Q & A

Your education questions answered Brian Mooney is president of the Institute of GuidanceCounsellors. E-mail questions to bmooney@irish-times.ie

My daughter is in fifth year in an all-Irish secondary school. What are the possibilities for studying Irish, or other subjects through Irish, at third level?

All the traditional universities, both north and south of the Border, offer Irish as a subject leading to a BA degree. In TCD it is also possible to do a single subject degree in Irish, or Irish with Early Irish. In all the universities, the Irish departments have debating societies, concerts and undertake trips to the Gaeltacht. Emphasis is placed on fostering a sense of belonging and encouraging fluency through seomraí caidrimh and ciorcail chainte. Graduates often comment on the welcoming attitude of both the staff and fellow students.

Irish plays an important role in the training of primary teachers. A C3 minimum in Higher Level Irish is required to gain entry to primary teacher-training in the south, while St Mary's College, Belfast, offers Irish as an optional subject for primary teacher-training. All these courses place emphasis on increasing proficiency in Irish and students spend time in the Gaeltacht as part of their course.

Another area where Irish has become popular in recent years is the area of communication. The growth of Raidió na Gaeltachta and TG4, coupled with the enactment of the Official Languages Act have all contributed to this development. The BA in journalism in DCU (DC 132) has an optional module in Irish each year, while DIT offers Irish as one of the languages in their journalism and media courses (FT 352 and FT 353).

DCU, with its Fiontar department, has pioneered the study of business through and with Irish. Its graduates speak highly of the imagination and creativity of the department, coupled with its dedication to the Irish language. DCU offers a BSc in Fiontraíocht le Ríomhaireacht agus Gaeilge Fheidhmeach (DC 118).

IT Tralee's National Certificate in Business (TL 220) and IT Letterkenny's National Certificate in Office Information Systems (LY 005) have Irish modules.

GMIT offers a BA in Business and Communication through Irish (GA 044), and for the academic year 2004, Údarás na Gaeltachta is offering scholarships for this course. DIT's BSc in Tourism Marketing (FT 402) and BA in Leisure Management (FT 404) both have Irish modules.

For students who would like to combine Law and Irish, the BA in Galway (GY 101) offers Gaeilge and legal science, while UCC offers BCL agus an Ghaeilge (CK 304).

Since NUI Galway has a statutory obligation to provide courses through Irish, the choice is wider here and students of history, geography, commerce, French and science can take part or all of their studies through Irish. It is also possible to do the Higher Diploma in Education through the medium of Irish in NUIG.

Students who wish to retain or improve their fluency in Irish without studying it as an academic subject at third level should contact the college Oifigeach Gaeilge, which organises cultural events. For students who want to live on campus, a number of universities have opened halls of residence for Irish speakers.

All of the institutes involved will be only too happy to inform students about courses through Irish. A useful booklet is Cúrsaí Gaeilge ag an Tríú Leibhéal, published by Comhar na Múinteoirí Gaeilge, contactable at (01) 639 8445/8. A copy of this booklet has been sent to the career guidance counsellor in all second-level schools.