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Conradh na Gaeilge found an ideal location in Newry for their 2013 Ard Fheis.
Donnchadh Ó hAodha, of the Cork Craobh Chúil Aodha branch, was re-elected President of Conradh na Gaeilge for the third year running.
Conradh na Gaeilge is celebrating 120 years since its establishment in 1893 with a year-long celebration of the language called Bliain na Gaeilge 2013; as such, this year's Ard-Fheis in Newry was a particularly historic event.
Delegrates agreed Newry was the perfect location to host Conradh na Gaeilge's 2013 Ard-Fheis especially as according to the latest census, the Newry and Mourne area boasts the highest number of people with Irish in the Six Counties (20%).
An emergency motion calling on the Government to leave entrance policies for Irish-medium primary and secondary schools alone was passed unanimously at Conradh na Gaeilge's 2013 Ard-Fheis in the Canal Court Hotel, following recent media reports on comments made by the Minister for Education and Skills in relation to the Irish-language background of pupils and their parents.
Conradh na Gaeilge delegates also unanimously passed motions calling for the recognition of the Irish-language and Gaeltacht community as a stakeholder in the implementation of the Irish-Language Strategy in the north from the outset, and for the establishment of a crucial high-level structure between authorities and Irish-language community organisations to ensure the effective implementation of The 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010 - 2030 in the south.
President, Donnchadh Ó hAodha said: "The 20 Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010 - 2030 has been undermined and diluted in the south since the new Coalition came to power; Conradh na Gaeilge believes it is crucial that the Irish-language and Gaeltacht community is immediately recognised as a stakeholder in the implementation of the Strategy so we can put paid to the problems created by the current Government to date, and so we can establish effective methods to implement the Strategy in its entirety, as a matter of utmost urgency.
"It is also imperative that Irish speakers in the Six Counties are recognised as stakeholders in the implementation of the Irish-Language Strategy in the north from the get go, so as to avoid the problems already encountered in the south. To this end, Ard-Fheis Chonradh na Gaeilge is proposing the establishment of a crucial high-level structure between the authorities and the Irish-language and Gaeltacht community organisations, north and south, where recommendations would be made before being forwarded to the relevant Ministers."
Julian de Spáinn, General Secretary of Conradh na Gaeilge agrees, saying: "An all-Ireland strategy would help to better coordinate, and to ensure the efficient and effective use of, the resources provided by both Governments to promote the Irish language, and Conradh na Gaeilge believes that the North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC) should establish an All-Ireland Planning Unit with representatives from the community and from the authorities to steer the combined, cohesive all-island strategy."
In addition to audience input from the floor, Niall Comer, local Newry President of Comhaltas Uladh, the provincial branch of Conradh na Gaeilge for Ulster and Louth; Seán Ó Coinn, Deputy CEO of Foras na Gaeilge; and RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta presenter Cormac Ó hEaghra spoke on the theme of 120 Years of Growth and What Is Ahead Of Us at the Ard-Fheis talk on Friday night following an official welcome to Newry by Jarlath Burns, GAA, and the Mayor of Newry and Mourne John McArdle.
