
North Kerry learners celebrate completion of Irish language programme at Teach Siamsa Finuge
Adult learners keen to get speaking 'as Gaeilge' took part in the Irish language programme over a number of weeks and received special certificates of participation.
The Blas Beo programme was delivered by Dr Muiris Ó Laoire, of Munster Technological University, and was supported by Karen Trench.
Adults came from well beyond the borders of Finuge to participate in the Teach Siamsa classes, in which they were put into groups categorised as beginners and intermediates.
The course was met with great enthusiasm by its participants and proved to be a tremendous success in improving the speaking ability of students.
Teach Siamsa is working with Irish language officer Aodán Mac Gearailt to promote the Gaeilge in the locality and plans are already underway to offer a new round of classes for both adults and young people starting in September.
Teach Siamsa will announce details of the upcoming programmes on its Facebook and Instagram pages.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Irish Sun
2 hours ago
- The Irish Sun
I turned my bald, muddy, patchy lawn into a luscious garden with a £10 buy – it's so full and green in a matter of weeks
A HOMEOWNER shared the DIY transformation she gave her lawn ahead of summer. The garden went from muddy sparse patches to luscious green grass in a matter of weeks. Advertisement 2 A homeowner shared her impressive lawn transformation over six weeks Credit: Facebook The woman shared a before and after comparison of her lawn in a post on the Facebook group She revealed that the dramatic transformation happened just six weeks apart. "Can enjoy the garden again now," she told her fellow gardening enthusiasts. "Wow, that looks amazing to have achieved that in a relatively short period of time, I'm a very new gardener and seeing this has given me even more encouragement," said one person. Advertisement Read More On Lawns "Depressing to amazing. What different colour actually makes to the eye, mind, and mood," agreed another commenter. "Absolutely fantastic!. Such a good feeling to fix a lawn to this. Very well done!" commended a third Facebook user. Another person described the switch up as "incredible" while someone else summed it up as "goals". The original poster was also plagued with requests to "spill the secrets". Advertisement Most read in Fabulous She revealed that she used "grass seed, lots of it" to tackle her sparse lawn. The Facebook user explained that the experience was a learning process, as she tried a variety of brands before settling on a favourite. My garden was a mud patch - I transformed it to a lush, thick lawn with a Poundland buy & I'm shocked at the difference "Gro-Sure Smart Lawn Seed Fast Start, was probably the best one," she shared. You can pick up a kilo box of Advertisement The green-fingered pro went on to say that she used "a bit of topsoil" alongside compost. "Our soil is pure clay so it's a battle, we scarified it to within an inch of its life," she continued. "It was essentially a lawn made entirely of weeds and moss." Seasonal lawn care schedule Lawn care varies from season to season, with some tasks helping to encourage growth and root development whilst others help maintain the soil quality. Claire Baglin, landscaping category manager from Spring (March, April, May) Start to mow the grass bi-weekly in March when the soil and air temperatures typically reach above 6C. Fertilise the lawn for the first time during March using some quick-release fertiliser that is rich in nitrogen to help promote shoot growth. Scarify the lawn for the first time during April to remove any built-up moss or thatch that can accumulate throughout the winter. Aerate the lawn during April by spiking holes into the soil surface. This will help to loosen the soil and encourage growth. Overseeding can also be carried out throughout April to patch up any thin or bare areas of grass. Summer (June, July, August) From June start to cut your grass once a week - apart from in periods of extreme heat and droughts. Increase the cutting height to protect the lawn from any possible droughts. In June make sure to treat the lawn for any weeds - this can either be manual removal for individual weeds or using weed killer for larger clusters. During July and August make sure to water the lawn at least once a week by giving it a soak for 5-10 minutes. Autumn (September, October, November) From September reduce the lawn mowing frequency back to once every two weeks and conduct the last mow of the year in November. Fertilise the lawn for a second time during October using a slow-release fertiliser that is rich in phosphorous and potassium to strengthen the lawn. Throughout October and November remove any fallen leaves and other debris from the lawn surface. Winter (December, January, February) From December to the end of February leave the lawn alone. Grass typically does not grow in the colder winter temperatures. Winter is the perfect time of the year to conduct any lawnmower maintenance including checking over the blades and filters. She revealed that she even mixed in "a bit of sand" to the mix at one point. Advertisement " Once down, we then walked all over it to compact it down, then watered a couple of times a day in the hot weather, less if cloudy ," she said. "We also bought Miracle Gro liquid lawn food fast green and a spray attachment for the hose pipe and have fed it once a week. " You can pick up a litre bottle of The Facebook user further emphasised how she has no experience with lawns. Advertisement " Honestly I just wing it and hope for the best , we don't really know what we're doing half the time," she admitted. 2 The Facebook user explained that she used a lot of grass seed to transform her lawn Credit: Facebook


Irish Post
3 hours ago
- Irish Post
Last orders for Irish pubs?
