Starting next Monday and Thursday we’ll be repeating the series ‘Language Jewels’ and ‘If Ever You Go’  each day at 9.30 am

Language Jewels

Language Jewels is a three part series which follows the experience of Scoil Bhríde Cailíní, a primary school based in Blanchardstown that has passed in a short period of time from being a “typical” English speaking primary school, to host more than 40 languages in its classrooms. Join producer Ignacio Irigoien as he follows the journey of the school and looks at the involvement of the school in the Modern Languages in Primary Schools Initiative. We hear the opinions of scholars that have studied the issue of language integration in the classroom, looking at best practices in other countries and the advantages and disadvantages of early language integration from the perspective of the 2002 Barcelona Council, calling for the “teaching of at least two non-native languages from a very early age” and the fact that for many years, the European Commission has stressed the importance of multilingual education.

‘If Ever You Go’

Near FM have produced a ten part radio series reinterpreting the Dublin: One City One Book ‘If Ever You Go: a Map of Dublin in Poetry and Song’ edited by Pat Boran and Gerard Smyth.This series takes a unique look at the book from a northside Dublin perspective by focusing on the poems, poets and songs associated with Northside Dublin.

The series features many well known poets reciting and being interviewed about the poems they have featured in the book including Paula Meehan, Theo Dorgan and Dermot Bolger as well as up and coming poets such as Colm Keegan, Jessica Traynor and Alan Jude Moore.

Contributions also come from Poetry Ireland, Dedalus Press, Dublin City of Literature, Trinity College Dublin and St David’s Boys National School in north Dublin. There are also well known ballads performed by Gerry Cooley, Vincent Smith and Stephen Heffernan.

Poetry recital contributions for the series were made by Mary McNamara and Michael Sharp from the Near Drama Company.