nós*

The lifestyle magazine nós* is now 11 issues old and still going strong with its quality rising with each issue. Nós* is of course almost unique in Gaelic language publishing in that it survives without funding. It survives on sales and advertising, on pure capitalism. A brave stand in these days of economic woe and the difficulities of the print industry.

It is also the only one to feature both the Scottish and Irish standards of Gaelic, both of these are always quite standard, presenting a refreshing clarity of language, released from the burdens of dialect for the sake of dialect – making it perfect for learners who wish to read contemporary Irish about contemporary issues.

It is not easy to make a valid comparsion between nós* and other magazines such as An tUltach, Comhar and Feasta due to the fact that nós* is not a current affairs magazine and Irish language matters are not discussed in nós*, however in terms of presentation, language, layout, paper quality, internet access etc, nós* is head and shoulders above the competition.

I ask myself the question, is this distinction despite the lack of support or because of it? I think it is a combination of both. Nós* needs to be of a very high standard in order to sell the copies and advertising it needs to to survive. However it is also true to say that it is a feat in itself to publish a magazine in a minority langauge without external support. Every Irish speaker I know is perplexed that nós* does not recieve the support of Foras na Gaeilge and believe that that should be rectified as soon as possible

Nós* survives but will not prosper without that support. Words of praise mean nothing, buying a subscription means everthing. Sometimes I meet people who praise the magazine to high heaven yet don’t have a subscription, what do they want? Foras na Gaeilge to buy their copy for them? In some cases I suspect so.

“You need not praise nós*, simply buy it” An Piarsach would have said.

It is available from Student Union Shops and Irish language book shops but you can also get your subsciption online.

And for those of yous that are a wee bit tight fisted, good news, it is 25% of all subscriptions until the 1st of September.

(wrote in English as I have previously wrote on this subject in Irish)