Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge (; English: "The Academy of

Irish-Language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenou ...

University Education") is a third level educational and research institution headquartered in

Galway Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

, Ireland. It was established as part of the National University of Ireland - Galway in 2004, to further the development Irish-medium education. The academy works in co-operation with faculties, departments and other university offices to develop the range and number of programmes that are provided through the medium of Irish on campus and in the academy's

Gaeltacht A ( , , ) is a district of Ireland, either individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home. The districts were first officially recognised ...

centres.

Locations

The academy operates in four in urban and rural campuses or centres: * Áras na Gaeilge on the

University of Galway The University of Galway () is a public research university located in the city of Galway, Ireland. The university was founded in 1845 as "Queen's College, Galway". It was known as "University College, Galway" (UCG) () from 1908 to 1997 and as ...

's main campus in

Galway city Galway ( ; , ) is a City status in Ireland, city in (and the county town of) County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay. It is the most populous settlement in the province of Connacht, the List of settleme ...

* Áras Mháirtín Uí Chadhain in the Ceathrú Rua in

Connemara Connemara ( ; ) is a region on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of western County Galway, in the west of Ireland. The area has a strong association with traditional Irish culture and contains much of the Connacht Irish-speaking Gaeltacht, ...

, Galway * Ionad an Acadaimh in the Doirí Beaga in

Gaoth Dobhair Gweedore ( , officially known by its Irish language name, ) is a Gaeltacht (Irish-speaking) district, and parish, located on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of County Donegal in the north-west of Ireland. It stretches some from Glasserchoo ...

, Donegal * Áras Shorcha Ní Ghuairim in Carna in

, Galway

History

The importance to any linguistic group of higher education through their own language has long been acknowledged. The foundation in Scotland of the

Sabhal Mòr Ostaig Sabhal Mòr Ostaig (; ) is a public higher education college situated in the Sleat peninsula in the south of the Isle of Skye, Scotland with an associate campus at Bowmore on the island of Islay. Sabhal Mòr is an independent Academic Part ...

, an institute which is comparable to but more substantial than the academy as it is a constituent college of the

University of the Highlands and Islands The University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) () is an integrated, tertiary institution encompassing both further and higher education. It is composed of 10 colleges and research institutions spread around Inverness, the Highlands and Isl ...

, has been accompanied by a marked increase in the vitality of

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

. While higher education has a long history in Ireland, for most of that history it has been almost exclusively been a pursuit for English-speakers. Many Irish third level institutions provide courses where Irish itself is the object of study, but outside of that it very rare for Irish to be the medium through which a student can achieve the prestige which goes along with the title "graduate" (a notable exception being Fiontar in

Dublin City University Dublin City University (abbreviated as DCU) () is a Third-level education in the Republic of Ireland, university based on the Northside, Dublin, Northside of Dublin, Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Created as the ''National Institute for Highe ...

). The academy was founded in 2004 under the auspices of the National University of Ireland - Galway to provide a centre of excellence for university studies and research through the Irish language. It was the only third level body where the working language and language of instruction are Ireland's indigenous language until in 2013 when the educational organisation Gaelchultúr was granted its status as a third level institution by the QQI, giving birth to Coláiste na hÉireann. The academy is not a large body and given its scale and its subordinate status to its parent, it cannot be considered an

Irish language Irish (Standard Irish: ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family. It is a member of the Goidelic languages of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous ...

university.

Research and service provision

The academy's staff have been involved in the creation of The New Irish-English Dictionary, the Digital Repository of Ireland and other archival projects, providing material and data insights to the national Irish-language broadcaster

TG4 TG4 (; , ) is an Irish free-to-air public service television channel. It launched on 31 October 1996 and is available online and through its on-demand service TG4 Player in Ireland and beyond. TG4 was initially known as (TnaG), before bein ...

, and conducting examinations for the national Seal of Accreditation for translators. It maintains a close relationship with departments of the university in Galway. Given its concentration of Irish language education and research skills, the academy provides services for other bodies such as translation services, language education for NUIG staff, and developing the university's Language Scheme. It publishes papers on topics including

sociolinguistics Sociolinguistics is the descriptive, scientific study of how language is shaped by, and used differently within, any given society. The field largely looks at how a language changes between distinct social groups, as well as how it varies unde ...

technology Technology is the application of Conceptual model, conceptual knowledge to achieve practical goals, especially in a reproducible way. The word ''technology'' can also mean the products resulting from such efforts, including both tangible too ...

pedagogy Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political, and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken ...

and

translation Translation is the communication of the semantics, meaning of a #Source and target languages, source-language text by means of an Dynamic and formal equivalence, equivalent #Source and target languages, target-language text. The English la ...

in its annual scholarly publication, ''An Reiviú''.

Academic

The academy offers university courses of various levels in numerous subjects, primarily in language studies,

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

and

, and indigenous culture. Many courses can be taken full-time or part-time, and some even cater for

distance learning Distance education, also known as distance learning, is the education of students who may not always be physically present at school, or where the learner and the teacher are separated in both time and distance; today, it usually involves online ...

. Prospective students can apply directly or through the Central Applications Office, as appropriate. Below is a sample of the programmes which have been delivered.

Undergraduate Programmes

* BA in Communication Studies and Irish * BA in Irish and Translation Studies * BA in Applied Irish * BComm with Irish Both Translation Studies and Communication Studies can be taken as part of a joint honours degree.

Postgraduate programmes

* MA/Postgraduate Diploma in Conference Interpreting * Higher Diploma in Applied Irish * MA/Postgraduate Diploma in Professional Practice in the Media * MA/Postgraduate Diploma in Language Studies * Postgraduate Certificate in Translation Studies * Postgraduate Certificate in Advanced Irish Skills for Teachers

Other programmes

* Diploma in Web Development * Diploma in Indigenous Culture * Diploma in Arts (Film and Multimedia) * Diploma in Arts (Translation Studies) * Diploma in Language Planning and Preservation

Publications

Comprehensive Linguistic Study of the Use of Irish in the Gaeltacht: Principal Findings and Recommendations, Dublin: Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge (National University of Ireland Galway) Members of the academy produce regular contributions to the interdisciplinary online journal, ''An Reiviú''.

References

External links

Official websiteAn ReiviúFiontar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Acadamh na hOllscolaiochta Gaeilge 2004 establishments in Ireland Buildings and structures of the University of Galway Education in County Donegal Education in County Galway Education in Galway (city) Educational institutions established in 2004 Indigenous education Irish-language education