Lá Mór na Gaeilge - Irish Language Day 2025
January 24, 2025

Join us for Irish Language Day 2025 on Saturday 8 March!

The Coventry Irish Society are delighted to open registration for this year’s Lá na Gaeilge / Irish Language Day which will take place on Saturday 8 March 2025, for all levels, as part of the Coventry Irish Society’s St Patrick’s Festival and Seachtain na Gaeilge 2025 (Irish language week).

1. Taster Irish Language Class
Áit / Location: Ground Floor, Quaker Meeting House, Hill
Street, Coventry CV1 4AN

Arrival: 9.15 – 9.25 am
Session ends approximately 11.10 am to allow a short break before the next activity. The group are welcome to stay together, on location, during the break.

Múinteoir / Teacher: Nollaig Doughan

The session will be suitable for all levels and will include various activities, including the opportunity to learn the Irish National Anthem, as Gaeilge (which might come in handy for the rugby later!).

2. Síulóid / Bilingual Walking Tour of Coventry
12.00: A fascinating síulóid /walking tour around historical city centre sites will be led by Christy Evans and will take
approximately one hour.

Christy writes a column, in Irish, for The Irish World. Christy is a gaeilgeoir and has dedicated his life to teaching and promoting Irish. His notable achievements include being the European Commission Language Ambassador for Irish, Winner of The Pride of Ireland Award 2007, and Founder of Coláiste na nGael. Coláiste na nGael - Wikipedia
Christy has written a short Irish / English guide booklet on Coventry and this will be provided to participants on the day.
The meeting point and end location are TBC, but will be around the Cathedral / Broadgate area of Coventry.

Adults booked on the tour may bring children with them, free of charge (1x child per parent / guardian / carer who is fully
responsible for the child’s supervision and care at all times). Please ensure that a child’s place is booked in advance, at the
same time as purchasing the adult’s ticket. Attendees should wear comfortable footwear and suitable outdoor clothing as this will be an outdoor event. They may also wish to bring a drink / light snack.

3. Free-time or option to join the language group for the Six Nations Rugby (Ireland v France)
Áit / location: The Hearsall Inn, Craven Street, Coventry CV5 8DS
Am / Time: approximately 1.45 pm – 4.15 pm.

This part of the day is not formally organised by the Coventry Irish Society and so we cannot reserve seating (or control the
result!!), but we do hope that Irish speakers will stay together to keep speaking Irish and to sing the Anthem, as Gaeilge!

4. 7.00 pm Pop Up Gaeltacht & Bilingual Quiz
Áit / Location: The Hearsall Inn, Craven Street, Coventry CV5
8DS
Am / Time: 7.00 pm – 9.00 pm

Over 18s only

Tickets

Adult Full Day Ticket £10 members / £12 non-members. This includes the Taster Session, Walking Tour & Evening Quiz.

Adult Half Day Ticket £6 members / £8 non-members. This includes the Walking Tour & Evening Quiz.

This will be a popular day and advance booking is essential. Places are limited and will be allocated on a first-come, first-serve basis.

Tickets do not include food / drink. Admission to watch the rugby game is free.

Please contact Caroline Brogan, at caroline.brogan@covirishsoc.org.uk or telephone 024 7625 6629, or visit our office at Eaton House during office hours, to obtain a booking form and arrange advance payment. On receipt of payment, a confirmation email will be sent to you as proof of booking.

Leibhéal / Level: The day is suitable for all levels, from fluent speakers, to beginners. Where possible, we will try to tailor the level of Irish to the attendee. All activities will be bilingual.

Registration for Spring term now open - Scoil Ghaeilge Margaret Keane - The Margaret Keane Irish Language School

January 20, 2025
We’re delighted that our Irish Language School, named after the late Margaret Keane, is returning for a Spring term from February 2025. This 8 week course will commence on Thursday 20 February 2025 and will run until Thursday 17 April. The Spring Term class will continue to use the below text book and will pick up where they left off at the end of the Autumn Term 2024. The course book is not included within the cost of the course fee and students may wish to purchase this themselves. For anyone who missed the Autumn Term but who would like to join the Spring Term course, then they are very welcome. As the classes will be continuing from work covered in the Autumn Term, those registering this term will need to have some basic level of Irish. £55 per student for members of the Coventry Irish Society / £60 per student for non- members. The course fee is for a course consisting of 8x classes and is payable in advance to the Coventry Irish Society by 12 February 2025. Please contact Caroline Brogan: caroline.brogan@covirishsoc.org.uk or telephone 024 7625 6629 to obtain a booking form. Registration closes 12 February 2025. Would you like to write for our website? We would like to include a section on our website dedicated to An Ghaeilge. If you may be able to provide a few hours volunteering time to help us write a welcome section, as Gaeilge, with links to helpful resources, then that would be ar fheabhas! Please contact our Caroline Brogan: caroline.brogan@covirishsoc.org.uk if you may be able to help.

