TWO IRISH speaking areas have been granted Gaeltacht status.
Belfast in County Antrim and Carntogher in County Derry have been added to the list of Gaeltacht regions in Ireland.
Already on the list were Loughrea in Galway, Ennis in Clare and Clondalkin in Dublin.
Each area has been chosen by a cross-border body called Foras na Gaeilge.
This means an Irish language plan will be implemented over the next five to seven years. FnaG said an “imaginative public campaign” has been created to inspire and encourage communities to use more Irish every day.
“Simply what we hope to achieve is that more Irish will be heard and seen in our communities through creating and encouraging more opportunities to use Irish every day in our lives, starting with the easy step of using ‘Go raibh maith agat’ and ‘Slán’ every day, everywhere, with everyone. Our communities will benefit from this planning process and future investment as a result.”