WHAT'S happening to the pub? Over the last twenty years more than 2,000 pubs have closed. Here in Ireland. A country so synonymous with pub culture that we exported the very idea of an 'Irish' pub across the globe. And these bare statistics are a very real thing. From where I'm writing this right now a two-minute drive in opposite directions would once have taken me to a choice of three rural pubs. There's now one. Pubs in Ireland are closing and that is a big change in the very nature of Irish life. Of course, health advisers might see this as a good thing but that seems to confuse the pub simply with alcohol. The pub is more than that. The pub is a mirror of society. Now it might seem ridiculous to say that but I've always been a fan of the pub and I've always seen it as more than the pint in your hand. To paraphrase Brendan Behan, I like the pub because I like people. Or in my case I particularly like listening to people talking and in the pub that talk is often of the most fantastical nature. Of course, the pints feature but if it was just about that we'd only have off licences, wouldn't we? And if the pub wasn't some kind of mirror of Irish society why do we try so hard to sell tourists the pub as an essential experience? As to why the pubs are closing, well, there must be, in all honesty, many reasons as these things tend to be complicated. Two seem to jump out to me though. One is just a personal experience. In the closest town to where I am, a small rural town, there was a pub that I loved to frequent. It had a long counter and a fireplace and was a great place for a pint. When I was last in there the television that was on for sporting events had now become two screens continually on with the noise turned down. There was a radio playing loudly and it had gone from being a great place for a pint to a place that was an assault on the senses. Now, perhaps, I'm suddenly an old man with old man's complaints but it seemed the pub had decided it needed modernising and so was introducing things like televisions just in case there was someone who didn't have one at home and thought a treat would be to watch two. While listening to the radio. This Americanisation of our shared spaces, our public houses, actually destroys what the pub is supposed to be. So why would you go there — to watch the telly? To watch the news or a soap opera or a ticker tape sports news channel? Would you not just stay at home in a much more comfortable seat to do that? And is that perhaps what people are doing? If the pub is not really the pub anymore then why go to it? But it's possible it's something much more socially profound. There has been a lot of talk that we are all much more socially isolated than we ever were. A report in 2022 claimed Ireland was the loneliest country in Europe. The European Commission's Joint Research Centre conducted the first EU-wide survey on loneliness, which found that over 20% of respondents in Ireland reported feeling lonely most or all of the time—significantly higher than the EU average of 13%. It seems unlikely those figures have changed much in the intervening years. This statistic is astonishing in a country that prides itself on its friendliness and the art of having the craic. We might appear on the surface more connected than ever, with many people constantly updating every aspect of their lives to people on social media, and we certainly seem to be one of the most photographed populations there has ever been. B ut are we lonely as well? Bertie Ahern was talking about this nearly twenty years ago. The idea that with all our advancements and all our communications that we were, in fact, getting more distant from each other. Many people have talked about this in relation to the pub. How the pub is a meeting place, a gathering centre in a community, how it is about much more than the drink. That it is one of the few places that is a refuge for isolated people. So, if the pubs are closing is it because we are no longer meeting up, no longer gathering together. Have we given up? Surrendered to our loneliness. Are we at home now, in Cork or Kerry or Donegal, in front of our outsized televisions, sipping a glass of wine, looking at photographs of other people's nights out. Is it that the pub we would have gone to is closed or that the pub isn't really the pub anymore? Does anyone know? I think I'll go for a pint. See More: Ireland, Irish Pub


RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Leaving Cert Irish: Exam tips with Múinteoir Séadhan
Study Hub 2025 guest Séadhan De Poire from the Dublin Academy of Education is here with tips and guidance for students sitting Higher Level Leaving Cert Irish. An accomplished author of Irish-language school textbooks and a regular contributor to RTÉ Study Hub, Séadhan is passionate about making Irish accessible and engaging. You can watch his contributions to the show in the videos above and below. For more tips, resources, and expert guidance on Irish exam preparation, follow him on TikTok here. Make Every Minute Count in Your Irish Study With the State Exams just around the corner, it's more important than ever to ensure that every minute of study is focused, efficient, and productive. A structured and strategic approach to preparation can make all the difference for students aiming to excel in Higher Level Irish. Here are three essential tips to help students maximise their marks: 1. Get to Know the Past Papers Familiarity with the structure and style of past exam questions is key. By regularly reviewing previous papers, students can gain insight into common question types and recurring themes. This not only helps narrow their focus to the most relevant parts of the studied texts but also builds confidence in understanding the language and phrasing used in the exams. Tip: Don't just read the questions - actively engage with them. Highlight patterns, practise answering under exam conditions, and review examiner marking schemes where possible. 2. Mimic Real Exam Conditions Effective preparation involves more than just passive revision—it requires simulation. Practice answering exam-style questions under timed conditions that replicate the real exam environment. Take Irish Paper 2 as an example. For the poetry question, you'll face three parts: a 15-mark question, a 9-mark question, and a 6-mark question. Allocate your time accordingly: 20 minutes for the 15-mark question 10 minutes combined for the 9-mark and 6-mark questions Stick rigidly to these time limits during practice sessions. Developing time management now will prevent stress and ensure stronger performance on the day. 3. Prioritise the High-Value Questions Many students fall into the trap of focusing on their favourite topics or lower-weighted sections. A smart strategy is to target the questions that carry the most marks. Now that the Irish oral is complete, all remaining attention should shift to the written papers, which hold a total of 360 marks. Two of the most valuable components are: The Essay on Paper 1 – worth 100 marks The Reading Comprehensions on Paper 2 – also worth 100 marks These sections should be the foundation of your revision. Allocate more time to mastering them as they offer the greatest return on investment when it comes to boosting your final grade. Stay focused in these final two weeks. At this stage, quality matters more than quantity. Stick to your plan, stay consistent, and revise with purpose. If you come across a word you don't recognise in a question, don't panic. Trust in your preparation and your ability to work through it. You know more than you think. Wishing you all the very best of luck. More about Séadhan Séadhan De Poire is a fluent Irish speaker with over a decade of experience in education and language instruction. He has held several leadership positions, including serving as Deputy Principal in The Dublin Academy for four years, where he played a key role in academic and administrative development. Séadhan brings invaluable insight to students preparing for State Exams, having worked closely with the State Examinations Commission as a corrector for the Leaving Certificate Higher Level Irish exam. His deep understanding of exam standards and expectations makes him a trusted guide for both Junior Cycle and Leaving Certificate students.