KING'S INNS LAWYER LINGUIST COURSE

What_to_do999

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has taken part in this summer course before? And if so do you have any advice on what standard of Irish is required? I'd be interested in any information at all!

Thanks in advance

Eyespy

What_to_do999 wrote: »

Hi,

Just wondering if anyone has taken part in this summer course before? And if so do you have any advice on what standard of Irish is required? I'd be interested in any information at all!

Thanks in advance

Hi,

I was really interested in doing this course but my standard of Irish is not very high . Unfortunately. I was going to through caution to the wind and apply regardless but my final exam, Equity, is on the Saturday that the interviews take place. I wouldn't be out till 12 and I think that the interviews are happening between 12 and 1. I hope to sit the FE-1's between Sept/Oct and March/April of next year and enrol on an Irish course in the meantime to brush up for next summer. There is an exam sheet on the Kings Inn website frem last year and to be honest, it looked ok even for me. Have a look at it aand see what you think. The only problem is, I think the application forms had to be in for last Friday. Best of luck with it because I really think myself that having that course on your c.v. would really stand to you even if you don't get a job out of it.

I think maybe if you e-mailed the director of the course whose name is on the brochure, he should be able to put you right for next year, even if you happen to miss the deadline for this year.

Hope this helps

What_to_do999

Thanks for your reply! Luckily I've applied for it and didn't miss the closing date so I'm going to brush up on the Irish in the meantime. I have a relatively high level of Irish, B1 in the Leaving, and I've looked at the exam paper too which is manageable with a bit of study.
I was interested to know how many people they take on the course and whether the numbers are limited. But when I rang to ask the woman on the phone told me it would depend on the number of people who had the standard of Irish they were looking for and wouldn't tell me how many people did the course last year. I'm thinking she may not have known though to be honest!
Would appreciate if anyone else had any more information!?

Abstar

What_to_do999 wrote: »

Thanks for your reply! Luckily I've applied for it and didn't miss the closing date so I'm going to brush up on the Irish in the meantime. I have a relatively high level of Irish, B1 in the Leaving, and I've looked at the exam paper too which is manageable with a bit of study.
I was interested to know how many people they take on the course and whether the numbers are limited. But when I rang to ask the woman on the phone told me it would depend on the number of people who had the standard of Irish they were looking for and wouldn't tell me how many people did the course last year. I'm thinking she may not have known though to be honest!
Would appreciate if anyone else had any more information!?

Hey What_to_do999. I'll be at the exam too - like yourself, have been unable to get much information about it! Just going to spend the next couple of days looking over my verbs etc! It's been a few years since I did the leaving cert but had a pretty high standard back in the day - hopefully it's still somewhere in my head!! Best of luck.

bella.donna

I'll be doing it also! A friend did it last summer and was filling me in on it recently; there's an exam every week and a major one every four weeks or so. Only about 50% passed the final exam in October but nothing has happened since on the jobs front. The course first started in 2007 with only 2 from that year getting jobs in Brussels.

But there's no harm in doing it - it's not like there's much else out there at the moment! You'll be paid a stipend of €300 a week and up to €400 a week for rent if you're not from Dublin. I rang Kings last week and was told that the rent would be given every fortnight and the stipend at the end of every month.

I also emailed the Dean of Kings about career prospects and he said that there would be some jobs in Brussels over the next few years. The Times had some good news yesterday regarding translation jobs in Ireland:

Government to run second legal translation unit

The Government is to run two separate language units for translating primary and secondary legislation from English to Irish.The post of director for the second of the two units has been advertised, and the recruitment decision predates the public service jobs embargo, according to the Department of Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

The new Rannán Seirbhisí Aistriúcháin will translate secondary legislation, such as statutory instruments, while an existing Rannóg an Aistriúcháin will continue to produce Irish versions of primary legislation, it says. The director of services for the new rannán will be paid between €97,000 and €120,000, and Nuacht TG4 reported it will carry an allowance of €13,000. Translators will be sought, but the department says it is envisaged that some will be on contract.

The Houses of the Oireachtas communications unit has said funding for the new unit will come from “within existing allocations”. The intention is “to develop the capacity of the private sector to provide outsourced translation services at the requisite standard and to meet needs by a mixture of staff recruitment, outsourcing to the private sector and providing advisory and support services to departments and other rule-making authorities”, it has said. The unit will tackle a large backlog of statutory instruments from 1993 to 2004 – some 46,000 pages – which require translation.

The existing rannóg, set up after the 2003 Official Languages Act, will continue to focus on primary legislation. It costs just over €1.3 million annually and employs 17 translators. This unit also produces order papers and minutes of proceedings for both Houses of the Oireachtas, along with simultaneous translation services for both Houses and one Oireachtas committee. The second unit owes its origins to a High Court ruling in a case taken by Dublin-based solicitor Pól Ó Murchú. The court found in 2004 that there was a constitutional responsibility to publish statutory instruments simultaneously in Irish and English. The Government appealed to the Supreme Court, citing issues relating to “the correct interpretation of specific constitutional and legislative provisions and in relation to the separation of powers as between the executive and the judicial arms of the State”. “However, regardless of the outcome of the appeal, the Government has decided as a matter of principle that statutory instruments should be made available in Irish,” it has said.

I've emailed the head of the course as to whether or not doing this course would make me eligible to apply for a job with the new translation unit. I'll keep everybody up to date once I get a reply.

What_to_do999

That throws a bit more light on the course anyway. I'd imagine it would be fairly intense and by the sounds of it with an exam every week it will be!
Have you any idea how many people were on the course last summer? The exam paper seems to be looking for accuracy and it will be a case of you either know it or you don't!
Best of luck to everyone doing it anyway!

bella.donna

I think about 20 or so. My friend said that it wasn't too intense; she wrote her LL.M thesis at the same time. Still no reply from the director of the course yet... Best of luck to everyone on Saturday!

panda142

This is so frustrating. I have just literally finished my BCL degree the other day and did not know this course even existed....! Sounds very good. I got an A1 in the LC and that was only in 2006 so the course sounds manageable....

any other such courses anyone wants to tell me about that might just pad out my CV for the dreaded milkround this October??

seriously guys....ANY advice would be appreciated!!!

bella.donna

Similarly, people I know were in the same position last year. A friend only found out about it the day before; she rang Kings and sat the exam the next day and got onto the course. Maybe there's no harm in calling them in the morning and chancing your arm? You've got nothing to lose!

Eyespy

Just wondering how everyone got on today? Was there a big turnout and do you think that the course will be going ahead next year?

bella.donna

It was a tough exam; I'd seen last year's paper so I knew what to expect but the precision required was unbelievable. Huge turnout; I'd say about 100 and there's another sitting on Friday. I was mugged on the way to the exam so needless to say, the exam was not my finest hour.

bella.donna

Has anybody heard if they got in yet? A friend got an email this afternoon telling her she got in. Still waiting for mine....

Eyespy

Sorry to hear that you got mugged Belladonna but hopefully all your bad luck went with it and you got a place on the course. The very best of luck anyway and congratulations to everyone who did get a place.

radioface

Just wondering if anyone did this course in the end? Really interested in doing it so would love to hear how ye got on.

panda_cub

Second that radioface, and also whether anyone knows if this course is likely to go ahead again this year?

radioface

I emailed the course director and he said that it is their intention that this course, or at least a similar one, will run again next summer.

Kat1077

Hey just wondering if anyone ended up doing the course? Was it hard to get in? Worth doing?

marron_

Has anyone done the course recently?

I see that the Dept of [...] the Gaeltacht povides financial support. What does that look like?