Summer courses 2020 cancelled at Coláiste na Rinne

For the first time in 115 years, no Irish language courses will be run in the Waterford Gaeltacht in An Rinn this summer.

1,200 students were due in Coláiste na Rinne over the next four months with 120 people employed during the summer.

The Director of Coláiste na Rinne, Míchéal Ó Drisleain says it will have a huge economic impact on the area.

"We've been hosting students coming to us every summer since 1905, so 115 years uninterrupted. This is the first year that we won't have students coming to An Rinn during the summer.

"Certainly, it is disappointing, we would have been looking forward to welcoming 1,200 students and their families over the next three to four months, we would have 120 people employed during the summer.

"We would put maybe €2,000,000 into the local economy in An Rinn and we would put further millions into the local economy in West Waterford with many families coming to visit and staying in hotels."

Míchéal says fully support the department's decision.

"I think in these times public health has to be number 1, for all the Gaeltachtai would have been looking at up to 27,000 students would have been coming to visit us over the coming weeks and months.

"The risk attached to that would have been too high so while sacrifices have to be made this summer they're certainly in the interests of public health."

Míchéal says the summer season is very important to the Gaeltacht.

"It keeps the language alive, we're a very small Gaeltacht here in An Rinn, we're the smallest in the country. Having these students come here every year keeps the vibrancy in the Irish language very much alive. It will have an effect from a language point of view.

It's crucial that when we can get a solution to how to live with the virus that we can get students back to An Rinn again.

He says they have expanded their online offering to cater for their students.

"Our current boarding students are at home, we're engaging with them every single evening, we're doing different activities from art to cardio, to yoga, to Gaeilge online with them.

"We're also expanding our online offering to adults where we have up to 100 learners every week learning online with us."