€500,000 worth of grants approved & Edel Ní Chorráin appointed as Deputy Chief Executive/Director of Education Services

At a meeting of Foras na Gaeilge on the 23 June 2017 more than €500,000 of grants were approved in the areas of youth, writing and publishing.

Grants worth €345,401 were approved for the Youth Events Scheme 2017/18 which gives opportunities for use to young people which encourages them to use the Irish language in an enjoyable way. The grants will enable the grantees to organise at least 12 sessions during the school year focusing on young people between 3 years and 18 years old outside of school. Foras na Gaeilge is delighted that grants will be awarded to 86 grantees, more than twice the number of grantees who received funding in 2016 under the same scheme. It is estimated that more than 4,000 children will take part in the activities. Speaking of the decisions approved at the June meeting, Foras na Gaeilge Chairperson, Pól Ó Gallchóir, said that “it is a source of satisfaction for himself and for Foras na Gaeilge to be able to increase the grants approved in this area”.

In the area of publishing €131,430 worth of commissions were approved for the 2017 Commissions Scheme to support those involved in Irish language literature in catering for the demand in various areas of reading. As well as that, €32,500 will be awarded to potential new writers and mentors under the Mentoring Scheme 2017. This scheme gives writers at the start of their writing career the opportunity to get advice about their writing and the craft of writing in general from recognised writers.

The Foras na Gaeilge board welcomed the announcement that Edel Ní Chorráin has been appointed as Deputy Chief Executive / Director of Education Services of Foras na Gaeilge. Speaking today the Chief Executive of Foras na Gaeilge, Seán Ó Coinn, said, “I would like to congratulate Edel on her appointment and the staff and I are keenly looking forward to working with her in her new role. This is a vital post and although Edel will be based in the Foras na Gaeilge office, she will have education responsibilities for the whole country during a critical time in education with regard to the Irish language. Edel will bring a range of skills and experience with her to the post from the time she has spent as a teacher and an administrator in education.”

Edel will take up her duties as Deputy Chief Executive/Director of Education Services of Foras na Gaeilge in the Belfast office in mid-August.

End

Note to the Editor

  1. Biographical note: Edel Ní Chorráin

Edel Ní Chorráin grew up in Garrison in County Fermanagh. She is a graduate of the University of Ireland, Galway (BA in Irish and Mathematics). She attended Queen’s University Belfast, where she gained a Post Graduate Degree in Education and a M.Sc. in Education Multimedia. Edel has spent periods teaching in Coláiste Feirste in Belfast, in Coláiste Chineál Eoghain in County Donegal and as an Assistant Editor with Foras na Gaeilge. She was appointed as Education Manager for Irish-medium Education, Post-primary, with the Council for Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA) in 2012 and during that period she was responsible for providing resources to the Irish-medium post-primary sector in the north, including online resources.

  1. Foras na Gaeilge funding schemes

The Colmcille Small Grants Scheme, The Literature Projects Scheme 2018 and The Publishing Scheme 2018 have been announced by Foras na Gaeilge and all information is available here.

More funding schemes will be announced in the autumn of 2017.

Further Information:

 

Anna Davitt, Programme Manager: Communication, Marketing & Awareness, Foras na Gaeilge

Tel: 0035387 673 6175    

Email: adavitt@forasnagaeilge.ie