Seachtain na Gaeilge celebrated with a Concert in County Hall Swords

A wonderful evening of music song and Comhrá as Gaeilge was enjoyed in County Hall Swords to celebrate Seachtain na Gaeilge with Antaine Ó Faracháin and Nollaig MacCarthaigh.  Following on from years when all events had to be online everyone was delighted with the return of this live event. It was appropriate too that this was one of the first live events in County Hall since Covid as the Seachtain na Gaeilge concert was one of the last events to take place before restrictions were introduced in March 2020.

The large enthusiastic audience was welcomed by Irish Officer Bernie Kelly before being addressed by Acting Mayor Cllr Paul Mulville and Fingal Chief Executive AnnMarie Farrelly. Also in attendance was Cllr Brigid Manton and many Irish Language enthusiasts who were delighted to be able to attend a live event and were happy to join in and sing a song themselves on the night.   

Antaine Ó Faracháin and Nollaig Mac Cárthaigh are old friends of Seachtain na Gaeilge in Fingal and were delighted to be able to play live again in County Hall . Antaine Ó Faracháin sings in the  the traditional style in English and Irish and runs the Sean-Nós Cois Life song festival. Nollaig, a fluent Irish speaker, is an excellent piper and highly regarded as a musician who teaches the uilleann pipes and could be heard playing regularly at sessions.  

Speaking in Irish Acting Mayor Cllr Paul Mulville welcomed everyone to the event and said ”It is wonderful to hear our native language Irish being spoken here tonight and I am looking forward to the music.  I would also like to thank you all for the work you are doing to promote the language in the community yourselves activities such as Irish language coffee mornings.”  

AnnMarie Farrelly spoke of the commitment of the Council to the Irish language and continued “It is wonderful to be able to welcome you back to County Hall this evening as we can again welcome the people of Fingal to enjoy events in our head office. Events like tonight provide a great way for our community to celebrate the Irish language as well as enjoy this wonderful traditional music.”

Other events for Seachtain na Gaeilge included an audience with Manchán Magan and coding and storytelling as Gaeilge  organised by Libraries section and a guided walk in Argillan Demesne with Dominica McKevitt.

Currach na Scéirí were showcased on Youtube also here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EDwJ7UGMFlU