Auf Englisch ...
Basically there's a public meeting in Cultúrlann McAdam Ó Fiaich @ 7:30 on Tuesday next, the 14th December, to support Lá during their "crisis".

The crisis brought about by the Andersonstown News Group deciding that they aren't going to allow them to continue losses any more?

Or are they still trying to embarrass Foras into giving them money by claiming they're doing what Lord Laird is asking of them?

idunnomyself - you are relentless. Do you really think that the Andersonstown News Group should take the burden which the people of Ireland, north and south, placed squarely at the feet of the British government by voting in massive numbers for the Good Friday Agreement and its guarantees that the use of the Irish language in public life should be promoted. Isn't £200,000 enough of a loss to sustain?

There's no question that Laird and Hermon have exerted political influence in order to halt the growth of the paper and, in fact, cause it to take a few backward steps. And Foras na Gaeilge are such a spineless lot they would capitulate to such political pressure - notwithstanding that it's the last gasp of a dying breed, the Simply British Bigot.

They dress this bigotry up in all sorts of finery - anti competition rules, freedom of the press from government influence, funding the 'republican beast'.

In every other country in Europe support is given by the government to minority language newspapers, in most cases substantially more support than is accorded Lá. In the North the Belfast Tele - which is not written in a minority language - was given a bung of £4.5m while the Irish News got £250,000 (and applied for more for an Irish language supplement ) from Foras na Gaeilge.

Lá - the daily Irish langauge paper - is good for the Irish language, good for Belfast, good for Ireland - as such must it be that it's bad for the backwoodsman /woman of the UUP/Sunday Independent.?

my suggestion would be to take some advertising in (as gaeilge), labels like 7up and nike would be suitable? however, there should be a relation to ireland, so just the newest bmw car, 180 miles fast, wouldnt be the right thing here...

because irelands road are not designed to drive these cars at full speed.

a similar thing is offensive advertising, like for lingerie, which is not desireable for this community.

OC:

quite a compliment, if you are saying that I am relentless in exposing spin and deceit?

You've never tried to answer my points, only responded with bluster. Your rant about the GFA is a classic example- it argues and proves nothing. The GFA certainly doesn't say that Lá must be funded.

This has nothing to do with Laird, nothing to do with Unionists and everything to do with Lá trying to force Foras into giving them more grant.

Lá *knew* that they would lose money when they went daily. The ATN group decided to cover it. Their decision, and for them the consequences.

I suspect that Lá are using the old trick of cultural institutions:

Mess up
apply for funding to cover the gap in the accounts
get turned down
blame the problem on the people who refused you funding

can you prove otherwise? you haven't so far..

Mick:
What'll happen to Lá's current grant from Foras now that they have breached the conditions (to provide 5 issues a week)?

I think the spin and deceit is on your site. I never said the GFA said Lá should be funded but it did say what I said it did - as in the use of Irish in public life should be promoted.
It seems to me that if Lá can't avail of that protection then the GFA isn't much good to man nor beast. Is it the case that the North as well of the rest of Ireland is to be deprived of a publication like Lá which provides a valuable public good - much more valuable than the paltry sum granted it from the public purse by the British and Irish governments because of a spurious notion of equality between Ulster Scots and Irish.
I think you have exposed your own narrow little agenda more than any spin and deceit on our part and I suspect it has more to do with business rivalry than anything else.
The fact that Laird and Hermon create a political storm over the issue of Lá and subsequently two funding bodies halt and delay funding to the newspaper is not a coincidence or are you claiming it is.
Get a life!