Clarity sought on whether Irish college in Cork will have summer courses

THE organisers of Ireland’s oldest Irish language college, Coláiste na Mumhan in the Cork Gaeltacht village of Béal Átha’n Ghaorthaidh, have offered to meet with the local development committee following its demands for clarity over whether summer courses would go ahead this June and July.

Coiste Forbartha Bhéal Átha’n Ghaorthaidh had expressed concern over the lack of a facility on the Coláiste na Mumhan website to allow parents to register their children to attend the courses in June and July.

In previous years the courses would be open for registration in September or October and often almost full by January or February but this year, the website page titled ‘booking form’ has a message ‘Phased booking process coming soon’.

On the booking page, only one course is listed. There had been two in previous years. Cúrsa/Course A is listed to run from June 5 until June 26 and the fee is listed as €1000.

The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sports and the Media also confirmed, in response to a query from The Echo, that it had not received an application from the college to run courses this summer yet.

The Department provides a subsidy for each registered student which is paid to the accommodation provider which, in the case of Coláiste na Mumhan, is mostly on-site with a small number of ‘mná tí’ offering accommodations in local homes in or near the Gaeltacht village.

“The Department will, in the normal course of events, process an application for recognition of courses this summer from Coláiste na Mumhan and other colleges when they arrive,” the statement from the Department said.

“Usually these applications are put before the Department in the spring of the year the courses are due to be held.”

While there was no response to The Echo from a query to the chairperson of Coláiste na Mumhan at the time of going to print, in a previous statement, the Coláiste board of trustees said that it had commenced a strategic plan almost two years ago and that this plan was being implemented and funding sources being investigated at present.

“The college succeeded in organising courses in 2023 after covid and hopes to organise courses again in 2024 depending on appropriate resources and facilities, management resources, staff and teachers and the other appropriate facilities.

“The College is prepared to meet with representatives of any relevant group which wants to co-operate or help them.”

Tadhg Ó Duinnín, the chairman of Coiste Forbartha Bhéal Átha’n Ghaorthaidh, said that the offer to meet them, which was issued on Wednesday, was a welcome step in the right direction.

“Almost two years ago they said they wanted to put a plan in place and said they would come back to us within five weeks and haven’t met us since,” he said adding that they “believe the only way the Coláiste will run is by allowing the community to organise every aspect of the courses for summer 2024.”

Coláiste na Mumhan opened in 1904 and in its early years attracted the likes of Pádraig Mac Piarais and Traolach Mac Suibhne.