Students from 16 schools descended on East Cork in recent days to attend the country’s very first spelling bee competition as Gaeilge.
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 féinfhorbairt (self-development).
In all, 32 students – two from each school – sat on the stage, waiting their turn to spell their assigned word. They’d 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.
Before the competition, the students had been given a list of more than 100 words to study, but after round four, they were…