About Us
Fondúireacht na Gaeilge has been established to raise funds for Irish language projects which are not supported by the State or which are only part-supported by the State.
The basis of our approach is as follows:
That it is Irish speakers themselves rather than the State who have the power to ensure the survival of Irish as a living community language.
Therefore the Irish speaking community has to take responsibility for the future of Irish, and arising from this premise, community and educational projects should be established to develop Irish speaking communities where Irish will be both the community and the native language of those communities, and by doing so
ensure the sustainability of Irish as a community language
Five principal areas of activity have been chosen by the founders for which financial support will be sought:
- The establishment of a network of Family Support Centres in which there will be crèches, playgroups, after-school clubs and classes for parents who wish to raise their children through Irish.
- To give support to Irish language youth organisations to set-up activities centered around all-Irish and Gaeltacht schools.
- Third-level education in a context of innovation and of the development of the language as an instrument of communication in sectors at the forefront of knowledge.
- The establishment of Irish language cultural centres in the main cities.
- Housing schemes for Irish speakers both within and without the Gaeltacht
Our approach is therefore two-pronged:
- To connect up the existing Irish language institutions such as the schools, playgroups, youth organisations etc so as to create value added benefits for Irish speakers, i.e. increasing the opportunity for Irish speakers (and learners) to use Irish and by so doing to strengthen the use of the language by building Irish language socialising networks.
- To take this dynamic forward to new Irish language physical communities both within and without the Gaeltacht.
Independent financial resources are essential to achieve this.
The Fondúireacht will engage in a national and international campaign to attract funding:
- From private sources both in Ireland and abroad
- From business
- From international foundations, and
- From the Irish speaking community itself
