A message from our president

Greg It's a huge honour to be chosen as president of this association but I must give thanks to my predeccessor, Deirdre, for the excellent and highly professional job she has done up to to now.

The person in the street would probably think that the job has to mean something important since it contains the word “Australian” in the title. But at heart, I'd like to fullfil the role because of what it represents. It's a wonderful and historic opportunity to promote our Irish language and here culture in Australia, and encourage it to strengthen. There's no harm in imagination and we'll all enjoy making the effort. That's the challenge we face.

In these modern times there's no excuse for not using your Irish every day. Don't depend entirely on your teachers to improve your Irish while you're only speaking it one night a week. Homework is essential outside of class. There's a wealth of technology in existence including laptops, iPads and internet resources. You can “Skype” with people in Ireland (or even just across town) download Irish books, some of them for free, even on your smartphone. In addition, TG4 produces excellent documentaries and dramas.

I encourage everyone to be more active on our Facebook page. Share your news and views on all things Gaeilge. That's also the reason we like to have a variety of people making the announcements each week. The more experienced speakers can help you. So for now, enjoy the coming year and I hope we all make it further along the road towards reaching our objective. We'll have more confidence using our Irish and making new friends along the way !

Greg Burns