Chapter 3 Present-Day Irish Language Policy
3.1 Recent Developments and Current Framework
Although the second half of the 20th century marked a rather negative evolution for language maintenance efforts in Ireland, it should be noted that a number of milestones were reached too. An example is the creation in 1978 of Bord na Gaeilge, a state body whose remit was defined in Section 3(1) of the Bord na Gaeilge Act 1978: ‘The Board shall promote the Irish language and, in particular, its use as a living language and as an ordinary means of communication’ (Government of Ireland 1978). Among its activities, Bord na Gaeilge offered financial support to the voluntary sector and provided community schemes for the use of Irish (Ó Laoire 2005: 271).
Similarly, in 1980 Údarás na Gaeltachta replaced Gaeltarra Éireann as the authority with the remit to promote economic growth in Gaeltacht areas. This reorganisation was carried out to better represent the local communities in the decision-making process and increase sensitivity to language-related issues. These were elements that had been missing from the approach taken by Gaeltarra Éireann up until that point (Mac Giolla Chríost 2012: 405). Today, Údarás na Gaeltachta still plays a major role in the economic, social and cultural development of the Gaeltacht through funding and the creation of jobs, with the underlying goal of supporting Irish as an intergenerationally transmitted community language15.
15 Údarás na Gaeltachta (n.d.) What we do [online] available from
<https://www.udaras.ie/en/about/what-we-do/> [9 July 2020].
21
Around the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century in particular, Irish language policy gained new momentum through a series of positive developments. For instance, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 – which was instrumental in foregrounding linguistic human rights in the Irish context (Mac Giolla Chríost 2012: 408–409) – stated the necessity of creating a body for the promotion of the language across the whole island of Ireland. This body was established a year later with the name of Foras na Gaeilge, an intergovernmental institution that encourages the use of Irish in both the private and public sectors on the basis of Part III of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages16. Foras na Gaeilge replaced Bord na Gaeilge (Ó Laoire 2005: 272).
Another important achievement was the Education Act, 1998. The goals of this legal document include the following, which are stated in Section 6(i) and 6(j) respectively: ‘to contribute to the realisation of national policy and objectives in relation to the extension of bi-lingualism in Irish society and in particular the achievement of a greater use of the Irish language at school and in the community’;
as well as ‘to contribute to the maintenance of Irish as the primary community language in Gaeltacht areas’ (Government of Ireland 1998).
In 2003, the Official Languages Act was passed with the aim to improve the provision of public services in Irish. This occurs, for example, through language schemes for the provision of services in Irish, which have to be implemented by public bodies17. The Act also involves a control mechanism: an independent language commissioner (An Coimisinéir Teanga) can intervene if the bodies do not respect their commitments towards the use of the language. Moreover, the document declares that all Irish citizens have the right to communicate in English or in Irish with the state (Ó Ceallaigh and Ní Dhonnabháin 2015: 184).
16 Foras na Gaeilge (2020) About Foras na Gaeilge [online] available from
<https://www.forasnagaeilge.ie/about/about-foras-na-gaeilge/?lang=en> [14 April 2020].
17 Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht (2020) Official Languages Act 2003 [online]
available from <https://www.chg.gov.ie/gaeltacht/the-irish-language/official-languages-act-2003/#:~:text=The%20Official%20Languages%20Act%202003,services%20through%20the%20I rish%20language.&text=The%20Office%20of%20An%20Coimisin%C3%A9ir,under%20the%20Ac t%20in%202004> [30 October 2020].
22
From an international perspective, in 2005 Ireland requested that Irish become an official and working language of the European Union, albeit with a derogation: only certain texts were to be translated into Irish18. The language was awarded this status in 200719 and, since then, there has been a constant rise in the importance of Irish in the organisation: the volume of translation into Irish has grown exponentially, and by 2022 it is expected that the language will reach full status in the EU, without any derogation20.
Year Event
1893 Foundation of Conradh na Gaeilge 1922 Formation of the Irish Free State
1926 Coimisiún na Gaeltachta defines Fíor-Ghaeltacht and Breac-Ghaeltacht 1937 The revised Constitution, Bunreacht na hÉireann, enters into force 1949 Formation of the Republic of Ireland
1956 The Ministers and Secretaries (Amendment) Act and the Gaeltacht Areas Order, 1956 enter into force; creation of Roinn na Gaeltachta
1957 Creation of Gaeltarra Éireann
1973 A pass in Irish is no longer required to obtain the Leaving Certificate
1974 Irish is no longer compulsory in the entrance examinations for civil servants 1978 Creation of Bord na Gaeilge
1980 Creation of Údarás na Gaeltachta, which replaces Gaeltarra Éireann 1998 Good Friday Agreement; the Education Act, 1998 enters into force 1999 Creation of Foras na Gaeilge, which replaces Bord na Gaeilge
2003 The Official Languages Act enters into force; creation of a control mechanism through An Coimisinéir Teanga (the language commissioner)
2007 Irish becomes an official and working language of the EU
Table 1: A bird’s eye view of the main events in Irish language policy up until the early 2000s
18 European Commission (2020) The Irish language in the EU: on the way to full status [online]
available from <https://ec.europa.eu/ireland/news/key-eu-policy-areas/the-irish-language-in-the-eu_en> [15 August 2020].
19 European Union (2020) EU languages [online] available from <https://europa.eu/european-union/about-eu/eu-languages_en> [15 August 2020].
20 European Commission (2020) The Irish language in the EU: on the way to full status [online]
available from <https://ec.europa.eu/ireland/news/key-eu-policy-areas/the-irish-language-in-the-eu_en> [15 August 2020].
23