Pupils step up to relay challenge

LAST week pupils from a Northside primary school showed their support for the Irish language when they took part in a major event as part of this year’s Seachtain na Gaeilge celebrations.

Pupils from Scoil Aine showed great enthusiasm when they participated in Rith 2014, one of the many events held as part of the festival which celebrates the Irish language every year.

The 700km Rith course was laid out for a massive relay-run, continuously from morning to night, from Baile Bhuirne (Ballyvourney, Cork) to Belfast over nine days with thousands of people taking part in over 200 towns and villages.

The Scoil Aine contingent joined the race last Monday week (March 10) and ran, jogged or walked a kilometre of the course along the Howth Road.

The children’s parents were invited to join the run, which began at All Saints’ Church and travelled a route towards Howth as far as the Topaz Petrol Station. Race officials and a Garda escort were also present.

Prior to the event, President Michael D Higgins wrote a message of hope for the Irish language which was carried by an approximate 30,000 runners taking part overall.

The relay baton was designed to carry the concealed message of support for the language that was inserted at the start of the Rith, and carried throughout the run, until it was read at the closing ceremony on March 15 in Belfast.

Teacher Bróna O’Donnell carried the message in her baton for Scoil Aine.