It has been announced by the Minister of State for the Gaeltacht, Patrick O’Donovan T.D., that he has approved a grant of up to €39,459 to Gaillimh le Gaeilge under the Irish Language Support Scheme (Capital) to enable them to conduct a feasibility study on the development of an Irish Language Cultural Centre in Galway City.
Galway is designated as a Gaeltacht Service Towns under the Gaeltacht Act 2012 and a Language Plan was prepared and approved for the city in 2020.
The main objective of the Language Plan is to increase the use of Irish as a community language in the city on an incremental basis and the commissioning of a feasibility study for an Irish Language Cultural Centre is detailed under Measure 4.
Gaillimh le Gaeilge works in partnership with Galway City Council, the Galway Chamber and other groups to develop and strengthen bilingualism in the city.
Minister O’Donovan had this to say as he was announcing the grant:
I am excited that the possibilities in this space are being explored by Gaillimh le Gaeilge. It is clear that such an Irish Language Cultural Centre would have a hugely positive impact on the economic, social and cultural life of the city.
Of course, it would support language planning activities in the Language Planning Areas around the city as well and it is in line with other Government commitments given in policies such as the Action Plan for the Irish Language 2018-2023 and the National Development Plan 2021-2030.
To that end, I am pleased, as Minister of State, that my Department is in a position to provide a grant to Gaillimh le Gaeilge to enable the organisation to complete this feasibility study. I commend the organisation for its efforts in this area and I am looking forward to seeing the results of the work in the future.
More information on Galway City’s Language Plan can be found here.
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