THOUSANDS of Irish
speakers and culture lovers from all over Ireland
will descend on Letterkenny at Halloween for the
annual Oireachtas na Gaeilge Festival.
The Oireachtas festival is a Mecca for lovers and
performers of the traditional arts, sean-nós
dancing, sean-nós singing and storytelling in
particular.
Oireachtas na Gaeilge president, Kilcar's Mícheál
Mac Giolla Easbuic said he was delighted to see the
festival return to his native county.
“Donegal are on a winning streak these days, first
winning the All-Ireland final and now playing host
to one of the country’s biggest festivals - it’s a
great boost for the county,” said Mícheál. “It is
always a great success and will be a valuable asset
to the local economy.”
The Oireachtas will run from October 30 to November
4, 2012 at various venues including the Mount
Errigal Hotel, the Clanree Hotel, Letterkenny
Institute of Technology and the Aura Centre. The
festival was last held in Letterkenny in 2009.
Some of the highlights of this year’s Oireachtas
will be the annual sean-nós dancing finals which
will be broadcast live on TG4's 'Steip' programme.
The Corn Uí Riada sean-nós singing competition held
in memory of Sean Ó Riada is the sean-nós singing
climax where champions and challengers will sing
their hearts out in a variety of regional styles to
win this most prestigious title which sets the
standard for sean-nós singing in Ireland. Otv, the
dedicated online Oireachtas festival channel, will
show footage of various events in order to portray
the spirit and the essence of the Oireachtas
Festival. All major organisations in the Irish
Language sector will attend the festival including
Foras na Gaeilge, Údarás na Gaeltachta and Conradh
na Gaeilge who will hold seminars and meetings
during the weekend.
“It worked extremely well for us there three years
ago and we got such a warm welcome from the people
of Donegal and such invaluable support from Donegal
County Council that we very happy to accept their
invitation to return,” said Liam Ó Maolaodha,
director of Oireachtas na Gaeilge. |
