Conradh na Gaeilge congratulate Sult na Sollán, a Kildare branch of the organisation, who will launch a five year Irish language plan for County Kildare, with an event in Naas on 28th February.
The Minister for State for the Gaeltacht and Government Chief Whip, Seán Kyne, will launch the plan with the help of Chief Executive of Foras na Gaeilge, Seán Ó Coinn and Chief Executive of Kildare County Council, Peter Carey. Two years of work was undertaken to prepare the plan with input from the local Irish language community, state organisations and voluntary organisations based in the locality as well as Kildare County Council itself.
County Kildare is the first county in Ireland to publish an Irish language plan with a clear vision, specific objectives, structure and a list of actions to progress the language in the coming years. The range of the plan is from January 2019 to December 2023.
Siobhain Grogan, chairperson of the voluntary committee that wrote the plan, said, “Hopefully, this plan will inspire people with an interest in Irish to find their role in continuing to normalise the language. This language plan sets out a framework for the development of the Irish language in County Kildare. The aim of the plan is to help those associated with the language in the county to combine their efforts to target the needs of Irish language speakers, those wishing to learn it and all those who support it.”
Irish language officer of Kildare County Council Donnacha MacDiarmada said, “Demand for Irish language services from Kildare County Council continues to grow and we are fully committed to providing that service as best we can. We were delighted to support Sult na Sollán's work on the Irish language plan and look forward to playing our role in its success.”
Kildare resident, singer/songwriter Paddy Casey, said that he looks forward to the opportunities that the language plan will bring. "I use my Irish whenever I can, and this five-year plan should result in greater engagement with the language, and therefore more opportunities for me to use it."
Sult na Sollán, the organisation behind the writing of the plan, hopes that the Sallins/ Naas area will be recognised as a líonra (Irish language network) by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht during 2019.
