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BACKGROUND The word 'Ultach' means 'person from Ulster' but in our case it is also an acroynm for 'Ulster Language, Traditions and Cultural Heritage', therefore the organisation's title appears in capital letters. ULTACH is an independent charitable trust based in Belfast. Our principal aim is to promote the Irish language throughout the entire community of Northern Ireland. A core objective is to encourage cross-community involvement in the language, and the membership of the Board of Trustees reflects both major religious traditions. The ULTACH Trust was established at the end of 1989, and opened its offices in February 1990. Originally supported by both the Central Community Relations Unit, a branch of the Department of Finance and Personnel in Northern Ireland, and by the Department of the Gaeltacht in the Republic of Ireland, the Trust is currently core-funded by Foras na Gaeilge, the Irish language agency of the Cross-Border Language Body. The Trust was for some time the only dedicated Irish language funding body in Northern Ireland. Since 1990, the Trust has distributed approximately £1.5 million in grant-aid to hundreds of Irish language projects. Approximately 50% of this funding was allocated to the Irish-medium education sector, and most of the rest was used to support the voluntary sector. The Belfast Agreement of 1998 gave a new status to the Irish language in Northern Ireland. A statutory Cross-Border Language Body was established between December 1999 and February 2000. Foras na Gaeilge, the Irish language agency of the body, is now the main language promotion and funding organisation in Ireland. Two new organisations were also established by the Department of Education to fund and develop Irish-medium education in Northern Ireland. Following these structural changes in support for the Irish language in Northern Ireland, the Trust now tends to concentrate its resources on in-house projects and partnerships with other organisations rather than grants. The following list summarises the Trust’s current key areas of activity. · engaging in cross-community work · developing learning resources · forming strategic partnerships with relevant community, research, educational and statutory agencies · advising government and statutory agencies on language planning and policy issues · campaigning for the establishment of an Irish-language broadcasting sector in Northern Ireland · publishing material on the Irish language and related issues · working towards an effective Irish language arts policy for Northern Ireland · initiating innovative language projects · funding Irish language projects (click here for an application form and here for the conditions of funding) Some of these areas of activity are briefly outlined below. The Irish language can be a controversial and contentious issue in Northern Ireland. Through its cross-community work, the Trust seeks to stimulate interest in Irish across the political and religious divide, and to provide opportunities to learn and use the language in areas and among communities which are not normally associated with it. Gordon McCoy, who has primary responsibility for the Trust’s cross-community programme, has studied the experiences of contemporary Protestant learners of the language. Other board and staff members have explored the hidden tradition of Protestant involvement with Irish in the past. The Trust seeks to identify obstacles to Protestant and unionist engagement with the language and to raise awareness within the Catholic and nationalist community to the difficulties experienced by learners from other traditions. In its work in developing learning resources, the Trust was involved in the development of Now You’re Talking, the first multi-media Irish language teaching pack to use the Ulster dialect. The 30 half-hour television programmes have been shown on BBC, RTÉ, TG4 and Channel 4. We commissioned and published, in conjunction with Údarás na Gaeltachta (the Gaeltacht Authority), two volumes of Abair Leat!, a guide for teachers of adult learners of Irish. ULTACH staff also produce Taisce Focal, a learners' supplement for the on-line Irish language magazine BEO! (www.beo.ie). This series aims to expose intermediate and advanced learners to the natural colloquial Irish of the Gaeltacht. In response to numerous requests, the Trust will publish a selection of these articles in book form. Through lectures, conferences, articles, reports, submissions to statutory bodies and occasional publications, the Trust has sought to stimulate debate on a number of topics. These have included themes such as education, cross-community access, cultural politics, history, Irish language arts, and cultural links with Gaelic Scotland. The Trust is particularly active in the area of Irish-medium broadcasting: · between 1990 and 2003 we published five reports on the issue of Irish-medium television in Northern Ireland · we initiated a series of campaigns for a training and production fund for Irish language television in Northern Ireland and guaranteed access to the Irish language television channel TG4 · we conducted a campaign in 2002 for the inclusion of the Irish language in the Communications Act · we managed the first Irish-medium television training course in Northern Ireland in 2002 · we developed and co-funded support packages for emerging Irish language television producers during 2002-3 · we organised and funded a showcase exhibition for the emerging television sector at the 2003 International Celtic Film and Television Festival in Belfast · in 2004-5 we have been active in all aspects of the Ofcom review of public service broadcasting and BBC Charter Review. Since 1991 we have campaigning to persuade the arts establishment to provide adequate funding, support and evaluative structures for Irish language arts in Northern Ireland. This work, which is ongoing, has involved considerable engagement of time and effort with the Arts Council of Northern Ireland. We were also closely involved with the establishment, development and administration of Colmcille, which was founded in 1998. Colmcille seeks to build and enhance meaningful links between Gaelic Scotland and Ireland. Its Northern Ireland Officer, Maolcholaim Scott, is based in ULTACH's offices, and can be contacted at: +44 (028) 9023 8293 or maolcholaim@colmcille.net. The Colmcille website address is www.colmcille.net. | |