New Legal Podcast in Irish hosted by UCC Law and Irish Students

11 Mar 2024

‘Inter Alia’, a brand new legal podcast in Irish, has been started by Law and Irish Students Liam Ó hÓgáin and Amergín Ó Caoindealbháin. The podcast is entirely through Irish, and deals with various legal issues in each episode. 

Is podchraoladh úrnua é ‘Inter Alia’ atá bunaithe ag mic léinn Dlí agus Gaeilge Amergín Ó Caoindealbháin agus Liam Ó hÓgáin. Cúrsaí dlí a bhíonn faoi chaibidil acu i ngach clár, agus is trí mheán na Gaeilge a bhíonn sé. 

It is available on UCC 98.3FM on Spotify, and both Amergín and Liam hope to upload new episodes regularly. This is what they had to say about the new podcast:

Liam:

Thosnaíomar an podchraoladh seo mar go bhfuil suim mhór againn beirt i gcúrsaí dlí agus sa Ghaelainn. Theastaigh uainn an dá ábhar seo a nascadh, agus acmhainn oideachais dhlíthiúil a chur ar fáil trí mheán na Gaelainne. Tógadh le Gaelainn mise, agus tá mórán deiseanna bronnta ag an dteanga orm le blianta anuas, agus táim fíorbhuíoch go bhfuilim ábalta mo shaol laethúil a chaitheamh trí Ghaelainn. Táim sa dara bliain den gcúrsa Dlí agus Gaelainn faoi láthair, agus tá suim ar leith agam sna módúil a nascann an dá ábhar, mar shampla Bunreacht na hÉireann.

Tá ról faoi leith ag an nGaelainn sa saol dlíthiúil; is teanga oifigiúil de chuid an Aontais Eorpaigh í, agus príomhtheanga oifigiúil na hÉireann. Is trua é go bhfuil easpa acmhainní dlíthiúil ar fáil trí mheán na Gaelainne, ach amháin téacsleabhair, agus táimid ag súil go mbainfidh mic léinn dlí, lucht cleachtaithe an dlí, agus an pobal go ginearálta leas as an bpodchraoladh nua seo.

We started this podcast as we both have a huge interest in law and in the Irish language, and wanted to combine both elements to create educational content surrounding these topics. Having been raised with Irish, it is incredibly rewarding for me to be able to do what I love in my native language. I’m currently in my second year studying Law and Irish here in UCC, and I thoroughly enjoy both subjects, particularly modules such as Bunreacht na hÉireann, which combine both the law and Irish.

The Irish language undoubtedly plays an important role in the legal system, being recognised as an official language of the European Union, and as the national and official language of Ireland. Unfortunately, there is a lack of legal resources out there in Irish, other than textbooks, but we hope that this podcast will be of benefit to law students, to those within the legal profession, and to the general public who may have an interest in legal issues.

Amergín:

Tá an nasc idir an Ghaeilinn agus an dlí ag éirí níos láidre sa lá atá inniu ann. Measaim gur chabhraigh bunú Chumann Barra na Gaeilge go mór leis sin, agus imeachtaí d’fhorbairt phroifisiúnta leanúnach á reáchtáil acu d’aturnaetha, d’abhchóidithe agus do mhic léinn. Tá tábhacht nua leis an nGaeilinn i gcúrsaí fostaíochta agus lear mór daoine ceaptha mar dhlítheangeolaithe agus oifigigh eile in institiúid na hEorpa. Tá aitheantas úr ann don dtábhacht a bhaineann leis an nGaeilinn i gcleachtas an dlí, agus aithnítear gur acmhainn luachmhar í don dlíodóir. Bhí sé sin fíor go pointe i gcónaí leis an dlí bunreachtúil agus le Rannóg an Aistriúcháin. Toisc gur córas aonteangach Béarla a bhí ann nuair a ghlac an Stát seilbh ar an gcóras dlí, tá sé tar éis tamall maith de bhlianta a thógaint chun an áit seo a bhaint amach cé gurb í an Ghaeilinn an phríomhtheanga oifigiúil ó 1937 i leith. Ní mór aitheantas ar leith a thabhairt do UCC, agus an tábhacht a ghabhann leis an gcúrsa Dlí agus Gaeilge anseo atá tar éis dlítheangeolaithe, abhchóidithe agus léachtóirí a oiliúint atá tar éis an Ghaeilinn a bhreith leo go réimsí éagsúla den dlí. Tá súil agam go mbeidh an podchraoladh seo in áis dóibh siúd atá ag plé le cúrsaí dlí agus an gnáthphobal.

As Irish is now not only the first official language of the State but also a full working language of the European Union, the Irish language has regained after almost a millennium - its status as a language of international import. The ramifications of this re-emergence onto the global stage have meant that not only is the skillset there to produce projects and services such as a legal podcast in Irish, but it has also created the demand. Our listenership ranges from Galway to Luxembourg and we hope that in addition to serving these listeners that these podcasts will be a future valuable archive of material for students of Law and Irish in UCC.