IONAD na Gaeilge Labhartha, the Centre for Spoken Irish at UCC, which has taken an innovative approach over the years to the development of the language, will host a conference at the college next week to examine methods by which computers can be employed to advance this aim. The conference will be opened by Dr Sean Farren, Northern Ireland's Minister of Higher and Further Education.
This will be the first national conference on the use of computers for the teaching and learning of Irish, and teachers from every level of education, North and South, will participate.
The aim, said Dr Ciaran Dawson, conference secretary, is to debate the advances already made in the teaching of Irish and to discuss the uses of computer technology.
Above all, the conference will seek to streamline the approach to Irish-language teaching as well as research and work in progress on the subject. Computers, he adds, have the power to end duplication and facilitate the instant flow of information between teachers and researchers.
"It is often the case that people are working in the same area without even knowing it. The use of computers enables us to work on different projects at the same time and then pool the information," he said.
The conference will run from Thursday, September 21st, to Saturday 23rd, and will discuss language planning, sources of funding, the Internet and applications of the computer in the classroom.
Speakers will include Mr Pilib Misteil, headmaster of Bunscoil an tSleibhe Dhuibh in Belfast; Dr Eugene McKendry of Queens, director of the Northern Ireland Centre for Information on Language Teaching and Research; Dr Neil Buttimer of UCC's department of modern Irish; and Dr Henry Leperlier, an expert in language applications of the Internet.
The theme of the conference is "O Leacra go Lionra 2000" ("From Ogham to the Internet"), and all proceedings will be in Irish.
The Southern Health Board is playing its part. It has just announced that Mr Micheal O Coilean has been appointed as Irish-language officer to support the use of Irish throughout the board's area of responsibility.
According to the 1996 census, over 45 per cent of the population of Cork and Kerry indicated that they spoke Irish. Mr O Coilean's role will be to promote bilingualism as well as working with Gaeltacht areas, gaelscoileanna and individuals or organisations who would prefer to do their business through Irish.
A former teacher, Mr O Coilean has worked with the health promotion department of the SHB since its inception in 1995. "I'm looking forward to the challenge," he said.