By Evelyn Cullen
THERE was hope amid uncertainty on Tuesday evening as key business figures gathered at No. 9 Market Square in Letterkenny to witness a historic moment for the growth and development of the Irish language in the town and beyond.
The occasion marked the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Líonra Leitir Ceanainn and the Letterkenny Chamber of Commerce, formalising their commitment to continue to support businesses in the town that wish to incorporate Gaeilge into their work.
“We’ve been talking about this for a while now so it’s great to get it over the line,” said Toni Forrester, CEO of the Chamber, who began her address with a cúpla focail.
“Working with Líonra has really taught us the value of the Irish language and the positive impact for businesses in Letterkenny of using it,” she added.
“For such a small team, Líonra do amazing work. They’ve brought Irish language initiatives to key networks such as the Colab Business Centre, the ATU (Atlantic Technological University) and LEO (Local Enterprise Office), as well as many businesses in the town.”
Michéal Ó hÉanaigh from the board of Líonra and Claire McDonough, President of the Chamber sign the MOU (Memorandum of Understanding) formalising the commitment by both parties to continue to support businesses in the town that wish to incorporate Gaeilge into their work.
Líonra’s work can also be seen in the bright Irish signs and shopfronts that have popped up around the town in the last year including “Grá don Ghaeilge anseo”.
However, the event was overshadowed by a Foras na Gaeilge announcement, which this newspaper reported on earlier in the week, of drastic cuts to funding for the business schemes that facilitate these activities.
“Funding for our Scéim Tacaíochta Gnó – Business Supports Scheme, which we rely on so much has been cancelled completely. Our festival scheme Féile an Fhómhair – Autumn Festival, has also been cancelled. The cuts will impact negatively on our Club Óige – Youth Club, and the future of our summer camps is uncertain” said Bairbre Uí Chathail, co-ordinator of the Pleanála Teanga, which is run through the Líonra office on Castle street and funded by Foras.
Bairbre outlined some of the benefits for businesses of using Irish. “There’s a natural presumption that if a product or service is branded or delivered in Irish, that it’s good quality” she said.
“It strengthens authenticity and trust. It’s not just good for business, it’s good for the community, for tourism and for promoting our heritage.”
Several initiatives were launched at the event including phrase cards for shops and cafés who want to offer customers the opportunity to order i nGaeilge.
There are also t shirts and badges that staff can wear to identify themselves as Gaelgoirí, including fabric badges that can be sewn into the éide oibre – work uniforms of hospital staff.
Líonra also launched their Business Language Plan, a tailored five-step plan for businesses who want to incorporate Irish into their work. International digital transformation network, ERNACT, is one company who has already signed up, and three representatives were in attendance.
The ERNACT team, who won the Gradam Gnó na Gaeilege last year. ERNACT are also one of the first organisations to sign up to Líonra’s Language Plan, a five-step strategy to help them incorporate Irish in their work.
But the funding cuts mean that the future of many of these initiatives is uncertain.
“We’re under serious pressure now and we already punch above our weight in what we achieve with low levels of funding” said Ms Uí Chathail. “The Irish government needs to find a way of properly funding our Irish language groups and organisations”.
Ms Uí Chathail said there was “light and dark” in the future for them. “Tá muid dóchasach – we are hopeful that we can be creative and do as much as we can with your co-operation and support, but make no mistake, these cuts are a disaster for us and they will impact our work to a significant degree” she continued.
“Our mission is to make Letterkenny recognisable as baile dá theanga – a bi-lingual, Gaeltacht service town, so that you can see Irish on signs and shopfronts, hear it on the streets and know immediately that Irish is iontach láidir – very strong here” she concluded.
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