Who We Are

“Driving forward the development of the Irish language into a new, shared society”

• Putting Irish language rights on the agenda
• Creating partnerships between the Irish speaking community and statutory, community and government agencies
• Building capacity in the Irish speaking community through local planning, facilitation and project development
• Promoting co-operation between grassroots Irish language groups in cities, in towns and in townlands
• Providing a democratic, representative forum for grassroots Irish language groups

Key areas of work

POBAL was established in January 1998. We are a representative partnership that provides strategic direction and a democratic forum for the groups who have created the north’s thriving range of social, economic, artistic and educational projects for the Irish speaking community. We exist for the benefit of the Irish speaking community and for our members. There are two aspects to POBAL’s work: advocacy (including the Irish Language Act NI) and strategic support for our member groups. As well as this, we organise the Irish language Arts Road Show every year and are currently undertaking research into the Special Needs of Bilingual Children from 0-18 years.

Key activities in 2008

• Co-ordinating and leading all aspects of the work on the Irish Language Act NI
• Preparing detailed proposals for a strengthened ratification of Part III of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages in respect of Irish
• Launching the ‘Tá’ project to provide new opportunities for a wide range of people to show their support for the Irish language

POBAL: building bridges, strengthening our community