Comments on: Statistics on the Gaeltacht and the Irish Language

By: Eogháin Ó'Dúiné

Eogháin Ó'Dúiné — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 19:40:57 +0000

I speak Irish on an almost fluent level and i am sad to see the dwindling amount of people who can actually be bothered to learn the language we should all be speaking… I know some people would disagree with me, but it is the mother tongue of our country and we must work together as a people to preserve it.

By: mike

mike — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 20:31:39 +0000

Why not try to teach Irish to young kids in a way that they will actually want to use the language? Try to mimic what kids and young adults are actually interested in (pop culture, Internet, world news from a kid’s slant, the most popular music groups, etc.) and teach Irish through those media. The same would go for teaching it to adults for that matter – for the adults, perhaps teach a practical skill (such as science, economics, electronics, computer science) through Irish. And don’t just always focus on traditional Irish culture as the subject matter for the language – Irish must become internationalized, and transcend national borders, and become a language of interest and perhaps even prestige for foreign people. If the language manages to attract a critical mass of international people interested in learning and using it, then this will cause Ireland’s people to want to learn and use it too. In this world of globalization, use of Irish cannot be limited to Ireland’s borders.

By: Bernie

Bernie — Sun, 24 Jan 2010 21:20:46 +0000

Irish received official recognition in Northern Ireland for the first time in 1998 under the Good Friday Agreement. A cross-border body known as Foras na Gaeilge was established to promote the language in both Northern Ireland and the Republic, taking over the functions of Bord na Gaeilge.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irish_language_in_Northern_Ireland

By: Saise

Saise — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 09:47:49 +0000

“According to census figures from 2002, released by Central Statistics Office of Ireland (CSO, cso.ie), on the night of Sunday, 28 April 2002, there was 1,570,894 Irish speakers in the country as opposed to 2,180,101 Non-Irish speakers.”
Is the answers as to the source of data.

“An Irish speaker is defined as a person who claims that they can speak Irish, but who do not necessarily use it in their daily life.”
Is the definition of the Irish speakers from the same source.

By: Colman Stephenson

Colman Stephenson — Wed, 20 Jan 2010 01:11:34 +0000

One data point is highly suspect.

According to the bar chart, the ‘Percentage of Irish Speakers in Ireland (State) increased by one-third: from 30% to 40% (10 percentage points) in a five-year period between 1991 and 1996.

That is truly hard to believe and suggests that the definition of ‘Irish Speaker’ changed between the surveys.

What is the source of the data. The Census?

By: Michilín

Michilín — Fri, 30 Oct 2009 11:20:41 +0000

I am currently researching the importance of Gaeilge in today’s society as I am a degree student in Irish and i am appalled to read such a comment about the Irish language being about “loyalty,” the Irish language is a recognised language of the EU and as such the official langauge of Ireland, therefore one does have the legal right to request an civil or public service in Irish at any time. I personally do not live in a Gaelteacht area but I am fluent. Maybe those persons who are claiming that your websites statistics are incorrect should research further before commenting as a major part of the problem with individuals accepting Irish as a language and not a political weapon is lack of knowledge.

This website is fantastic and has really helped with my research.

Go raibh cead míle maith agaibh.

By: Rosie

Rosie — Tue, 30 Jun 2009 08:09:33 +0000

I am very glad about the development of Gaeilge in the North of Ireland, especially Belfast.What they need are very good teachers for the kids and young people there. I hope and pray that them stupid Ulster unionist idiots won’t destroy the language because they call it a weapon.

By: Crisdean Mac Fhearghais

Crisdean Mac Fhearghais — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 22:39:34 +0000

It is good to see this website – but as with some of the other commentators, how many folk actually speak the language and how many say they do in the census has to be taken with a big pinch of salt. My family moved from Mayo during the famine. I do not as yet speak any Irish Gaelic (but intend to start learning soon) but do Scottish Gaelic. So I was a bit disappointed that you did not mention Scottish Gaelic when you said that Breton and Welsh are sister languages. In fact it is more correct to say that Breton and Welsh are like cousins and Scottish Gaelic is like a sister language; I can not understand anything when a Welsh speaker speaks to me in Welsh but I can understand a fair amount when an Irish Speaker speaks to me – especially if they are from Donegall ( Dùn Nan Gall: fort of the foreigners / strangers ).

Suas leis nan Cànain!!

By: Ethan

Ethan — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 22:10:43 +0000

Thank You, This Website has help me alot with my school project, do you know where i could get information on the gaeltacht

By: Alexander Dietz

Alexander Dietz — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 08:42:10 +0000

I have forgotten to say that pessimistic statements of only 10.000 or 20.000 speakers are rubbish either. These relay on native speakers in the Gaeltacht only which do not give a realistic image either.