Seachtain na Gaeilge (Irish Language Week) is an international Irish language festival and one of the biggest celebrations of our native language and culture that takes place each year in Ireland and in many other countries.

This year’s festival is running from 4 – 17 March 2013 as part of the celebrations for Bliain na Gaeilge and The Gathering Ireland 2013.

The festival gives an opportunity to everyone to enjoy Irish, whether you are a fluent speaker, learner or have a cúpla focal, with a calendar of entertaining and fun events for every type of interest and every age group.

Voluntary and community groups, local authorities, schools, libraries, and music, sports, arts and culture organisations organise events for Seachtain na Gaeilge in their local area.

Irish is for everyone, Seachtain na Gaeilge is for everyone – Croí na Teanga, It’s You!

A few Frequently Asked Questions!

Why does Seachtain na Gaeilge run longer than a week?

Seachtain na Gaeilge has been running since 1902 and so the brand name is widely recognised and understood across Ireland. With the festival growing from strength to strength in recent years, its duration has grown from a week to up to 2 weeks but without changing the name because of how recognised it is.

How can I take part?

There are loads of ways in which you can take part in the festival:

• Organise an event for Seachtain na Gaeilge – look at the Event Organisers section for some direction and advice

• Attend an event for Seachtain na Gaeilge – look at the Events section for a full list of events that will be running

• Use more Irish from day to day, at home, with your friends, on the phone, in your e-mails and social media posts – look at the Language Resources section for lists of phrases and other resources to help you out

• Watch some of the tv programs, listen to the radio shows and read the newspapers that will be covering the festival and the Irish language in general – look at the News & Media section for more information about festival coverage in the media

• Buy the official festival guide Sult 2013 that will be issued with the Irish Daily Star on Tuesday, 5 March, the only place where all festival events will be printed and there will also be tons of articles, interviews, and sports, music & technology features. It’s bilingual so it’s a great resource for learners and for anyone interested in the latest developments in the Irish language.
• Get your own free Albam Rí-Rá CD which will be available with a national newspaper! Famous Irish musicians singing their well-known songs as Gaeilge. More info to come ….

For more information about Seachtain na Gaeilge News and Events go to http://snag.ie/en/