belfasttelegraph

Friday 24 May 2013

Police chief hailed for Irish work

PSNI Deputy Chief Constable Judith Gillespie will be given a silver fainne by Culture Minister Caral Ni Chuilin

The deputy chief constable of Northern Ireland is to be awarded a pin badge for her working knowledge of Irish.

Judith Gillespie will be given a silver fainne by Culture Minister Caral Ni Chuilin in recognition of her efforts to learn the language.

Ms Gillespie said: "The police service has signed up to the Liofa project and I personally feel there is significant benefit in learning a second or even a third language.

"It enriches understanding and allows us to have a greater appreciation of the culture and heritage across all of the communities of Northern Ireland."

The Liofa 2015 project aims to encourage 2,015 people from all walks of life to sign up to becoming fluent in Irish by 2015.

The PSNI has been running Irish language course for many years. The Culture Minister will be visiting classes at the police college in Garnerville, east Belfast.

Ms Gillespie added the police wanted to show their commitment to cultural linguistic diversity.

She said: "I welcome minister Ni Chuilin to our Irish language classes and thank the minister for the support which she has given.

"The Police Service of Northern Ireland has a considerable number of Irish speakers amongst our officers and staff and it has been encouraging to see the interest in both learning Irish as a complete novice and from those who have studied or have some knowledge of the language and want to take it further."

Ms Gillespie added: "As a police service, communication is one of the most important aspects of policing and we must make every effort to engage meaningfully with all communities."

Latest News

Latest Sport

Latest Showbiz