The Education Minister in the Northern Ireland government, Caitriona Ruane, has approved funding for four Irish-medium schools. The Minister said the new schools were scheduled to open in September and reflect a demand from parents for education through Irish.

The Education Minister in the Northern Ireland government, Caitriona Ruane, has approved funding for four Irish-medium schools.

The Minister said the new schools were scheduled to open in September and reflect a demand from parents for education through Irish.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Minister said; ”The Department of Education has a statutory duty to encourage and facilitate the development of Irish-medium education.” She added;

“I am therefore giving these four new schools conditional approval because I believe they will ensure that the choice of primary education through the medium of Irish is available to a growing number of children.”

The new schools are Gaelscoil an tSeanchaí in Magherafelt; Gaelscoil na mBeann, in Kilkeel; Gaelscoil Léim an Mhadaidh, in Limavady and Gaelscoil Choin Rí Uladh, in Ballymena.

The schools announcement provoked the usual carping and criticism from some Unionist political figures.

J B Moffatt (Mr)

Director of Information

Celtic League

29/07/10

The Celtic League has branches in the six Celtic Countries. It works to promote cooperation between these countries and campaigns on a broad range of political, cultural and environmental matters. It highlights human rights abuse, monitors all military activity and focuses on

socio-economic issues.

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Celtic League

La Ligue Celtique a des branches dans les six pays celtiques (Écosse, Pays de Galles, Irlande, Ile de Man, Cornouaille britannique et Bretagne).<br> Elle agit dans les domaines politique, culturel et environnemental dans le but de promouvoir la coopération entre ces pays.<br> La Ligue est particulièrement sensible aux violations des Droits de l’Homme et reste vigilante quant aux opérations militaires dans ces domaines. En savoir plus