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THE APPOINTMENT OF Joe McHugh as Minister of State responsible for the Gaeltacht was met with some criticism last summer.
It emerged (pretty quickly) that the Donegal TD wasn’t fluent in Irish.
It’s not like he was just ‘rusty’ either. The Fine Gael politician has admitted his language skills were “ar an úrlár” (on the floor).
McHugh has gained praise for his decision to immerse himself in the language over the last 12 months or so, and his confidence has grown to the extent that he’s now giving lengthy live interviews As Gaeilge.
But that’s not to say everyone’s happy with the coalition’s approach to the issue: Taoiseach Enda Kenny came in for criticism for comments to a crew producing a documentary about McHugh’s efforts to learn the language earlier this summer.
The Fine Gael leader said figures showed use of Irish was “actually increasing – by a small percentage – but increasing”. The president of language rights group Conradh na Gaeilge, referring to a report published earlier this year, said Kenny was clearly mistaken.
Speaking to TheJournal.ie (As Bearla – by our choice) by phone from his latest stint in Irish college this week, McHugh said a report last year estimating there were fewer than 1,000 children who are native Irish speakers in Gaeltacht area primary schools showed there were cleary “challenges”.
“The Taoiseach was more than likely pointing to the ESRI report that wasn’t out at that stage showing that people’s positive attitude towards the language was on the increase.”
The ESRI report in question, published at the start of this month, showed positivity towards Irish had grown from 49% to 67% in the Republic over a twelve year period.
However, despite the improvement in attitude it found Irish was still not spoken frequently outside of the classroom.
75% of people with basic fluency who responded to the survey the report was based on said that their peer group did not speak Irish, with almost half of those with advanced fluency saying the same.
“The way we’ve been doing things in relation to the language, we have to change them. We have to promote the journey aspect – that it’s a journey from the day you’re born till the day you die,” McHugh said.
“What do we do with this new positive energy? What do we do with people who want to go back and learn Irish? What help can we give them? What support can we give them?”
Native New Yorker
His classmates at the Oideas Gael college in Gleann Cholm Cille this week included a man from California with “no Irish connections” brushing up on his grammar, McHugh said.
One of his teachers was a man from New York who started learning Irish twenty years ago.
Asked how he felt to be learning Irish from a non-native speaker, McHugh said it was “just incredible, and an incredible inspiration”.
“This is it, you see – this is the story.
“He’s proving it can be done – and as far as he’s concerned and the other Americans that I’ve met over the last 12 months, they feel part of the Irish Gaeltacht community – even though they might be living in Montreal or Nova Scotia.
“We need to have a very open conversation as to what the concept of the Gaeltacht is.
“Is it in Ireland. Is it in Southern Ireland? Is it inside the Gaeltacht, is it outside the Gaeltacht? There’s an international movement going on here. We need to have a conversation about that.”
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Congrats to all the winners.
We could do with some good news articles for a change. How about restaurants and takeaways that went above and beyond to service customers in a brutal 2020 year? Or best reviewed meal kits from 2020? Some many in that industry are doing their best. But it’s easy to call out the few bad apples.
@Keith Richardson: sorry my comment meant for Keith
@Keith Richardson: agree one of local takeaways offered free meals to people who needed a meal at start of lockdown 2.0 . always support them and throw a larger than average tip in to them.
@Keith Richardson: this is important public health information from the Food Safety Authority. It gets printed periodically in many Irish news outlets a for reasons of public health. The journal have been doing it for a long time.
Anyways you don’t have to look far for the kind banal pop journalism you’re raving about there. You can find “the best of this or that” literally everywhere
Personally I’d prefer to know if a restaurant/bar/cafe near was serving dubious food so I would know to avoid it. They don’t all get closed down immediately
Perhaps you are happy enough funnelling any old tripe down your gullet but I am not
A bit light on detail
@Denis Leane: the details would have been published at the time the order was made to close, the orders are published every month
@Brian Nevin: yea but we wanted to see particular names of premises’ printed here. Too much work to go searching
I’m thinking of opening a sushi takeaway. Anyone got a spare bedroom so I can get the cooking done?
@Levante Dublin: cooking? Sushi ? I thought that’s the beauty of sushi you only need a bedroom. No kitchen necessary. A knife and a cutting board and you’re made
@Levante Dublin: agree…. The Press love negativity…. what about all those bars and restaurants that abide by the law and are pristine…. probably 99+%
@Ian Forbes: reporting facts isn’t being negative. By default they SHOULD be pristine.
@Jakie McLean: sushi technically refers to the rice, I believe, which does need to be cooked. As such,you can get various types where all ingredients are cooked. Like with sushi involving chicken.
@Ian Forbes: News is news, it isn’t positive or negative
@Jakie McLean: rice!
@Ian Forbes: i look at it the other way, so many good restaurants and the little few bad ones. It’s a good news story.
@Levante Dublin: only need to cook the rice
Couldn’t we introduce a food hygiene rating as they have in the UK, as the activity of the Irish Food Safety Authority is not particularly transparent
@Jules: True story. I grew up in Coventry and as a kid every Friday we got food from the same chippy. I since moved to Dublin but I, and my three siblings, were back to see my mother who ill and hospitalised at the time. We did the nostalgia tour and went to the chippy for dinner. They had a half a star out of 5 rating…
@Jules: the food in the UK is muck. Their food quality and standards are deplorable compared to ours
@Denise Ní Cinnseala: what a silly sweeping comment
Cáitín
Name and shame
@Mark Gaffney: the names are on the FSAI website.
Gives new meaning to the phrase “dishing the dirt”.
Is there any within 5 km of me.? I feel hungry
Mostly Pakistani s
Is this a dirty article?
Where’s the ?
Name & Shame the business and its owners!
This will continue otherwise simple as!
which restaurants in Cork?
have your say