directed.

This weekend he will revisit his old school to speak to pupils about the industry, and what it is like to be a director...

...The film follows the story of a young man, Angus, as he visits his dying Grandfather in hospital.

Angus then goes on a quest for the truth behind his parents' death - a story entwined with 1,000-year-old tales of Scotland shared by his grandfather...

.."There are about 60,000 people that still speak Gaelic in the highlands and islands of Scotland," said the father-of-two, who now lives in Southampton.

"There's also been a renaissance in the last ten years as the idea of Scottish independence has grown. When I first heard it spoken I thought it had a very Scandinavian sound to it.

"It's a very poetic and musical language, as there are still a lot of Gaelic songs and poems that exist today."...

Irlandandalingvaj Klasoj en Kanada

...de la Sudbury Star:

Children's Irish Tradition Classes 2-5:15 p.m., Navy League Hall, 19 Regent St. Step-dancing, Irish language, tin-whistle and singing. Bridgit 855-3564.

Gwyddoniadur Cymru yr Academi Gymreig

...de icWales:

For a small nation, Wales has had its fair share of big books over the centuries. The tradition goes back to the Llandeilo Gospels and the Mabinogion. It encompasses Giraldus Cambrensis’ 12th-century chronicles, Bishop William Morgan’s Welsh-language Bible, Henry Salesbury’s Grammatica Britannica, Humphrey Llwyd’s chronicles and pioneering map, Robert Recorde’s innovative works on mathematics and astronomy, and Edward Llwyd’s reference books on fossils, minerals and Celtic languages.

The Welsh Academy’s definitive Welsh-English English-Welsh dictionary of the 1990s proves that Wales can still come up with the goods, as do the encyclopedias of Anglesey-based polymath David Crystal.

However, that long tradition of big books may be coming to a close, and its swansong could be the publication next month of The Welsh Academy Encyclopedia of Wales – in English and Welsh volumes simultaneously.

Seacht kaj Linda Breathnach

...de la Irish Independent:

She's starring in the hottest new Irish-language drama around, Seacht, a racy new show currently hitting our screens on TG4. It explores the lives and loves of seven students attending a performance arts college in Belfast.

She and her co-stars are leading a campaign to sex up Irish-language television. Their realistic portrayal of the lifestyles of contemporary young adults is proving to be a hit with the elusive 18 to 35-year-old viewing audience.

Life was one long show when she was a child. As a publican's daughter growing up in the gaeltacht, she quickly learned the importance of being able to stand up and perform on demand. She entered local competitions as a child, and when she turned 18 launched her career as a professional actor...

Heddiw

...de icWales:

The military rising against the democratically elected Spanish Popular Front Republican Government, which led to the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), evoked a significant response in Wales, led by the South Wales Miners’ Federation and the Communist Party.

The 174 Welshmen who volunteered to fight in Spain represented the largest regional industrial grouping within the British Battalion of the International Brigades; only one Welshman fought for Franco’s forces...

...The Welsh-language writers who supported the Republican cause did so through the magazine Heddiw which was established in response to the Francoist sympathies of Saunders Lewis.

Eoghan Mac Cormaic

...de la Irish Independent:

Gaeltacht Minister Eamon O Cuiv says he has "no problem" with the appointment of a former IRA man, convicted of murdering a 19-year-old part-time policewoman in Derry, to a senior position in the cross-Border Irish language funding quango Foras na Gaeilge.

Eoghan Mac Cormaic (52), now a Sinn Fein town councillor in Loughrea, Co Galway, was appointed deputy chairman of the funding organisation last month.

Foras na Gaeilge has a budget of around €15m of Irish taxpayers' money, which it disburses to Irish language groups mainly in the North, several of which have Sinn Fein associations and pay salaries to ex-IRA prisoners. It was set up under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.

Pasporto en Irlandalingvo…OOPS!...Skotagaelalingvo!!!

…de Lá Nua:

Tá sé ráite ag an ngníomhaí Aontachtach iomráiteach, Willie Frazer, nach bhfuil sé ag iarraidh go mbeadh Gaeilge scríofa ar a phas ar eagla go gceapfadh daoine lasmuigh den Tuaisceart gur Éireannach a bhí ann.

Rinne an grúpa ina bhfuil sé gníomhach, FAIR (Families Acting for Innocent Relatives), gearán fíochmhar, an tseachtain seo, toisc gur shíl siad go raibh Gaeilge scríofa ar phas nua a eisíodh do dhuine den ghrúpa.

