Dianchúrsa Seachtain na Gaeilge for SF MLAs

As part of Sinn Féin's activities around Seachtain na Gaeilge, Roinn an Chultúir organised a week of intensive language classes in An Creagán centre in the heartland of Tyrone.

The course was directed at the Sinn Féin team in the Assembly, both MLAs and support staff.

The classes were taken by the Irish language third level training body, Gaeloiliúnt.

The idea was to pitch the classes at the various levels of the students and to introduce a 'politics specific' vocabulary to those with a grounding in Irish.

It was an immersion course, as much as possible, in that the classes lasted throughout the day from 10am-1pm and then 2pm-5pm but the course also carried on into the evenings.

There was also a social side, with people staying on and practicing whatever bits and pieces they'd picked up in the more informal setting of the restaurant and bar.

All in all, people agreed that the course was an excellent project, giving a good grounding in the basics of the language and they are very keen to maintain the momentum with a weekly class in Stormont. It is expected that these will be accompanied by a weekend intensive course from Friday to Sunday, three or four times a year.

It is also hoped to see similar projects and programmes undertaken in Dublin and possibly further south as well, following the European and local government elections.