Una Byrne | Gesellschaft des Deutschlehrenden Irlands

The GDI is the German Teachers' Association of Ireland and has been representing teachers since the 1960s. We have a very well attended annual conference in November each year. The Goethe-Institut Irland has provided support to our executive through the years, providing the venue for meetings, an address for our correspondence, and with the support and attendance at meetings by the various Language Department heads over the years, Michael Hauke being our current link with Goethe-Institut Irland.

Our conference would not be the success it is and has been without the Goethe-Institut Irland. Teachers returned from conference after conference with bags of merchandise and posters - much of it provided free of charge by the friendly staff of Goethe-Institut Irland in Dublin. The classrooms of Ireland have been decorated with these posters. The lure of the 'freebies' ensured teachers travelled to Dublin on the second Saturday of November each year. This proved to be both social and educational and has been a firm date in the diary of many German teachers over the decades. In the move to online conferences the Goethe-Institut Irland continues its support through talks, workshops, and sponsorship.