{"id":302189,"date":"2026-02-17T08:07:10","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T08:07:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/302189\/"},"modified":"2026-02-17T08:07:10","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T08:07:10","slug":"cork-school-hosts-countrys-first-spelling-bee-as-gaeilge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/302189\/","title":{"rendered":"Cork school hosts country’s first spelling bee as Gaeilge"},"content":{"rendered":"

Students from 16 schools descended on East Cork in recent days to attend the country\u2019s very first spelling bee competition as Gaeilge.<\/p>\n

The event, hosted by Gaelscoil Mhainistir na Corann, saw students compete over multiple rounds, spelling words ranging from easy to difficult, from gabhar (goat) to f\u00e9infhorbairt (self-development).<\/p>\n

In all, 32 students – two from each school – sat on the stage, waiting their turn to spell their assigned word. They\u2019d already come through their own school competition, so these were seasoned competitors. Still, there were nerves in the air, and as the number of participants whittled down, the tension started to rise.<\/p>\n

Before the competition, the students had been given a list of more than 100 words to study, but after round four, they were given words that were not on the list.<\/p>\n

\" Aoibhinn N\u00ec Drisceoil and Aisling N\u00ec Chath\u00e0in, both competitors from Gaelscoil Mhachan at the\u00a0<\/p>\n

As well as learning the list of words, they had been trawling through dictionaries and other books, doing their best to prepare by learning how to spell as many words as possible.<\/p>\n

Their preparation was evident. The 11- and 12-year-olds showed remarkable poise, taking their time and spelling out the words clearly. The mistakes were miniscule, a missing letter here, a rogue fada there.<\/p>\n

The battle for third spot was hard won, with Tom\u00e1s \u00d3g \u00d3 Cadhla from Scoil N\u00e1isi\u00fanta na Rinne, Waterford, pipping Sofia Lupton from Gaelscoil Dhocht\u00fair U\u00ed Sh\u00failleabh\u00e1in in Skibbereen to the prize. Then we were left with two: Conall \u00d3 D\u00e1laigh, of Gaelscoil Mhainistir na Corann, and Nancy N\u00ed \u00c9alaithe, from Gaelscoil U\u00ed Riada in Wilton. The eventual winner, Nancy, won out by correctly spelling idirdheal\u00fa (differentiate).<\/p>\n

\" Gaelscoil Mainistir na Corann students played prior to the competition. Picture: Jim Coughlan.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t think I\u2019d even get past the first round,\u201d said Nancy, who had studied for weeks at night. \u201cIt was very nerve-racking up there but really exciting too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Runner-up Conall enjoyed the competition but admitted being disappointed he didn\u2019t win. \u201cI speak Irish at home with my family, and one of my dad\u2019s sayings for us kids is \u2018foghlaim, f\u00e1s and forbairt\u2019 (learn, grow, and develop), so the word I missed – f\u00e9infhorbairt – will haunt me,\u201d he laughed.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was great to have the competition in our school, and it was good to have that support from my classmates.\u201d<\/p>\n

\" Sophia Lupton, competitor from Gaelscoil Dr. U\u00ed Sh\u00failleabh\u00e1in, Skibbereen. Picture: Jim Coughlan.<\/p>\n

Laoch an Litrithe is the brainchild of Aisling De N\u00f3gla, a student in Gaelscoil Mhainistir na Corann. Last year, De N\u00f3gla had taken part in the Eason National Spelling Bee, where she came third. When she returned from the competition, she asked the question, \u2018why isn\u2019t there an Irish language spelling competition\u2019?<\/p>\n

\u201cMy mom and dad took it to heart and suggested I ask at school. I said it to R\u00f3is\u00edn [N\u00ed Cheallaigh], who thought an Irish language spelling bee was a good idea. She took it on board and organised everything, and I helped her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Deputy Principal N\u00ed Cheallaigh was delighted to run with the idea. \u201cWe thought this is a good opportunity for the school to start something,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\" Ruth N\u00ec hArag\u00e0in and Ella Ni Chaiside, both competitors from Gaelscoil De H\u00cdde Fermoy. Picture: Jim Coughlan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe said we\u2019d start relatively small with all the gaelscoileanna in Cork, and then we reached out to Waterford too, as we\u2019re quite close to Waterford here in East Cork.\u201d<\/p>\n

The response from the other schools was positive.<\/p>\n

Then it was on to coming up with the rules for the competition, and organising the school final.<\/p>\n

For the rules, N\u00ed Cheallaigh leaned on the existing ones for the Eason spelling bee, including a rule that states that once you start spelling a word, you can\u2019t go back and correct yourself.<\/p>\n

\" Senan \u00d2 Comnchubhair and Sean \u00d2 Lonain, both competitors from Scoil Baile Mhic Airt, Co. Waterford. Picture: Jim Coughlan.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know this is a harsh rule, but it\u2019s one they use in the Eason competition, so we\u2019re going to stick with it,\u201d said N\u00ed Cheallaigh.<\/p>\n

This is not a competition for the faint-hearted, she explained. \u201cIt can be a bit cruel because you could get a spelling wrong, but you could know all the words before yours and after yours. So there\u2019s a certain amount of luck involved too.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of the 32 competitors, there was a mix of girls and boys, and N\u00ed Cheallaigh said there was a real mix too when it came to students \u201cwho would be naturally very good spellers\u201d and students \u201cwho showed huge determination to get to the final – it was lovely to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

\" \u00c8imi Leigh Ni Fhathartaigh and Ali Nic an Tuile, both competitiors from Gaelscoil Pheig Sayers.<\/p>\n

Irish language TV broadcaster TG4 was present on the day, recording the competition and interviewing the finalists and organisers. Laoch an Litrithe will be aired on TG4 today (Tuesday, February 17) at 1.30pm and 5.30pm on C\u00fala4 and again at 5.50pm on TG4.<\/p>\n

Aisling hopes this is the start of something big.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully, next year we can extend the competition to the whole of Munster, and even include students from English-language schools who would be interested in competing.\u201d<\/p>\n

N\u00ed Cheallaigh agrees. \u201cI think it\u2019s going to be the start of something rather than a once-off. There\u2019s been lots of good feeling from the other schools and offers of support.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a great opportunity to promote the Irish language too, which is something we work hard to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

For now, Aisling and the school are proud of the event they have put on.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere were so many schools here and everyone seemed to enjoy it. Everything went well too with the judging. It was a lot of work, especially by R\u00f3is\u00edn, but it was worth it. It was a great competition,\u201d said Aisling.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Students from 16 schools descended on East Cork in recent days to attend the country\u2019s very first spelling…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":302190,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[41435,43164,835,61,60,80],"class_list":["post-302189","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-technology","tag-cork-schools","tag-east-cork","tag-education","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302189","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=302189"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/302189\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/302190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=302189"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=302189"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=302189"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}