The Belfast Telegraph reports amazing growth in Irish language medium schools in Northern Ireland. Great news on St. Patrick’s Day Eve.
The Green Berets of South Bronx.
The Associated Press reports that Irish firefighters from New York can no longer parade wearing their customary green berets during tomorrow’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. An attorney for some of the firefighters plans to file a complaint with the state Division on Human Rights accusing the department of discrimination on the basis of religion and ethnicity. To Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta, a St. Paddy’s Day wish – may the curse of Mary Malone and her nine blind illegitimate children chase you so far over the hills of Damnation that the Lord himself can’t find you with a telescope.
Irish language flourishes at Notre Dame.
Nice to know that the Fighting Irish are fighting for the language and culture as well.
The Irish Language Commissioner calls for review of Irish language instruction.
A report stated said that many pupils haven’t even attained basic fluency in Irish despite being taught the language for 13 years. We heard much the same during our visit to Ireland. Students read and write well, but oral skills were reported to be poor.
Have a healthy St. Patrick’s Day with Irish food, dark beer.
“Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four essential food groups: alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.” Actually there are some benefits to Guinness and an Irish diet, if only for St. Patrick’s Day.
Hawaiian language enjoying revival in its homeland.
The North County Times has a nice feature on the efforts to revitalize the Hawaiian language, particularly as a medium of education. Our college’s director, Dr. Kalena Silva, is extensively quoted.
Whatever happened to Irish Ireland?
[ From the Irish Independent, registration required ] It seems that Ireland is losing its allure for the English. Paddy’s gone AWOL, it seems, at least according to a recent survery by Tourism Ireland.
Clamor increases to spin off UH-Hilo.
The Advertiser’s Beverly Creamer delves into the movement to spin off UH-Hilo as an independent “Hawai’i State University” and free it from the constraints of the UH system. She lays out the broad community and legislative support for the proposal, at least from our Hawai’i island legislators. A companion article outlines the inequities in funding among the various UH system campus. I had lunch with our chancellor and a number of other staff and faculty, and this issue only mentioned in passing.
Reality TV show to have Irish version.
Irish TV station “TG4” has has agreed to buy the format of a successful Welsh TV show. It is a reality television show which follows celebrities as they start learning Welsh. An language learning system called “suggestopedia”, based on visual imagery and memory techniques, will be used to teach the celebrities the basics of the language.
Thoughts On Podcasting And Hawaiian Music.
My buddy Scott invited me to check out a Yahoo group that includes a number of Hawai’i podcasters, and participate in a discussion of issues involving the use of Hawaiian music in podcasts. A few of them have inquiried with labels and artists, and have largely come away empty-handed. I offer a few thoughts for both artists and podcasters to consider.