February 17, 2011
By Staff Reporter
These organizations have a common objective regarding the Irish language: they wish to improve the status of the
Irish language and basically improve the condition of the language here in the U.S.
One problem I have become aware of during the past few years of living in the U.S. is that Irish language events often take place on the same day, weekend or week. We really ought to work with one another to make sure that these events are not scheduled at the same time. It’s something that can easily be done, and really is imperative if we are to preserve and promote the language.
There should be a structured plan or diary drawn up at the beginning of each year, listing all Irish language events that are due to take place in the coming year. Every reasonable effort should be made to avoid any clashes of timetables. It’s such a shame when events are scheduled for the same day, as it limits the number of people who can attend each event. We shouldn’t have to choose one Irish language event over another — we should be able to attend as many as possible with absolutely no conflict of schedule.
It would be relatively easy to do, and it’s something I would be more than happy to oversee and to implement. I would also attend as many events as possible and write about them all in future columns but it’s something that we, the Irish language teachers and lecturers, need to work together on in order for it to work — so let’s get to it!
I organized an Irish language teachers of North America meeting, which was held at the Irish Arts Center last week. I was delighted to meet with teachers and sit down and create a structured schedule, but because there were other Irish language events occurring that weekend – one in Long Beach and another in Canada — it was difficult to come up with a concrete plan, since some teachers were attending the other events.
We really ought to have all of our events on different dates so we can all attend as many as possible and, as a result, give the Irish language a new energy in the United States and Canada. We have a common aim, interest and objective, so why not make an effort to schedule only one event per weekend so no overlapping occurs? Events would be better attended, and the language would definitely be in a better state because of this.
I plan on creating an Irish language calendar of events which I will publish in a future column, so if you are organizing any events relating to the Irish language, please email me at irishlanguage@gmail.com and I’ll be sure to include your events.
B