Raising Children through Irish in the Gaeltacht

Why raise your child through Irish?

Raising a child through Irish can provide them with valuable advantages in the following areas:

• 1. Learning to read, write and count
• 2. Learning new languages
• 3. Developing communication skills
• 4. Finding a job later in life
• 5. Making new friends
• 6. Strengthening their sense of identity

Tús Maith

Tús Maith provide support for those raising families through Irish and those who simply want to use more Irish at home. They organise playgroups, home visits as well as Scléip an tSathairn, which features a different family activity each month. Details are posted on their Facebook page and website. 

Tuismitheoirí na Gaeltachta 

“Tuismitheoirí na Gaeltachta” was set up in 2011. It is a voluntary organisation that gives support to Irish-speaking families in the Gaeltacht. “Tuismitheoirí na Gaeltachta” receives funding from the Department of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht and Ealaín na Gaeltachta. The group began in the Connemara Gaeltacht and has since spread to the Donegal Gaeltacht. They organise family events on a regular basis in both areas. You can contact them through their Facebook pages; click on the links below.     

Family Language Support Programme

The aim of the Department of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht’s Family Language Support Programme is to strengthen the Irish language as the household and community language in the Gaeltacht, in accordance with the 20 Year Strategy for the Irish language 2010-2030. Under this programme, the department intends to undertake 12 specific measures to support Gaeltacht families who are raising or who wish to raise their children through Irish. A free family language pack is availble to these families. You can enquire about these language packages here.