DONEGAL COUNTY COUNCIL is organising a pop-up Gaeltacht in London at the weekend as the local authority tries to attract expatriates now living in the English capital back to their homeland.

Joe Kelly, a librarian employed by the county council at the service’s Gaoth Dobhair branch, described Sunday’s event at Tír Chonaill Gaels GAA club as a celebration of the language and the county. 

The librarian pointed out that there were many advantages to moving to Donegal, mentioning how there are places in Gaeltacht schools as one example. He explained that he and his family had moved to his native land after living in Dublin for a while.

Our main aim is to celebrate the Irish language and, at the same time, to sell this county and show people the opportunities that we have in this very vibrant place.

“If they are interested in coming to Ireland, they should come to Donegal because there is a lot going on here.”

We are not doing this because of a lack of population but at the same time we are always trying to ‘sell’ the county and we want to attract people home.

“We understand that there are people who are attracted to the county because of the Irish language and the Irish culture.

“If education through Irish is important to you as a parent, we have excellent Gaeltacht schools and Gaelscoileanna. The library service and language planning officers organise a large number of Irish language events.”

The Gaeltacht Pop-Up is a concept that started in the capital here in Ireland and has spread around the world with Gaeltacht pop-ups in Canada, Japan, Saudi Arabia and even here in Irish Gaeltacht communities.

People come together, some fluent in Irish and others with a few words, and have fun together in Irish as much as possible during the event. These events are often held in pubs or cafes.

The Gaeltacht Pop-up London is being run with the support of Donegal County Council’s Irish Language Office and the North Donegal Language Planning Office at the London GAA club, Tír Chonaill Gaels, from midday to 4pm on Sunday.

The Journal’s Gaeltacht initiative is supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme