Ó Dochartaigh on Irish language revitalization

Oideas Gael: a social enterprise model for language revitalization

Rónán Ó Dochartaigh, Oideas Gael

In person in 120 Ingraham Hall, and online (advanced registration required for online attendance).

Watch the recording here

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The work of Oideas Gael (www.oideasgael.ie), in the context of efforts to promote the use of the Irish language, represents a community-based response to the threat of language loss. Given that tourism is, at times, characterized as a potential risk to the sustainability of minority language communities, Oideas Gael has sought to apply a social enterprise model to cultural tourism development in one of Ireland’s Gaeltacht (traditionally Irish-speaking) regions. Such a model aims to generate economic activity in a way that creates incentives for use of the minority language and supports the building of intergenerational social networks in that language. This talk will give an insight into Oideas Gael’s approach, discuss its successes as well as the challenges faced, and examine how the interaction between government policy, market influences and ‘bottom-up’ community development has played out over its 40-year existence.

About the speaker: Rónán is currently the language director at Oideas Gael in Gleann Cholm Cille, southwest Donegal. He is a contributor to a wide variety of digital and community Irish language projects, including the Gaois Research Group, the Gleann Cholm Cille placenames map, and Portráidí na Scríbhneoirí Gaeilge.

This event is part of the UW-Milwaukee / UW-Madison Bi-campus Irish Culture Week.

This talk is generously co-sponsored by Language Sciences, the Language Institute, the Department of German, Nordic, and Slavic+, the Folklore Program, and the Center for European Studies.