Louth politicians attend Oireachtas na Samhna

Louth Sinn Féin’s Deputy Ruairí Ó Murchú and Cllr Sionainn McCann were among the thousands of Irish speakers who attended the Oireachtas na Samhna event in Belfast at Hallowe’en, with both public representatives taking part in question-and-answer sessions with audiences, all through Irish.

The event is Ireland’s oldest Irish language and arts gathering. It celebrates arts, music and spoken word, and features competitions, debates, film screenings and workshops all delivered in Irish, and back in Belfast for the first time in nearly 30 years.

The pair joined thousands of others at the International Convention and Exhibition Centre (ICC) in Belfast on Friday where they were joined by Sinn Féin activists at the party’s stall.

Deputy Ó Murchú and Cllr. McCann were involved in Q&A sessions about what can be done at governmental level to ensure that the Irish language continues to grow in Gaeltacht and other areas around the country.

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There was a ‘fireside panel discussion’ with Oireachtas members Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh, Deputy Ó Murchú, Deputy Barry Heneghan and Senator Shane Curley, that was organised by the Joint Committee on Irish, the Gaeltacht and the Irish-Speaking Community.

There was discussion about the impact of the housing crisis in Gaeltacht areas, ensuring there is a sufficient number of Irish teachers and the best means of delivering Irish medium education.

There was consensus on the need for more emphasis, planning and resources at government level in order to increase the number of people learning, speaking and being facilitated to use Irish on a day to day basis.

Deputy Ó Murchú said: “This was a wonderful event, which took place across four days in Belfast. Everything focused on the Irish language and bringing it to a wider audience through music, culture, arts and debate”.