The Irish constitution states that “the Irish language as a national language is the first official language” and “the English language is recognized as a second official language” ( Bunreacht na hÉireann , Article 8). But what is the truth? Irish is, in fact, a minority language. Despite the best efforts of the state.
The Irish language
Irish, or gaeilge in Irish, is part of the Gaelic group and one of the Celtic languages still existing in Europe. Other remnants of Celtic heritage are Gaelic (Scottish), Manx, Welsh, Cornish, and Breize (spoken in Brittany). Of these, Welsh is the most popular as it is used on a day-to-day basis in much of Wales.
Old Irish was the lingua franca of Ireland at the time of the Anglo-Norman conquest, then went into slow decline. Later, the language was actively suppressed and English became the main means of communication. Only remote communities, mainly on the west coast, managed to keep a tradition alive. This was later documented by academics, oral tradition turned it into the academic world. And once the academics had rediscovered Irish, the nationalists followed, making the revival of the mother tongue part of their agenda.
Unfortunately, Irish had been converted into so many dialects that the ‘renaissance’ was more of a reconstruction, some modern linguists even called it a reinvention.
After independence was gained, the Irish state made Irish the first language, especially Valera was at the forefront of this movement, trying to undo almost 800 years of English cultural influences. Special areas were designated as gaeltacht , and in a misguided attempt to extend the plantations of western Irish-speaking natives they settled in the east. Irish became compulsory in all schools and was for the vast majority of students the first foreign language they learned. To this day, all schoolchildren in Ireland have to learn Irish and English, then graduate to ‘foreign languages’.
Reality
In fact, Irish or (to a lesser degree) English is a foreign language for most students. Only in the Gaeltacht areas would Irish be the mother tongue, for the vast majority of Irish children it is English. However, the Irish state is committed to providing any and all official writing in English and Irish. This is a million euro industry and primarily benefits translators and printers – Irish versions of documents tend to collect dust even in gaeltacht areas.
Statistics differ, but the reality of Irish is depressing for its supporters and ridiculous for critics: millions of Irish are estimated to have ‘knowledge’ of Irish, but only significantly less than one percent use it on a daily basis! For the tourist, all of this may be irrelevant – just rest assured that you won’t have to speak or understand the ‘first language’ of Ireland – some essential words of Irish will.
