In 2014 the G.A.A. and Glór na nGael ran a competition to select the G.A.A. club that does the most work in promoting the Irish language. The competition was titled: Turas Teanga. There was a winner selected from each county, a winner from each province, a winner from the Gaeltacht regions, a winner from the clubs abroad and an overall winner. There were prizes of €250.00 for county winners, €1,000.00 for the sectional/Provincial winners and €2,000.00 for the overall winner.

Dublin club, Fingallians G.A.A., won the prize for the Leinster region.

On Sunday 26th April, the Fingallians Irish language officer, Liam Ó Culbáird, accepted the prize and certificate from the new G.A.A. President Aogán Ó Fearghail and Glór na nGael Chairperson Pat Carey at a presentation ceremony in Croke Park.

We do put in a lot of work at Fingallians in promoting the language within the club. The GAA is not just about ball games, the "Gaelic" part is also central. Promotion of all aspects of Irish culture is important, not just our sporting culture. At Fins we have a language group that has met every Wednesday night continuously for the last four years. This group is a chance for people to practise and use their Irish. We have seen a lot of people come and go throughout the years. It is a free service and is suitable for all ages and levels. It is a very informal group and is a different scene to the classroom. People can have a pint or a cuppa with their cúpla focal. It is so important that people feel relaxed and not pressurised  to perform. We had complete beginners who flourished within a few months.

My role within Fingallians is to promote the Irish language and culture. I get great help from all my fellow club members. I have yet to meet anybody that has been negative towards An Ghaeilge. We have plenty of adults and children that are very happy to help with the job. I must make special mention of our recently departed cara, Brendan O'Reilly, who helped us greatly in making Irish more accepted around Fins. Bren was a big character who would usually be heard before being seen. 9 times out of 10, heard through Irish. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.

Fingallians have had great success in recent years in the Scór competitions at adult and juvenile levels. These are the G.A.A. competitions that promote Irish dancing, set dancing, Recitation, solo singing, Ballad groups, Traditional music groups and drama acts. In 2015 our table quiz team reached the Scór na nÓg All-Ireland final.

Seachtain na Gaeilge is a highlight of the year where we put on various events ranging from training sessions through Irish, lectures on the use of Irish, Table quizzes, Awards for Cainteoirí na Seachtaine / Speakers of the week, matches with Gaeltacht clubs, Participation in the Peil trí Ghaeilge competition, the St. Patrick's day concert after the parade, etc...

In recent years we have held a separate Irish conversation group for teens preparing for the oral examinations. There is, quite rightly, a much larger onus on spoken Irish in the exams nowadays. We hold the group from January to April, when the exams are held. Again, this is a free service provided to help promote Irish.

People need not be afraid of the Irish language. The days of the grammatically obsessed zealots are gone. Everybody involved in the Irish language nowadays are only too happy to help out learners. We need to encourage people to speak. We need to promote the language and help people get over the initial reluctance or fear or sounding foolish. Once past this "céad céim" or first step, people will be surprised at how it will come flooding back. It is all logged in some corner of the head and just needs to be found again. There were no Gaelscoileanna around Swords when I was a youngster. I went to St. Cronan's N.S. and then Fingal Community College. I was lucky that I had enthusiastic teachers who passed the grá onto me. I'm trying to do the same with my peers and the next generation.

There are a wealth of opportunities available nowadays to use Irish. There are Irish language coffee mornings springing up all around the city and county. I know there are "maidineacha caife" in my area in Balbriggan, Skerries, Donabate, Rush, Swords, Kinsealy and Malahide, to name a few within Fingal. The libraries have great Irish language resources. There are numerous casual conversation groups as well as formal lessons available throughout Dublin and beyond.

I was absolutely delighted that Fingallians were nominated for the Turas Teanga prize and I was overwhelmed when we won. It is a great honour and also an opportunity to highlight the work we are doing. There is a saying in Irish: "Ar scáth a chéile a mhaireann na daoine" which means we all live in each others shadow or that we all depend on each other. Working together we can achieve great things.

In the attached photo are Pat Carey (Glór na nGael chairperson), Liam Ó Culbáird (Fingallians GAA Irish Language Officer) and Aogán Ó Fearghail (G.A.A. President).

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