Category Archives: An Ghaeilge (Irish Language)

Calling It Like It Is

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English versus An Ghaeilge

English versus An Ghaeilge

Uachtarán na hÉireann, Michael D. Higgins, has made a telling point in relation to the Irish language, a point that An Sionnach Fionn has highlighted repeatedly for the last two years and more. From RTÉ:

“President Michael D Higgins has said that to prevent people from speaking their own language is a denial of human rights.

Addressing an international conference, President Higgins said rights are denied when people are discouraged from speaking a language or when a language is allowed to become subordinate in usage.

He said that the importance of protecting Gaeltacht areas was widely recognised and although this was a matter for government he would do his best to encourage it.”

I wonder whether Michael D Higgins would have signed into law the now infamous Gaeltacht Bill of 2012? A piece of legislation from the Fine Gael-Labour coalition government that gives form to those parties most egregious discriminatory attitudes towards the Irish-speaking citizens and communities of Ireland. Attitudes that can find a parallel in that most supposedly egalitarian of institutions, the European Union, as this report from the Donegal Democrat newspaper proves:

“The President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz has agreed to give the go-ahead for an Irish language version of the parliament’s official website, following intensive lobbying by Irish MEPs.

The website, http://www.europarl.europa.eu, is currently available in 22 out of the 23 official EU languages, excluding Irish.

Fianna Fáil MEP for the North West Pat the Cope Gallagher, who has been pushing for years for the site to be accessible ‘as Gaeilge’, said the decision will reverse what has been “a matter of discrimination” against the Irish language.”

Discrimination that lasted for six years despite repeated demands that the European Parliament’s cursory and unique bigotry towards the Irish-speaking population of Ireland be reversed and that Irish-speakers be granted recognition as full citizens of the European Union too.

Of course our fellow Gaels in Scotland still face prejudice and a system of cultural apartheid. Even the appearance of their language on public signage is an offence to the Anglophone supremacists that permeate both our nations. While some shy away from naming these views for what they are, I do not. They are racist and those who espouse them are likewise racist.

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No Second Troy

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One of the last monolingual Irish-speakers in Ireland being interviewed by the British historian Michael Wood for his 1985 BBC documentary ”In Search of the Trojan War”. Does he look like a member of an “affluent, Mercedes-driving, latté-sipping, urban, Gaelic-speaking elite”? Or the last survivor of a people driven to the point of near-extinction? A point, perhaps, for the next Anglophone supremacist bigot you encounter.

Research Reveals Popular Support For Scottish Language

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Place names in the Scottish language are becoming increasingly common on road signs throughout Scotland

Place names in the Scottish language are becoming increasingly common on road signs throughout Scotland

Soillse is a research initiative between several universities in Scotland and its latest report on attitudes across the nation to the Scottish language (Scots Gaelic) are very encouraging indeed (full PDF here). The study reveals that of the population of Scotland: 

“…15% reported being able to speak at least the odd word of Gaelic, and 25% were able to understand at least the odd word. 0.5% of our sample were fluent speakers of Gaelic. 

Respondents were asked about their exposure to Gaelic in their past and present, and their preferences about this in the future. 16% of people reported that they had heard Gaelic in the past as a child, either at home or amongst their wider family or community. Respondents were asked whether they currently heard Gaelic spoken in their home or community. Only 4% of the sample had heard Gaelic spoken in their home by family members or visitors in the last 12 months, compared to 70% who had heard Gaelic in their homes by means of the media – whether on television or on radio. 

A similar contrast existed for the community context, with 12% of the sample reporting having heard Gaelic spoken in a public place (for example the street or a shop) in the last 12 months, and 58% of the sample reporting having seen Gaelic on road signs or on other public signs. Such results show the impact of public sector interventions to support the Gaelic language, with the media providing exposure to Gaelic in the home, and road signs and other public signs doing so in the community. 

People in Scotland were well-disposed to the greater public visibility of Gaelic in the future… More than 4 out of 5 people were in favour of bilingual road signs or other public signs in areas in which Gaelic is spoken, with around half of people wishing road and public signs to be bilingual throughout Scotland. One in 7 people believed that road signs and public signs should be in English only across Scotland.” 

