Lead organisations

The article lists the 6 main Irish-language organisations.

There are six lead Irish language organisations, all funded by Foras na Gaeilge. Each organisation focuses on one of six specific areas of work, as seen below.

These lead organisations are as follows: Gaelscoileanna, Conradh na Gaeilge, Gael Linn, Oireachtas na Gaeilge, Glór na nGael and Cumann na bhFiann.

Gaelscoileanna Teo

Gaelscoileanna Teo focuses on the development of  Irish-medium schools at primary and at post-primary  level. This includes the provision of support  services for Irish-medium schools in Gaeltacht areas.

Conradh na Gaeilge

Conradh na Gaeilge is the democratic forum for the  Irish-speaking community and works on their behalf to promote the language throughout the whole of Ireland and around the world. Since its foundation on 31 July 1893, members of Conradh na Gaeilge have been actively promoting Irish in every aspect of life, from legal and educational affairs to the development of new media and services through Irish.

Cumann na bhFiann

Coláiste na bhFiann was founded 46 years ago with  one purpose in mind – to create opportunities for young people to use the Irish language outside of the school setting. By enabling young people to use Irish on a social basis, the language becomes normalised for them.

Gael Linn

Gael Linn was founded in 1953 and has been known since then as an entrepreneurial organisation. The main aim of the organisation is to foster and promote the Irish language and its heritage throughout Ireland, as a living language and as an expression of identity.

Glór na nGael

Glór na nGael is today tasked with responsibility for three areas of work: language in the family, language in business and enterprise and language in community development. They also offer visitors the use of their archives, both photographic and textual, which include a wide range of language plans and reports.

Oireachtas na Gaeilge

Oireachtas na Gaeilge is committed to promoting Irish-medium traditional arts and modern Irish-language literature. They organise a wide range of events throughout the year to celebrate these art forms, from literary competitions such as Comórtais Liteartha an Oireachtais to communications’ awards like Gradaim Chumarsáide an Oireachtais.

They also organise the biggest annual festival for the Irish-speaking community held each Halloween – Oireachtas na Samhna. Stage competitions in sean-nós, story-telling, new composition, music and more are held as part of the festival, as well as conferences, seminars, exhibitions, dramas and launches.

Updated: July 2023