Conradh na Gaeilge - An Bhruiséil
Brussels is an obvious home for Irish language speakers
When Irish became an official language of the European Union in 2022, it opened up numerous jobs for aistritheoiri (translators) in Brussels. However even before this, there was a thriving Irish speaking community in the city.
Brussels is an unusual place within Europe for languages – with many EU and related organisation based there, there is a huge diversity in the languages spoken. It just makes sense that Irish would also find a home for itself there, according to Róisín de Bhaldraithe, one of the founders of Conradh na Gaeilge, Brussels.
“In Brussels, it does feel more welcoming somehow, like there’s a place for you to speak your own national language, because it’s so multilingual. It's very special to be able to find people who are equally interested in it, and it does give you a sense of pride in your own country.
I feel it very much fits that there would be a community of Irish speakers here, in a way you wouldn’t get necessarily in other European cities. It’s easier to find the audience of people who would be interested in speaking as Gaeilge [in Irish],” she explains.
Have fun with the Irish language
De Bhaldraithe attended a Gaelscoil for her primary education, and her grandfather wrote the De Bhaldraithe English-Irish dictionary, so she would have always had a strong connection to the language.
She drifted away from it in secondary school, until a particularly passionate teacher began hosting ciorcal comhras (conversation groups) for her class leading up to the Leaving Certificate.
“It makes such a difference when you have an Irish teacher who cares and shows you can have fun with the language. It’s not just all about reading Péig,” she says.
Bringing the Irish speaking community in Brussels together
She studied politics in University, and moved to Brussels shortly after to work with IBEC. She had friends living in Brussels, some of whom she would have met through speaking Irish, and they realised that while there were an unusual number of fluent Irish speakers in the area, there was nothing bringing them together.
“We realised we all had this grá [love] for the language. One evening when we were sitting around drinking beers, we said it was ridiculous there wasn’t a branch of Conradh na Gaeilge in Brussels yet when there’s such a strong Irish speaking community here. We had a feeling there would be an interest with the aistritheoiri, but I was also chatting to other friends who hadn’t spoken Irish since school, but said they’d really love to get back into it,” she explains.
Conradh na Gaeilge, Brussels
De Bhaldraithe and a committee of five others set up the Brussels branch of Conradh na Gaeilge shortly after. They first held a pop-up Gaeltacht in the summer to gauge interest, and were pleasantly surprised.
“We shared it among our own social circles, we expected it to just be our mates, maybe 10-15 people we knew. But there ended up being over 35. What was most interesting was quite a lot of people who came, their Irish would be rusty, because they haven’t spoken it since school. But they really had the interest in getting it up to scratch, they’re motivated and enthusiastic, and kicking themselves that they’ve let it go,” she says.
They held their launch event in September 2023, at the Embassy of Ireland, Belgium. “We managed to really expand our network there because the Embassy shared it with their network of all sorts of Irish people living in Brussels, not just working in the Institutions. We sold out the launch event in a day or so, there was a huge amount of interest,” she says.
Bring yourself and a love for the Irish language
They’ve since organised Christmas drinks, Tráth na gCeist and Seachtain na Gaeilge events, with more events like pop-up Gaeltachts and ciorcal comhrás in the pipeline.
De Bhaldraithe says she would be the first to admit that her own Irish grammar is rusty but that anyone with a love for the language is welcome.
“With the Conradh, we make it very clear that it's not just for fluent Irish speakers. It's for anyone who has any bit of Irish, it doesn't matter what level. The fluent speakers are hugely necessary to the community because they're teaching the rest of us.
But we want to get those new people in and spark that interest and make them motivated to learn or brush up. People are so friendly, and are just happy to see other people who are interested. Don’t be a stranger, use your cúpla focal [few words], and be proud of it,” she encourages.