When those surveyed were asked for their views on indigenous Scottish culture the responses were equally as positive: 

“Respondents were asked to assess the extent to which they believed Gaelic to be important to (i) the cultural heritage of Scotland, (ii) the cultural heritage of the Highlands and Islands and (iii) their own cultural heritage. 86% of people regarded Gaelic as being important to the cultural heritage of the Highlands and Islands, and a large majority – 76% of people – also saw the Gaelic language as being an important part of Scottish heritage. 

The proportion of people who felt that Gaelic is important to their own heritage was much lower – 24%. Over half (57%) of people who regarded Gaelic as very or fairly important to their own heritage did not understand Gaelic at all. Well over half (70%) of those who regarded Gaelic as very or fairly important to their identity recalled having no exposure to it as a child” 

On language rights the news was more mixed proving that there is still a mountain of work to be done on people’s attitudes towards equality between Scottish-speaking and English-speaking citizens of Scotland: 

“Respondents were asked a series of questions relating to whether or not Gaelic speakers should have the right to use the language in various social settings. This was asked in relation to six domains: 

• dealing with the local council;

• appearing as a witness in a court;

• speaking to a doctor or nurse in the National Health Service (NHS);

• speaking at a public meeting;

• a customer writing to their bank;

• school education. 

…between 30% and 40% wished Gaelic speakers to have such language rights anywhere in Scotland. Combining these figures with the proportion who were in favour of such language rights only in Gaelic speaking areas, we see that a very clear majority of people favoured such language rights for Gaelic speakers in at least some parts of Scotland.

For example, 85% wished Gaelic speakers to have the right to use Gaelic in communication with their Local Council. However, substantial minorities would not grant such rights – as many as 27% in the case of being a witness and in speaking to a nurse or doctor in the NHS.” 

On education some surprising results with the revelation that some 25% of parents in Scotland would favour Scottish-medium education for their children if it was available:

“In relation to Gaelic-medium education, respondents were asked whether they felt that parents should have the right to choose this for their child. In the survey, Gaelic-medium education was explained as children receiving most of the lessons in Gaelic. 48% of respondents said that parents anywhere in Scotland should have the right to send their child to a Gaelic-medium school, and a further 43% said parents should have this right in areas where Gaelic is spoken. Only 8% said that they should not have that right anywhere in Scotland. 

Asked if they would send their own child to a Gaelic-medium school, one quarter said they would be ‘very likely’ (10%) or ‘fairly likely’ (15%) to do so, compared to 73% of respondents who said they would be ‘not very likely’ or ‘not at all likely’ to do so. The 25% who would be likely to choose Gaelic-medium education is very much higher than the proportion of parents who currently choose Gaelic-medium education for their child (about 1%). 

Respondents were also asked for their views on teaching Gaelic to all pupils (aged 5-16) in English-medium schools in Scotland for one or two hours a week. 37% agreed that children should be taught Gaelic, 36% disagreed and 26% neither agreed nor disagreed.

Such varied views reflected respondents’ views of learning Gaelic more generally. For example, when asked whether ‘learning Gaelic is pointless in the 21st Century’, 44% of respondents disagreed, 22% agreed and 34% neither agreed nor disagreed, or else could not choose.” 

On the future: 

“Respondents were asked for their predictions regarding the future of Gaelic in 50 years time – whether it would be spoken by more, fewer, or the same number of people as in 2012 – and were then asked the same question about what they would like to happen in relation to Gaelic. Chart 5 shows the results. The graph shows the majority of respondents – 81% – wished there to be at least as many Gaelic speakers in 50 years time as there were in 2012, but that only 45% of respondents expected that this would be the case. 

In relation to respondents’ views of whether the use of Gaelic should be encouraged, 32% believed that it should be encouraged throughout Scotland, and a further 55% believed that it should be encouraged, but only in Gaelic-speaking areas. 

… there was a widely held belief that Gaelic television did have a crucial role in ensuring the future of Gaelic. 68% of respondents either ‘agreed’ or ‘strongly agreed’ that having Gaelic programmes on TV is essential to ensuring that some people use the Gaelic language in the future. The proportion who agreed that teaching some children in Gaelic is essential to the future of Gaelic language use was similar, at 67%.” 

