Ar an 19 Nollaig 2022 chuaigh ár mbliain ghrúpa ar thuras go Béal Feirste. D’fhágamar ag 7.30 r.n. agus shroicheamar Skainos in oirthear Bhéal Feirste. Mar a deir an t-eagraíocht féin, is “forbairt athghiniúint uirbeach in Oirthear Bhéal Feirste é Skainos a chuireann spás roinnte ar fáil le haghaidh claochlú agus athnuachan phobail”.
I Skainos, labhair muid le bean darbh ainm Linda Ervine. Is Oifigeach Forbartha Gaeilge í Linda in Oirthear Bhéal Feirste. Labhair sí linn faoina cuid oibre chun an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn ina ceantar féin, agus na deacrachtaí a bhí aici. Chuir sí béim ar a streachailt ag iarraidh an Ghaeilge a chur chun cinn i gceantar Aontachtach, chomh maith leis an méid daoine sa cheantar sin a chur fáilte roimh an teanga.
Tar éis dúinn Skainos a fhágáil, shroicheamar Raidió Fáilte ag 11 r.n.. Anseo, chuamar isteach i dhá ghrúpa. Chuaigh na buachaillí ar thuras timpeall ar Raidió Fáilte, stáisiún raidió pobail Gaeilge a chraoltar as Béal Feirste.
Chuaigh na cailíní ar thuras siúlóide timpeall ‘Slí na Gaeltachta’ leis an treoraí Jake Mac Siacais. Bhí am iontach againn agus rinne ár dtreoraí Jake an turas an-shuimiúil agus taitneamhach dúinn. Thaispeáin an chuid seo den turas dúinn cé mhéad staire atá ar fud Bhéal Feirste, fiú in áiteanna nach mbeifeá ag súil leis. Molaim an turas seo má tá suim agat sa stair, nó go díreach ag iarraidh níos mó a fhoghlaim faoin gceantar.
Thug an tsiúlóid díreach chuig an gcultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich muid. Anseo, bhí lón an-bhlasta againn - má tá tú sa cheantar, is seoid í an bhialann seo! Fuaireamar deis sa chultúrlann freisin an taispeántas "Brexit Sausages" le Shiro Masuyama a fheiceáil.
D'fhágamar an chultúrlann agus shiúil muid go dtí an mheánscoil Ghaeilge in aice láimhe, Coláiste Feirste, áit ar labhair muid le múinteoir a d'inis dúinn faoina thaithí le linn na dtríoblóidí agus conas a bhí sé féin páirteach san "éalú H-Bloc" cáiliúil. Chuir sé béim ar thábhacht na Gaeilge agus é sa phríosún agus d’fhoghlaim roinnt príosúnach an teanga óna gcillíní fiú. Thug sé cuntas spéisiúil ar a thaithí dúinn agus bhain an rang-ghrúpa an-taitneamh as.
Ar deireadh, bhí ceardlann againn le Seán Mac Corraidh, Léachtóir sinsearach le Gaeloideachas i gColáiste Ollscoile Naomh Mhuire, anseo rinneamar athbhreithniú ar ár lá agus roghnaíomar na codanna ab fhearr linn.
D'fhágamar ansin agus rinneamar ár mbealach ar ais abhaile go Leitir Ceanainn.
Bhí lá iontach againn agus d’fhoghlaimíomar go leor faoin stair áitiúil agus tábhacht na Gaeilge sa cheantar.
Ba mhaith linn ár mbuíochas a ghabháil le Líonra Leitir Ceanainn agus lenár múinteoirí as an turas a eagrú. Bhaineamar an-sult as.
le Rachel Ní Phrís,
Rang na hIdirbhliana, Coláiste Ailigh, Leitir Ceanainn
On the 19th of December 2022, our year group went on a trip to Belfast. We left at 7:30am, and began our day by visiting Skainos in East Belfast. As the organisation itself says "Skainos is an urban regeneration development in inner East Belfast providing shared space for community transformation and renewal".
Here we talked to Linda Ervine, who is an Irish Language Officer in East Belfast. Linda spoke about her work to promote Irish in her own community, and the difficulties she faced while doing so. She emphasised the struggles of trying to integrate Irish into the Unionist community, but also described the amount of people who warmly welcomed the language in the area.
After leaving Skainos, we reached Raidió Fáilte at 11 am, and here we split into two groups. The boys went on a tour of Raidió Fáilte, the Irish radio station which broadcasts live from Belfast, while the girls went on a walking tour, 'Slí na Gaeltachta', led by Jake Mac Siacais. We had a great time, and our tour guide Jake made the tour really interesting and enjoyable for us all. This part of the trip showed us just how much history is to be found in Belfast, even in areas where you'd least expect it. I would certainly recommend this tour if you are interested in history, or would just like to learn more about the region.
The walk brought us straight to 'Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich'. Here we had a lovely lunch - if you're ever in the area, this restaurant is a hidden gem! We also got to see the exhibition titled "Brexit Sausages" by Shiro Masuyama here.
We then left the cultúrlann, and walked to the nearby Irish-medium secondary school, where we spoke with a teacher who told us about his experience during the Troubles and how he participated in the famous 'H-Block escape'. He placed particular emphasis on the importance of Irish during his time in the prison, stating how many prisoners actually learnt the language from within their jail cells. He gave us a memorable account of his experience, and our class found it very enjoyable.
To end the day, we had a workshop with Seán Mac Corraidh, a senior lecturer with Gaeloideachas in St. Mary's University College, where we reviewed our day and picked out our favourite parts.
We then left and made our way back home to Letterkenny.
We had a fantastic day, and learned loads about the local history and importance of Irish in the area.
We would like to thank Líonra Leitir Ceanainn and our teachers for organising this trip. We thoroughly enjoyed it.
Written by Rachel Ní Phris,
Transition Year student of Coláiste Ailigh, Letterkenny.