The French people speak French, the Spanish people speak Spanish, the German people speak German, but the Irish speak… English (mostly). If you plan to come to Ireland don’t worry about Irish. Those who are already in the country should have noticed that even if Irish is present in signs or documents, it is not a language spoken by people in their daily life. It means that you can live in Dublin without needing to speak a single word of Irish, and you will not face any big issues linked to the language. Except for the accent, but that is another problem.
Nevertheless, showing no interest in this language will be a pity. The foreigner will miss a lot of important elements of the Irish culture. Irish people are proud of their language, but they do not use it daily. They have an ambiguous relationship with it.
Before to go further, do not confuse Irish with Gaelic. In Irish, ‘Gaelige’ (pronounced Gwal-gah) is the name of the Irish language. The adjective Gaelic describes the people and culture of Ireland and as a language, Gaelic refers to the language found in Scotland.
It is interesting to know that Irish is the official language of the state and English is only a secondary language. In reality, the government mostly uses English and if some politicians say a few words in Irish in their speeches, they quickly return to English to be understood by everyone. But the state takes an active role in the promotion of the language. During the school career, Irish is an important subject. Students start to study it early on. It is taught from the kindergarten to the leaving certificate for which it is a mandatory subject. Furthermore, they promote it through subsidies to media in Irish. There are six radio stations in total and a television channel: TG4. Unfortunately, the last newspaper in Irish (LáNua) stopped publishing in 2008. The Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht have an important role in the preservation of Irish culture and especially the language. We can also mention that in some regions, Irish still is very used like in Donegal, Connemara, in the Dingle peninsula…
The Irish see their language as an important part of their cultural identity. A lot of students see it as a heritage of the past and an element of the patrimony while learning it in school. People are still attached to it but concerning the population in general, while 40% of the people mentioned that they speak Irish, only 2% reported that they use it every day. In fact, the number of Irish speakers is decreasing every year. Why is the situation like that? Why is the language which has been the native tongue of the Emerald Isle for centuries, decreasing in favour of English? It’s probably in large part related to history.
Irish is one of the most ancient written language in Europe, the poem Amra Choluim Chille: Poem for Colum Cille, dates back to 597AD. It has been used for centuries but an important element of the history of the country had an impact on its use. Ireland is closely linked to England. Indeed, since the 12th century, the isle was under the tutelage of England. For decades the Irish could keep their customs, laws and language. However, in 1366, with the ‘Kilkenny Statutes’ Irish was prohibited by the crown and English have made a lot of efforts to develop their language and to ban Irish. English became the language of the high society, of the mighty, of the modernity whereas Irish remained the one of the countryside, the humble people. Despite the attempts of the English crown to destroy it, Irish remained the major language in the country.
However, later the isle was highly impacted by the Great Famine in 1845. One million people died, and between one and two million people immigrated mostly to English speaking countries like England and the United States. English became the language of new opportunities, of a better future whereas Irish stayed as the one of a country with bad living condition. The total population went from eight million before 1845 to less than a and a half in 1911. Following this, Irish almost disappeared from the country at the end of the 19th century. But in 1922, Ireland gained independence and its new government, in spite of its limited resources, put the priority on developing Irish. It was decided that all children in school should study Irish every day. Finally, Irish has known a renewal with the desire of the country to affirm its identity through it.
Irish is an important part of the cultural identity of Ireland. People attach importance to it because it’s a way to affirm their culture. They promote a common culture which is opposed to the English one. The Irish do not want to be assimilated to the English due to their history. A complicated and dramatic history which is still alive today. Do not forget that! But you will probably notice it quickly when you are there.
Finally, Irish is for the Irish an important element of the national affirmation, a language of pride, inheritance of the past but forward-looking with a renewal of interest. The Irish will appreciate if you can use a few words in Irish! If you are interested, the Language and Culture Space give a free class of Irish.
Nathanaël Leymarie
Dublin Insight 