The report has generated some very positive headlines in Scotland. From the BBC: 

“Survey suggests support for public spending on Gaelic” 

From the Scotsman newspaper: 

“Half of Scots back right to send child to Gaelic school” 

But, predictably, it has also drawn a backlash from Anglophone supremacists in the country. Do these comments sound familiar to an Irish readership? 

“The Ghost: Gaelic the most pointless language since Esperanto. A total waste of money.” 

“P Moss: A language is for both communication and access to literature. Gaelic does neither of these and to subsume English to secondary language status for the sake of historic, sentimental reasons, and especially ‘ant-English’ reasons would be the biggest mistake of any country… I sympathise with Gaelic as a cultural tool, but as a major medium for communication in Scotland, it would be disastrous. Who would they talk to outside Scotland?” 

One might say the same of the Danes, Swedes, Finn, Italians, Dutch and so on. But there is more of thise nonsense with a wearily familiar claim: 

“China Tim: Sorry I see no point in wasting money teaching a language which is spoken by barely a few thousand speakers. Want to learn Gaelic, fine, do it in your own time using your own money and good luck. Better bringing back Latin which at least provides an understanding of the building blocks of many modern European languages.” 

And here comes that perennial Angloban argument: 

“You’ve Been Quangoed: …the taxpayer should not be paying for this, if parents want to send their kids to any segregated or sepearted [ASF: presumably he/she means “separated”?] schools they should pay for it themselves, although what they hope to achieve by wasting their kids time teaching them a dead language of no international use is beyond me.” 

If that is discouraging at least remember that in the survey 25% of parents favoured Scottish-medium education for their children if given the choice. The problem is such a choice is being denied them. Just as in Ireland.

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Scottish Mythology And Folklore

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Lia Fáil, Teamhair na Rí, An Mhí, Éire (Íomhá: Séamas Ó Sionnaigh, 2008)

Lia Fáil, Teamhair na Rí, An Mhí, Éire (Íomhá: Séamas Ó Sionnaigh, 2008)

Some of the most popular (and visited) pages on An Sionnach Fionn are dedicated to the core elements of the Seanchas or indigenous mythology and folklore of Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Man. I have several lengthy articles discussing the likes of the Tuatha Dé Danann and the Fomhóraigh (not to mention the Lucharacháin or Leprechauns). However a number of Scottish friends and readers have taken me to task for not examining in closer detail some of the more unique aspects of the Scottish tradition. They have also levelled (some gentle) criticism at me for not providing enough names and titles as Gàidhlig (in Scottish or Scottish Gaelic). In my defence the shortage of Scottish language names is largely due to the lack of an agreed spelling in Modern Scottish for many characters or groups from the indigenous literatures of the Gaelic peoples. So one naturally defaults to Modern Irish spelling, which I admit is somewhat unfair. I certainly hope to remedy this failing in the near future (time permitting).

However until then I can recommend no better place to start one’s study of Scottish mythology and folklore than Tairis, the website of Seren who describes herself as (in her own words) “…a Gaelic Reconstructionist Polytheist”. Okay. While that description might appeal to some of you to others it will be positively off-putting. It certainly was to me, hard-headed atheist that I am, when I first came across the site many years ago. However I – and you – could not be more wrong. Tairis is clearly based upon years of scholarly study into the known or surmised beliefs of the Celtic and Gaelic-speaking peoples. The academic foundations of the site are obvious and it contains some of the best (and most accessible) summaries of modern Celtic studies on the web. More importantly it does it all with a definite Scottish focus that should satisfy most of my Gaelic cousins o’er the sea. Related to the site is a regularly updated personal blog filled with lots of useful cultural notes and engaging speculations on all things historical from Scotland, Ireland and beyond.

Both come recommended.

Meanwhile I hope all of you are celebrating Lá Bealtaine (which of course began yesterday at sunset) in suitable fashion. For my sins I’m working, otherwise I would be joining you.

By the by, and related to this, is it not time that the four great festival days of the indigenous Irish calendar were designated national holidays in Ireland instead of the colonial hangover of the utterly meaningless bank holidays’ system?

