Dead Centre Brewing was once again the host for another well attended Athlone Pop-Up Gaeltacht event on Thursday last.
A night of culture, song, music and dancing was organised to celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge 2023. Seachtain na Gaelige was first held by Conradh na Gaeilge in 1902, to celebrate Ireland’s language and culture, in the face of increasingly hostile attitudes by the establishment to the emergent cultural revival and the nationalist aspirations that accompanied it.
Seachtain na Gaelige runs for three weeks from March 1 to 17 inclusive and is an international festival of language and culture.
“We arranged an open night to invite people who maybe aren’t so confident speaking Irish, or indeed people from different cultures and backgrounds with no Irish, to come along and share our culture and language with us. Our main aim has always been to broaden out the Irish language community in the town, and to provide an inclusive environment for learners,” local language activist and musician, Ruaírí O’Conchubhair, stated.
“It was a fantastic night, we had music from Ná Bádórí and friends, poetry, song, stories and set dancing. The wonderful thing about our pop up gaeltacht is it bridges the generations, we have people attend who are practicing their Irish for their leaving cert, all the way up to our oldest member who recently celebrated his 90th birthday,” language activist, Mickey Moran, added.
Athlone Pop Up Gaeltacht meets every Thursday at 9pm. Keep an eye on Athlone Pop Up Gaeltacht Facebook, Twitter or Instagram for regular updates.
