This research will focus on:

• Redeveloping the Lift Off programme into Irish;
• Exploring the training needs for teachers and classroom assistants to organise, plan and carry out this programme in Irish;
• Assessing the outcomes of the programme, using the AML assessment tool;
• Producing resources and information to support the implementation of this programme on a wider scale in the future;

This project will examine the proficiency in Irish of Primary 7 pupils in Irish-medium primary schools in Northern Ireland and compare them to data already gathered in relation to 6th class pupils in Irish-medium primary schools in the Republic of Ireland. The study in the Republic of Ireland identified weaknesses in the syntactic and lexical features of Irish-medium pupils’ spoken Irish and the present study will seek to ascertain if there are significant differences between the features of both populations.