International Irish Language Conference held in Prague

The title of the conference was ¡®Ar an Imeall i L¨¢r an Domhain¡¯ (On the Periphery in the Centre of the World) and its theme was liminality in Irish and European literature and culture. Dr P¨¢draig ? Liath¨¢in (former lecturer and current Associate Member of the Centre for Irish Studies, Charles University, Prague) and Professor Emerita M¨¢ir¨ªn Nic Eoin of Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge were members of the conference committee. 10 members of Fiontar & Scoil na Gaeilge presented on their research. Scholars attended from over 10 third-level institutes in Ireland, as well as academics from the Czech Republic, France, Finland, Poland and North America. The Irish language is being taught in Charles University for almost 30 years. Its position on the curriculum has been strengthened in recent years, however, and Dr Radvan Markus, the current Irish language lecturer (a former student of P¨¢draig ? Liath¨¢in) is an example of someone whose personal ¡®turas teanga¡¯ has taken him from an undergraduate ab initio course to mastery of the language.

The multidisciplinarity of Irish-language studies as practiced both in Ireland and internationally was a marked feature of the conference programme. A wide range of scholarly fields and critical approaches and methodologies were represented: applied linguistics, literary and cultural criticism, migration studies, politics, education, the digital humanities, manuscript traditions, literary history, folklore, performance studies, comparative literature, translation studies.

'Ar an Imeall i L¨¢r an Domhain: An Tairseach¨²lacht i Litr¨ªocht agus i gCult¨²r na h?ireann agus na hEorpa¡¯ t¨¦ama na comhdh¨¢la, agus mheall an t¨¦ama sin breis agus seasca tairiscint p¨¢ip¨¦ir, sa chaoi gurbh ¨ª seo an chomhdh¨¢il ba mh¨® riamh a eagra¨ªodh tr¨ª Ghaeilge taobh amuigh d¡¯?irinn. Bh¨ª an Dr P¨¢draig ? Liathain (Ball Comhlach d'Ionad an L¨¦inn ?ireannaigh in Ollscoil Sh¨¦arlais) agus an tOllamh M¨¢ir¨ªn Nic Eoin, ¨® Fiontar agus Scoil na Gaeilge, ar an gcoiste eagraithe. Bh¨ª deichni¨²r i l¨¢thair ¨® DCU, mar aon le scol¨¢ir¨ª ¨® bhreis is deich n-institi¨²id ardl¨¦inn ar oile¨¢n na h?ireann, chomh maith le scol¨¢ir¨ª Seiceacha, agus l¨¦acht¨®ir¨ª at¨¢ lonnaithe in ollscoileanna sa Fhrainc, san Fhionlainn, sa Pholainn agus i Meirice¨¢ Thuaidh.

Gn¨¦ shuaithinseach de chuid na comhdh¨¢la ba ea an l¨¦iri¨² a tugadh ar ildiscipl¨ªneacht l¨¦ann na Gaeilge mar at¨¢ s¨¦ ¨¢ chleachtadh anois in ?irinn agus go hidirn¨¢isi¨²nta. Caitheadh solas ar raon ilghn¨¦itheach r¨¦ims¨ª scol¨¢ireachta: an teangeola¨ªocht fheidhmeach, an chritic liteartha agus chult¨²ir, l¨¦ann na himirce, an pholait¨ªocht, c¨²rsa¨ª oideachais, na daonnachta¨ª digiteacha, l¨¦ann na l¨¢mhscr¨ªbhinn¨ª, stair na litr¨ªochta, l¨¦ann an bh¨¦aloidis agus an taibhl¨¦irithe, an litr¨ªocht chompar¨¢ideach, l¨¦ann an aistri¨²ch¨¢in.