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St Patrick’s (Ballymaghery) School 13 Castlewellan Road Newry

University of Ulster Irish Language Accreditation

13th Jun 2024

Over the past year our school, St Patrick’s, Hilltown,  has taken part in the new accreditation scheme "Scoil Spreagtha" which was piloted by Gael Linn, one of the main organisations for the promotion of the Irish language across Ireland. The scheme aims to provide recognition, support and resources for selected English medium school who are interested in making an effort to incorporate Irish into the daily life of their schools. We were delighted to have taken part in the scheme and have been amazed by the interest sparked within our pupils through the Irish language inside and outside of the classroom as a result of this exciting imitative right from our youngest primary 1 pupils to our school leavers now in primary 7. Our children have integrated the Irish language into their daily routine within school, are excited when Irish is on their timetable for the day and are willingly looking for ways to use the language actively. 

On Tuesday past (11th June 2024) we were delighted to have been awarded an official accreditation by Gael Linn and the University of Ulster for our participation in the scheme for 2023-24. Working closely with our local Irish Language Community Organisation "Conradh na Gaeilge Boirche Íochtar" who have supported us throughout the scheme we hope to continue to encourage and celebrate the use of Irish within our school in the coming academic school years ahead. Pictured with our students Rory, Maeve, Phyllis and Darragh and  Vice-Principal, Mrs Orla Reavey, is Ruairí Ó Donnáin, Irish Language Development Officer for Conradh na Gaeilge Boirche Íochtar who visited our school to celebrate our successful achievement.