Kildare Co Board's promotion of Irish recognised with national award

Kildare GAA County Board have received the Fondúireacht Sheosaimh Mhic Dhonncha (FSMD) Silver award for increasing the presence and use of Irish in GAA clubs throughout the county. FSMD is a partnership scheme between Glór na nGael and the Cumann Lúthchleas Gael (CLG).

Irish Language & Cultural Officer with Kildare Co Board, Paul O’Delahunty accepted the award in an event at the Keadeen Hotel on Wednesday, November 26.

O'Delahunty said at the event, “I am accepting this award on behalf of people across Kildare who are working hard for the Irish language and on the backs of others like Séamus Ó Mídheach before me who helped put a lot of this in place.

“I was listening to The Two Johnnies podcast chat to Hector Ó hEochagáin this morning and he was saying, and I agree with him, that history and negative feeling toward Irish is well and truely gone and it is great to see young people embrace the language.

“I was at Scór na nÓg Kildare and was seeing small kids openly speaking Irish to each other. That’s the future.”

Kildare’s Irish Language & Cultural Officer also highlighted the role of players and influential club figures to aspiring young generations with Confey man Frank Bass serving as an Irish ambassador, as well as Niall Ó Muineacháin who was part of his club, Celbridge, receiving the Gold award in 2022.

Kildare were one of the five county boards who embraced the scheme aimed at promoting the Irish language.

The FSMD awards for clubs follows a simple guidebook for success with 70 listed ‘actions’ that range from only using the Irish language for the official club name and logo to hosting Irish language event nights.

The structure means clubs are awarded for ongoing efforts to integrate Irish into their activities and to foster its growth among their members and communities. Éire Óg Corra Choill led the way for Kildare in 2025 and received their own Bronze award.

Manager of FSMD Cáit Ní Choirbín explained, “This scheme is pretty new and we were delighted that we had five county boards that were happy to come on board and promote Irish. There is a lot more respect, visibility, and usage nowadays. It is so important that clubs who are involved in the FSMD scheme have that sort of support from their County Board and it is definitely visible within Kildare that there is a lot of work going on. They are very open to promoting the Irish language and making sure that they have policies and plans in place to keep that going.”

Registration is open for clubs now and will be open in the New Year for new and addditional County Boards that wish to get involved, at www.glornangael.ie/clg/ with more information about the criteria, the levels, and how to register for the next round.

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