Hmmm. I do believe I feel a campaign coming on…

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Some More WikiWar News

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Wikipedia

Wikipedia

As a keen observer of both politics and technology I have spent the last decade and more watching the rise of the internet proxy wars that have flared up across the world wide web and in particular on sites like Wikipedia. The collective online encyclopaedia has become something of a new “high ground” in the information wars for numerous national- and non-national players around the globe. So it is no surprise that representatives of both Irish and British Nationalism (and sympathetic allies or observers on both sides) have made the migration to this new battleground. However what makes the internet all the more interesting is the manner in which one person can actually make a difference (just Google the term “Anglophone supremacist” to see why). Information is power and to control the main sources of information is to wield that power. And Wikipedia is certainly an exemplar of that.

So I’d thought I’d feature the “Talk” page of the English language Wikipedia entry for the Irish village of An Mhagh or Muff/Eglinton in County Derry. It represents a fascinating online microcosm of the greater struggle for Irish freedom, even in the most seemingly innocuous of things. And the determination of individuals to compete for the control of the online sources of information.

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A Letter From Irish Ireland

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The beautiful writing of Dubhghlas de hÍde in traditional Irish script

The beautiful writing of Dubhghlas de hÍde in traditional Irish script

From the BBC a story that reminds us that many people on this island owe a loyalty to a nation whose roots run far deeper than any modern nation-state (or Occupied territories):

“It was a letter written in a shaky hand by an 85-year-old man and his kind words warmed the hearts of a fledgling Irish language community in east Belfast.

He had been born in Armagh 85 years ago and now lives in Derry, he wrote in fine Old Irish script.

He likes to keep up with home and he read in the Armagh Observer about how the loyalist community had connected with the Irish language. It heartened him.

It is “our lovely language” said the letter writer – and he included a cheque for £100 to help someone else learn Irish.

It was a gesture that touched Linda Ervine’s heart.

She started classes in September at the East Belfast Mission – from one class, the project has grown to five classes.

She takes her work out into the community telling them about the hidden history of Protestants and the Irish language.

Since Linda became Irish language development officer at the East Belfast Mission last September, interest has grown. Her classes include an inter-generational one where all ages can learn together.

Linda’s love affair with the language began after she discovered from censuses that not only did some of her own ancestors speak Irish but that it was also widely spoken in several of the streets in east Belfast.

In the same week that the Armagh man wrote to Linda, Gaelchultur in Dublin sent learning resources worth £100.

“Cluain Ard and the Ultach Trust have also been very good to us. People are so generous,” she said”

Looking at the image of the letter accompanying the BBC piece, penned in traditional Irish script, I am struck yet again by the grievous harm that was done to the continuity of the living Irish language when the Irish print and manuscript alphabets were forcefully abandoned alongside the civil service-driven spelling “reforms” of the 1940s and ’50s. Suddenly an entire generation of adult Irish-speaking men and women found themselves cut adrift from the familiar written form of their language. Likewise, looking back from the early 21st century, literally thousands of Irish books and manuscripts published in the 18th, 19th and early to mid-twentieth centuries have been rendered all but illegible to most contemporary Irish-speakers due to the artificial changes in the language. And all in the name of bureaucratic efficiency. Would the Greeks abandon their ancient alphabet in the name of illusionary cost-savings? A hoax story that recently ran wild on the internet proves that they most certainly would not. But then the Greeks have a pride in their language and culture, a sense of collective ownership that the Irish simply do not.

Related to the issue of allowing faceless bureaucrats to decide (and implement) state policy one is struck by the lack of support from the Government of Ireland for the language initiative in Protestant East Belfast. While this is a delicate matter surely some mechanism could have been created to facilitate direct funding by the Irish state of this most welcome of cultural developments? Perhaps a joint initiative with the British government or via the auspices of the Iomairt Cholm Cille (Columba Project), the body overseeing co-operation on Gaelic-related matters between the Irish and Scottish governments?

As we look for imaginative ways of fostering and growing Irish national identity in the north-east of Ireland can there be anything more genuinely Irish than our indigenous language? And if that can take root again amongst our fellow Irishmen and women, even those who have a sense of Irishness somewhat different from our own, is that not a venture worth supporting?

