Ceann na Roinne
C. Bean Uí Mhaoláin
Múinteoir Gaeilge
J. Bean Mhic Cionnaith
Fáilte Uí Cheallaigh go Roinn na Gaeilge, Coláiste Loreto.
Welcome to the Irish department!
“Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam”
A country without a language is a country without a soul.
From Year 8 to Year 14, we welcome pupils to take the journey of learning, living and loving this beautiful and ancient language; both inside and outside school.
How do we do this?
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We adopt a broad and varied approach to language teaching and learning; we utilise face-to-face teaching, pair work, group work, ICT work, presentations, competition, drama, song, rap, dance, movement and much more.
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Pupils are expected to converse with their teachers and other Gaeilgeoirí in Irish, both inside and outside of class.
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Adherence to schemes of work, which cater for a wide variety of intelligences.
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Utilisation of a wide range of resources including interactive whiteboards, audio and visual recording equipment, games, physical resources, and computer suites.
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Working with other departments within Loreto, Irish departments in other schools, and outside organisations such as Gael Linn, BBC, TG4, CCEA, An Carn.
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Facilitating pupil visits to the Donegal Gaeltacht during summer holidays.
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Facilitating pupils to partake in competitions such as public speaking, quizzes, debating, Scór, Féiseanna, drama and art among others.
Useful sites
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www.ccea.co.uk Information on GCSE, AS and A level courses
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www.foclóir.ie An English – Irish dictionary
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www.teanglann.ie An Irish – English dictionary
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www.abair.ie An aid to pronunciation of Irish words and phrases
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www.meoneile.ie Topical and current news and stories
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www.molscéal.ie Topical and current news and stories
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www.bbc.co.uk/gaeilge Topical and current news and stories
Careers
For today’s school leaver, the Irish language offers increasing career choices. In recent years, there has been a significant growth in the use of Irish throughout the country. An ever-increasing number of parents are choosing to raise their children through the medium of Irish. As such, the demand for Irish medium education has risen sharply with a 700% increase in the last 30 years.
With the Irish Language Act now passed in the North of Ireland, the requirement to have Irish for public sector jobs in the South of Ireland and with Irish now being an official working language of the European Union, a wide range of career opportunities are now available to Irish speakers in both public and private sector. Irish can be used in career areas such as education, technology, media, publishing, childcare, community development, accountancy, law, ICT and design. Many private sector tech giants now offer their services and software through Irish, e.g. Samsung, Google, Facebook, Microsoft, WhatsApp. Having Irish might give you the competitive advantage to get a job ahead of another candidate. Go for it!
“Mol an óige agus tiocfaidh sí”
(Praise the young and they will flourish)
Key Stage 3
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Year 8 – 3 classes per week
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Year 9 – 4 classes per week
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Year 10 – 4 classes per week
Topics covered
Year 8
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Greetings
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Surnames
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Days of the week
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Placenames
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Numbers
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Time
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Commands
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Colours
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Counties of Ireland
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Months of the year
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Food
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Animals
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The Body
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Playing Sport
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Me! Adjectives
Year 9
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Survival kit
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Commands
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The classroom
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Numbers
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Time
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Days, Months, Seasons
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Dates
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Colours
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The weather
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Myself
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Food
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The Body
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My family
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Surnames
Year 10
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My Area
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School Life
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Past Tense
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Daily Routine
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Gaeltacht
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Holidays
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Hobbies
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Social Media
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Festivals
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Health
Key Stage 4 (GCSE)
The Irish department adheres to CCEA’s GCSE Specification.
The Contexts for Learning are:
1. Identity, Lifestyle and Culture
2. Local, National, International and Global Areas of Interest
3. School life, Studies and the World of Work
Assessments
Unit 1: Listening - 25% - End of Year 12
Unit 2: Speaking - 25% - End of Year 12
Unit 3: Reading - 25% - End of Year 12
Unit 4: Writing - 25% - End of Year 12
Key Stage 5 (GCE)
The Irish department adheres to CCEA’s GCE AS and A2 Specification.
AS topics
1. Relationships
2. Culture and Lifestyle
AS course
Unit 1: Speaking
1. Presentation
2. Conversation
Unit 2: Listening, Reading and Use of Language.
1. Listening - one set of questions in Irish and another in English.
2. Reading - one set of questions in Irish based on a text.
3. Translation - Irish to English.
4. Use of language - short grammar exercises and translation of short sentences from English to Irish.
Unit 3: Extended Writing
Pupils write one essay in Irish in response to a set film.
A2 topics
1. Young people in Society
2. Our Place in a Changing World
A2 course
Unit 1: Speaking
1. Presentation
2. Conversation
Unit 2: Listening and Reading
1. Listening - one set of questions in Irish and another in English.
2. Reading - two sets of questions, one summary exercise and one translation from English to Irish.
Unit 3: Extended Writing
Essay in Irish in response to a set literary text.