Ruane marks 40 successful years of Irish Medium education in the north

Education Minister Caitríona Ruane has marked 40 years of Irish Medium education in the north.

The Minister hosted a reception at Parliament Buildings attended by around 200 parents, governors, pupils and teachers from Bunscoil Phobal Feirste in Belfast, the north’s first ever Irish Medium school, and others involved in Irish Medium education.

Bunscoil Phobal Feirste was founded with nine pupils in the west of the city, as part of the first Belfast Gaeltacht. The school now has an enrolment of around 288 pupils, including 52 full-time pre-school places. It operates within a vibrant local community and growing Irish Medium education sector with many of the pupils moving to post-primary education at Coláiste Feirste.

Speaking as she addressed attendees at the event, the Minister said: “I warmly congratulate Bunscoil Phobal Feirste and the gaeltacht community on their first 40 years of providing education in what is our native language. This pioneering school has led the growth of Irish Medium education in a thriving dynamic community. We now have around 3,500 children fully immersed in the Irish language across the north in 22 grant-aided Irish Medium schools and 11 Irish Medium units.

“I remain committed to promoting access to Irish Medium education in the many areas where demand exists and will continue working to deliver the obligations on us from the Good Friday Agreement and the St Andrew’s Agreement, particularly with regard to Acht na Gaeilge. Irish speakers deserve to have their rights respected and protected and in further recognition of this my Department has published a policy on use of the Irish language in education policy documents.”

Ms Ruane continued: “Our review of Irish Medium education will help the development of a strong and sustainable sector to benefit children and young people. Other reforms underway include providing greater access to pre-school education in the Irish language and funding for specialised curricular resources to help with teaching through the medium of Irish. The earlier we can introduce our children to a second language the richer their education will be.

“Indeed I had the pleasure of visiting Bunscoil Phobal Feirste in November of last year to launch the first batch of Irish language teaching resources.”

Concluding, the Minister said: “With Irish Medium education now an integral part of policy development, never again will it be treated as an add-on or after-thought, but rather on an equal footing that ensures the needs of the sector will not be neglected.

“Combined with the support and hard work of organisations such as Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta and Iontaobhas na Gaelscolaíochta, both Bunscoil Phobal Feirste and the Irish Medium education sector as a whole are well placed to continue flourishing well into the future.”

Notes to editors:

1. Over the past 40 years, over 8,000 children have been educated in Bunscoil Phobal Feirste.
2. Media queries to the Department of Education Press Office on 028 9127 9207. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.