Pictures: Cork school hosts country's first spelling bee as Gaeilge

Students from 16 schools descended on East Cork in recent days to attend the country’s very first spelling bee competition as Gaeilge.

The event, hosted by Gaelscoil Mhainistir na Corann, saw students compete over multiple rounds, spelling words ranging from easy to difficult, from gabhar (goat) to féinfhorbairt (self-development).

In all, 32 students - two from each school - sat on the stage, waiting their turn to spell their assigned word. They’d already come through their own school competition, so these were seasoned competitors. Still, there were nerves in the air, and as the number of participants whittled down, the tension started to rise.

Before the competition, the students had been given a list of more than 100 words to study, but after round four, they were given words that were not on the list.

As well as learning the list of words, they had been trawling through dictionaries and other books, doing their best to prepare by learning how to spell as many words as possible.

Their preparation was evident. The 11- and 12-year-olds showed remarkable poise, taking their time and spelling out the words clearly. The mistakes were miniscule, a missing letter here, a rogue fada there.

The battle for third spot was hard won, with Tomás Óg Ó Cadhla from Scoil Náisiúnta na Rinne, Waterford, pipping Sofia Lupton from Gaelscoil Dhochtúir Uí Shúilleabháin in Skibbereen to the prize. Then we were left with two: Conall Ó Dálaigh, of Gaelscoil Mhainistir na Corann, and Nancy Ní Éalaithe, from Gaelscoil Uí Riada in Wilton. The eventual winner, Nancy, won out by correctly spelling idirdhealú (differentiate).

“I didn’t think I’d even get past the first round,” said Nancy, who had studied for weeks at night. “It was very nerve-racking up there but really exciting too.”

Runner-up Conall enjoyed the competition but admitted being disappointed he didn’t win. “I speak Irish at home with my family, and one of my dad’s sayings for us kids is ‘foghlaim, fás and forbairt’ (learn, grow, and develop), so the word I missed - féinfhorbairt - will haunt me,” he laughed.

“It was great to have the competition in our school, and it was good to have that support from my classmates.”

Laoch an Litrithe is the brainchild of Aisling De Nógla, a student in Gaelscoil Mhainistir na Corann. Last year, De Nógla had taken part in the Eason National Spelling Bee, where she came third. When she returned from the competition, she asked the question, ‘why isn’t there an Irish language spelling competition’?

“My mom and dad took it to heart and suggested I ask at school. I said it to Róisín [Ní Cheallaigh], who thought an Irish language spelling bee was a good idea. She took it on board and organised everything, and I helped her.”

Deputy Principal Ní Cheallaigh was delighted to run with the idea. “We thought this is a good opportunity for the school to start something,” she said.

“We said we’d start relatively small with all the gaelscoileanna in Cork, and then we reached out to Waterford too, as we’re quite close to Waterford here in East Cork.”

The response from the other schools was positive.

Then it was on to coming up with the rules for the competition, and organising the school final.

For the rules, Ní Cheallaigh leaned on the existing ones for the Eason spelling bee, including a rule that states that once you start spelling a word, you can’t go back and correct yourself.

“We know this is a harsh rule, but it’s one they use in the Eason competition, so we’re going to stick with it,” said Ní Cheallaigh.

This is not a competition for the faint-hearted, she explained. “It can be a bit cruel because you could get a spelling wrong, but you could know all the words before yours and after yours. So there’s a certain amount of luck involved too.”

Of the 32 competitors, there was a mix of girls and boys, and Ní Cheallaigh said there was a real mix too when it came to students “who would be naturally very good spellers” and students “who showed huge determination to get to the final - it was lovely to see.”

Irish language TV broadcaster TG4 was present on the day, recording the competition and interviewing the finalists and organisers. Laoch an Litrithe will be aired on TG4 today (Tuesday, February 17) at 1.30pm and 5.30pm on Cúla4 and again at 5.50pm on TG4.

Aisling hopes this is the start of something big.

“Hopefully, next year we can extend the competition to the whole of Munster, and even include students from English-language schools who would be interested in competing.”

Ní Cheallaigh agrees. “I think it’s going to be the start of something rather than a once-off. There’s been lots of good feeling from the other schools and offers of support.

“It’s a great opportunity to promote the Irish language too, which is something we work hard to do.”

For now, Aisling and the school are proud of the event they have put on.

“There were so many schools here and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Everything went well too with the judging. It was a lot of work, especially by Róisín, but it was worth it. It was a great competition,” said Aisling.