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April 26th, 2012: Press Release What’s Irish About Irish Culture?

  • Irish Times Columnist Fintan O’Toole will answer this question in a lecture at Glucksman Ireland House, NYU, Friday 27th April 2012 at 7:30 pm
  • Irish Fulbright Commission’s Inaugural inter-changes Irish Language Teachers’ Workshop taking place at NYU, 27th – 29th April 2012

 

Thursday 26th April 2012 – The Fulbright Commission in Ireland will host a lecture by Irish Times columnist Fintan O’Toole, this Friday April 27th at 7.30pm at Glucksman Ireland House, New York University.  The lecture, entitled: “What’s Irish about Irish Culture?” will examine the growth and perception of Irish culture after the close of the “Imagine Ireland” program, a year-long celebration of Irish culture in the US.

This talk is part of the Fulbright Commission’s inaugural inter-changes Irish Language Teachers’ Workshop which is being held to respond to the needs of US based Irish language teachers. Since 2006 the Fulbright Commission with support from the Irish government’s Department of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht and the National Lottery, has been supporting Irish language awards and activities in Ireland and the US. The Fulbright Commission is currently developing a strategy for Irish language learning and teaching in the US for 2012 – 2016 that will be launched in Fall 2012.

Speaking about the program of events, Ms. Colleen Dube, Executive Director of the Fulbright Commission in Ireland said:

“The Fulbright Commission has been actively involved in promoting the Irish language in the US for the past six years. We were made aware of the need for additional resources for US-based Irish language teachers through research which we carried out last year in conjunction with the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht.

“We are delighted to have Fintan O’Toole lecturing on such an interesting topic. It will be a though provoking start to our weekend program.”

For further information on Friday’s lecture please visit:  irelandhouse.fas.nyu.edu/page/home.

 

ENDS/

About the Fulbright Commission & the Irish Language

The Fulbright Commission in Ireland, in conjunction with the Ireland Canada University Foundation (ICUF), is preparing a strategy for Irish language learning and teaching in North America for the 2012 – 2016 period. This strategy has been requested by the Irish Government’s Department of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht to guide the implementation of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-2030, particularly the co-ordination and delivery of the Irish government’s funding for Irish language activities in North America. Since 1st January 2012 all funding applications for Irish language courses from 3rd level institutions located in the US and Canada is managed by the Fulbright Commission and the ICUF who submit annual business plans / funding requests to the Department of Arts, Heritage & the Gaeltacht.

Fintan O’Toole

Fintan O’Toole is one of Ireland’s leading public intellectuals. For Spring 2012, he is the Leonard L. Milberg ’53 Visiting Lecturer in Irish Letters at Princeton University. He has served as a drama critic for The Irish Times, New York Daily News, Sunday Tribune (Dublin), and In Dublin Magazine. His books on theater span a wide range of topics, from his biography of Richard Brinsley Sheridan to whatever is now appearing on Irish stages. He also contributes to The New York Review of Books, The New Yorker, Granta, The Guardian, The Observer, and other international publications. In 2011, O’Toole was named one of “Britain’s top 300 intellectuals” by The Observer. He has received the A.T. Cross Award for Supreme Contribution to Irish Journalism, the Millennium Social Inclusion Award, and Journalist of the Year in 2010 from TV3 Media Awards.

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