Terms of Reference

• A prize of €1,000 which is sponsored by the Centre for Spoken Irish is made available for the Gradam.
• The Coiste Gnó will nominate two staff members and one student as adjudicators. They will select the prizewinner from the entries received.
• Speaking and using Irish around the universirty is what the Gradam is linked to.
• The judges will select the person who, in their opinion, has done the most in this area.
• The award is open to all registered students of the university.
• The committee can award Onóir na Gaeilge along with or in place of Gradam na Gaeilge if they deam it suitable.
• A student who has won Gradam or Onóir na Gaeilge cannot be nominated again.
• You cannot nominate yourself for the Gradam.
• If a student thinks that another student deserves to win Gradam na Gaeilge, (s)he must write a report on that student and submit it by a certain date.
• It will be necessary to write two A4 pages on why a certain student should be awarded the Gradam.
• It is recomended that members of the ITMS, An Cumann Drámaíochta and An Chuallacht nominate people for the award but this does not necessarily mean that members of these societies will have a better chance of being awarded the Gradam.
• Every nomination will be treated equally.
• The Gradam will be awared at the end of the academic year.

Explanatory Note

Promote the use of spoken Irish in the university.

The activites that will be taken into account are:

• activites that the applicants were linked to, especially activities that they organized, it is not enough just to attend an activity
• any activity that has been run through the medium of Irish can be taken into account, for example music, dance and drama
• activities that were part of Spraoi Cois Laoi or Seachtain na Gaeilge
• activites that were part of the St Patrick's Festival
• Irish language debates
• Campus Radio
• writing in Irish (for example articles in newspapers, newsletters or on websites, writing dramas, prose or poetry
• activities linked to the Irish Language Residential Centre, Áras Uí Thuama
• different projects or duties that will bring attention to the use of Irish in the media and in the university

Gradam na Gaeilge 2026

Páidí Mac Gearailt, Law and Irish 2, is the recipient of Gradam na Gaeilge 2026. Proinsias Mac Ruairí, Law and Irish 4 and Catherine Finn, B.Oid. Irish and Mathematics 3 were presented with Onóir na Gaeilge. Catherine was unable to attend on the day, Dónal Ó Lochlainn accepted her award on her behalf.

These annual prizes are sponsored by the Centre for Spoken Irish, UCC.

Páidí, Proinsias and Catherine received these awards in recognition of their wonderful work in promoting the Irish Language within UCC. Professor Caoimhín Ó Muirí (Department of Early and Medieval Irish), Lúcás Ó Raghallaigh (UCCSU Irish Language and Culture Representative) and Dr Caitríona Breathnach (Centre for Spoken Irish) were the adjudicators.

The awards were presented by Dr Caitríona Breathnach at a special occasion in Seomra Phádraig Tyers on Thursday, 23 April 2026.

Also at the award ceremony, Dr Katie Ní Loingsigh, Department of Modern Irish, presented Scholarships to the residents of the Irish Language residential centre, Áras Uí Thuama, University Hall.