Seachtain na Gaeilge is a community festival, with community-organized events. From oícheanta ceoil in the local pub to historical tours trí Ghaeilge through the castles of Ireland, there’s an event for everyone.
To find events, and to register your own, head over to Scéal.ie.
See below some suggestions for organizing your own event.
While looking at this list, don’t forget that any event that takes place as Gaeilge can be part of the events for Seachtain na Gaeilge. They don’t have to be based around the language itself, it can include aspects of Irish culture and whatever else you can think of!
- Tea / Coffee Morning
- Nature / Historical Tour
- Picnic
- Book Fair
- Sports Day
- Visit to local library
- Visit to local museum
- Children’s storytelling
- Visit to Art Gallery
- Puppet Show
- Face and balloon painting
- Children’s party
- Street Show
- Bicycle Trip
- Cake / Bake Sale
- Pottery
- Cookery
- Singing
- Music
- Damhsa
- Writing / Poetry
- Knitting / Sewing
- Flower Arranging
- Yoga
- Circus Skills
- Surfing
- Photography
- Art Design
- Arts and Crafts
- Culture / Heritage
- Irish language film screening
- Fashion Show
- Céilí / Concert
- Stage Play
- Pantomime
- Talent Show
- Evening of storytelling / lore
- Traditional Music Session
- Wine / Food Tasting
- Lecture
- Irish language conversation exchange
- Poetry night
- Haiku Competition
- Karaoke in Irish
- Celtic Disco
- Book / Album Launch
- Film Screening
- The Gaelic Factor
- Talent Competition
- (music, dance, song, poem, drama, comedy, hypnotism, magic!)
- Singing
- Music
- Dance
- Art
- Poetry
- Storytelling
- Table Quiz
- Scit TV Show
- Blind Date
- Bowling
- Gaelic Football / Hurling
- Swimming and other sports
- Treasure Hunt
- Fancy Dress
- Bingo
- Debate
- Window Display
- Irish Grammatical Champion
- Baking
- Card-playing
- Pool / Snooker
- Speed dating
- Pictionary
- Murder Mystery
- Who want to be a millionaire?
- Golf Classic
- Radio programme on local station
- Presentation of Fáinne
- Theme in St. Patrick’s Day Parade
Ceilí
Organise venue, live music or iPod, sound system. Make sure organisers know the dances in advance, and organise an MC to really get the crowd going.
A céilí can be great craic & you can add to it with spot prizes & games like Freeze (everyone must stop when the music stops, and you can make it more interesting with nose-to-nose and other fun bits!)
Concert
Organise a big band that has Irish or one that sings Irish songs, design a special poster, make sure that the band talks Irish to the audience and/or sings songs in Irish if they have them. Arrange a local band to play beforehand, organise venue, bar, security, sound system, it’s best to organise a venue that has all of this already.
Play
Organise a venue, stage, background & props, actors or a theatre group.
You can produce a play that has already been written, write a brand new one or translate a well-known play from another language. You need a director with experience and assistants. It’s best to keep the number of characters down if it’s your first effort. You can attract schools if the play is on the curriculum. There is also plenty of advice available from Comhlachas Náisiúnta Drámaíochta who can help with selecting a script etc: www.drama-gaeilge.ie
Coffee Morning
To organise: Venue with seats, suitable time for people (after dropping children to school / before a lecture etc), place to make tea & coffee.
You will need: Tea-bags, coffee, biscuits, milk, sugar, cups, spoons, bin!
To do: Hang up posters, send e-mails & texts, put on an Irish radio station for background noise!
Table Quiz
Pens, paper, white board or flip chart, markers, correctors, 7 or 8 rounds of 8 – 10 questions. There are loads of questions available in the handbook at on snag.ie, just make sure in advance that they are suitable for the group! You should include picture & music rounds, don’t forget prizes, printed pages, venue, tables & chairs. You can hold the quiz for a special reason, eg for charity. Someone with experience speaking in front of big crowds is a bonus!
Debate
Two teams of 3 with experience in debating, choose a motion that is interesting, funny or controversial, a suitable venue, MC to introduce the debaters, judges, timekeeper, water for speakers, posters and e-mails to get people to come, tie in with a local debating club. You can also invite well-known people to speak on the matter to get some more publicity for the event.