Gaeilge na hAlban (‘Rioghachd Aonaichte Bhreatainn is Eireann a Thuath’) atá ar an bpas, áfach, ní Gaeilge na hÉireann.

D’admhaigh an tUasal Frazer inné go raibh botún déanta acu agus go mbeadh orthu a gcuid cainte a shlogadh.

Ag caint dó le Lá Nua, nocht sé an fáth go gcuirfí as dó dá mbeadh Gaeilge ar an bpas.

“Nuair a bhíonn tú thar lear, deir daoine leat láithreach, ‘Ó, is Éireannach thú.’…

Seosamh Ó Ceallaigh

…de Seosamh Ó Ceallaigh:

Cllr. Joe Kelly has welcomed the comprehensive research on the Linguistic Study of the use of Irish in the Gaeltacht which was presented in Gweedore on Monday night. The three year study was initiated by Minister Ó Cuiv and it gives a detailed and up to date perspective on the state of the spoken language throughout the Gaeltachts.

While the study shows that spoken Irish is still a community language in a large area is western Donegal, it raises nonetheless serious questions for the people of the Gaeltacht. The report highlights that there is a clear threat to the survival of the Irish language, a threat which is intensifying.

Evidence form the research shows that the Gaeltacht education system is not transforming those who come to school as English speakers into active Irish speakers. Furthermore it is alleged that students outside the Gaeltacht outperform Gaeltacht students is some language ability tests. Clearly this raises critical linguistic questions in relation to educational aims and practices currently implemented in Gaeltacht schools.

Cllr. Kelly stated that 'Padraig Pearse who visited Cloughaneely regularly, had claimed that "the Irish speaking child is the most valuable living thing in Ireland." 'This still holds true today' Cllr. Kelly asserted and added that this new Lingusitic Report further highlighted that fact.

While the comprehensive Report offers detailed analysis, maps and figures as well as recommendations, Cllr. Kelly believed that immediate focus was needed on the Irish speaking child. He suggests that Naíonán beaga class sizes in Gaeltacht schools should be reduce to ten pupils so as to allow the teacher to foster the language and to facilitate the positive developments of Cuntoirí teangaí.

Undoubtedly, State organisations can help to further promote the Irish language, nevertheless, Cllr Kelly asserted that the onus rest ultimately with the people of the Gaeltacht. 'I urged the people of the Gaeltacht to cherish the language and to rise to the challenge of ensuring that we sustain our native language- let it not be said by future generations that the language died on our watch' he concluded.

L’Anacr

…de Le Télégramme:

L’Anacr (Association nationale des anciens combattants et des amis de la Résistance) émet de vives critiques sur cet ouvrage, à commencer par son titre : « Les anciens résistants ou simples citoyens du Trégor ayant vécu la période de l’occupation nazie peuvent témoigner d’avoir vu beaucoup de croix gammées, mais aucun ne se souvient avoir vu la moindre hermine ». « Dans l’ouest de notre département, pratiquement tous les résistants s’exprimaient dans leur langue maternelle, le breton, c’est une réalité, mais aucun ne se réclamait de l’identité bretonne », estime l’Anacr.

L’Anacr juge comme « une contre-vérité historique mais aussi une insulte à leur mémoire » le fait « d’assimiler de grandes figures de la Résistance au mouvement breton », qui était « très proche idéologiquement de l’extrême droite dans les années 20 et 30. » * Une motion en ce sens a été adoptée dimanche par les comités de Lannion, Trébeurden et Pleumeur-Bodou, réunis en assemblée générale, à l’initiative de Serge Tilly, président délégué.

Scoil na Daróige

…de la Derry Journal:

No doubt Donegal parents will be immensely relieved to learn that they won’t have to go ‘ag seanmháthaireáil’ to get their children into Scoil na Daróige in Derry. But why should a Gaelscoil located in one of the North’s most nationalist areas be looking across the ‘border’ to make up numbers? Where is the Derry support? Did Derry nationalists know in the past what they were against and now don’t quite know what they are for?

Belfast parents have got on with the job of educating their children through Irish and have some dozen Irish primary schools and a sizeable secondary school. We see a new generation of children in Belfast aware of their cultural heritage and their identity through their ancestral language. In the ‘South’ more children are being educated through Irish outside of the Gaeltacht than at any time since the foundation of the State. Yet support for Irish medium education in Derry is lower than in many parts of the North: Derry’s lack of support for Gaelscolaíocht at secondary level is a disgrace...

