Shaw's Road
| |
|---|---|
  Shaw's Road Location within Northern Ireland | |
| Population | 200 (approx) |
| • Belfast | 3 mi (4.8 km) |
| County | |
| Country | Northern Ireland |
| Sovereign state | United Kingdom |
| Postcode district | BT11, BT12 |
| Dialling code | 028 |
| Police | Northern Ireland |
| Fire | Northern Ireland |
| Ambulance | Northern Ireland |
| UK Parliament | |
| NI Assembly | |
Shaw's Road is a road in west Belfast, Northern Ireland, connecting the Andersonstown Road with the Glen Road.
Located on the road, is a small Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking area) known colloquially as "The Irish Houses", and in Irish as Bóthar Seoighe (meaning "Shaw's Road") and Pobal Feirste (meaning "Farset Community"). [1] This community was established in 1969 when five families from Belfast built their houses together in a new development on the road. One of the early residents was Aodán Mac Póilin. The community expanded through the years and now there are 22 houses in the Gaeltacht.
In 1971, parents in the Gaeltacht established the first Irish-medium school in Northern Ireland. After much turbulence during that time, and a lengthy campaign, the school received official recognition from the Department of Education in 1985. [2] The school has since grown rapidly and is no longer under direct administration by the Gaeltacht, but remains Irish-medium and over 350 students attend.[ citation needed ]
The Shaw's Road Gaeltacht has a strong culture of traditional music, dance and drama and the Irish language continues to be the normal language of communication between residents. [3]
The Shaws Road Gaeltacht is considered the inspiration for Irish speakers throughout Ulster. This is the arguement of a BBC Gaeilge two-part documentary “The Irish Houses – Scéal Phobal Bhóthar Seoighe” (the story of the Shaw’s Road community). [4] [5]
There is often some confusion between the Shaw's Road Gaeltacht and the Gaeltacht Quarter in west Belfast, [6] which is a related, but newer and distinct project located in the centre of the Falls Road district. The Shaw's Road Gaeltacht is located closer to Andersonstown.
Conradh na Gaeilge is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emerged as the successor of several 19th century groups such as the Gaelic Union. The organisation would be the spearhead of the Gaelic revival and Gaeilgeoir activism. Originally the organisation intended to be apolitical, but many of its participants became involved in Irish nationalism.
Gaeltacht is an Irish-language word for any primarily Irish-speaking region. In Ireland, the term Gaeltacht refers individually to any, or collectively to all, of the districts where the government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home.
The Irish language is a recognised minority language in Northern Ireland. The dialect spoken there is known as Ulster Irish. Protection for the Irish language in Northern Ireland stems largely from the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages.
A Gaelscoil is an Irish language-medium school in Ireland: the term refers especially to Irish-medium schools outside the Irish-speaking regions or Gaeltacht. Over 50,000 students attend Gaelscoileanna on the island of Ireland. A further over 13,000 students are receiving their primary and second level education through Irish in the Gaeltacht. Gaelscoileanna and Irish-medium schools in the Gaeltacht are supported and represented by Gaeloideachas and An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta & Gaelscolaíochta or COGG in the Republic of Ireland and by Gaeloideachas and Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta in Northern Ireland.
The ULTACH Trust is a charitable trust established in 1989 aimed at promoting the Irish language in Northern Ireland. Its former director was Aodán Mac Póilin and is now Róise Ní Bhaoill.
Ulster Irish is the variety of Irish spoken in the province of Ulster. It "occupies a central position in the Gaelic world made up of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man". Ulster Irish thus has more in common with Scottish Gaelic and Manx. Within Ulster there have historically been two main sub-dialects: West Ulster and East Ulster. The Western dialect is spoken in County Donegal and once was in parts of neighbouring counties, hence the name Donegal Irish. The Eastern dialect was spoken in most of the rest of Ulster and northern parts of counties Louth and Meath.
Aodán Mac Póilin was an Irish language activist in Northern Ireland.
