• President of Ireland launches first major monolingual Irish dictionary
• €3.1 million investment in language planning

Foras na Gaeilge is proud to present the 2025 End of Year Statement to the public. The statement provides a brief overview of some of Foras na Gaeilge’s most significant achievements in the areas in which we were most active during 2025.  

This work included development support for community groups, support for the six Irish Language Lead Organisations, and for the Irish language media, by collaborating with them to develop opportunities for the public to use Irish. The work also incorporates 520 grants provided by Foras na Gaeilge to groups in the community, the activities that facilitated this, and the employment in the Irish language sector that has been provided as a result of our support for 227 jobs – an increase of 7 jobs from 2024.  

From year to year, Foras na Gaeilge and our partners deal with a very wide range of areas that are necessary to support a minority language for it to be widely used in the community. This year-end summary includes this vital work in the areas of language planning at state level in both jurisdictions – lexicography work, terminology work, support for books and writing, and awareness. These are aspects of language planning at state level that are essential to all actions undertaken by other Government departments and organisations.  

The area of books, in terms of publishing, writing and reading, has flourished for a number of years, and this was evident in the sales of Áis in 2025, which was valued at €1.1 million. 

This is the result of the work of the many partners including publishers, writers, shop owners, schools, and partners in other organisations – An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta, Children's Books Ireland, World Book Day, Cumann na Scríbhneoirí, and the Department of Rural, Community and Gaeltacht Development who have increased funding for this area to €2m in 2026. An Gúm’s Christmas launch was a testament to this vitality, when the President of the GAA, Jarlath Burns, launched 13 books published by Foras na Gaeilge's publishing company. 

The Board of Foras na Gaeilge is proud of the pioneering work being undertaken in the field of lexicography. A historic milestone was reached in 2025 when the President of Ireland, Catherine Connolly, launched the New Irish Language Dictionary before Christmas – the first online dictionary of its kind. This dictionary will make a significant contribution to the continued development of the Irish language, and there is no doubt that it will influence the public's attitude towards the Irish language in the years to come. 

Chairperson of Foras na Gaeilge, Professor Regina Uí Chollatáin said;  

"Foras na Gaeilge has an important advisory role, and I am very pleased that representatives of ours were involved at the highest level in the current discussion on the three major government education policies currently being developed in the south, namely the Policy on Irish-medium Education, the Action Plan for the Irish Language in English-Medium Schools and the National Plan for Irish in Early Childhood Learning and Care, and in Childcare. These policies will transform the way in which the learning and acquisition of Irish is treated in the south in the coming years. In addition, Foras na Gaeilge representatives are central to the development of the Executive's Strategy for the Irish Language in the north, which will be the first of its kind in the history of the state." 

Foras na Gaeilge Chief Executive, Seán Ó Coinn, said; 

"The Foras na Gaeilge team has had a fruitful year across all the areas for which we are responsible during 2025. A lot of time was spent during the year, trying to ensure that the funding available to Foras na Gaeilge would be increased in 2026, which would ensure that we would not have to impose cuts on our grantees. This work came to fruition when Minister Calleary TD announced that he would be providing over €2m in increase to Foras na Gaeilge in 2026. This will ensure that we can build on what has been achieved in 2025." 

Ends

Copies of the 2025 End of Year Statement and Highlights 

A PDF is attached to this and is available at the link below. A very limited number of printed copies will be available on request. 

Images  

Images can be downloaded from this link. 

Additional images can be provided upon request. 

More information & Additional Photographs 

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

Phone: 00 353 87 293 7686 

Email: adavitt@forasnagaeilge.ie