A mhuinteoir, a mhuinteoir! Eleven new gaelscoileanna were granted provisional recognition by the Minister for Education and Science in September this year. Agus ca bhfuil siad suite, a gharsuin? They are in Portlaoise, Carrick-on-Suir, Longford, Arklow, Dunboyne, Ballina, Portadown, Castlewellan, Derry and Downpatrick. The eleventh school is a second-level school in Thurles.

Go maith. A Mhicheail, cad is bri leis an bhfigiuir seo? The latest crop of gaelscoileanna represents another milestone in the phenomenal growth of the all-Irish school.

Sea, agus an bhfuil moran fas i gceist? The numbers of students going to all-Irish schools outside the Gaeltacht areas has jumped by about 1,000 each year since 1990. At this stage over 24,000 children are attending all-Irish schools outside Gaeltacht areas. In just over 25 years, the number of all-Irish schools outside Gaeltacht areas has jumped from a mere 16 up to 150 this year.

An-mhaith, ceapaim go mbeidh tusa i do pholaiteoir nuair a bheidh tu mor, a Mhiche ail. Anois, a Shineid, an feidir leat stair na ngaelscoileanna a insint dom? Back in the early Seventies, just 11 primary and five second-level schools were providing education through Irish outside the Gaeltacht areas. Today's 150 schools, many in the North, include 124 primary schools and 26 second-level schools.

In 1993 a national language survey by Institiuid Teangeolaioc hta Eireann (ITE) found that up to 30 per cent of adults, including those who were not parents, would send their children to a gaelscoil if there was one near them.

An-mhaith. Eistig i anois leis an chuid eile den sceal. Ta se fior speisiuil. Not only are parents raising money and establishing more and more gaelscoileanna throughout the whole of the island, officialdom in the guise of the Department of Education & Science seems more amenable and ready to do business with parents who want to establish a gaelscoil.

Last March 12 all-Irish schools were granted permanent recognition. And this year the Gaelscoileanna organisation, as its executive Jacqueline Ni Fhearghusa points, "had no problems" in getting provisional recognition from the Department for its 11 new schools.

Ach a mhuinteoir, feach cad a tharla dha bhliain o shin." "O, sea. Two years ago it was a different story. In 1996 seven new gaelscoileanna were refused recognition by the then Minister for Education, Niamh Bhreathnach. "It was dreadful," recalls Ni Fhearghusa. The group took the Minister to court and the schools were finally granted recognition in April of that school year."

"os, a phaisti, Gaelscoileanna is not becoming complacent." Ni Fhearghusa, says "it's still going to be a battle." But, she says, Micheal Martin is "very well disposed" to the idea of all-Irish education. "We're very happy with the support he's given us to date," she says.

The Minister says he is prepared to recognise an all-Irish school in an area outside the Gaeltacht "where demand for such a facility is demonstrated, where no such provision already exists within a reasonable distance and where it is expected that sufficient pupils will attend such school."

In a statement earlier this year, Martin said: "I regard schools which teach through Irish as having a most important role in promoting an Ghaeilge as a spoken language and I want to support those schools to the greatest extent possible. It is my objective that this specialised body will give a further impetus to the long-standing national aim of a thriving Irish language."

Agus ta rudai ag titim amach o thuaidh i gcona i freisin, a bhuachailli agus a chailini. Gaelscoil Ui Dhochartaigh opened in Strabane, Co Tyrone, last year. Official recognition and funding was granted to Bunscoil Bheanna Mhadagain in Belfast after opening its doors four years ago and to Bunscoil an Iuir in Newry, Co Down, after nine years.

European funding was given to Bunscoil Luraigh after being set up four years ago in Maghera, Co Derry, and to Bunscoil an Droichid in Belfast after two years in operation.

At this year's Gaelscoileanna AGM, the question of rented and substandard accommodation, which many gaelscoileanna have to contend with, was again raised an issue of concern. It was reported that the problems were "ro leathan agus ro iomaduil" to be described in detail. However, delegates were told that these ongoing wide and varied problems are raised with the Minister at every opportunity. "Ardaitear ceist choiriocht na ngaelscoileanna ar gach deis a fhaigheann an eagraiocht labhairt leis an Aire Oideachais agus le polaiteoiri eile."