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Ruairidh Arascain Is Mhàirr

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Ceartas Airson Na Gàidhlig - Justice For The Scottish Language

Ceartas Airson Na Gàidhlig – Justice For The Scottish Language

Good article by Patrick Witt on the Irish Story examining the late 19th and early 20th Scottish Gaelic Republican writer Ruairaidh Arascain (Ruairidh Erskine) and his links with the Irish Revolution:

“This essay aims to shed light on a thread of Scottish nationalism that found inspiration in the Irish Gaelic revival and, later, in the Irish Revolution. The primary subject of this study, Ruairaidh Erskine, did not convert a significant amount of Scots to his irregular orthodoxy. He did, however, form an impressive network of Scottish nationalists. Erskine represents a nexus between Irish separatists and Scottish politicians, labour leaders, and intellectuals. The purpose of this essay is to illuminate an under appreciated connection between Irish separatist thinking and Scottish political thought in the early twentieth century.

In Erskine’s journal, Guth na Bliadhna, (The Voice of the Years) subscribers read essays that communicated themes similar to agrarian activist John Murdoch’s newspaper Highlander, of 1870s and ’80s, namely, the glorification of Highland peasant culture. Yet Erskine also composed grander plans.  For example, in 1906 he provocatively suggested the formation of an Irish-Scottish “Gaelic Confederation.””

The website of the Scottish Republican Socialist Movement (SRSM) carries a longer piece on the great man. And here is a link to some of his writing and the radical publication Guth na Bliadhna hosted by the Scottish language university Sabhal Mòr Ostaig.

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Scottish Sci-Fi With “Air Cuan Dubh Drilseach”

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Over at Bella Caledonia writer Paul F Cockburn has an interview with Tim Armstrong, author of the Scottish language Sci-Fi novel Air Cuan Dubh Drilseach.

Meanwhile some Irish related stuff here.

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RTÉ – Reform Or Die

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RTÉ vs. TG4

RTÉ vs. TG4

Here’s an interesting snippet from the ever-vigilant NAMA Wine Lake. Guess which TV station was the only television broadcaster in Ireland to make a profit in 2011? Not the country’s official “national” broadcaster RTÉ, which ran up losses totalling some €70 million, despite broadcasting little beyond a diet of cheap overseas programming (with €351 million in revenue for 2011 one wonders where all that money went…? Actually one doesn’t since one know’s perfectly well where a large chunk of it went). And certainly not the British-owned tabloid channel TV3 whose dubious strategy for success has centred on becoming an über-trash “ITV Ireland“. It lost nearly €7 million euros in 2011, no doubt irritating quite a few hedge-fund managers back in London. In fact the only TV company to produce anything resembling a gain was none other than “minority” TV station, TG4, which generated €109,000 from an operating budget of €32 million.

Not much you say? Paltry, even? Perhaps. But it wasn’t a €70 million euro loss. A loss equal to one-third of a full year’s TV licence fee payments (or more than double TG4′s total annual budget).

One might argue that if it wasn’t for the vested interests in RTÉ and elsewhere the Irish state would have turned over English language broadcasting in the country to the private sector decades ago. And the politicians might even have done things right and established real regulations guaranteeing responsible ownership and quality of output for non-public broadcasters. We might then have allowed the “national” broadcaster to be what it should always have been – an Irish language broadcaster. This would have created the space for private broadcasters and overseas media providers to fulfil the market need for English language television and radio in Ireland while the public sector provided what the market wouldn’t – TV and radio programming in Irish.

An RTÉ network with two television channels and three radio stations and a state-funded (but independently administrated) budget of €300 million would not only be value for money but actually serve the purpose and spirit of public service broadcasting. Instead what we have now is a mess: a dog’s dinner of a mess that stinks to high heaven. A bloated whale of incestuous back-rubbing represented by RTÉ (which is increasingly indistinguishable from either the BBC or ITV in terms of actual shows broadcast), two foreign-owned, entirely-for-profit trash TV channels, TV3 and 3e, that pump out visual excrement with impunity, and TG4 which almost single-handedly is propping up indigenous television-production in Ireland, particularly in the independent sector, and actually attempting to fulfil its public service mandate.

