Snámh le Spraoi

Snámh le Spraoi is a practical and sustainable initiative that strengthens both language ability and teaching skills among swimming instructors already working in sports centres.

The initiative is grounded in the Irish‑language commitments of the Dublin City Council Sports Plan 2024–2029.
The strategy focuses on a systemic solution: instead of providing short‑term funding, we invest in training existing instructors to create a continuous, empowered pipeline of Irish‑medium teaching.

A two‑week Irish‑language course was delivered to qualified staff, with a clear emphasis on practical learning in the pool, rather than classroom‑based instruction.

Each participant receives recognition to teach:

• fully through Irish, or
• bilingually (primarily in English with natural Irish phrases integrated).

Irish‑medium classes were added to the regular timetable, and 98% of participants chose to remain in the Irish‑medium classes rather than move to English‑medium ones. This success created demand for further Irish‑medium courses, such as Pilates through Irish.

The initiative now provides 300 Irish‑language speaking opportunities every week (20 participants × 15 classes). The scheme is sustainable, scalable and cost‑effective.

For more information and inspiration: see the How-to Guide.