DUP member among Irish learners
A Londonderry DUP councillor is one of over 1,000 people who have signed up to learn the Irish language under the Líofa initiative, it was announced on Friday.
Culture Minister Carál Ní Chuilín launched the campaign at Stormont in September.
Its goal was to encourage 1,000 people to become fluent Irish speakers by 2015.
Fifteen weeks later, giving a progress update at the Cultúrlann in west Belfast, the minister has revealed the target has been well exceeded.
“The Liofa project’s initial target was to encourage 1,000 people from all walks of life across the North to sign up to becoming fluent in Irish by 2015,” she said.
“The fact that we have exceeded our target in less than four months is a great milestone and demonstrates that Irish is indeed a shared language that can be enjoyed by everyone.”
Amongst those taking part in the challenge are personalities from the local media and sport, including Cliftonville footballer Barry Johnston and Derry GAA legend Joe Brolly.
More than 100 police officers were among the first to join.
But perhaps the most surprising sign-up is Waterside Democratic Unionist Party councillor April Garfield-Kidd.
She told UTV a few eyebrows were raised when word got out about her involvement.
“Nobody has been negative but a few eyebrows have been raised,” she said.
“But it’s just another European language I want to get a bit more fluent in.”
With Derry’s year as UK City of Culture on the horizon in 2013, Ms Garfield-Kidd said she hopes more people will follow suit in the cross-community scheme.
She continued: “I’m absolutely starting from scratch but I just love when you get the chance to engage people in their own language.
“I would encourage everybody to go out and learn, because language is all about connecting with people.”
Sinn Féin MP Paul Maskey said Líofa has really caught the public’s imagination.
“Reaching the target so soon after launch shows the great interest throughout the community in the Irish language,” the West Belfast representative said.
“It is also great to see such a wide range of people from different backgrounds sign up to learn.”
Minister Ní Chuilín congratulated all those who had signed on and said she will be working to progress the scheme over the next four years.
She added: “In the coming months I will be enhancing the Liofa campaign with a view to supporting even more people, from all backgrounds, to engage in this exciting initiative.”
