Seachtain na Gaeilge (English: ''Irish language week''), known for sponsorship purposes as Seachtain na Gaeilge le Energia, is an annual international festival promoting the

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

and

culture Culture ( ) is a concept that encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and Social norm, norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, Social norm, customs, capabilities, Attitude (psychology), attitudes ...

, both in Ireland and all around the world. Established in 1902, it is the biggest Irish language festival in the world, reaching over 1 million people on 5 continents each year.

Events

The festival lasts seventeen days and begins on St. David's Day on 1 March and runs until

St Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chris ...

on 17 March each year, with community-organised events celebrated all over Ireland and the world, such as céilís, concerts,

quiz A quiz is a form of mind sport in which people attempt to answer questions correctly on one or several topics. Quizzes can be used as a brief Educational assessment, assessment in education and similar fields to measure growth in knowledge, abil ...

zes, competitions and

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually some variety ...

s. Many sporting events are organised during Seachtain na Gaeilge. In 2018, Seachtain na Gaeilge le Energia coincided with Rith.

History

Seachtain na Gaeilge was founded as part of the

Gaelic Revival The Gaelic revival () was the late-nineteenth-century national revival of interest in the Irish language (also known as Gaelic) and Irish Gaelic culture (including folklore, mythology, sports, music, arts, etc.). Irish had diminished as a sp ...

Conradh na Gaeilge (; historically known in English as the Gaelic League) is a social and cultural organisation which promotes the Irish language in Ireland and worldwide. The organisation was founded in 1893 with Douglas Hyde as its first president, when it emer ...

in 1902, and has gone from strength to strength in recent years. Like its earliest Irish ancestors, the 14th-century '' Gairm Sgoile'' (

Early Modern Irish Early Modern Irish () represented a transition between Middle Irish and Modern Irish. Its literary form, Classical Gaelic, was used in Ireland and Scotland from the 13th to the 18th century. Classical Gaelic Classical Gaelic or Classical Irish ( ...

: "Summoning", or "Gathering", "of the ardicSchool") and the 18th-century

Munster Munster ( or ) is the largest of the four provinces of Ireland, located in the south west of the island. In early Ireland, the Kingdom of Munster was one of the kingdoms of Gaelic Ireland ruled by a "king of over-kings" (). Following the Nor ...

''Cúirt'' ("Poetic Court), Seachtain na Gaeilge includes a contest between composers of Irish poetry in the

Irish-language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenou ...

. Energia has been a sponsor of the festival since 2017. "Úsáid do Theanga" (English: "''Use your language''") was the motto of the festival in 2020. In 2018, the

University of Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

, celebrated the 30th anniversary of Connaught Irish Modernist poet

Máirtín Ó Direáin Máirtín Ó Direáin (; 29 November 1910 – 19 March 1988) was an Irish poet from the Aran Islands Gaeltacht. Along with Seán Ó Ríordáin and Máire Mhac an tSaoi, Ó Direáin was, in the words of Louis de Paor, "one of a trinity of poets ...

's death by making him one of the main themes of their annual celebration of Seachtain na Gaeilge. The title of the event and exhibit, which drew on university, State, and private archives, was ''"Máirtín Ó Direáin – Fathach File'' / Reluctant

Modernist Modernism was an early 20th-century movement in literature, visual arts, and music that emphasized experimentation, abstraction, and Subjectivity and objectivity (philosophy), subjective experience. Philosophy, politics, architecture, and soc ...

". Ó Direáin's daughter Niamh (née Ní Direáin) Sheridan, spoke at the event, and was joined by her daughter and her grandson.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official website
Annual events in Ireland Irish language organisations Non-profit organisations based in the Republic of Ireland Linguistic societies Festivals in Ireland 1902 establishments in Ireland Spring (season) in the Republic of Ireland Verse contests