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Teaching PE Through Irish: UCC Project Champions PE Through Irish in Local DEIS Schools
As part of UCC’s Barr na gCnoc initiative, a community partnership led by Ionad na Gaeilge Labhartha, members of the School of Education are leading an innovative project on the teaching of Physical Education (PE) through Irish in DEIS primary schools in the Knocknaheeny, Hollyhill, and Churchfield areas that connects UCC’s research and teaching missions with local engagement.
The project, which involves 6th class learners in three schools local to UCC, builds on the success of the Gaeilge Stretch programme delivered to 5th class pupils last year. Working in collaboration with Aonad Lán-Ghaeilge in Terence MacSwiney Community College and local primary partners, the team—Dr Craig Neville, Dr Conor Philpott, Dr Diarmuid Lester, Hilary Ní Chonchubhair, and Tomás Dowling from the School of Education—are exploring how Irish can be used as a medium for learning as well as a subject in its own right.
At the heart of the project is Content and Language Integrated Learning (CLIL), an educational approach in which subject content is taught through a second or additional language. CLIL helps learners use language authentically and purposefully—in this case, using Irish to talk, move, and learn through PE. Rather than treating Irish as an isolated subject, the approach embeds it in meaningful contexts, encouraging fluency, confidence, and motivation while promoting bilingual and pluriliterate development.
The CLIL-PE intervention, titled LÉIM (Léargas, Éabhlóid, Idirghníomhú, Muinín) introduces 6th class pupils to a series of games designed to practise fundamental movement skills while integrating key Irish vocabulary and expressions. The activities were co-planned by the UCC researchers and teachers to ensure that Irish use is natural, enjoyable, and purposeful.
The first phase of the project took place at Na Piarsaigh GAA Club, where participating teachers attended a one-day training session. After an introduction to the CLIL approach, teachers took part in interactive workshops, experiencing the lessons as their students would—communicating, collaborating, and playing through Irish. They have now returned to their classrooms to run the intervention with their own pupils. The project will culminate in a celebration day at UCC’s Mardyke Arena, where students will come together to showcase their learning and physical skills through Irish.
Beyond the classroom, the research seeks to understand how teachers’ knowledge, skills, and attitudes towards Irish evolve through this experience, and how CLIL can enrich both language learning and physical education in school settings. The findings will inform future professional development and support for teachers, providing a model for integrating Irish across the curriculum in a way that is engaging, inclusive, and community-centred.
The project runs until early 2026, when the team will analyse the outcomes from both teacher and student perspectives to guide the next phase of CLIL-PE innovation in Irish-medium and English-medium contexts.
Speaking about the project, Barr na Gcnoc, research assistant, Tomás Dowling noted, “Teaching PE through Irish using a CLIL approach creates a space to bring learning and inclusion together. The LÉIM Project challenges teachers to expand on their professional skills, knowledge, and attitude, while also providing students with the opportunity to enhance their motor and linguistic competency in an environment that is inclusive and empowering. Through CLIL – everyone moves forward together, or better yet we are all ag léim(t) ar aghaidh le chéile!”