Mr. Niall Ó Catháin:

Is mise Niall Ó Catháin, stiúrthóir ar bhord Coiste Forbartha Charn Tóchair. Ta mé iontach buíoch as an deis cur i láthair a dhéanamh os comhair an choiste inniu. I am the director of Carntogher Community Association and Glór na nGael Charn Tóchair and I thank the committee for this opportunity to make a presentation. I realise time is short so I will focus on one aspect of the Irish language in the North, which relates to the intolerance towards it in some quarters and the absolute necessity to deal with this issue if we are to have a lasting peace process. I will also look at the opportunity of the special PEACE III programme, which, although it is still open, is being squandered. An opportunity still exists to do something about it.

Carn Tóchair is a small rural area in south County Derry in the Sperrin Mountains. It was an Irish-speaking area until 100 years ago, with native speakers surviving until living memory. We have had a long history and heritage of the language and of Gaelic sport for more than 100 years. For the past 20 years Coiste Forbartha Charn Tóchair and Glór na nGael Charn Tóchair have focused on developing a range of physical, economic, social, environmental and cultural projects to reassert the Irish language. These have at their core the revival of the Irish language and its reinstatement as a community language in the area. We have been very successful. We tie the Irish language in with every aspect of community development and it works exceptionally well. The Gaelscoil in the area is attended by more than 100 children and it has more than 100 former pupils. We also have quite a few adult learners and families bringing up their children through the medium of Irish. We are the only area in Ireland, North or South, outside the official Gaeltacht where the majority of primary school children are educated through the medium of Irish. We have made massive steps forward. We are a re-emerging Gaeltacht and have a young and vibrant Irish-speaking community, which is a real example to everyone.

In our community we provide a rich cultural and linguistic experience for this young generation of Irish speakers. Unfortunately, this is not the case outside our community. Speaking from my own experience, it is very difficult. I raise my family through the medium of Irish and for my children Irish is an integral part of their existence and is how they know the names of townlands, places, rivers and mountains. It is part of who they are. It is very difficult to explain to my children that outside our area the Irish language does not really count and is effectively being oppressed. There is no Irish language road or public signage and very few visitor attractions have interpretation or any level of written material in Irish. My children must grow up with the realisation that to speak Irish in the wrong place at the wrong time could lead to physical harm, which must be addressed if we are to have a long-term peaceful society in the North.

I mentioned interpretation and I have cited as an example in my written statement the Navan Centre in Armagh, which is one of the most important Gaelic sites in Ulster.