02/06/2025

Belfast Gears Up To Host Major Irish Language And Arts Festival

Belfast is set to host Ireland's oldest Irish language and arts gathering, Oireachtas na Samhna, from 29 October to 2 November, with events taking place across various venues in the city.

To mark just over 150 days until the festival's arrival, Belfast City Council has partnered with Fís an Phobail, the Irish language network for west Belfast, to deliver a series of workshops in Irish medium schools throughout June.

The initiative aims to encourage young Gaeilgeoirs to participate in and attend the significant cultural event. Pupils at Bunscoil Phobal Feirste, Bunscoil an tSléibhe Dhuibh, and Gaelscoil na bhFál will explore the festival's history, which dates back to its first event in Dublin in 1897. They will also learn about the diverse range of activities planned, encompassing arts, music, sean-nós singing, and the spoken word. Other schools interested in joining the programme can register by emailing gaelige@belfastcity.gov.uk.

Lord Mayor of Belfast, Councillor Micky Murray, launched the programme with schoolchildren at the Cultúrlann on Falls Road. He said: "Belfast last hosted Oireachtas na Samhna in 1997 and we're looking forward to welcoming it back again, following our successful bid with the Department for Communities, the tourism sector and Irish language organisations, including Visit Belfast, Féile an Phobail, Fobairt Feirste, Conradh na Gaeilge and Fáilte Feirste Thiar."

Councillor Murray emphasised the importance of the festival for the city's burgeoning Irish language community. "Our city’s Irish language community is flourishing and having the festival in Belfast provides a valuable opportunity for young people to see the language in action, meet up with other young speakers and develop their skills even further," he stated. "This festival is a chance to celebrate the cultural significance of language and show exactly why all languages need to be protected and nurtured, for both this generation and those to come. We look forward to showing off Belfast and our many attractions and strengths to those visitors who will be travelling from across Ireland to attend Oireachtas this autumn."

Up to 10,000 participants and spectators are expected in Belfast for Oireachtas na Samhna. The festival promises a packed timetable of events, including competitions, debates, film screenings, workshops, and awards.
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Máirín Nic Dhonnchadha, CEO of An tOireachtas, expressed her enthusiasm for the upcoming event. "We look forward to a phenomenally successful Oireachtas festival in Belfast in 2025, in light of the invaluable support being provided by Belfast City Council and other Irish language and arts groups," she said. "I cannot conceive of a more fitting or welcoming city than Belfast to host this vibrant, annual celebration of the traditional and contemporary performing arts, as well as the dedicated patrons, inclusive of all age groups, who attend the festival in their many thousands every year."

Nic Dhonnchadha also highlighted new artistic genres introduced this year to honour local performers. “We have introduced new arts genres this year in honour of local performers, past and present, who have excelled in their chosen artistic form. The new performing arts genres are rap and choral music (junior - for performers under 18) and solo singing with guitar accompaniment (performers over 18), in honour of the Belfast singer Albert Fry who was President of the Oireachtas when the festival was last held in Belfast in 1997."

All events at Oireachtas are delivered in Irish, providing a unique platform for Irish speakers from Gaeltacht and non-Gaeltacht areas to connect, share knowledge, and celebrate their language and culture.

Éimear Nic Ionnrachtaigh from Fís an Phobail welcomed the festival's return to the city. "It is over quarter of a century ago since the festival last visited the city of Belfast and we look forward to a very successful, vibrant Oireachtas Festival by the banks of the Lagan in 2025," she stated. "We are extremely excited that the Oireachtas is coming to Belfast this year. It is recognition for the incredible language revival taking root in the city over many decades, a community revival which has rightly gained international attention."

Nic Ionnrachtaigh also emphasised the importance of leveraging the festival's profile, particularly for young people. "We must, however, make sure that we gain every advantage from the coming of the Oireachtas and the profile that comes with it, especially in terms of our young people," she said. "We hope to inspire them around the Oireachtas and, in particular, the culture that is showcased at it. We are very grateful to Belfast City Council for their generous support that will allow us to deliver a roadshow to our young people in the coming months."

Further information about Oireachtas na Samhna 2025 is on the council website at belfastcity.gov.uk/events or on the official festival website at antoireachtas.ie/oireachtas-na-samhna/


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