Northern Ireland

West Belfast club to benefit from €800k funding to strengthen links between the Irish language and GAA

Laochra Loch Lao, based on the Falls Road, said the funding will be ‘transformational for our club’

Minister of State for Sport, Physical Education and the Gaeltacht, Thomas Byrne T.D., announced a funding package worth over €800,000 for Glór na nGael at an a event at the Spórtlann na hÉireann complex in West Belfast. The funding package will be used to support the efforts of two GAA clubs outside the Gaeltacht, Laochra Loch Lao in Belfast and Na Gaeil Óga based in Lucan, Dublin to promote the language. These two clubs are the only two clubs outside the Gaeltacht that have won the gold medal in Glór na nGael's Fondúireacht Sheosaimh Mhic Donnacha scheme. PICTURE: MAL MCCANN
Laochra Loch Lao in west Belfast and Na Gaeil Óga based in Lucan, Dublin will receive Irish government funding to promote the Irish language. PICTURE: MAL MCCANN
By Suzanne McGonagle

A west Belfast GAA club is set to benefit from €800,000 funding aimed at strengthening the connection between the sport and the Irish language.

Laochra Loch Lao, an Irish language GAA club based in Spórtlann na hÉireann on the Falls Road, will receive funding from the Irish government as part of its commitment to Irish-medium GAA development.

The Republic’s sports and Gaeltacht minister Thomas Byrne launched the initiative during a visit to the club on Thursday.

He said the money would “support these clubs to build on their work and to support their members and to nourish the next generation of players and coaches to develop through Irish playing the sport they love”.

Minister of State for Sport, Physical Education and the Gaeltacht, Thomas Byrne T.D., announced a funding package worth over €800,000 for Glór na nGael at an a event at the Spórtlann na hÉireann complex in West Belfast. The funding package will be used to support the efforts of two GAA clubs outside the Gaeltacht, Laochra Loch Lao in Belfast and Na Gaeil Óga based in Lucan, Dublin to promote the language. These two clubs are the only two clubs outside the Gaeltacht that have won the gold medal in Glór na nGael's Fondúireacht Sheosaimh Mhic Donnacha scheme. PICTURE: MAL MCCANN
Thomas Byrne announced a funding package worth over €800,000 for Glór na nGael at an a event at the Spórtlann na hÉireann complex in west Belfast. PICTURE: MAL MCCANN

The initiative, which is being delivered in conjunction with Glór na nGael, is an extension of the Fondúireacht Sheosaimh Mhic Dhonncha, a scheme established in 2017 to encourage the development of the Irish language within the GAA.

Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin, chair of Laochra Loch Lao, said the scheme is the “first of its kind in Ulster”.

“We formed the club originally as an amalgamated club to raise the status of west Belfast as an area where the language was particularly strong and to give social opportunities to use the language.

“In 2017 we took the bold decision to establish the club as a standalone club with juvenile structures.

“The growth of the club since has been phenomenal and we are now approaching 400 members.

“It has been incredibly rewarding and fulfilling building the club from the bottom up as a central component of the Irish language community infrastructure in west Belfast.

“As a club, we provide spaces for all ages where Irish is the dominant acoustic which brings particular challenges as we operate entirely through the medium of Irish across all structures.

“This generous and timely support from the Department of Gaeltacht Affairs will be transformational for our club and the language revival movement in west Belfast by sustaining and supporting our ambitious plans for the future growth and expansion of CLG Laochra Loch Lao.”

“Tá lúcháir orainn go mbeidh tacaíocht ar fáil do Laochra Loch Lao fríd an scéim úr mhaoinithe seo, an chéad scéim den...

Posted by CLG Laochra Loch Lao on Thursday 26 September 2024

Lorcán Mac Gabhann, Glór na nGael chief executive, added: “These clubs developed from the bottom-up as language revivalist projects that utilise our native games to build sustainable language communities.

“They are fantastic examples of organic language planning and a great example for other GAA clubs to follow and we are delighted to be in a position to support them.”