The ‘Dianchúrsai’, or intense Irish language courses, will be held in various venues across the north on 5 September 2015 as Líofa reaches its fourth birthday. Established with an initial target of encouraging 1,000 people to ‘sign up’ for the Irish language, Líofa has set a new target of enrolling 20,000 people by 2020. To date, just over 13,000 people have signed up.
In launching the courses the Minister said: “Irish is a language for everyone and when I launched Líofa in 2011 I never imagined that I would have to revise the target so many times. People from all walks of life have availed of the opportunity to sign-up to learn the language.
“Other avenues of learning have also opened up as Líofa recently launched a book club at the request of Líofa participants. There were over 20 book clubs established throughout the north this year and almost 250 participants. Líofa also now has a podcast so that participants can ask our Líofa Officers questions about their learning and pick up some tips to help them on their way to being Líofa.
“Four years on, we have much reason to celebrate the achievements of Líofa. Once again, I am encouraging both existing Líofa members and new recruits to enrol for these courses which are being held right across the north on 5th September as part of the fourth anniversary celebrations. The Dianchúrsai are for people of all abilities and there is something for everyone.
“The courses are free and are accessible to all and every support will be given to participants both on this course and beyond as they endeavour to improve on their language skills. So why not join in on the Líofa fourth anniversary celebrations by attending a course.”