EU-related news items

Gaeilge costs EU €13,000 per minute (Jan 21, 2008)
http://www.irishexaminer.com/irishexaminer/pages/story.aspx-qqqg=ireland-qqqm=ireland-qqqa=ireland-qqqid=53174-qqqx=1.asp
“Less than 30 minutes of Irish was spoken in the European Parliament in the first full year as an official language — working out at a little less than €13,000 a minute.
“Despite pressure to have Gaeilge recognised as an official language, records show six of our 13 MEPs have never used Irish in parliamentary debates since January 1, 2007.”

EU bonanza for language software developers (Jan 21, 2008)
http://www.siliconrepublic.com/news/news.nv?storyid=single10059
"The European Commission has made its collection of about one million sentences and their translations in 22 languages available for free. The data is highly sought after by developers of computer-assisted translation technology and is expected to spur development of linguistic software tools.

Opinion: Pootsball misses Irish goal

(Jan 21 -- second item)
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/opinion/article3356537.ece
"It may be too cynical to suggest that Culture Minister Edwin Poots attended a GAA football match because it was a cheaper act of support to nationalists than spending money on the Irish language, but I will do it anyway."

How much Irish do the Irish actually speak?

(Jan 5, 2008)
http://www.eurotopics.net/en/search/results/archiv_article/ARTICLE13211-How-much-Irish-do-the-Irish-actually-speak
"Irish became an official language of the EU on January 1st, but writer and travel documentary maker Manchán Magan was taken aback by reactions as he travelled the country speaking only its official native tongue."
(A subscription may be required to read the entire article.)

Your Irish phrase, an 20ú lá Mí Eanáir

This distinction is a good one to know:
...gach -- every, each
...uilig -- all, the whole
as in
...gach lá -- "every day," "each day"
...an lá uilig -- "all day," "the whole day"

Cinneadh teanga le déanamh ag pobal oileáin

Here's a long-overdue translation opportunity. See the comments for a short word list to start you off on the first few paragraphs (below -- the rest of the article is at http://www.nuacht.com/ ).
Cinneadh teanga le déanamh ag pobal oileáin - 01/18/2008
Concubhar Ó Liatháin
Ní pobal Chorca Dhuibhne amháin atá ag plé teanga theagaisc san iarbhunscoil áitiúil faoi láthair nó tá tús curtha le suirbhé teanga ar oileán i nGaeltacht Thír Chonaill ó thús na seachtaine seo.
Tá Coiste Gairmoideachais an chontae ag iarraidh a fháil amach an bhfuil pobal an oileáin ag iarraidh go mbeadh an Ghaeilge mar theanga theagaisc arís i nGairmscoil Mhic Dhiarmuda ar Árainn Mhór.
Cuireadh deireadh leis an Ghaeilge mar theanga theagaisc ag an Ghairmscoil in 2001 tar éis go ndearnadh suirbhé i measc tuismitheoirí an oileáin. Ag an uair sin, áfach, ní raibh an Ghaeilge in úsáid mar theanga theagaisc le roinnt blianta agus bhí fonn ar an Choiste Gairmoideachais roinnt airgid a shábháil nó bíonn liúntas breise le híoc le múinteoirí a mhúineann trí Ghaeilge sa Ghaeltacht.

In the Name of the Bishop

(Jan 16, 2008)
http://www.irishabroad.com/news/irish-voice/news/Articles/In-the-Name-of-the-Bishop190108.aspx
"Queens-born, Irish-based funnyman Des Bishop crammed Rory Dolan’s in Yonkers on Friday night, January 11 with a two-hour show stopping performance before 500 people, with all proceeds going to the Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform (ILIR). Another two hundred were locked out."

Six weeks to speak Irish

(Jan 18, 2008)
http://www.dublinpeople.com/cms/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3546&Itemid=52
"Izabela Razniak was working in her dream job as a library assistant at Tallaght’s County Library when she was faced with an unusual dilemma. In order to take up a permanent position she needed to pass an oral examination in Irish which is a requirement for all candidates."

Oh, well.

Nine films on Foreign Oscar longlist (Jan 18, 2008)
http://www.rte.ie/arts/2008/0118/oscars.html
"Nine films have gone forward to the next round of voting in the Best Foreign Language Film category for the Oscars.
"Sixty-three films, including the Irish-language film 'Kings', had originally qualified in this category.
"The nine films in contention are: 'The Counterfeiters' (Austria), 'The Year My Parents Went on Vacation' (Brazil), 'Days of Darkness' (Canada), 'Beaufort' (Israel), 'The Unknown Woman' (Italy), 'Mongol' (Kazakhstan), 'Katyn' (Poland), '12' (Russia) and 'The Trap' (Serbia)."

Letters: Irish language belongs to us all

(Jan 17, 2008)
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/letters/article3346067.ece
"It is certainly unfortunate that the straightforward issue of language rights, a non-controversial issue in Wales, Scotland, the south of Ireland and throughout Europe, an issue which should be judged in the same light as any other expression of human rights, has become a political football by certain sections of unionism."

Anger at 'sectarian' Irish remark

(Jan 14, 2008)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/northern_ireland/7187956.stm
"The education minister has criticised a member of the DUP saying her attitude to the Irish language is 'sectarian.'"

MLA's fury at Ruane's 'sectarian' allegation

(January 16, 2008)
http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/MLAs-fury-at-Ruanes-sectarian.3676495.jp
"A DUP MLA has spoken of her anger at being branded 'sectarian' by Education Minister Caitriona Ruane during an Assembly debate."

Whisky galore in Ros Muc

(Jan 17, 2008)
http://www.galwayadvertiser.ie/content/index.php?aid=10171
"The Cóilín Sheáin Dharach sean-nós dance festival being held in Ros Muc over the weekend of January 25 to 27, like many cultural festivals in the Gaeltacht areas these days, will host a small contingent of Scottish Gaelic speakers."

UTV to screen award hope film

(Jan 15, 2008)
http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/local-national/article3340032.ece
"A documentary shot by five television fledglings about an Irish language film that is in line for a coveted Academy Award nomination is to be screened on UTV tonight."