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Home
Age Groups
Age Group 4 and under
Irish names
Playgroups
Using Irish with your children
Speaking Irish to your grandchildren
Raising children with Irish outside the Gaeltacht
Raising children through Irish in the Gaeltacht
Age Group 4 - 12
Benefits of All-Irish Education
Irish Colleges (Gaeltacht Summer Courses)
The Gaelbhratach
Age Group 12 - 18
Irish-Medium Schools
Benefits of All-Irish Education
Summer Colleges
The Gaelbhratach
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PEIG.ie Newsletter
Services Available through Irish
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The Gaeltacht
Community Groups
Irish Language Centres
Business Supports for the Irish Language
Irish Language Festivals
Irish Week / Seachtain na Gaeilge
Festivals
5 Tips
Awareness Events
Irish-language Books
Irish Language Podcasts
Television and radio in Irish
Lead organisations
Learn
Learning Irish
All-Irish Secondary Schools
Playgroups
Irish-Medium Schools
Irish in English-speaking schools
Irish Third-Level Courses
Irish-language services for schools
Terminology and Grammar Tools Online
Rights
The Official Languages ​​Act 2003
Irish Language Strategies in the Republic and in the North
Irish Language Commissioner
The European Charter for Minority Languages
Using state services through Irish
Get Involved with Conradh na Gaeilge
Campaigns
Research and Submissions
Employment
Irish Language Careers Booklet
Irish language jobs in Europe
Irish language jobs in Ireland
Information Sheet on Job Possibilities
Top tips for people looking for jobs with Irish
Vacancies
FAQs

Benefits of All-Irish Education

This article outlines some of the advantages of Irish-medium education.


When raised through the medium of Irish, valuable advantages can be seen in the fields of:

  • The speed at which writing and reading is learned
  • The ability to comprehend and learn more complex languages
  • The development of communication and social skills
  • Future employability and willingness to learn
  • Creative thinking development
  • Being central to the modern revival of the Irish language
  • Economic and socio-economic success

There are many reasons parents chose Irish-medium schools for their children, including the following:

  • It’s very important to them that their children can speak Irish well
  • They see that it gives their children and insight into their own culture and other cultures
  • It instils pride in their children in their culture, their language and in themselves
  • It gives their children competencies in speaking, writing and reading in two languages, with all the associated benefits of bilingualism
  • They receive an excellent standard of education
  • Contributes to the development of their children’s self-confidence and identity

According to research on bilingual education published by An Foras Pátrúnachta, the following are some of the benefits to students:

  • Higher academic performance (Gallagher & Hanna, 2002).
  • A greater ability to learn a third and fourth language (Cenoz & Valencia 1994).
  • Understanding and openness towards other cultures (Gallagher & Hanna, 2002).
  • An improvement in cognitive functioning in creativeness and communication (Bialystok et al. 2005).
  • Higher grades in English and in Mathematics (Ionad Taighde Oideachais, 2011)
  • A higher awareness of identity, culture and understanding of community (Baker, 2003)
  • An increase in self-confidence (Baker, 2003)
  • Improved communication and social skills (Cummins, 2000)

Visit Gaeloideachas for  more information on the advantages of Irish-medium education. 

Further Reading

Date updated: September 2023