Then during the summer Minister Martin announced that approval of funding for a new 10-classroom school for Gaelscoil Ui Riada in Wilton, Cork. The project will cost about £1.5 million. "I'm pleased," he said, "that it has been possible to sanction this project and that the work will commence as soon as all the necessary procedures have been completed."

A report from the steering group of the Commission on School Accommodation, which is looking at criteria and procedures for the recognition of new primary schools, is expected shortly. However, the commission's report from its technical working group, which was produced last January, is already viewed by gaelscoileanna with some concern. As its AGM report says, "Ta baol an-mhor go ndeanfar iarracht fas agus forbairt na gaelscoileanna a choilleadh."

Some of the education partners want to establish a series of all-Irish streams within existing schools instead of having independent schools - "ionas gur feidir a ra go bhfuiltear ag freastal ar eileamh an phobail ar oideachas tri Ghaeilge", the AGM was told. "Ni feidir glacadh leis an dearcadh seo agus caithfear cearta tuismitheoiri ar ghaeloideachas sa chiall da bpaisti a chosaint ar naimhde iomadula na gaelscolaioc hta."

The Commission's technical working group wants a group to look into developing models for the phased transformation of English-medium schools into Irish-medium schools.

A mhuinteoir, an bhfuil cead agam dul amach?

Ta.

Ca raibh me?

According to Professor Pat Clancy of UCD's department of sociology, the growth of gaelscoileanna "presents a paradox for policy-makers. It's a cultural movement predeominantly. It's important in the sense that where you have the Gaeltacht being threatened by being over-run by English speakers, at least numbers in the Galltacht are growing.

"With the demographic decline, we should be closing a significant number of schools. We have too many primary schools and yet between the Gaelscoileanna and the multi-denominational schools the trend is for new schools to open. It's a policy issue for government.

"The reasons for both the Gaelscoileanna and multi-denominational schools are driven by different values and there's a strong case for supporting them. But the most obvious feature of the gaelscoileanna phenomenon is the contradictory development in policy."

A colleague, Dr Maire Nic Ghiolla Phadraig, also of UCD's department of sociology, says that the growth of gaelscoileanna indicates "an interest among parents in the kind of education their children are getting. It also offers a choice to parents of sending their children to a non-parish school, and offers them an opportunity of having greater input by the parents than they would have in the traditional Catholic or Protestant school."

Jacqueline Ni Fhearghusa believes the growth of gaelscoileanna is due to the fact that "as we are going into a more homogenised Europe, people are beginning to put a greater value on their own culture and identity and there's a general feeling of goodwill towards the language." She believes that the schools themselves are mainly responsible for the growth in popularity.

Gaelscoileanna have also been successful in circumventing the traditional patronage system of the bishops. The first multi-denominational gaelscoil was set up in Mayfield, Cork, in 1993 and Foras Patrunachta na Scoileanna Lan-Ghaeilge, a new patronage system, was sanctioned by the Department the following year.

It's more than likely that An Foras will be the patron of up to 40 schools, including schools with a Catholic ethos, and both multi-denominational and inter-denominational schools, before the end of the decade, according to Ni Fhearghusa.

Individual gaelscoileanna "have been very successful," she says. "The schools have a very good name. Once a gaelscoil is established in a county, it's kind of a domino effect," she explains. "All the other towns in the county tend to go after that."

For example, in Kerry Scoil Mhic Easmainn opened in Tralee in 1978. In 1987 a gaelscoil opened in Castleisland, two years later Killarney opened its gaelscoil and four years later Listowel launched Gaelscoil Lios Tuathail.

Do the gaelscoileanna amount to a middle-class phenomenon. "Not at all," says Ni Fhearghusa. "The schools are in very mixed areas. Most of the parents are very concerned with their children's education. That is the reaction. They want their children to speak Irish."

Some academics have raised concerns about the quality of the Irish being spoken at gaelscoileanna but Ni Fhearghusa doesn't think this is a major issue. "It's something that we discuss ourselves because the schools are constantly assessing their standards. It's not a major issue in the schools. It's a miracle if you think you can take a child in infants with no Irish at all and by Christmas they'll have a full understanding of what the teacher is saying and be able to respond. That's extraordinary."

A mhuinteoir, ta bron orm ach ta an clog buailte.

O, go raibh maith agat, a Mhicheail. Ar aghaidh libh anois.