The Kildare group leading the way in the Irish language revival

KILDARE can take pride in the fact that it is the first and only county in Ireland to adopt an Irish language plan for facilitating the spread and promotion of our native language.

An organistation that is at the forefront of that mission is Cill Dara le Gaeilge, set up in 2017 when the group began to set up the “groundbreaking” first ever language plan for any county in Ireland.

The group works hard to regenerate the public perception of Irish with fresh ideas, and to promote it as a “living language.” Daithí de Faoite, Cathaoirleach of Cill Dara le Gaeilge, believes wholeheartedly in this mission and has worked together with fantastic staff and volunteers to deliver Irish language events and opportunities in Kildare.

With events based primarily in Naas and Sallins, the group provides a great variety of activities for all ages and fluencies including the annual Féile na Sollán planned for this summer and the recent, successful Féile Sráide, which ran during the Seachtain na Gaeilge.

“We have had done comics through Irish. Art, cooking and dance workshops. We’ve done international events. We’ve had Irish classes through Arabic and Arabic classes through Irish. We really wanted to broaden the reach. There’s something in it for everyone,” said Daithí.

The group started in 2017 as they set off to put together their first language plan. In 2018 they had come up with a draft plan, and by 2019 they had published their five-year county plan.

The group recently published their second language plan in November 2024, which is set to be in place until 2030.

With plans to strengthen access to Irish language learning and events across other parts of Kildare, the group has set up dedicated community groups across different areas of Kildare: “We have structured community groups in different parts of Kildare in the five municipal areas,” said Daithí.

These areas include Naas, Maynooth, Leixlip, Newbridge and Athy.

As the winner of the National Lottery 2024 Good Causes Awards in the Irish Language category, the group were delighted to receive this achievement, celebrating the hard work they do.

“It was our first time to enter a competition. We knew it was going to be tough competition,” said DaithÍ.

“Winning was brilliant for the recognition it gave us. It also motivates us and helps us and gives us additional funding. The funding really helped us. Shout out to the National Lottery” For Irish language groups across the board, funding has decreased with the cuts that were announced in February of this year.

Foras na Gaeilge, which funds the group’s activities and processes, suffered massive cuts to its funding at the start of the year. This had a major knock-on effect on groups like Cill Dara na Gaeilge who felt the pressure.

Daithí explained: “Groups have been protesting because of this. The impact it had on us was that certain events we would run we just couldn’t.” “The challenge we have is on the funding side. We’re running with 3% lower funding than what was agreed in 2023.” With the funding from the 2024 award, the group was able to fund many important calendar events across the board such as the Meitheal na nÓg event.

“The National Lottery funding has given us a boost. We started a family group, a book club, and a walking club, providing options for people that are just learning the language.” With the group’s onboarding of their first full-time staff member in 2021, they are always looking for funding opportunities to expand their team.

With two now working full-time in the group, Daithí and the other members have an ambition for the addition of a full-time officer for youth and family.

The group also wishes to set up a cultural centre in Kildare down the line to act as a base where people can come together to speak Irish, but also to partake in other Irish cultural activities.

Aside from working with fluent Irish speakers, Cill Dara le Gaeilge wishes to broaden their scope to include all levels of Irish speakers, including students in English speaking schools.

“We want to provide opportunities to hear it spoken on the street. We need a creative solution to break traditional moulds,” said Daithí.

Attitudes towards it [the Irish language] is softening, so who knows where we might be in 10 years. We need to provide opportunities to those that don’t go to Gaelscoils,” he concluded.

With the recent launch of the National Lottery’s 2025 Good Causes Awards, community groups are invited to apply for the chance to win up to €25,000 for Good Cause of the Year and €10,000 for Category Winner, in one of seven categories, one of which being the Irish Language.

Groups in Kildare should get their applications in soon for this wonderful funding opportunity before the deadline at 5pm on 11 April.