Work starts on village Irish language and culture centre
By Mary Dennehy
WORK has commenced on the Irish language and cultural centre in Tallaght Village, with the cafe and bookshop expected to open to the public in early June.
As previously reported in The Echo, the revived Gaelphobal Thamhlachta purchased a building on Main Street in Tallaght Village, with the vision of developing an ionad Gaeilge agus Culturtha [an Irish language and cultural centre].
The cafe and bookshop is expected to open to the public in early June
Last July, South Dublin County Council granted planning permission for the construction of a new single storey extension to the building – and approved the change of use of the building from a commerical office and garage to a cultural centre, cafe and bookshop.
Construction work on the centre commenced two weeks ago, with the building being completely gutted to pave the way for an Irish cafe and bookshop on the ground floor and office space on the second storey.
Pól Ó Meadhra, a teacher in Scoil Santain and a member of Gaelphobal Thamhlachta, said: “This is a huge step in normalising the Irish language in every day life in Tallaght.
“At the moment, the Irish language stops at the school gates for many local children who attend Tallaght’s Gaelscoils.
“Despite being pretty fluent in the language by the time they reach sixth class, they don’t have an opportunity to use it.”
Open to all members of the community
Pól stressed that the cafe will be open to all members of the community – including those with no Irish, a cupla focail or fluent speakers.
“This Irish language and cultural centre is important for the whole community – and everybody is welcome,” Pól said.
“It will help promote and grow Irish in the area… and take it from being a ‘book language’ to part of the fabric of social life in Tallaght.”
The cafe and bookshop will be run as a commercial business, with all profits made being directed into the growth of the Irish language locally.
The centre will be run by volunteers, with one paid staff member managing the cafe.
It is hoped however, that the cafe could generate further employment opportunities down the line.
Part of the plans for the centre includes an Irish theatre out the back of the building.
Funding for this part of the project has yet to be secured.
However, Gaelphobal Thamhlachta is hoping to secure additional funding from South Dublin County Council or the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht for this phase of the project.
For further information on the centre, and other activities, visit the Gaelphobal Thamhlachta Facebook page or www.gaelphobalthamhlachta.com
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