Advocacy through engagement with parents and key stakeholders at public meetings and other fora, and hosting visits by parents and students to UCC campus.
Student Support consisting of
- a scholarship scheme, sponsored by UCC, for first year entrants to the Aonad. An annual scholarship award ceremony is hosted by UCC.
- sponsorship of Gaeltacht residency courses for pupils in UCC’s external campus, , in the Kerry Gaeltacht.
- sponsorship of an undergraduate student-volunteer programme (event organisation, homework clubs).
Teacher Support is provided through upskilling classes in the English-speaking parent-school to enable transfer of teachers, when required, to the Aonad Lán-Ghaeilge, and continuing this support within the Aonad itself. These classes are sponsored by An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta.
Parent Support including engagement through information nights, and support for language acquisition/upskilling through evening classes in Irish.
Knocknaheeny is one of six Cork City Learning Neighbourhoods, and to celebrate this year’s Cork Lifelong Learning Festival, Barr na gCnoc hosted three events at Gaelcholáiste Mhic Shuibhne, to promote Irish language and culture.
‘Irish for the Terrified’, a one-hour session for anyone scared of the Irish language, was hosted on Wednesday 10th of April. Professor Pádraig Ó Macháin and eight UCC students facilitated the event and supported parents and local community members in learning how to order lunch in Irish. Participants put their skills into practice and enjoyed a light lunch in a fun and inclusive learning environment.
On Friday the 12th of April, the local community were invited back to Terence MacSweeney Community College to enjoy the Barr na gCnoc Ceilí Mór. They were joined by school staff and students who took the opportunity to brush up on their Irish dancing skills, while accompanied by a full Ceilí Band.
Barr na gCnoc’s final event of the programme introduced staff, students, and the local community to the therapeutic delights of bashing a bodhrán. At the one-hour session hosted on Monday 15th April, participants learned how to play one of Ireland’s oldest musical instruments.
This series of Barr na gCnoc events enabled participants to build a greater connection with the Irish language and Irish culture and empowered them to step outside their comfort zone and try something new. The events demonstrated the potential of societal engagement and how community co-designed initiatives produce positive outcomes.
The 2019-2020 cohort were the first group from Knocknaheeny to sit state exams through Irish. The Junior Certificate results of 2022 matched non-DEIS schools, overcoming a trend where DEIS schools show lower attainment scores in State exams (S.M. Nelis et al., Beyond achievement (2021); E. Smyth et al. Learning from the Evaluation of DEIS (2015).
Community participation was crucial to the establishment and growth of the Aonad, which originated in parents’ advocacy for educational choice as a human right. The establishment and continuous development of the school was supported by strong community participation, leading to improved levels of social capital – the gelling of societal connections for the betterment of all.
Improved educational aspirations was an outstanding impact of Barr na gCnoc as the beneficiaries of the project now see higher education as a realistic future possibility. A study commissioned in 2021 stated that parents and pupils of this new Irish-medium school, without exception, expressed the view that third-level education, and specifically UCC, had now become an aspiration of parents/guardians and an ambition of all pupils.
"It seems clear that one of the reasons for this remarkable shift in attitude is the presence of University College Cork throughout the establishment process of this new school, and their continued presence and involvement as the school develops”.
There have been many achievements from the Barr na gCnoc project including a range of awards for Gaelcholáiste Mhic Shuibhne:
- The President’s Gaisce Award
- Foras na Gaeilge’s Gaelbhratach
- Euroscola at European Parliament for pupils to be MEP for a day
- National Ríomheolaíocht Award at the Kinia Tech Féile
A major achievement for the students in 2023 was winning The Virgin Digital Innovators Award for the bilingual book and app written and designed by the pupils of the Gaelcholáiste, Códú 4 U.
Professor Pádraig Ó Macháin
Director of the Centre for Spoken Irish
E: p.omachain@ucc.ie
Adel Coleman
Project Manager, Barr na gCnoc, Centre for Spoken Irish
E: adel.coleman@ucc.ie
Laoise Keevers
Irish Language Development Officer, Barr na gCnoc, Centre for Spoken Irish
E: Laoise.Keevers@ucc.ie
Tomás Dowling
Research Assistant, Barr na gCnoc, Centre for Spoken Irish
E: tomasdowling@ucc.ie
Lauren Grace
Research Assistant, Barr na gCnoc, Centre for Spoken Irish
E: Lauren.Grace@ucc.ie
The following committees form part of Barr na gCnoc's governance structure:
- Steering Group
- Advisory Committee
- Implementation Committee
Steering Group:
- Project Sponsor, Deputy President and Registrar (Chair).
- Project Lead, Barr na gCnoc.
- Business Development and Finance Manager.
- Chair of Bord na Gaeilge
- College Representatives (two).
- Dean of Undergraduate and Postgraduate Studies.
- Director of Director of Strategic Planning and Institutional Research.
- Gaeltacht Placement Manager.
- Head of Access (or their nominee).
- Head of Department of Modern Irish.
- Head of School of Education (or their nominee).
- Head of School of Irish Learning.
- Oifigeach Forbartha Gaeilge, Barr na gCnoc
- Project Manager, Barr na gCnoc.
- Representative of Ionad na Gaeilge Labhartha.
- Representative of Partner School.
- Student Representative from the Students Union.
- UCC Civic and Community Engagement Officer.
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