Gaelchultúr, provider of Irish language courses and resources, is delighted to announce that it has been selected as the Best Language School in Ireland. The award was presented to Gaelchultúr at the Education Awards annual gala held in Clontarf Castle Hotel, on 6 April 2022. The Education Awards recognise, encourage, and celebrate excellence in the third level education sector on the island of Ireland. This is the first time in the history of these awards that an Irish language college received this accolade!

Gaelchultúr is the largest provider of Irish language courses worldwide and the first third level Irish language institution. This award recognises the college’s dedication to developing and delivering first-class services that inspire both learners and fluent speakers of Irish to improve their knowledge of the language. Gaelchultúr offers Irish language courses to learners throughout the world, taught by a network of talented teachers, and the college’s e-learning website, ranganna.com, gives learners the opportunity to learn independently and at their own pace.

“We are extremely proud to have won this award,” says Darren Ó Rodaigh, Executive Chairperson of the college. “It demonstrates the progress of the college since its foundation in 2004 and it is a source of great pride to us that this recognition was given to a language school that promotes the learning of Irish in Ireland and abroad." Among the colleges nominated for this award, Gaelchultúr was the only one that operates through Irish.

“We are very grateful to the thousands of learners who have done an Irish course with us. We also want to acknowledge the continuous support that Foras na Gaeilge and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media provide for us.”

Gaelchultúr provides Irish courses and learning resources of the highest quality, aimed at those with an interest in Irish worldwide and boasts a range of dynamic learning opportunities, including general Irish conversation courses, intensive grammar bootcamps, Leaving Certificate preparatory courses and a Postgraduate Diploma in Translation. Gaelchultúr is also the selected Irish language course provider for the public sector and is recognised as the global market leader of Irish language training.

Although based in Dublin city, the college has created an international community of Irish language speakers through its online course offerings. In 2021, 12% of the college’s students were based in the USA, 7% lived in the UK and 6% were located in mainland Europe. To keep up with the growing demand the college created evening classes at 7pm Eastern Standard Time to cater to its expanding pool of students in North America. The next term of online language classes will begin on the 9 May 2022.

“We are thrilled to be able to connect learners around the world and create a dynamic Irish speaking community,” says Ellen Curtin, the college’s Sales and Marketing Manager. “And we look forward to building on all that we have achieved so far in the years to come.”