Or is all this common sense way too radical for the conservative elites that lord it up in Television Centre and Leinster House?

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Sinn Féin’s Lack Of Irish Vision

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We'll have none of that Irish shite here! You're Irish! So speak English!

We’ll have none of that Irish shite here! You’re Irish! So speak English! (Íomhá: An Timire)

Below is the list of motions dealing with the Irish language to be debated at this year’s Sinn Féin party convention or Ard-Fheis in Castlebar, County Mayo. Note the anodyne wording and the general failure to couch the motions in terms of the civil and constitutional rights of Irish-speaking citizens in Ireland. Also note the lack of real and substantive policies, particularly in the areas of legislation, to create a truly bilingual Irish state (let alone a monolingual Irish-speaking one).

The misspelling of Ard-Fheis as “Ard Fheis” is in the original (which say’s it all really):

“This Ard Fheis recognises:

  • That the ‘20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-30’ is not being properly implemented;
  • That there are continuing attacks by the Government in the South on the Irish language and the Gaeltacht, including on essential institutions such as on Oifig an Choimisinéara Teanga and COGG;
  • The hard work of Minister of Culture Arts and Leisure Carál Ní Chuilín on a strategy for the development of Irish in the North;
  • That the creation of an Irish Language Act in the North is an outstanding commitment from the St Andrews Agreement.

This Ard Fheis agrees:

  • That it is necessary to recognise the Irish language and the Gaeltacht community as stakeholders in the implementation of the ’20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language’;
  • There will be the need to adapt the two strategies to bring about an all-Ireland Irish-language strategy.

This Ard Fheis call for:

  • The Government in the South to put together a high-level structure, including representation from the community organisations, the department, COGG, Údarás, Fóras and language experts, which would be responsible for giving direction to the Government regarding the of implementation in the ’20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language 2010-30’;
  • Sinn Féin to seek a high-level structure in the North, with similar structure and representation, which would be responsible for giving direction to the Executive for language planning and strategy;
  • in light of the success of the Liofa 2015 campaign, calls for a renewed dialogue with unionist parties on Irish language rights, including the creation of an Irish Language Act;
  • An all-island Irish-language and Gaeltacht action plan rooted in the language policy of the party that will be brought forward in consultation with the Irish-language and the Gaeltacht community and which will build on the recommendations of the ‘Comprehensive Study on the Use of Irish in the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language’, and the strategy for the Irish language in the Six Counties, and the recommendations of the sector itself.

Grúpa Parlaiminteach na 26 Contae agus Grúpa Parlaiminteach na 6 Chontae

Motion 238

This Ard Fheis condemns the attitude of the Government in the South towards the Irish language, particularly the decision to amalgamate the Office of the Language Commissioner with the Office of the Ombudsman, and the elimination of elections to the Údarás na Gaeltachta.

This Ard Fheis recognises:

  • That the ‘20-year Strategy for the Irish Language’ is not being applied as it should;
  • The excellent work undertaken by Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure Carál Ní Chuilín with the Líofa campaign and her support for the Irish language in general.

This Ard Fheis declares:

  • That we are diametrically opposed to Fine Gael’s proposal that Irish not be taught as a core subject for the Leaving Certificate;
  • The Irish Government should adopt Líofa as an all-Ireland campaign;
  • That it is essential for the Government in South to begin to implement the ‘20-Year Strategy’ immediately and that the funding be provided for this.

Coiste Náisiúnta Óige

Motion 239

This Ard Fheis commends the efforts of the Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure Carál Ní Chuilín to ensure that the Irish language is accessible to all sections of the community through the Líofa 2015 campaign.

Derry City Comhairle Ceantair

Motion 240

This Ard Fheis calls on Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan to direct all local authorities to adopt a pro-Irish signage policy, such as that in Galway City and county councils amongst others, so that street names and housing estates be given Irish-language names in future.

Galway West Comhairle Ceantair“

Blah, blah, blah…

Whatever Sinn Féin may be they are no Parti Québécois. And the above is no Charte de la langue française.

