Meath County Council Gaeltacht Scholarship Winners 2023

Thirty-eight students from seventeen secondary schoolsinthecountyhave been awarded Gaeltacht scholarships by Meath County Council. The scholarships were presentedbyCllr.NickKillian, Cathaoirleach of Meath County Council to students at a special ceremony in Buvinda House, onThursday25th May.

The scholarship scheme was set up in 2018 to honour Máire Nic Shiubhlaigh a founder actress of the Abbey Theatre and a leader of Cumann na mBán in Jacob’s Biscuit Factory during the 1916 Rising. Máire was also an employee of Meath County Council where she worked as a branch librarian in Laytown during the 1950’s.

The scheme was extended in recent years with new scholarships introduced for students attending DEIS schools. The new scholarships honour the memory of two other Irish language activists from the county, Mother Columba Gibbons, Loreto Navan and Máire Ní Raghallaigh from Drumconrath.

Guest speaker Manchán Magan thanked Meath County Council for honouring the memory of these revolutionary women, “We know that many of the women who participated in the events oftherevolutionaryperiod were forgotten and I am delighted that they are now re-emerging from the shadows and taking their place alongside the more well-knownnamesassociated with that period in ourhistory.”

Commenting on the scholarship scheme, Jackie Maguire, Chief Executive of Meath County Council said that the or- ganisation was delighted to be able to offer these scholarships to students with the support of the Creative Ireland Meath programme, “This is a wonderfulwayfortheIrish Language office in Meath CountyCounciltodemonstrate commitment to our nativelanguage.”

“I am delighted to see so manyschoolsrepresented, andIhopethepupilshave a wonderful time in the

Gaeltacht this summer. Ar aghaidhlibh!”

Welcoming the expanded scholarship scheme Cathaoirleach of Meath County Council, Cllr. Nick Killian added, “I’mdelightedtoseeMáire

Ní Raghallaigh honoured this year. The Drumconrath native dedicated her life to the Irish language movement, established an

Irish language bookshop at87DorsetStreetandwas the sole wholesale agent for books printed by the GaelicLeague.”

“It is fitting that these scholarshipsnamedinher honourwillprovidetherecipients with a unique opportunity to immerse themselves in the Irish language.”CllrKillianconcluded.