The festival was last in Belfast in 1997
Ireland’s oldest Irish language and arts gathering is about to return to Belfast, after almost 30 years since the last meeting in the northern capital.
Preparations are well underway to welcome up to 10,000 participants and spectators to Belfast later this month for Oireachtas na Samhna.
The city is hosting the festival from October 29 to November 2, with Gaeilgeoirí travelling from across the island of Ireland for five days of events across arts, music, sean-nós singing and the spoken word.
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The event itself is run and programmed by Oireachtas. It was first held in the Rotunda in Dublin in 1897 to provide a platform for traditional arts and now includes competitions, debates, film screenings, workshops, awards and more. As with previous events in Dublin, Cork, Killarney and other locations, all events at Oireachtas are delivered in Irish.
The majority of events at Oireachtas will be hosted in the ICC Belfast, An Cultúrlann, the Ulster Hall and the Europa Hotel, including Aonach an Oireachtais and Club na Féile, as well as smaller seminars, lectures and shows.
Belfast City Council, which led the successful bid to bring the event back to the city for the first time since 1997, has also provided £30,000 of grants to five Irish language organisations to deliver community-based arts activities in the run-up to the festival. They are An Droichead, Ionad Uíbh Eachach, Cumann Cultúrtha Mhic Reachtain, Ionad na Fuiseoige and Glór na Móna.
Delivered via Foras na Gaeilge’s Scéim Forbartha Líonraí Gaeilge (Irish Language Networks Development Scheme), funding has been used to put on everything from beginners’ language workshops and conversational classes through to events focusing on different aspects of Irish language and culture.
Deputy Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Paul Doherty, said: “Our council is pleased to help bring Oireachtas back to Belfast once again, and there’s a real sense of excitement now, with just two weeks to go until the ‘Gathering of the Gaels’ comes to town.
“Big events like this have a positive impact on our city – they support our retailers, tourism providers and hospitality venues, and they showcase Belfast to new visitors, highlighting what we have to offer and encouraging people to come back again.
“For Irish language speakers, Oireachtas is a unique and special opportunity to immerse themselves an Gaeilge and share their passion for protecting and nurturing the language.
“This reflects our council’s wider goal of ensuring all languages in our city are respected, fostered and celebrated. There are some brilliant events planned, city-wide, to fully embrace the festival and encourage both new and existing speakers to get involved in everything Oireachtas has to offer.”
The An Droichead programme includes a free talk on Samhain, a beson broom workshop (Sunday October 19) where participants will learn how to make a traditional broomstick from twigs and poles, and a walking trail on Thursday 23 October, hunting for Tuatha Dé Danann, the mythical fairy people of Ireland.
Funding has also been provided to Fís an Phobail to deliver schools workshops to pupils in Irish medium schools, highlighting the heritage of Oireachtas.
During September, pupils at Bunscoil Phobal Feirste, Bunscoil an tSléibhe Dhuibh and Gaelscoil na bhFál have been exploring the history of the festival, first held in Dublin in 1897, and learning more about specialist competitions, such as Corn Uí Riada (sean-nós singing), Steip (sean-nós dancing) and Lúibíní (two people answering each other in poetic verses).
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