Vivanta Lingvo vs.Vaka Trono

…de la Gauntlet:

For those in the army, disregarding the woman on the coins can bring a lot of trouble.

Canadian Armed Forces Captain Aralt Mac Giolla Chainnigh found this out the hard way. In 2001, the officer--a professor of physics at the Royal Military Academy--attempted to gain exemption from the military's mandatory swearing of loyalty to the Queen. His initial efforts were turned down and now, seven years later, Federal Court Justice R.L. Barnes has rejected his appeal.

Given the lack of active participation of British Royalty in contemporary Canadian life, political or otherwise, it seems likely that most military personnel swear the oath of fealty without much thought. The reason why this particular quest for an exemption is unique is that Chainnigh feels strong ties to his Irish heritage. Indeed, he is one of very few fluent in the Irish language….

….The Queen's power in this nation has shriveled and become nothing more than historical formality. There is no reason to place it in higher regard than considerations of multiculturalism as this case has done.

Irlandalingvo en Nord-Irlando

…de la Andersonstown News:

There were more winners than losers in the first budget announced this week by the DUP/Sinn Féin-dominated powersharing Executive.

Indeed, with the exception of the Irish speaking lobby — which fell foul of the old-school thinking of Minister Edwin Poots — every constituency which protested the draft budget got a bung of some sort or other.

Nationalist ministers seem to be powerless in the face of Minister Poots’ decision to axe funding to the burgeoning Irish language broadcast sector from March 2009. The DUP man already stands indicted for blocking the Irish Language Act — a move hailed by Ian Paisley Jnr — but now he stands doubly indicted for theatening the jobs and livelihood of those in the Irish language broadcast sector.

However, those who view the right to speak Irish as a civil right won’t be silenced or bullied into submmission: plans are already afoot to say ‘Tá’ to the Irish language at a massive, multicultural rally in Belfast on February 16...

The Black Mountain Chorus of Wales

…. Muskegon Chronicle:

For the last 150 years, Wales has built an international reputation as a nation full of singers and is generally regarded as the "Land of Song." It is blessed with more than 300 male choruses in an area no bigger than the state of New Jersey.

The Black Mountain Chorus of Wales, which will perform 3 p.m. Sunday at Frauenthal Center for the Performing Arts as part of the Muskegon Community Concert Association series, is an effort to capture the tradition of the Welsh industrial male chorus at a professional level.

Black Mountain was founded in 1996 by famous Welsh choral conductor Alun John, who picked singers from top music colleges and from the National Youth Choir of Wales. The group's first performance was at an international Rugby match at the Welsh National Stadium before an audience of 50,000.

The chorus, whose 32 members have an average age of 30, performs Welsh classics, hymns and folksongs (in the Welsh language) and more contemporary popular selections...

Joe Kelly

...de Highland Radio:

The current generation of Irish speakers in the Donegal Gaeltacht could be the last.

That's according to West Donegal Councillor Joe Kelly who was responding to a report released by the Department of the Gaeltacht which shows that there is now a clear threat to the survival of the Irish language.

The study also shows that the education system is not transforming those who come to school as English speakers into active Irish speakers.

Councillor Kelly says more of an emphasis on Irish in schools in needed to help the language survive.

Jim Nicholson

...de la Belfast Telegraph:

MEP Jim Nicholson today warned that Irish government attempts to push the status of Irish within EU states must come under scrutiny after claims the language was only spoken for half-an-hour in the European Parliament in the last year.

The Ulster Unionist also demanded a review of the use of Irish by EU officials, due in four years time, should be brought forward.

His attack came after the Irish Examiner newspaper reported six of Ireland's 13 MEPs have never used Irish in parliamentary debates since January of last year, and those who did took up only 30 minutes.

But Sinn Fein claimed the survey was flawed because it did not appear to include Mr Nicholson's MEP colleague Bairbre de Brun...

Super Furry Animals

...de Read Express:

After eight albums and 15 years together, Welsh rock band Super Furry Animals have run into a problem on tour. "Our live shows are becoming more complicated," said Gruff Rhys, the quintet's frontman, of live shows known for entertaining stagemanship and visual spectacle.

Over the years, the group's music — with English and Welsh-language offerings — has covered a lot of territory, from psychedelic folk and spacey ballads to increasing flirtations with electronica

With a stop at the 9:30 Club planned for Sunday, the Super Furries are getting back to basics. Their most recent album, "Hey Venus!," might remind fans of the Super Furries' pop roots and earlier albums, including 1996's "Fuzzy Logic."...

