A chairde, ní féidir liom fós an méid seo a rá as Gaeilge, faraor...

Why doesn't the GAA do more for Gaeilge, there is hardly a bit of Irish on their website.

It would be a great way to get Irish to the youth. They should have a website in Irish with all the terminology of the games and reports etc. Or even other sporting organizations in Ireland who have money for loads of things but, of course, not for Irish.

A friend of mine was telling me that the Irish rugby team can sing the anthem better than any GAA team and you'll get a better rendition of the anthem at a soccer inernationational nowadays then at any GAA match.

Therefore, why don't the sporting organizations put an Irish web site together (an t-uasal McMuirí mar cheannasaí air! i ndáiríre) with info etc in Irish.They could organize duaiseanna in Irish (read this sliocht in Irish about the latest sporting event and answer the following question), for example trips to matches, which would get the young people interested.

To shame the GAA maybe they could threaten to make the IRFU top dogs in the Gaeilge movement. Irelannd's success in rugby is a tribute to their organizational capacity ( a little provocation on my part).

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A friend of mine was telling me that the Irish rugby team can sing the anthem better than any GAA

Our rubgy team rarely use our national anthem because it upsets unionists from the north or some such nonsense.
An abomination called "Ireland's Call" is played before games instead.

what BS. I didn't know this happened. If you play for Ireland then they should Play the Irish national Anthem. If they dont like that then they dont have to watch/support the Irish Rugby Team. And if N.Irish players dont like that they can can go play for one of the other 'British' national teams. just common sense. You think that if Northern Ireland had a rugby team that they'd not play "God Save the Queen" you gotta be kidding me. of course they would and I wouldn't have a problem wiht it if thats what they wanted. And if I did have a problem wiht it that would be my problem.

I have had a look at the site of GAA. They well try to support the Irish language. Of course, they should create an Irish version.
I do not know if there are attempts at local associations.
By the way: It is a shame that the church parishes, especially Protestant churches, do little to support the Irish language.

Beannachtaí, Alex

At home matches, both the national anthem and Ireland's Call are generally played. It is usually only Ireland's Call at the away internationals. I have no great love for it but I am more interested in the reality of an all-Ireland team than in the accessories.

I am not sure about GAA websites in Irish being a first priority. The real strength of the GAA is in its activities at club level and it is here that it has weekly contact with thousands of young and not so young people. Our local club runs a number of events in Irish, from musical evenings to quizzes to training sessions. The clubhouse is dotted with "Gaeilge - is feidir linn" notices. The club has a traditional association with the local Gaelscoil so it may not be representative of the level of activity of most clubs but it is making a real difference in providing a social and sporting outlet through Irish. I think this is where the efforts should be focused rather than on token national campaigns. People, and particularly children, need to see Irish used in real world settings outside the classroom and sport provides a great opportunity for this. So I agree with you but would tweak things a bit!

An_chilleasrach, that's good to hear. I didn't mean to cause a row about anthems or anything like that. My point was that a sporting organization could provide a source of reliable funding.

This Foinse crisis really flabbergasts me. The Irish language appears to be held in high esteem verbally by the powers that be but when it comes to funds then Gaeilge's place seems to be at the back of every queue with its monetary needs belittled.

Especially when you think of the surreal amounts of money that have been spent and squandered in all directions in the last decade it can't/couldn't have been really be a lack of money per se that was the problem. IT companies have been the recipients of money in the billion bracket from the Irish government for products that were subsequently not used, but when it comes to Irish: ah well, we have no money for that.

There's no doubt that the Irish National Anthem is sung better at rugby and soccer games compared to GAA matches. I go to the hurling games and am p**d off that people dont sing the last two lines- shouting instead.

Maybe in areas where there are Gaelscoils the training of underage GAA teams could be in Irish only OR encourage Irish in the clubhouse by having a bilingual Irish/English barperson and informal classes during the week. There are always practical ways of promoting Irish.

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Especially when you think of the surreal amounts of money that have been spent and squandered in all directions in the last decade it can't/couldn't have been really be a lack of money per se that was the problem. IT companies have been the recipients of money in the billion bracket from the Irish government for products that were subsequently not used, but when it comes to Irish: ah well, we have no money for that.

What IT company has been the recipient of money in the billion bracket from the Irish government for products that were subsequently not used?

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what BS. I didn't know this happened. If you play for Ireland then they should Play the Irish national Anthem. If they dont like that then they dont have to watch/support the Irish Rugby Team. And if N.Irish players dont like that they can can go play for one of the other 'British' national teams. just common sense. You think that if Northern Ireland had a rugby team that they'd not play "God Save the Queen" you gotta be kidding me. of course they would and I wouldn't have a problem wiht it if thats what they wanted. And if I did have a problem wiht it that would be my problem.

To be fair the team represents the island of Ireland, not the republic of Ireland. Amhrán na bhFiann is the national anthem of the republic not the island. And they do play Amhrán na bhFiann at home games in the republic. Playing only Amhrán na bhFiann at all games would surely be like the British and Irish Lions team playing only a British anthem at all their games.

(Message edited by tadhganseo on June 24, 2009)

they were established in 1880's


they had to focus on reviving gaelic sports - that was a hard eneough job as it was along with buying grounds and drawing up rules etc

Tis like asking why Comhaltas Ceoltóirí na hÉireann dont teach the musicians hurling....