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Minister Praises Gold & Silver Fáinne Scheme
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Dr Art Hughes, Chairperson, McCracken Cultural Society, Education Minister, Caitríona Ruane MLA, with pupils from Shimna Integrated College, Newcastle recieving their Gold Fáinne's and Certificates.
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Praising the work of the McCracken Cultural Society, Education Minister, Caitríona Ruane, has stressed the importance of giving young people the opportunity to learn another language in school.
The Minister was speaking at a ceremony in Parliament Buildings for over 80 school children from across the North who participated in The McCracken Cultural Society’s, Gold and Silver Fáinne Scheme.
Before presenting the pupils with their certificates and Fáinnes the Minister said: “I think it’s very positive that there are so many languages in schools. With programmes like the Fáinne Scheme it provides our children and young people with the opportunity to learn more about the Irish language, history and culture.
“This is very important and one of the reasons why I introduced the Primary Language Programme in schools. In a school population where overall the numbers are falling, demand for Irish-medium education is continuously growing and is now the fastest growing education sector in the North.
“The work of The McCracken Cultural Society and the teachers in the participating schools is giving our young people a wonderful opportunity to broaden their language skills and to be presented with a recognised qualification for their level of spoken Irish. It also enables newcomer children to learn about their new home and friends.”
The Gold & Silver Fáinne Scheme is run in schools by The McCracken Cultural Society for pupils between the ages of 11 and 18. The scheme has been running since 2003 and is currently being implemented in eight schools throughout the North with approximately 1,000 pupils involved in the scheme
The Minister continued: “The more opportunities we can provide to support languages in schools, the greater benefits for our young people and for our future. Everyone involved in this scheme should be very proud of their hard work and achievements.”
Also speaking at the ceremony, the chairperson of the McCracken Cultural Society, Dr Art Hughes stressed the importance of a valuable education and that more and more employment opportunities (particularly in the education, media and public sectors) are being created for fluent Irish speakers throughout Ireland and indeed in the European Union.
Amongst the schools that received awards at the ceremony in the Long Gallery, Parliament Buildings were:
Shimna Integrated College, Newcastle
St Malachy’s College, Belfast
Our Lady of Mercy, Ballysillan
Dominican College, Fortwilliam
St Rose’s High School, Belfast
Bunscoil Bheann Mhadagáin, Belfast
Bunscoil Mhic Reachtain, Belfast
St Patrick's College, Bearnageeha, Belfast
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At the Presentation Ceremony in Stormont (L-R): Gearóid Trimble, Programme Manager, Foras na Gaeilge, Niall Mathews, Irish Language Development Officer McCracken Cultural Society, Niamh McCann McCracken Cultural Society, Education Minister, Caitríona Ruane MLA, Dr Art Hughes, Chairperson McCracken Cultural Society.
