Ealaín na Gaeltachta, which has responsibility for developing Irish-language arts in the Gaeltacht areas, has received an increase of €2.5m on its three-year grant from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media.

The organisation received €1.275m in 2019 for a 3-year period, and this has now been increased by almost 191% to €3.72m for the period up to 2025 (€1.24m per year). It follows another announcement of €750k in funding from the Arts Council in January. Ealaín na Gaeltachta is joint-funded by both the Department and the Council, and is a subsidiary of Údarás na Gaeltachta. 

The funding will be used to support the Cuisle scheme,which provides a youth arts programme across music, dance and song and is a central plank of the approved fund. There will also be opportunities for professional artists, and the creation of two full-time and two part-time posts. Ealaín na Gaeltachta is currently recruiting for an Oifigeach Forbartha Ealaíona don Óige (Development Officer for Youth Arts) and the deadline is this Friday 10 March. 

Commenting on the announcement, Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, said:

Ealaín na Gaeltachta has been doing good work for many years with the help of both my Department and Údarás na Gaeltachta, to support the promotion of the arts in the Gaeltacht. That work is more important now than ever and the particular value of the language-based arts for the Gaeltacht and for the Irish language is recognised more than ever.

The language-based arts are an integral part of the distinctive culture of the Gaeltacht – including sean-nós singing, music, drama and dance. Through the approval of this increased fund, Ealaín na Gaeltachta will be enabled to further increase the valuable work programme they have in hand for the most valuable and distinctive part of Gaeltacht culture – the Irish language.

For more, visit www.gov.ie.

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