Hello, my name is Gabrial McAlister Carberry and I’m running for the role of Irish Language Officer. I am a mature student currently in my first year of studying Environmental Science with Ecology. I attended an Irish language Primary and Secondary school up until fifth year and managed to keep my fluency after that almost exclusively through conversations with friends and family as Gaeilge. My Irish skills aren’t perfect, but I’m always on the lookout for Irish speakers so I can practice the language as much as possible in effort to keep my fluency alive.
In search for a community of Irish language speakers in Sligo I found out that the Caint meetings where ATU students could come together to speak Irish are no longer running, and that there was no current Irish Language Officer to organise any events or opportunities for a bit of comhrá with friends. I felt prompted to run for the role of Irish Language Officer so that I could work together with the Student Union to:
- Promote the use of Irish on and off campus
- Create opportunities for people to get together and chat as Gaeilge
- Organise events for Seachtain na Gaeilge
Even if you haven’t spoken Irish in years or never learned a word, there should be resources available to you as Gaeilge. I’m very aware that a lot of people have had negative experiences with Irish over the course of their schooling, but is fearr Gaeilge bhriste ná Béarla cliste! Irish is a beautiful, and culturally important language that is very much still alive and thriving, and I am committed towards doing my best to promote the Irish language.