Meet the author - Dennis Carey

January 9, 2025
If it’s a land war they want, there are people prepared to fight back. In 2016 Mayo-born author, Dennis Carey, released An Untilled Field, a historical story of the violent eviction of the Walshe family in 1870s rural Ireland. Based on true events the story focused on sixteen-year-old Liam Walshe who watched his parents being taken away by the Royal Irish Constabulary leaving him homeless and caring for his four-year-old brother Aiden. As his adventure unfolds, Liam makes contact with representatives of the Irish National Land League, the organisation founded at the Imperial Hotel in Castlebar in 1879 to fight for justice for land tenants. Almost nine years later, Dennis has released the book’s gripping sequel, Land Wars. The stories are set, predominantly, in County Mayo during the Irish Land Wars of the late 1800s. In both books, Dennis draws on actual events in England and Ireland to bring the harsh history of this period to life on the page. “I owed it to young Liam Walshe and the other main characters in the first book to continue their story,” Dennis said. “Unfortunately, in the sequel, life doesn’t get any easier for Liam and his family. If anything, it gets more dangerous.” Dennis has been writing since leaving Further Education in August 2014. This is his fifth novel. Along with An Untilled Field his other titles are The Ditcher, Sins of the Mothers, and Killing Alma. He will be here at Coventry Irish Society on Tuesday 28 th January 2025 at 2.00pm to talk about the books and the inspiration behind them. Copies of all of his books will be available to sign and dedicate after the talk.

Ambassador's Visit to the Coventry Irish Society

December 19, 2024
Ambassador’s Visit to the Coventry Irish Society Irish Ambassador, Martin Fraser, received a very warm welcome at the Coventry Irish Society & formally opened the Mo Mowlam Library. Coventry has a thriving Irish community and has long been a place where the Irish have found a home. People of all generations came out to welcome the Irish Ambassador to GB, His Excellency, Martin Fraser, during his visit to the Coventry Irish Society on the morning of 21 November 2024. The Ambassador was welcomed by music from Christy Pepper and from musicians at Cardinal Newman School. During the visit, he was presented with gifts from Coventry by Elliott and Bridget McCarthy of Christ The King Primary School. CEO of the Coventry Irish Society, Simon McCarthy, said: “It was a privilege to host the Ambassador during his visit to Coventry & to show the vital work that our charity does, from providing a social space for our members, supporting survivors of mother and baby homes, promoting culture and heritage, and providing advocacy and advice on welfare matters and healthcare support. As a charity, we rely entirely on donations and grants to be able to provide the important work that we do. We very much appreciate the support that we have been given by the Government of Ireland’s Emigrant Support Programme for many years and were pleased to have the opportunity of showing the Ambassador around our centre, which includes our Exhibition, “Irish Heart, Coventry Home”. The Ambassador took the time to meet with so many people during his visit and to hear about their own experiences and contributions to life here in Coventry. All aspects of Irish life were represented; from talented musicians, Irish language enthusiasts, Irish dance schools, and the GAA”. The Ambassador formally opened the Mo Mowlam Library at the Coventry Irish Society during his visit and paid tribute to Mo, who grew up in Coventry, and was a key architect of The Good Friday Agreement, a copy of which is on display in the Library. Solicitor, & Co-Ordinator at the Coventry Irish Society, Caroline Brogan, said: “We’re delighted that the Mo Mowlam Library is now open for our members to enjoy. It provides a wonderful collection of books on Irish language, history, culture, heritage, politics, places of interest, & fiction. Mo is one of my heroes, so this is a beautiful tribute to her and reminds us all of the significance of The Good Friday Agreement and our duty to past and future generations to make sure that it is fully protected and implemented”. November 2024\ See highlights from the day in the short video below.
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