Irish Week / Seachtain na Gaeilge

This article describes what Irish Week/ Seachtain na Gaeilge is and where to go for more information.

The biggest Irish language festival in Ireland and in the world!

Seachtain na Gaeilge le Energia is an international Irish language festival, which is the biggest celebration of our native language and culture that takes place in Ireland and around the world every year. Everyone is given the opportunity to enjoy the Irish language by taking part in the festival, including native speakers, learners and those with a few words, by providing entertaining and fun calendar events for all types of interest and all age groups. Voluntary and community groups, local councils, schools, literary and musical groups, and sports, art and cultural organizations organize events in their own organization for Seachtain na Gaeilge. The Irish language belongs to everyone, and every community belongs in Seachtain na Gaeilge with Energia – Try It – Surprise Yourself!

Seachtain na Gaeilge runs from the 1st to the 17th of March each year.

Seachtain na Gaeilge was started in 1902 and is well known amongst the Irish public. Although the festival has blossomed in recent years and grown to two weeks instead of one, the name hasn’t changed – it is still Seachtain na Gaeilge. You can take part in the festival in many ways:

• Organizing an event for the festival – there are are lots of ideas and suggestions available on snag.ie/events
• Attend a festival event – a list of all the events is available on our website every year.
• Use Irish more during the festival: at home, with your friends, on the phone, in your emails and posts on social media – resources are available to help you on snag.ie/resources
• Watch the TV programmes, listen to the radio programs and read the newspapers which will be doing stories about the festival and Irish itself during the festival
• Buy the official festival program published by the Irish Independent each year, the only place to have the full list of events printed as well as articles, interviews, sports, music and technology features. This magazine is great for learners and those who are interested in new developments regarding the Irish language.

For more ideas, you can have a look at snag.ie

Updated: May 2024