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Iontaobhas ULTACH Trust

  • Removed

  • This charity was removed from the register on 4 Feb 2022
  • Charity no. 101328
  • Date registered. 26/02/2015

Public benefits

The Purposes of Iontaobhas ULTACH Trust are defined in its Deed of Trust (Par 3A): The first purpose is intended to benefit the public in general. The second purpose is directed at all the people in Northern Ireland. As the Irish language is a controversial issue, this purpose implies a strong commitment to cross-community outreach. This work

will have a particular public benefit among communities that, because of their political orientation or religious background, tend to be hostile or indifferent to the language. (1) IRISH LANGUAGE TRADITIONS AND CULTURAL HERITAGE. In the Charity Commission’s guidance on arts, culture, heritage and science, language is cited as an area of charitable activity which can confer public benefit. Language is among the “range of features or activities which are distinctive to a society or group”. (a) The culture related to the Irish language can provide indirect public benefit to other cultural and artistic activities, such as literature in Irish, and language-specific musical activities such as the Gaelic song tradition, as well as areas such as folklore, placenames and surnames. (b) The work of the Trust can provide public benefit related to “local or national history and traditions which are passed down through successive generations”, and “maintaining particular traditions where they are of benefit to the public”. (2) PROMOTING THE IRISH LANGUAGE ON A CROSS-COMMUNITY BASIS. The work of the Trust falls within Charity Commission’s guidance on public benefit in relation to human rights, conflict resolution, etc. This includes such phrases as “the promotion of ... reconciliation”, “the promotion of diversity”, “the advancement of peace and good community relations”. (3) GOVERNMENT POLICY ON PUBLIC BENEFIT Government policy identifies the advancement of the Irish language as an area of public benefit, and puts particular emphasis on its role in community reconciliation. (a) The Belfast Agreement of 1998, which has the force of an international treaty, recognises “the importance of respect, understanding and tolerance in relation to linguistic diversity, including in Northern Ireland, the Irish language, Ulster-Scots and the languages of the various ethnic communities, all of which are part of the cultural wealth of the island of Ireland." The Government makes a commitment, “in particular in relation to the Irish language”, to “take resolute action to promote the language”. (b) The UK Government has signed up to the European Charter for Lesser-Used Languages in March 2001. This commits the Government to the recognition of the Irish language “as an expression of cultural wealth”, and “the need for resolute action to promote regional or minority languages”. (c) The NI Executive’s Programme for Cohesion, Sharing and Integration (2010), intends the proposed Irish language strategy to: “contribute to the Executive's goal of a shared and better future for all citizens living here.” (d) In the NI Programme for Government, 2011-2015, the proposed Irish language strategy is identified as one of the “building blocks” of Priority 4: Building a Strong and Shared Community, which “focuses on building relationships between communities, encouraging active citizenship ... and unlocking the potential of the culture, arts and leisure sectors as instruments for positive change”. (4) INDIRECT BENEFIT. The work of the Trust can have a public benefit impact on areas such as the advancement of citizenship and community development, as well as the advancement of education (both formal and informal). (5) WIDER BENEFIT The work of the Trust contributes positively to the understanding of cultural and linguistic diversity in broader society. There is no harm flowing from the purposes. For a full public benefit statement please contact the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.

What your organisation does

ULTACH Trust pursues its purposes through internally generated projects, partnership projects and grants. Among its activities are: providing analysis of the challenges facing the language in society; advocacy (with both the general public and institutions); conscious-raising; developing resources; giving lectures and engaging in debate; publishing

relevant material; making grants; responding to consultations, participating in relevant organisations; providing advice. The Trust conducts, commissions and funds relevant research on issues related to its purposes, such as education, language planning, heritage, cross-community language promotion. ULTACH Trust works on a number of different levels within a broad language planning framework. (1) ATTITUDINAL. The Trust works to develop positive attitudes towards the Irish language among the general population. It engages with the particularly challenging area of promoting the language to the Protestant and unionist population. (2) LANGUAGE ACQUISITION. The Trust works directly and indirectly to support the full range of the language learning community, from complete beginners to those approaching full fluency. (3) DEVELOPMENT OF LANGUAGE COMMUNITIES AND NETWORKS. The Trust supports activities aimed at the development of communities and networks of active speakers of the Irish language.

The charity’s classifications

  • The advancement of education
  • The advancement of citizenship or community development
  • The advancement of the arts, culture, heritage or science

Who the charity helps

  • General public
  • Interface communities
  • Language community
  • Voluntary and community sector

How the charity works

  • Advice/advocacy/information
  • Arts
  • Community development
  • Cross-border/cross-community
  • Cultural
  • Education/training
  • Grant making
  • Heritage/historical
  • Research/evaluation

Charitable purposes

(Deed of Trust, Paragraph 3A) The Trustees shall hold the Trust Property subject to any special trusts or conditions affecting the same in trust to apply the same to capital and income for such charitable purposes or objects within Northern Ireland and in such manner as the Trustees shall in their absolute discretion think fit and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing for the advancement of the Irish language traditions and cultural heritage and making the same more readily available for the people of Northern Ireland. Provided that no part of the Trust Property shall be applied for – (i) the advancement of religion; (ii) the establishment or endowment of any school or institution providing further education within the meaning of the Education and Libraries (Northern Ireland) Order 1972; (iii) the provision of assistance to any Housing Association within the meaning of the Housing (Northern Ireland) Order 1976.

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