First Irish language exhibition in Northern Ireland opens

The first exhibition in the Irish language ever held at the Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI) has opened.

The Mná na hAthbheochana exhibition tells the story of the women who revived the use of the Irish language in Northern Ireland.

They were central in setting up the first urban Gaeltacht and first Irish-medium school in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Young women from Coláiste Feirste in west Belfast were among those who put the exhibition together.

Seventeen-year-old Aoibhín McConnell from Coláiste Feirste said that finding out about the women who had revived the Irish language was “inspirational”.

“Being an Irish speaker is incredibly important to me and to my community,” she said.

“My granny was one of the people who founded the second Irish-medium school and the first non-denominational one.

“It’s an amazing monument to our heritage and the role that we play within Belfast as a shared community today.”

Ms McConnell said it was important that women’s role in Irish language history was celebrated.

“We clearly live in what is still a deeply patriarchal society, but I think a lot of the time the role that women play has been underestimated,” she said.

“The women played the most crucial and key role in the Irish language revival.

“They continue to inspire me to this very day in every action that I take myself as a young Gael.”

Eighteen-year old Fiona Campbell from Coláiste Feirste had similar thoughts.

“You hear about some of these women a lot when you’re in school,” Ms Campbell said.

“But I also think it’s really cool to see some other women that don’t get noticed as much in this exhibition,” she said.

“They’re really powerful and strong people.”

“You see that they can make history, that makes you think ‘maybe I can do that as well’.”

The exhibition includes many photographs and also text in Irish and English telling the women’s stories and their place in the history of the language.

Teacher Maedhbh Nic Aindreasa’s family members feature in the exhibition.

“My grandmother, Áine, she taught in the first Irish-language primary school, Bunscoil Phobal Feirste, and I also have a great aunt who’s being celebrated here as well,” she said.

“A think a lot of the time women are forgotten in revivals and struggles.”

“They all played such different roles.”

She said researching the stories of the women in the exhibition had encouraged her female pupils “to use their voice and to make a difference.”

“They were at the heart of this as much as the men were,” she continued.

Ms Nic Aindreasa said that having the first Irish language exhibition in PRONI was “huge for us”.

“These things are huge to show people that Irish is not a hobby language, Irish is not here for the craic,” she said.

“It is part of our heritage, it is part of our culture.”

“It shows the people and it shows the public how important it is.”

Wendy Mistéil from the Irish language early years organisation Altram is one of the women featured in the exhibition.

“This is the first ever Irish language display of its kind in PRONI,” she told BBC News NI.

“There’s something special about noting that in the Titanic quarter, in the shadow of Sampson and Goliath, where history is saturated with the role of men, that we are now launching the first ever Irish language project and display and it’s about celebrating the role of the women,” Ms Mistéil said.

“Sometimes the women get forgotten about,” she said.

“They’re just ordinary working-class women but there’s something about them that was completely extraordinary.”

The Mná na hAthbheochana exhibition was organised by the Gael Stair organisation with support from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.