Irlandalingvaj Cigaredaj Avertoj?

...de la Irish Times:

The High Court will hear a case today brought by schoolteacher against the Minister for Health and Children for failing to give a commitment that health warnings on tobacco products be shown in Irish and English.

Caitríona Bn Uí Riain, a Ráth Cairn Gaeltacht teacher, is also challenging the Government's failure to ensure that health information regarding the tar nicotine carbon monoxide content of tobacco products is not shown in both languages.

Bn Uí Riain contends that the text of the information and health warning - which has no reference to the Irish language - is a breach Article 5 of the European Directive.

Article 5 of the European Directive specifies that information notices and health warning notices on tobacco products should be shown in the official languages of member states.

The first official language of the State is Irish, and the other official language is English.

David McWilliams

…de Réalt a’Disceart:

Some say that the Celtic Tiger is dead. In fact some are saying that it died four years ago, but in West Cork you wouldn’t notice. It was ever only a mewing kitten here, quietly growing but not roaring.

According to David McWilliams, Irish economist and broadcaster, this group is turning to interests that are much more about pure Irish culture than looking to the rest of the world. There is an increased interest in the Irish language and more children are being sent to the Gael schools than ever before.

Antaŭjuĝo por la Kimralingvo?

...de la BBC:

Officials in a Welsh language heartland have been criticised for granting planning applications from Welsh speakers despite advice to reject them.

It came after Ceredigion councillors approved three applications against the advice of planners which were later rejected by the assembly government.

The assembly government's planning inspector said it was "discriminatory" to grant plans on a language basis.

But one planning committee member said it was trying to protect communities...

An Cheathrú Rua

…de la Galway News:

A public information meeting on the use of the Irish language in the Gaeltacht, will be held in, An Cheathrú Rua tonight.

The meeting is organised by the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs to present aspects of the 'Linguistic Study on the use of the Irish Language in the Gaeltacht'.

The authors of the study will attend the meeting to explain the methodology used in drawing up the report and to present their results and recommendations.

The meeting, which is part of a series being held in all the Gaeltacht areas, will take place at Ostan an Doilin in Carraroe at half past 7 tonight.

Piaras Ó Dochartaigh

…de Highland Radio:

Sinn Fein's Regional Development and Irish Language Spokesperson has questioned if Udaras Na Gaeltachta represents good value for taxpayers money.

Pearse Doherty made his comments following the publication of the board’s annual report, which show that across the Gaeltachta last year there was only a net gain of 73 jobs despite significant investment.

However Senator Doherty says the work of Udaras is being hindered by a lack of government investment in the area's it works.

Irlandalingva Tago en Otavo

...de Glór na nGael Cheanada:

The Irish Canadian Cultural Centre, located in the former 118-year-old heritage property of St.Brigid's church, 176 St. Patrick Street, Ottawa, Ontario (Entrance to parish hall on Cumberland St.)

Glór na nGael invites you to a one day workshop in the Irish Language.

Saturday February 9th 2008

Join the growing number of Irish Language enthusiasts.
· Classes for beginners and opportunities for all to improve skill levels through conversation, grammar and song.
· Cost: $25.00 per person.
· Includes Lunch and Refreshments.
· Start 8:00 am: Welcome, Class Assignment, Refreshments.
· CLASSES: 9:00 am to 5:00 pm with lunch and refreshment breaks.
Reservations requested by February 5th 2008.

Tionólfaidh Glór na nGael clár láe Dé Sathairn 9ú d’ Fheabhra 2008, i dteach pobail dar ath ainm Naomh Bríd ag coirnéal Cumberland agus Sráid Naomh Padraig.

Tá súil againn go bhfeicfidh muid ansin thú.

For more information: Ann 613-225-1830 / Bridget 613-834-0387

Someone Who'll Watch Over Me

...de la Star Pheonix:

Two men are chained up in a dungeon and, no, it's not the horror movie Saw.

But that nastiness does flash through your mind at the start of Someone Who'll Watch Over Me, the 1992 play by Irish writer Frank McGuinness. Brian Cochrane directs as part of the Live Five guest company Skinny Walrus...

...The characters are a tad stereotypical -- the brassy Yank, the formal Brit, the fiery Irishman. But the script does reveal enough about their personal lives, whether it's childhood torment or survivor's guilt, to turn them into individuals. The play's careful illustration of the Irish-English conflict would hit U.K. audiences much harder. Still, Edward's outrage when Michael calls the Irish language a "dialect," is revealing...