GAA President Jarlath Burns with some of the Na Gaeil Óga members
GAA President visits Irish speaking club Na Gaeil Óga
IRISH speaking GAA club Na Gaeil Óga CLG received a visit from GAA President Jarlath Burns recently.
We spoke to secretary Nichola Oman about the visit and the importance of clubs like Na Gaeil Óga in promoting Irish.
“One of the special things when Jarlath came to visit was that he was able to conduct through the medium of Irish, we could speak to him in Irish.
‘It was amazing to listen to our kids and himself speak together through Irish and be able to do all of that. It was so natural and there was nothing rehearsed about it. A very special moment for us”.
Burns made his way through chatting to various children in the club and was even asked to provide his signature for some hurls which he obliged.
Burns has previously made his commitment to promoting the Irish language clear and the role that the GAA has in broadening its reach. With the GAA partnering up with Gaelchultúr who are the largest Irish language educator in the country.
“The GAA has always been about fostering community and identity, and our connection with the Irish language is at the heart of this.
‘Through these scholarships, our players will lead by example, demonstrating that the Irish language is a living, thriving part of our heritage that deserves to be celebrated and passed on to future generations.” – GAA President Jarlath Burns on partnering with Gaelchultúr.
Oman went into detail about the importance of the club providing a setting for children and adults to speak Irish outside of an academic environment.
“It gives children the opportunity to speak the language outside of the school setting and it also gives older or senior members the chance to speak the language as well so it gives them the opportunity to speak it in a more social setting.
‘It’s our national language and we should be able to speak it in a more natural and social setting.”
The club has more than 500 members at the moment. The majority of these with Irish operating on a near fluency level.
“We do support those that want to improve. Everything like the training, the games, it’s all done through the medium of Irish.
‘So if anyone is struggling, we’ll work around that as best we can.”
This summer has and will be a busy one for the club as they also took part in Comórtas Peile na Gaeltachta for the first time.
A memorable occasion for the club, the competition between Irish speaking clubs took place in Rathcairn Co. Meath and saw the juvenile players from Na Gaeil Óga travel on a double decker bus.
Na Gaeil Óga also took part in the Cailín Gaelach competition where they were represented by member Máire Ní Shúilleabháin.
A summer feile is taking place at the end of this month with the final to be held on Friday and various summer camps will be held in the club throughout July and August.
The Cul Camp running from July 7-11 will be open to the public while the camps in running from August 11-14 and 18-21 will be for club members catering for newer and more advanced players respectively.
