The Irish Language
• After the Anglo-Norman invasion (1169):
– Statutes of Kilkenny (1366)
– Tudors: Henry VIII (Reformation); Plantations policy
– Penal Laws: 1689-91
– Introduction of National School system through
English
– Effects of the Great Famine (An Gorta Mór):
emigration
• Turn of the 19th to the 20th centuries:
– An “economic revival” as result of Land Acts and
money coming from Irish emigrants →
• Gaelic Athletic Association, Gaelic League, Literary
Revival…
• Irish Free State (1922):
– Irish becomes the national language (co-official
with English)
– Compulsory subject in education, for public
examinations and entry to some branches of the
public service
BUT the context is one of
– Reduction of Irish speakers
• 1940s: Growing decline of Irish-speaking
communities
• 1950s-1960s: The role of Irish is publicly questioned
– gradually change of policy to bilingualism
– 1972 Raidió na Gaeltachta (Gaeltacht-based all radio
station)
– 1996 TG4 (Teilifís na Gaeilge)
– Network of Irish-language schools in 1980s~90s
(gaeilscoileanna)
– Official Languages Act (2003)
• Reasons for decline?
– Associated with rural backwardness & poverty
– Unappealing teaching methods
– Independence achieved as English-speaking nation
– "Irish doesn't sell the cow"
PARADOX
• 2007: working language in the EU
• About 60% never use it
• No longer required for Civil Service nor
Secondary teachers
Source: Central Statistics Office
https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cp10esil/p10esil/
Information provided by the Census Statistics Office
(2016 Census)
Irish Language
In April 2016, 1,761,420 persons (aged 3 and over) stated that they could speak Irish, 39.8% of the
population. This was a slight decline (-13,017 or -0.7%) on 2011. More females (968,777) than males
(792,643) stated that they could speak Irish.
Ability to speak Irish by (administrative) county
Galway County recorded the highest percentages of persons able to speak Irish at 49.0%, followed by
Clare (45.9%), Cork County (44.9%) and Mayo (43.9%). In contrast, the lowest percentages were in
Dublin City at 29.2%, followed by Louth and South Dublin (both 34.1%) and Cavan (34.6%).
Frequency of speaking Irish
Of the 1,761,420 people who stated that they could speak Irish, almost one in four (418,420 or 23.8%)
indicated that they never spoke it. A further 558,608 (31.7%) indicated that they only spoke it within the
education system.
Among the remaining group, 586,535 persons (33.3%) spoke Irish less often than weekly, while 111,473
(6.3%) spoke it weekly. The number speaking Irish daily stood at 73,803, representing 1.7% of the
population. This was a decline of 3,382 (4.4%) on 2011.
Daily Irish speakers
Of those who spoke Irish daily, 14,903 (20.2%) lived in Dublin City and suburbs. This was an increase of
674 people (4.7%) on 2011. Cork, Galway and Limerick together accounted for 6,034 daily Irish speakers
(8.2%). Outside of these cities, the largest absolute numbers of daily speakers were living in An Bun Beag-
Doirí Beaga (771), followed by Letterkenny (525) and Swords (487).
Daily Irish speakers in the Gaeltacht areas of Galway County and Donegal made up almost three quarters
of all daily Irish speakers in Gaeltacht areas, with 9,445 (45.9%) in Galway and 5,929 (28.8%) in Donegal.
https://www.cso.ie/en/csolatestnews/pressreleases/2017pressreleases/pressstatementcensus2016result
sprofile10-educationskillsandtheirishlanguage/
2022 Census
Results on the Irish Language
Irish Speakers
The question on Irish language ability continues to provide important data on how many people
can speak Irish, how often they use it and in which areas of the country it is more prevalent.
▪ The number of people who indicated that they could speak Irish increased by 6%
between 2016 and 2022 to 1,873,997.
▪ This represents 40% of the population aged 3 years and over who completed the
question on Irish language, which is unchanged from 2016.
▪ Of the people who said they could speak Irish, 623,961 spoke Irish daily within and
outside the education system. This accounts for 33% of the Irish speaking population,
compared with 36% in 2016.
▪ 71,968 of the daily speakers used Irish outside the education system, a fall of 1,835 on
the 2016 figure.
▪ The proportion of people speaking Irish weekly and less often remained stable.
▪ Among those who could speak Irish, one in four (472,887) indicated that they never
spoke the language.
© Central Statistics Office, Ireland
https://data.cso.ie/table/FY066
Level of Irish
The question on speaking Irish was expanded in Census 2022 with the addition of a section on the
level of fluency.
▪ Of the 1,873,997 Irish speakers, 10% spoke the language very well with a further 32% speaking
it well.
▪ 55% of people who indicated that they spoke Irish did not speak the language well.
▪ 63% of people aged between 15 and 19 who spoke Irish reported that they spoke it either very
well or well.
▪ In contrast, 27% of the Irish speakers aged 50 to 54 recorded that they spoke Irish either very
well or well.
Level of Irish Spoken by County
▪ A fifth of the Irish speakers in counties Galway and Donegal spoke the language very well, the
highest percentage at county level recorded in the State.
▪ Kerry and Monaghan, both at 12%, were also among the counties with the highest percentage
of people who spoke the language very well.
Source: https://www.cso.ie/en/releasesandpublications/ep/p-cpsr/censusofpopulation2022-summaryresults/educationandirishlanguage /
FY066.20230518T120558
nsus Population aged 3 years and over Irish speakers Irish speakers as a percentage of total (excl. Not
r (Number) (Number) Stated) (%)
2011 403700631 107740437 41,4
2016 405690261 107610420 39,8
2022 409750713 108730997 40,4
Objectives of the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish
Language 2010-2030 governmental document:
• Increase the use of Irish as a community language
and daily language of communication
• Ensure its use in public services (including An Garda
Síochána and Defence Forces)
• Compulsory subject from primary to Leaving
Certificate level
• Make Irish more visible: promote throughout the
whole island, including Northern Ireland (Foras na
Gaeilge) and abroad →
– https://www.udc.es/amergin/events/curso-irlandes/
