A question of national identity or minority rights? The changing status of the Irish language in Ireland since 1922

Abstract

When the Irish Free State was founded in 1922, the Irish language was a substantial feature of the politics that led up to this event. Subsequently the language was recognised as the national and first official language of the Irish Free State. Since then, the de jure position of Irish appears to have evolved. Most recently, legislation was introduced in the Republic of Ireland, and statutory duties were placed upon certain public bodies with regard to the Irish language in Northern Ireland. This article examines this historical shift in the status of Irish in the two political jurisdictions in Ireland, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland [as a part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK)], and explains its significance.

Articulating Minority Language Value in Diverse Communities: The Case of Compulsory Irish Language Education

“…The responses to the consultation reflected polarised attitudes towards the role of the Irish language in the education system, a finding that was not unexpected given the longstanding and entrenched nature of debates around the status of Irish in society (Mac Giolla Chríost, 2012). Arguments ranged along a spectrum, from the position that Irish should be compulsory for all students, irrespective of background or ability, to the position that Irish should not be taught at all in the education system and should be a home language for those who choose to speak it.…”

“…For example, it is the first national language in the constitution and has compulsory status in the education system. Despite this apparent institutional prestige, however, its prestige at a social and individual level is more complex, as attested to by the declining number of native speakers and the disparity between language attitudes and language behaviours (Mac Giolla Chríost, 2012;Ó Giollagáin, 2016).…”

One flew over the duck pond: Autoethnography, academic identity, and language

“…In Europe, English colonization of Ireland left many scars. This includes the Irish language and its status, which remains a contentious issue alongside the dominant English language (Mac Giolla Chríost, 2012). Belgium offers yet another example of linguistic tensions that are socio-historically grounded.…”

Unionism, Loyalism, and the Ulster‐Scots Ethnolinguistic ‘Revival’

“…The Ulster‐Scots movement is commonly aligned with ‘the cultural wing of loyalism or the ethnic branch of unionism’ and the Protestant community generally (especially Presbyterians), and is often associated with the British/Ulster national identities (Dowling ; Graham ; Mac Giolla Chríost ; Nic Craith :83). This section discusses three aspects of unionist and loyalist perspectives, which will subsequently form the structure of the findings section, as these constitute three themes that I identified through my analysis of Ullans journals.…”