A Neo-Gaeltacht is an area where Irish has a strong presence as a spoken language but is not part of the officially defined or traditional Gaeltacht areas. It has been argued that non-Gaeltacht activist groups wishing to establish an Irish language community need to show that it is large, permanent and formally organised and that it has a growing number of people using Irish as their first language. Another objective is a situation in which children use Irish among themselves and with other Irish speakers in a natural way while being able to deal with a largely English-speaking world.
A Gaelcholáiste is a secondary school on the island of Ireland located outside Gaeltacht areas, where Irish is the primary language of teaching and communication.
A naíonra is an Irish medium playgroup for pre-school children, which follows the principle of Total Early Immersion.
The official status of the Irish language remains high in the Republic of Ireland, and the total number of people who answered 'yes' to being able to speak Irish in April 2016 was 1,761,420, which represents 39.8 per cent of respondents out of a population of 4,921,500 in the Republic of Ireland. In Northern Ireland 104,943 identify as being able to speak Irish out of a population of 1,882,000. The official status reflects the dominance of the language in Irish cultural and social history until the nineteenth century and its role in Irish cultural identity, even though the daily use of Irish today is limited.
Conamara Theas, which is Irish for South Connemara, is however today the western Irish-speaking regions County Galway. There are around 7,000 people living in the area. Between 60% and 80% of residents are native Irish speakers.
Cois Fharraige is a coastal area west of Galway city, where the Irish language is the predominant language. It stretches from Na Forbacha, Bearna, An Spidéal to Indreabhán. There are between 8,000 and 9,000 people living in this area.
Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich is an Irish language cultural centre in The Gaeltacht Quarter and is located on the Falls Road, Belfast. Opened in 1991, the centre underwent renovation in 2010 and was opened the following year by Irish President Mary McAleese.
The Gaeltacht Act 2012 is an Act of the Oireachtas of Ireland. The Act redefined the traditional Irish-speaking areas or Gaeltacht in the Republic of Ireland on linguistic criteria instead of on geographic areas which had been the position until 2012. While the traditional Gaeltacht boundaries still exist the Act sets out ways where areas outside the Gaeltacht can be formally designated as Líonraí Gaeilge and Bailte Seirbhísí Gaeltachta. In 2016 it was announced that Galway City, Dingle and Letterkenny would be the first recognised Bailte Seirbhísí Gaeltachta under the Gaeltacht Act 2012 subject to them adopting and implementing approved language plans. In February 2018 the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht and Foras na Gaeilge announced that five areas- Belfast, Loughrea, Carn Tóchair, Ennis and Clondalkin- were going to be designated as the first formal Líonraí Gaeilge areas under the Act. Foras na Gaeilge have said that they expect the status to be given to other areas also.
Líonraí Gaeilge is the Irish language term for Irish Language Networks.
Forbairt Feirste is a Belfast-based Irish language development agency that aims to utilise Belfast’s Irish-speaking community to help promote the Irish language; support Irish speakers living in and visiting the city; and support the city in general. The agency was set up in 1994.
An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta / COGG is a Republic of Ireland State-agency who serve as a consultative council to the Irish Department of Education and Skills and other organisations and individuals on Irish language-medium education and who also provide support services and teaching resources and carry out research for Irish language-medium schools both inside and outside the Irish-speaking regions or Gaeltacht in the Republic of Ireland. Their name translates into English as The Council for Gaeltacht and Gaelscoileanna Education. The name is usually abbreviated as COGG for short. The Comhairle ("Council") was appointed for the first time in 2002 and has been reappointed on four occasions since then. They are a separate organisation to the Northern Ireland Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta.
A Pop-Up Gaeltacht is an informal gathering of Irish speakers of various abilities where they can meet and talk in a convivial atmosphere. In Dublin such gatherings can number up to 300 people, and similar events have been held abroad. The pioneers of the Pop-Up Gaeltacht were Osgur Ó Ciardha and Peadar Ó Caomhánaigh, language activists who established the first one in Dublin in 2017. The objective was to provide a space in which Irish speakers could chat freely without feeling obliged to switch to English for the benefit of any non-Irish speakers present.
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