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A Green And Orange Puzzle

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Back in September of 2011 I discussed the growing number of Irish speakers in Belfast from a Protestant and Unionist background, symbolised by Linda Ervine, the wife of the former PUP leader Brian Ervine and sister-in-law of the late David Ervine. Her involvement has grown considerably since then, as have the numbers speaking our shared language. From the Irish Times:

“… right at the epicentre of the recent protests and riots over the union flag, a Protestant Irish-language revival has been taking place in East Belfast.

Linda Ervine, a sister-in-law of the late loyalist leader David Ervine, and the first Irish-language development officer in the east of the city, says that one night it was touch and go whether they could proceed with an event.

“We had a speaker over from West Belfast at the height of the trouble, and we thought no one would turn up to hear him. But we actually ran out of chairs in the end. One man said that he couldn’t believe that in the middle of all the flags and police Land Rovers there was a talk about Irish placenames going on”.

Ervine, who is based at the East Belfast Mission on the Newtownards Road, started learning Irish two years ago as part of a cross-community project with women from the nearby nationalist Short Strand. Now she’s running five classes a week, delivered by three specialist teachers. It is supported by Foras na Gaeilge, and there is a growing demand for more. Last month Ervine hosted an Irish-language festival as part of the island-wide Seachtain na Gaeilge…

“What I’m trying to do is to give people in my own community the opportunity to engage with the lost part of their heritage,” says Ervine. “I want to return that to them…”

Michelle Porter, who has been learning Irish in East Belfast since last September, recently travelled to the Donegal Gaeltacht with her father, to develop their conversational skills. “Being from Ireland, I’d like to be able to speak the language.”

Ervine says that Protestant people who have spent some time away from Northern Ireland often return “less frightened by the idea of Irishness”. She says, “It can even become something they hanker after. No matter how Orange you are when you’re here, you’re Green when you’re away.”

This was the experience of one of her students, Robin Stewart. “It’s a voyage of discovery of who I am,” he says. “We say we’re British, but we’re always more than British. A lot of us are descended from Gaelic people; we have as much connection with this place as the people who tell us we’re just Brits. For me, going for Gaelic is a natural thing. And I like to wind people up, to challenge their assumptions.”

Stewart grins mischievously, before saying: “The English imposed their language on me, and on all of us. In learning Irish, I’m getting up off my knees.””

The latter points raise some interesting questions on identity and the terminology of identity – or the lack thereof. Out of respect I always try to refer to the British minority on the island of Ireland as the “British Unionist” or “British” community (or more rarely, simply the “Unionist” community). However that is just the most general of terms and a (too?) convenient catch-all to describe a population with quite diverse origins. Indigenous Irish, Scandinavian-Irish, Norman-Irish, Anglo-Irish, Scots-Irish, Anglo-Scots-Irish, the list of hyphenated names goes on and on, and all contributed to the population group (if we can term it so) that is politically ”Unionist” in the north-east of the country.

Yet many reject the label of “British”. They regard themselves as Irish but with a distinct form of Irishness. Some prefer the term “Scots-Irish” as a means of describing their identity, though that could hardly apply in every case. Others simply use the word ”Protestant”. Yet that is hardly satisfactory either. A distant branch of my own Ó Sionnaigh family converted to the Protestant faith in the 1700s in order to retain their property and titles: and they like me are of the line of the Uí Néill!

Perhaps we need to start separating out the wheat from the chaff, if you’ll excuse the phrase? Is there a distinct community-within-a-community, a sort of Irish community within the British Unionist community, that Republicans and Nationalists are failing to recognise – let alone address?

Anglophone Supremacists Don’t Just Hate Irish – They Hate Those Who Speak Irish

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The truth in the headlines

The truth in the headlines

“Irish language schools targeted over restrictive entrance rules”

So screams the headline in today’s Anti-Irish Independent newspaper. In the follow-up article we are told that:

“ANY Gaelscoil that refuses entry to prospective students if they do not speak Irish at home will have to change its approach under new enrolment rules.

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn has expressed concern about restrictive practices at some all-Irish schools, which are prohibiting some pupils from entry.”

And the evidence for these alleged restrictive practices?

