Launch of Trinity College Dublin’s Language Scheme
Written by Eamon Ó Cuív Wednesday, 10 February 2010
Launch of Trinity College Dublin’s Language Scheme
under Section 11 of the Official Languages Act 2003
Dining Hall, Front Square, Trinity College Dublin
Wednesday 10/02/10,5.30pm
A chairde,
I am very pleased to be here with you today to launch Trinity’s Language Scheme under Section 11 of the Official Languages Act 2003. Trinity College has already been proactive in its efforts to provide services through Irish, and I am delighted to see that the Language Scheme that we are launching here today continues in this positive and constructive direction, offering practical and real services as Gaeilge to students, staff and visitors.
Of course, Trinity College’s strong and positive image in terms of the Irish language, both at home and abroad, goes back a long way. In its early years, Trinity provided Irish-language training for the clergy of the Established Church, in order to promote the reformed faith in the language of the majority of the people. William Bedell, one-time Provost, was responsible, as Bishop of Kilmore, for the translation of the Old Testament into Irish. Dr Douglas Hyde, founder of the Gaelic League and first President of Ireland, was a student of the College.
The College’s Chair of Irish was instituted in 1841 and among its occupants was renowned writer Máirtín Ó Cadhain (1969-'70). Today, the School of Irish, headed by Professor Damian McManus, holds microfilm copies of the Irish Folklore Commission's Collection of Irish Folklore Manuscripts.
TCD has an Irish Language Officer to provide guidance in relation to the Official Languages Act, to assist with translations and to work with the College’s Irish language committee, Coiste na Gaeilge, to promote the language on campus. A translation service is also provided through the Irish Language Office. The College has two Irish language student residency schemes, one on the campus itself and the other in Dartry, where Irish is the daily language of communication. Free classes are held for staff and students on campus every Tuesday. The Cumann Gaelach is one of the largest student Irish societies in the country, and gives Irish a vibrant presence on campus.
Each year Trinity celebrates Irish through the Éigse na Tríonóide festival, with a week of social and cultural events for students organised by the Cumann Gaelach. This cultural celebration features gigs, quizzes, tours, dancing and sport.
Clearly, Irish already plays a significant role in college life here at Trinity. All new signage at the College, in accordance with the Official Languages Act, is bilingual. All persons have the right to communicate in Irish with Trinity College as an institution and to receive a reply in that language. The Language Scheme we are launching today will further strengthen and consolidate the role of Irish in the life and culture of the college.
It is obvious that the university, through Coiste na Gaeilge, has put a lot of thought and planning into the preparation of this Scheme and the effect it will have on all stakeholders. I know that the Coiste consulted widely with staff and student communities, and sought submissions from Irish language organisations as well as from individuals. This is evident in the Scheme’s provisions, which will improve the provision of bilingual services in such a broad spectrum of areas, including websites, IT services, in PR and advertising, in forms, brochures and publications and of course, in Customer Services. Irish will play a greater role in staff recruitment and training, as a living language on campus and in the College’s engagement with the wider society.
Let me speak briefly about the future of Irish, and our aims and aspirations. As many of you are already aware, the Government’s 20-year Strategy for the Irish language was published as a draft in electronic format before Christmas. It is intended that the strategy will be a comprehensive road map and will lay the foundation for practical action for supporting and promoting the language, based on a modern, integrated approach.
The headline objective of the proposed 20-year Strategic Plan for Irish is to increase the number of people who are functionally bilingual in Irish and English and specifically, to increase the number of daily speakers from 85,000 to 250,000 and to increase the total number of those with Irish from 1.6 million to 2 million.
I think this is a realistic but challenging objective. It will require interventions across a range of public bodies and policy areas.
The Strategy also aims to increase the number of speakers who speak Irish on a daily basis in the Gaeltacht, as its invigoration will be critical to the overall Strategy, and increase the number of people that use State services through Irish and can access television, radio and print media through the language. The draft will be debated again at the Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Sport, Tourism, Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs for a final round of consultation. I will then bring the Strategy back to Government for final approval in light of that debate. The first year of the strategy will be taken up with preparing for implementation, including bringing forward any necessary legislation and making sure that each of the key implementing agencies develops an operational plan for its area of responsibility.
Clearly, third level institutions such as Trinity College will have a large role to play where the future of the language is concerned, both within the context of the 20-year strategy and beyond. The more Irish is seen and heard, and the easier it becomes to access everyday services through Irish, to closer we will be to achieving functional bilingualism in this country. Your new Language Scheme will contribute towards this. The scope of services identified in the Scheme is designed to reach many different customers and audiences. Most importantly, the measures undertaken are realistic. The specific commitments are both practical and practicable, and I am certain that their implementation over the next three years will result in Irish becoming a more visible, more accessible and more central part of college life at Trinity.
My congratulations to the Provost, Dr. John Hegarty, to the Oifigeach Gaeilge, Aonghus Dwane, to Coiste na Gaeilge and to all those who invested their time and energy in engaging with the process of improving Irish language services at the College.
