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Grupa Taighde (Research)
Úsáid na Gaeilge i measc Lucht Ghnó Bhaile Choimín The use of Irish Among the Business Community of Blessington
following are extracts from research report…
Cúlra don Ghrúpa Taighe/Background to Research Project
In 2005, parents from Blessington came together to form a committee with the collective idea of establishing an Irish medium primary school in the area. No other Gaelscoil existed in the whole West Wicklow area. Over the next two years this committee worked tirelessly with assistance and guidance from the school patron, An Foras Patrúnachta na Scoileanna Lán-Ghaeilge, and from Gaelscoileanna, and the Department of Education and Science. On the 1st September 2006, history was made when Gaelscoil na Lochanna opened its doors for the first time.
Since that day, the school has built up and maintained a huge momentum for development and growth and has quickly established itself among the fabric of life in Blessington. Numbers enrolling continue to increase rapidly. Thirty six children ranging from ages four to eight years are currently enrolled, with the school operating waiting lists up to 2012. The school continues to receive tremendous support from parents and from members of the community.
As evidence of this support, a group of parents approached the Board of Management of the school with an idea to formally gauge that interest-level in the Irish language among the Blessington community. It was decided that a useful account could be gleaned from carrying out research on the business community of the area. And so, the Board of Management commissioned a team of parents to conduct the research during the first school term of 2007.
Aidhm/Aim
The aim was asess the use and potential influence of the Irish Language in local businesses.
Achoimre/Summary
The Board of Management of Gaelscoil na Lochanna commissioned a team of parents to conduct research on businesses in the area. Ninety-five out of the 107 businesses (89%) contacted completed the one page research questionnaires. It was found that there is a significant difference between the amount of Irish that businesses are currently using and the amount of Irish they would like to use. While Irish is a language that is “never” (42%) heard spoken on businesses premises in Blessington, only 16 (17%) would “never” like to use Irish.
In fact, 27 businesses (29%) would like to speak Irish “frequently” in their daily working life. Fifty-two businesses (55%) said that they would be prepared to promote the use of Irish on their premises. The majority of businesses (61%) said that they would be willing to display signs in Irish on their premises. (Since the research, parents have been revisiting these businesses with display signs in Irish provided by Foras na Gaeilge).
Also, 60 (63%) businesses knew of the Gaelscoil and where it was located. (It was found that the longer the business has been in Blessington the less likely they were to know where the Gaelscoil was.)
Twenty five percent stated they would be “very likely” to support activities of the school.
It would seem that “Gaeilge” has a bright future among business community of Blessington.
Plé/Discussion
The board congratulates the research team on their great work in completing this extensive research project. It gives an accurate account of the current and potential use of Irish language among the business community of the Blessington area.
The results seem to signal a new era for the Irish language in the town. While the research, not surprisingly, reveals a current infrequent use of Irish in the business community, it also reveals a significant positive feeling among businesses towards the language. This is all the more interesting as historically, Blessington would not have had a strong link to the Irish language. Also, the board feels that the research findings might indicate of a more widespread sense of regret among the adult generation for not having as much Irish as they would like to have.
The next step must be to build on this general current feeling of goodwill towards Irish. The community of Gaelscoil na Lochanna are encouraged, now more than ever, to use more and more Irish around the town. We welcome the research teams’ plans to distribute signage in Irish to businesses in the area and offer our support here.
Also, ahead of Seachtain na Gaeilge 2008 (Márta 3ú-17ú) the school would like to organise a school based project to send businesses a few Irish phrases and a good wish for Seachtain na Gaeilge. If this proved the successful the school would recommend building on this annually.
Finally, the board supports the wide distribution of this valuable piece of research.
Click here to download our full research report
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