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College Tribune | January 20th 2009
News News
As Gaeilge: A thousand UCD students to ditch English for a week ■ Jennifer Bray Over 1,000 students on campus are set to go ‘As Gaeilge’ for a week, in order to test the feasibility of the government’s 20-year plan for the Irish Language. The government has already outlined ambitions to have over one in twenty people speaking fluent Irish by 2028, with the projected number averaging around 250,000 daily speakers. The event will coincide with the Seachtain Na Gaeilge which takes place on the campus from the 2nd until the 6th of February. The 20-year plan was originally devised in a 2006 statement on the Irish language by An Taoiseach, who then gave two years to devise a strategy for the preservation and promotion of the Irish language. Those who have been sponsored over 15 can expect a hoodie emblazoned with “No Bearla”, and to gain free access to the Irish week events including tickets to music acts the Coronas, Kila and comedian Des Bishop, but must not speak a word of English. President of the Students’ Union Aodhán Ó Deá has said “If the government believes that by 2028, 1 in 20 will be speaking Irish every day, we should have no problem getting 1 in 20 UCD students speaking Irish for a week.” At present, there are just over 21,000 students in the college. Irish Language Officer Donal Hanratty, who believes the week will be an innovative success, also has high ambitions for the project exclaiming he would like to turn the college into the “most vibrant Gaeltacht in Ireland.” “The vast majority of students here have spent 14 years studying Irish in school, it is about time we heard cúpla focaI,” he added. All proceeds made from the week will go towards the charity Bóthar. The initiative for the spread of the Irish language is not the first in UCD, with an accommodation already set up comprising Irish-only speaking dorms. Demand for places in these residences this year was at an all time high with previous tenants claiming over 100 applications were made for a mere 16 places.
No library lockdown in 2009 There will be no further cutbacks in library hours or services in either the James Joyce Library or the Blackrock library this semester, as has been previously proposed and anticipated. A source within the library has said there has been no immediate change, though a general staff meeting is due to take place at the end of January in which the subject may be breached.
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■ Jennifer Bray In 2008, The College Tribune received copies of confidential documents outlining plans for a library lockdown, including a proposed budget cut of 12%, amounting to 1.3 million for the academic year. Suggested savings were due to be
achieved through axing library hours via routes such as reduced evening hours from January, a reduction in student shelver hours, and a reduction in Saturday opening hours from January. Further proposals to slash library hours centred on cutting the staff evening work hours which caused condemnation from sources within
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the library and the Students’ Union. This also included downgrading The James Joyce library evening opening hours from five nights to three nights, cutting evening hours from the Health Service from three nights to two, and most detrimentally reducing Blackrock Library staff hours by 50%. Extra cuts to Blackrock were ‘still to be confirmed’.
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