In the Irish department we hope to make the students more aware of their background and culture through a thorough knowledge of the Irish language.

We encourage pupils to take an interest in all aspects of their culture ,including songs and poetry and aim to teach irish as a living language. 

We offer many extra curricular activities such as table quizes, spelling bees, ceili dancing, bi-lingual mass and guest speakers.

We send students to Gaeltacht colleges during the summer. We would urge parents to send their boys on these courses. Besides helping their social development, they improve their fluency in Irish in a friendly, relaxed atmosphere and form new friendships with students from all over Ireland.

Students are taken on educational visits throughout the year e.g. plays, Irish language days. We use a wide range of resources in teaching Irish, including video, radio programmes, and ICT materials. Students at KS3,4 learn to describe themselves ,their environment at home and school and their interests in basic Irish. They study a range of basic texts in Irish from a range of sources and learn to write about everyday events in the language. As they progress there is more emphasis on the structure of the language. At AS, and A2 students consolidate their knowledge of grammar; they study a wide range of more advanced texts; they learn advanced translation techniques as well as improving speaking and listening skills. They are also introduced to modern Irish literature.

The successful student will have a qualification which opens doors in education, journalism, community work, public administration and business. He will also be more aware of his own people, background and culture and will thus have achieved one of the most important aims of education.