The Irish Language: Its Present and Future
For those who do not know me I am a linguist, one with a passion for minority and endangered languages. As an Irish person, I have a particular passion for an Ghaeilge (the Irish language). This past year I undertook and completed a MA in Linguistics at Universiteit Leiden and wrote my MA thesis with a focus on analysing recent Irish language policies. In particular, my thesis focused on the Government of Ireland’s 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language: 2010–2030 . During this process, I became more impassioned about not only minority and endangered language revitalisation policies, but Irish language policies too.
This is the first of many posts that I intend to write about the Irish language. My thesis only scratched the surface of current Irish language policies and the measures that can be taken now and in the future to further support and grow the use of the language. The purpose of these posts is to discuss the issues I could not cover in my thesis, particularly those concerning education, the Gaeltacht, the arts and more. I will explore these issues in finer detail and present potential solutions, when appropriate, by drawing influence from minority and endangered language communities across the globe, as well as exploring studies and programmes undertaken to promote growth in the use of and engagement with minority languages.
Concerning the present state of Irish, it would appear somewhat obvious to many that our language is by no means the ‘dead’ language that its detractors of the past were eager to label it. After all, Irish is fast approaching the two million speaker mark¹. However, caution must be maintained, especially given the decreasing number of daily speakers of the language (outside of education). This figure sat at just shy of 72,000 people as of the 2022 census², down from the 77,000 it stood at in 2011³. What is also of concern, and is a disappointment to this author, is that in the latest census 25% of respondents stated that they never speak Irish despite possessing the ability to do so⁴. In light of these facts, it seems clear that fewer people see reason to use the national language as the years tick by.
When discussing the Irish language, it is important to take the Gaeltacht into consideration, most importantly any and all issues that the communities within these regions of Ireland currently face. Natives of the Gaeltacht and Irish language advocacy groups, such as Bánú and Conradh na Gaeilge, have repeatedly voiced their dissatisfaction with the government⁵. They have recently protested at Leinster House to highlight the fact that “the housing crisis is the biggest thing pushing people out of the Gaeltacht” and to condemn the government over geallúintí dearmadta⁶, a reference to those promises made in the program for government to double the number of students in Irish-medium schools.
Issues concerning the education sector and its role in the revitalisation of Irish are aplenty. There remains a shortage of gaelcholáistí to take in graduates of gaelscoileanna, with there being five times fewer gaelcholáistí than gaelscoileanna⁸. There is also concern with respect to the fact that only 18% of those aged 15-to-19-years-old can speak Irish ‘very well’, according to the 2022 census⁹. This is despite the fact that students will spending approximately 1,500 hours between the ages of 6 and 15 learning Irish in school¹⁰. There is a clear need to improve the teaching practices employed for Irish learning, and to improve the incentives and opportunities for people, young and old, to speak and engage with the language beyond the classroom.
Despite these brief glimpses into the issues standing in the way of Irish, there are plenty of positives that must be acknowledged. There have been many sources of encouragement, especially when one looks to the arts. A name on many people’s lips and timelines these days is KNEECAP. The West Belfast rappers have taken the anglophone music world by storm in recent weeks with their album FINE ART reaching number two in the Irish music charts in its first week¹¹. They have packed-out stages at Glastonbury¹² and other European festivals and debuted on US television on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon¹³. They achieved the first-ever Sundance Film Festival win for an Irish language film in 2024 when the claimed an audience award¹⁴. There success follows that of An Cailín Ciúin at the 2023 Oscars, where it became the first Irish language feature film to receive a nomination¹⁵.
KNEECAP are not the only Irish language music artists, but they are by far the most popular at the moment. The role that the arts can play in the growth of Irish will be discussed in more detail in a future post, but the key takeaway remains that these recent successes of Irish music and cinema must be capitalised upon. Musicians, writers, and film-makers must be incentivised and supported to create art through Irish.
This post only offers but a brief glimpse of the issues that must be overcome to enable the Irish language to grow and prosper. While there are many issues to be resolved regarding the teaching of Irish and the facilitation of opportunities to use the language beyond the confines of the classroom, there are just as many reasons to take pride in where we have brought the language to-date.
If you are curious to read further into the data and issues presented in this post, the sources are linked below. If you are interested in reading my future posts about the issues facing the Irish language and the potential solutions for them, you can subscribe via my profile page.
Sources:
1: Census of Population 2022 Profile 8: The Irish Language and Education — Central Statistics Office
2: Census of Population 2022 Profile 8: The Irish Language and Education — Central Statistics Office
4: Census of Population 2022: Summary Results — Central Statistics Office
6: Geallúintí dearmadta? — The Irish Times
7: Leinster House protest over delays to Gaeltacht planning guidelines — Radio Kerry
9: Census of Population 2022: Summary Results — Central Statistics Office
11: Kneecap debut at number two on the Irish charts — RTE.ie
13: Watch Kneecap make explosive US TV debut on Jimmy Fallon — NME
14: Irish-language film Kneecap wins Audience Award at Sundance Film Festival — RTÉ News
15: An Cailín Ciúin first feature as Gaeilge with Oscar nod — RTÉ News
16: Irish-language film Kneecap wins Audience Award at Sundance Film Festival — RTÉ News
