Thursday February 02 2012
INSPIRING ideas and ground-breaking work being carried out by Irishspeakers is the focus of the third annual ‘Imbolc’ seminar in Ballyvourney.
Taking place on Saturday, February 18 in the Ionad Cúlturatha centre in Ballyvourney, the one day event is entitled ’ Imbolc’ after the pre-christian festival day to mark the begining of spring. Organiser and Listowel native Tomás Ó haodha, who lives in Ballyvourney, explained that the main aim is to showcase the variety of work gaelgoirs are doing and encourage a ‘crosspolination’ of ideas.
One of the guest speakers on Saturday, February 18 is Úna Ó Boyle, who is a well known musician. However, she is also a member of the Irish women’s chess team and has recently launched a book — in Irish — on the game of chess.
She was on the Irish women’s team in the Dresden Chess Olympiad in 2008, where she earned the title of Woman’s Candidate Master.
Other speakers include Diarmaid de Búrca, a doctoral student specialising in one of the universes’ most mysterious objects — pulsars. Pulsars can be used to test and develop the understanding of physics and the law of the universe — as gaeilge.
There’s also musician Liam Ó Maonlaí, as well as some hard-hitting economics from Feargal Ó Moráin, director of Enterprise Ireland. And Darach Ó Murchú will be telling about his mountaineering adventures across the globe.
“We feel there is no other event that concentrates exclusively on innovative and inspiring ideas in the Irish language,” said Mr Ó haodha.
Asked is his was a life-long grá for the gaeilge, Liam said when he was growing up in Listowel that he didn’t like Irish at all.
However, when he moved to New York, he began to go to Irish classes at the Irish Heritage Centre, and it was then that his fascination for the language began. He moved to Ballyvourney with his wife, Bernice three years ago from Dublin and they immersed themselves into the Gaeltacht area.
“People in Ballyvourney are very positive about Irish and its importance and people were very friendly towards us,” he explained.
“We decided three years ago to invite Irish speakers to give talks on the projects that they were working on, and it just grew from there.”
Full details of the event are also to be found online at http://www.imbolc.ie.
- MARIA HERLIHY
