First ‘Irish Day’ on campus
Staff and students of UCC have come together to organise 'Lá na Gaeilge i UCC' (Irish Language Day in UCC) tomorrow, Thursday, March 15th.
The event will encourage as many staff and students as possible to use what Irish they have on the day. Pobal Gaeilge UCC (UCC staff Irish group), and four student groups - An Chuallacht, the Traditional Music Society, An Cumann Drámaíochta and the Students’ Union - have come together for the first time to organise an Irish Language Day on campus. The day will highlight the Irish language and encourage its use in the daily life of the university. The event coincides with the international Irish Language Festival, Seachtain na Gaeilge (5-17 March).
Staff and students will be encouraged to use cúpla focal Gaeilge (a few words of Irish) throughout the day. There will also be various Irish language activities taking place on campus:
10.30-11.30 Coffee Morning le Gaeilge in the Student Centre Bar
13.15-14.00 Irish Language Drama 'Éilís' (based on 'Alice in Wonderland') in the Aula Maxima
16.00-17.00 1-hour Gael Taca Radio Programme on the Irish Language in UCC on UCC Campus Radio 98.3FM
18.30-20.30 Oíche Sóisialta (Social Evening) with live music in the Student Centre Bar
An Chuallacht, the student Irish language group, have designated the day 'Lá No Béarla' when its members will try to avoid speaking English and use Irish as much as possible. They will have a stand outside the Boole Library for the day encouraging people to wear a sticker to indicate they are happy to speak Irish for Lá na Gaeilge.
Cáit de Barra, Pobal Gaeilge UCC, one of the organisers of the event said "We want to hear Irish spoken all over campus on Lá na Gaeilge. We are looking to encourage staff and students to speak Irish wherever they are and whatever they are doing during the day. Irish is for everyone and we feel UCC should be leading the way in encouraging the use of the language in day-to-day life."
All events are open to the public and are free of charge so the people of Cork are encouraged to come along and participate in 'Lá na Gaeilge i UCC' (Irish Language Day in UCC). Bígí linn...!