The five secondary-school student winners of the Aistritheoirí Óga 2020 (Young Translators) contest hail from each of the four provinces of Ireland.
Bhlathnaid Ní Fhátharta, Coláiste na bPiarsach, Co. na Gaillimhe
‘Aistritheoirí Óga’ is an annual translation contest organised jointly by the European Commission and the Irish Government. Over 90 students from 34 schools took part this year, with translations to Irish from English, French, German, Spanish, and Italian.
– to promote a high standard of Irish;
– to encourage multilingualism among secondary school students;
– to encourage interest in linguistic professions.
Aoife Ní Bhriain, Coláiste Íosagáin, Dublin
Five students made the winners’ list, four for their translations from English to Irish, and one for her excellent translation from French to Irish. One winning student received the additional award of ‘Best Translation across the Island of Ireland’.
Bláthnaid Ní Fhátharta, Coláiste na bPiarsach, Co. na Gaillimhe (translation from English to Irish)
Aoife Ní Bhriain, Coláiste Íosagáin, Dublin (translation from English to Irish)
Caoimhe Ní Shé, Meánscoil Chnoc na Labhras FCJ, Co. Limerick (translation from English to Irish)
Cliodhna Ní Mhianáin, Gaelcholáiste Dhoire, Co. Derry (translation from English to Irish)
Sadhbha Nic Ruairí, Gaelcholáiste Dhoire, Co. Derry (translation from French to Irish)
Caoimhe Ní Shé, Meánscoil Chnoc na Labhras FCJ, Co. Limerick
Bláthnaid Ní Fhátharta, Coláiste na bPiarsach, Co. na Gaillimhe, received the additional award of Best Translation across the Island of Ireland.
Senator Seán Kyne, Government Chief Whip and Minister of State for the Irish Language, the Gaeltacht, and the Islands said:
“I would like to congratulate all of the winners. This competition is a wonderful opportunity for young people to gain a first insight into the work of a translator.”
Caoimhe Ní Shúilleabháin, European Commission (coordinator of the competition), pointed to increasing participation in the competition as an indication that students enjoy the challenge.
“It encourages them to think differently about languages and maybe to consider using their languages in their future careers,” Caoimhe said.
Cliodhna Ní Mhianáin, Gaelcholáiste Dhoire, Co. Derry
Sadhbha Nic Ruairí, Gaelcholáiste Dhoire, Co. Derry
The competition is open to pupils aged 15 or over. It is part of a wider effort to raise awareness of the importance and benefits of the status of the Irish language as an official language of the European Union.
Council Regulation 2015/2264 laid down that the Irish language will have full status as an official language of the European Union by 2022 and that all the legislation which is enacted in the Union will be translated into Irish from that date, as is already the case for the other 23 official languages.
For that reason, the EU institutions are looking for more Irish-language staff to do the work necessary to fulfill the obligations arising from the full status granted to Irish.