Gaeilge Locha Riach provides support to schools in the area in partnership with the Gaelbhratach scheme, which is run by Gael Linn .

The point of Gaelbhratach is that it is an incentive scheme. Gaelbhratach has been around for more than 10 years now. By this point, over 300 schools have participated in the scheme and over 100,000 students have been impacted by it.

At post-primary level, Gaelbhratach is awarded to successful schools after they have spent one school year taking the necessary steps. One of the core goals of the scheme is to enable students and teachers to act effectively and independently to use and promote the language in school and outside the Irish classroom in particular.

In Loughrea, St. Brigid's College and St. Raphael's College are participating in the scheme this year.

A Student's Account of a Trip to Inis Oírr

As part of the Gaelbhratach scheme, and with the support of Gaeilge Loch Riach, the Leaving Certificate class, St. Bríd's College, went on a trip to Inis Oírr.

The trip was organized to give the students the opportunity to get a taste of the life and culture of the island of Oírr.

The class was deeply impressed by the magic and beauty of the place.

The first thing we did was go to the 'Plassy', the old, beautiful shipwreck, to see it. Afterwards, the students saw the old Church which was crumbling. The students learned about the history of the Church. The students found the talk so interesting and inspiring.

The last thing we did was visit the Old Tower which was at an unbelievable height.

After lunch, some of the students went to the beach to relax and some other students went swimming.

Several boys took the opportunity to play volleyball on the beach.

One thing the students noticed was the close-knit community. Everyone knows each other on the island.

Another thing that impressed the students was that Irish could be heard in every corner of the island - in the shops, on the beach, and as the students came home from school - It was absolutely incredible.

But above all, what the students noticed most was that Irish was spoken as a living language, intertwined with the lives of the island's people.