30 October 1997 Edition
Scoil An Droichid opened
By Ciaran Smith
The first ever Irish language primary school to serve South and East Belfast, Scoil An Droichid, was opened on Monday 27 October by Eamon O'Cuiv, TD Minister for the Islands at the Ministry for the Gaeltacht in the Dublin Government.
O'Cuiv told the large crowd who attended the opening on the site of the old UTV car park at Cooke Street, ``it is a great honour to be here, I am pleased to be opening the first Irish language school which will properly serve the children of South and East Belfast. To see more and more Gaelic schools springing up, especially in the Six Counties, is very moving for me and the people of Ireland''
Pilib O'Runai, co-ordinator of the `An Droichid' project told An Phoblacht the school first opened in September 1996 in Balfour Avenue, on the Ormeau Road, but shared a site with Naionra An Droichid, a nursery set up in 1991.
``The project first started with the setting up of an Irish language nursery in the MacAirt centre in the Short Strand in 1981 but it closed in 1990 because its funding was withdrawn in 1987 due to the NIO's policy of political vetting,'' explained O'Runai.
``When in 1991 Naionra an Droichid opened the push for Irish education really took off but we now want to go further afield so we've upgraded our facilities to cater for both nursery and primary education. The school is inter-denominational and so we want to serve ALL of South and East Belfast. We want our school to live up to its name, An Droichid, The Bridge, we want to provide a bridge to the various communities here and also provide a bridge to the riches of the Irish language and culture.''
The school has 19 pupils in primaries One & Two and has been funded for two years with money from the Peace & Reconciliation Programme.
The first ever Irish language primary school to serve South and East Belfast, Scoil An Droichid, was opened on Monday 27 October by Eamon O'Cuiv, TD Minister for the Islands at the Ministry for the Gaeltacht in the Dublin Government.
O'Cuiv told the large crowd who attended the opening on the site of the old UTV car park at Cooke Street, ``it is a great honour to be here, I am pleased to be opening the first Irish language school which will properly serve the children of South and East Belfast. To see more and more Gaelic schools springing up, especially in the Six Counties, is very moving for me and the people of Ireland''
Pilib O'Runai, co-ordinator of the `An Droichid' project told An Phoblacht the school first opened in September 1996 in Balfour Avenue, on the Ormeau Road, but shared a site with Naionra An Droichid, a nursery set up in 1991.
``The project first started with the setting up of an Irish language nursery in the MacAirt centre in the Short Strand in 1981 but it closed in 1990 because its funding was withdrawn in 1987 due to the NIO's policy of political vetting,'' explained O'Runai.
``When in 1991 Naionra an Droichid opened the push for Irish education really took off but we now want to go further afield so we've upgraded our facilities to cater for both nursery and primary education. The school is inter-denominational and so we want to serve ALL of South and East Belfast. We want our school to live up to its name, An Droichid, The Bridge, we want to provide a bridge to the various communities here and also provide a bridge to the riches of the Irish language and culture.''
The school has 19 pupils in primaries One & Two and has been funded for two years with money from the Peace & Reconciliation Programme.