We have been given an extraordinary opportunity to buy the house and land in South Kilkenny before it goes on the open market. Here we will create a unique Irish Language and Culture Centre, the first of its kind in Ireland.

To date, we have helped hundreds of people to reconnect with the Irish language, our heritage and the holy ground beneath our feet. Now we need help to raise €125,000 of the €260,000 offer we've made, in a short space of time.

With the purchase of this place we will be able to respond to the great demand that we have encountered from people:

• to learn heritage/survival skills

• to speak Irish in the everyday, outside of an institutional setting

• to gather together in community celebrations.

We’re calling it: ‘Teach Aniar’ (lit. ‘coming from the west’) , the Irish word for ‘Resilience’. It aptly describes our journey from the remote western Gaeltacht of Corca Dhuibhne to our native ‘ceantar’. Having rediscovered and refined our Gaeilge, we have carried it home like an ember in the pocket, ag lorg an tinteán chun é a lagadh síos (seeking the hearth to set in).

The Vision:

Teacht Aniar will be a multifunctional space in which to pour our experience of the past 8 years hosting Irish language and cultural events, allowing us a practical, functional space to host retreats, events, rites, workshops and cultural exchanges. We will also host other craftspeople and facilitators that carry a similar vision.

We will host learning weekends in which the use of the Irish language is central, providing the opportunity to overcome the burden of fear and shame that prevents it being spoken.

We will learn nature-based skills which will have tremendous value in a future of resource shortage. Within the Gaelic/Celtic revival of the last few years and the resurgence of the ancient fire festivals, Teacht Aniar will be a place where the community can honour and engage once again in a spiritual tradition rooted in our land.

We undertake to develop this extraordinary place with the utmost respect for the land, in consultation with the local community and in harmony with permaculture principles, protecting the biodiversity, preserving the river, improving the soil, growing vegetables and planting trees.

• A Hedge School: More and more of us are seeking to learn practical, nature-based skills in an experiential way, outside of an institutional setting. Becoming more skilled in this way serves to prepare in the face of a future of resource shortage.

• A Meeting Place: Teacht Aniar is a foundational part of a newly-forming eco-system of resilient places in Ireland. These spaces can function in an alternative economy of mutual benefit that addresses the growing need for gathering places, as policy continues to bar community access to property.

• An Interwoven ethos: Environmental degradation goes hand in hand with cultural loss. In cultural rehabilitation, we foster the awareness and education needed to protect the environment.
  

The Place:

There is a renovated farm house with out-houses in good condition, on 1.5 acres. There is a long shed for dining, stables that will be renovated for accommodation for up to 12 people, a yard for parking, a barn for events and workshops, utility sheds and a polytunnel. There’s a sloping meadow in which to grow food and let children play freely, and then there’s the river on the edge of the property, an Abhainn Dubh.

The Fiscal Plan:

We will be raising €125,000 from our own assets and community investments, and hopefully €125,000 from this campaign to buy the place. Other funding sources will be made available to those that have donated and invested as we seek full transparency with our supporters and partners.

The Exchange:

Fair exchange is part of this campaign. Our donation rewards are wholesome services and products offered by experts that add value to our supporter’s generosity. On top of this, all supporters are invited to join us for a weekly online Community Comhrá to rediscover the Irish language and become part of the emerging community of Teacht Aniar.