Tríocha bliain ó shin, i ndiaidh cuairt a thabhairt ar Bhóthar Seoighe in Iarthar Bhéal Feirste le hamharc ar thorthaí na gluaiseachta a thosaigh Séamus Mac Seáin agus Seán Mac Seán, i measc daoine eile, fiche bliain roimhe sin, shocraigh grúpa beag daoine i gCarn Tóchair an síol a chur fá choinne athbheochan na Gaeilge mar theanga labhartha an cheantair.

Caitheann feachtas margaíochta nua uile-oileáin ar fud na tíre, ina bhfuil seacht bpobal Gaeilge ar oileán na hÉireann, solas ar phobal Charn Tóchair in aice le Machaire Ráthar i gContae Dhoire. I bhfíseán a fhoilseofar ar líne an tseachtain seo tá raon leathan ball, idir óg agus sean, den phobal, agus dírítear ar imeachtaí óige, oideachas lán-Ghaeilge sa cheantar, spórt, cultúr, an timpeallacht agus gnó i bpobal Gaeilge an cheantair.

In 1992 bhunaigh Coiste Forbartha Charn Tóchair Naíscoil Charn Tóchair, an chéad naíscoil lán-Ghaeilge in Éirinn taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht, ar thailte Eiméid Shleacht Néill CLG sa cheantar. An bhliain dár gceann chuaigh tuismitheoirí agus daoine eile ar aghaidh gur bhunaigh siad Bunscoil Lúraigh, an chéad bhunscoil lán-Ghaeilge faoin tuath taobh amuigh den Ghaeltacht. Tríocha bliain ar aghaidh agus tá pobal láidir fásmhar Gaeilge ann agus bonneagar iontach.

Le blianta beaga anuas bunaíodh iar-bhunscoil lán-Ghaeilge, Gaelcholáiste Dhoire. Anois ina seachtú bliain di, tá céad chohórt daltaí na scoile díreach i ndiaidh a n-iar-bhunoideachas a chur i gcrích. Leanann Gaelcholáiste Dhoire ar a conair inairde, agus i Meán Fómhair 2022 beidh corradh is 300 dalta le maíomh aici.

Le blianta beaga anuas tá Coiste Forbartha Charn Tóchair ag fás léis ó neart go neart, ag bunú gnólachtaí nua sna meáin agus i dtáirgeadh céardaíochta, chomh maith le Spraoi, cuideachta úrnua gníomhaíochtaí faoin aer a éascaíonn imeachtaí i dTearmann Dúlra Dhroim nDamh in aice láimhe le freastal ar an éileamh ollmhór ó Ghaelscoileanna agus grúpaí pobail ar imeachtaí Gaeilge.

Tá an pobal dátheangach ag bláthú leis, le pleananna iontacha don bhliain agus iad ag ceiliúradh tríocha bliain d’athbheochan na Gaeilge ina gceantar beag tuaithe. I Meitheamh 2022 cheap Coiste Forbartha Charn Tóchair Joe Ó Dochartaigh mar oifigeach pleanála teanga le feidhmiú an phlean Gaeilge a chomhordú mar chuid den scéim líonra Gaeilge.

Thirty years ago, following a visit to the Shaws Road in West Belfast to see the fruits of the movement started by Séamus Mac Seáin and Seán Mac Seáin, among others, twenty years earlier, a small group of people in Carntogher decided to plant the seed for the revival of the Irish language as the spoken language of the area.

A new nationwide all-island marketing campaign featuring seven Irish language communities on the island of Ireland shines a light on the Carntogher community near Maghera in County Derry. A video published online this week features a wide range of members, young and old, of the community and focuses on youth activities, Irish medium education in the area, sport, culture, the environment and business in the Irish speaking community of the area.

In 1992 an Irish preschool, Naíscoil Charn Tóchair, the first rural Irish-medium preschool in Ireland outside of the Gaeltacht, was founded by Carntogher Community Association on the grounds of the local Slaughtneil Emmets GAA club. The following year parents and others went on to set up Bunscoil Lúraigh, the first rural Irish-medium primary school outside of the Gaeltacht. Thirty years on there is now a strong and growing Irish speaking community and a wonderful infrastructure.

Recent years have seen the foundation of an Irish medium secondary school, Gaelcholáiste Dhoire. Now in its seventh year, the school’s first cohort of pupils have just completed their second level education. Gaelcholáiste Dhoire continues its upwards trajectory and in September 2022 will boast over 300 pupils.

In the last few years the Carntogher Community Association has continued to grow from strength to strength with the foundation of several new businesses in media and craft production, as well as Spraoi, a brand new outdoor pursuits company facilitating activities at the nearby Drumnaph Nature Reserve to address the huge demand from Irish-medium schools and community groups for Irish language activities.

The bilingual community continues to blossom with exciting plans for the year ahead as they celebrate three decades of the Irish language revival in their small rural area. In June 2022 Carntogher Community Association appointed Joe Ó Dochartaigh as language planning officer to co-ordinate the implementation of the Irish language plan developed as part of the Irish language network scheme.

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