14 January 2000

HISTORIC STEP FOR RATHLIN ISLAND AND IRISH LANGUAGE

The Irish language and Rathlin Island took a step into the future today when Dr Sean Farren, the Minister for Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment, launched a new video conferencing link between the island and Irish language classes in Dunloy.

Speaking on Rathlin at the launch of the new link, Dr Farren said: "One of the central themes of the work of the Executive will be to ensure that there is equality of opportunity and social inclusion across the board in Northern Ireland. That is particularly important in higher and further education.

"The opening of this communications link is a very real step along that road. It is also an important building block in our efforts to ensure parity of esteem for our cultural traditions, because to achieve such parity we have to get to know and understand those traditions. This link will help foster that understanding."

The video conferencing link has been established by Comhchoiste na Gaeilige, which, in partnership with the Causeway Institute for Further and Higher Education, runs adult Irish language classes on a cross community basis for around 200 students in North Antrim.

The link will enable Rathlin islanders to play a full part in these classes by allowing them to interact with a teacher and class in Dunloy.

Dr Farren paid tribute to the work of Comhchoiste na Gaelige and the Causeway Institute and added: "It is very appropriate that this new facility should be launched at the beginning of not only a new year, a new century, a new millennium, but more especially a new era for everyone in Northern Ireland."

 

NOTE TO EDITORS:

A copy of Dr Farren's speech (in Irish) is available here.

The project has been funded entirely by Bord na Gaeilge/An Forais Teanga.

Rathlin Island is Northern Ireland's only inhabited island and was the North's last traditional Gaeltacht area. Irish was commonly spoken there up to the 1950s.

For further information on Comhchoiste na Gaeilge please contact Micheal Breslin on 012656 57096.

For photographs, interviews, etc, with Dr Farren please contact Simon Burrowes on 01232 257831 or 0850 976067.