“Yesterday, Mr Quinn said he was “concerned that in some cases, Gaelcholaiste have indicated to some applicant parents that unless the language at home is ‘as Gaeilge’ that they would not be inclined to accept a pupil for a place in a Gaelcholaiste”"

Wow. Such damning proof of the wicked ways of the Irish-speaking population of Ireland. How could anyone even begin to challenge the obvious truth of a statement laden with such absolute words as “some“, “indicated” and “inclined“? No anti-Irish hyperbole there.

Don’t worry though in case you are missing your daily dose of hate. The Anglobigots have plenty to contribute in the Comments beneath:

“Tony Dalton: It’s called ‘white flight’. If you do not believe this, take a look at the overall Gaelscoileanna website and than all the associated websites (for individual Gelscoileanna) and answer honestly what you see in relation to ethnic mix in comparison to the schools that are located near any Gaelscoil.

I am Irish and my native language is English and English has been our family language for at least five generations. Indeed, there are many languages that pre-date Gaelic in Ireland. You would do well to look up the definition of ‘native’ language.

I suppose you want the 98% of our citizens who have English as their native and national language to move across the water? Ironically, most of the Gaeliban like your ilk are first to head to England when there are no jobs here and are more than willing to take money with the royal head emblazoned on it. What a muppet you are.

Why do you Gaeliban bother using English? Why not just confine your limited ablities to Foinse and Gaelsceal?”

Ah yes, “there are many languages that pre-date Gaelic in Ireland“. A pearl of wisdom there from the David Icke school of history. One wonders, does the writer believe that Irish-speakers are actually 3 metre tall alien lizards?

“Didillusioned: What in heavens name do they think they are trying to do to children. Like it or not, the Irish language is an irrelevancy, and it is this writers opinion that any parent who chooses to have their children educated through Irish are doing them (their children) a disservice. Being realistic, time would be better spent teaching children to speak proper English and in giving elocution lessons. The standard of English spoken is deplorable, as are most regional accents. Most Irish accents are grating on the nerves and proper enunciation of the spoken work would be far better and more relevant in the modern world. Then of course when all of that is achieved, there are the continental and other world languages.

You sir are a fanatic, and, it is the likes of you that keep Ireland in the dark ages.”

So, Irish-speaking men and women are child abusers? Sounds familiar.

“SamVin: Tied in with compulsory Irish for state jobs Gaelscoileanna look like another subtle form of ethnic cleansing.”

More history (and facts) from the fringe there. Though the Irish-speaking population of the island of Ireland and ethnic cleansing do go together. As in the former suffering the latter. No doubt our Anglophone supremacist friends above remember those times with heart-warming fondness.

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Calvert Watkins, 1933–2013

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Cover of "How to Kill a Dragon: Aspects o...

How To Kill A Dragon, Calvert Watkins

A quick post to note the passing of the great Indo-European historian and linguist Calvert Watkins who died on the 21st of this month at the age of 80. From the Harvard Gazette:

“Watkins’ research was focused on the linguistics and the poetics of all the earlier Indo-European languages and societies, particularly Greek, Latin and Italic, Celtic (especially Early Irish), Anatolian (especially Hittite and Luvian), Vedic Indic, and Old Iranian. Much of his work was also focused on historical linguistic theory and method and Indo-European genetic comparative literature.

Watkins was the author of several books, including, “How to Kill a Dragon: Aspects of Indo-European Poetics,” which was awarded the American Philological Association’s Goodwin Prize in 1998. Other books by Watkins include “Indo-European Origins of the Celtic Verb I,” “The Sigmatic Aorist,” and “Indogermanische Grammatik III/1.”

Watkins contributed to dozens of other publications, and authored more than 150 scholarly articles and reviews, more than 50 of which were published in three volumes as selected writings.  On a more popular level, he was the editor of the Indo-European root appendix to the “American Heritage Dictionary,” first published in 1969. Together with an accompanying essay, the appendix was later published in a separate edition and included in subsequent editions of the dictionary.  Accessibly written, it reached a large public and inspired an interest in linguistics and Indo-European in many casual readers, as well as in some who went on to enter the profession.

Watkins was also particularly active in the academic world, serving as president of the Linguistic Society of America in 1988, and was an honorary member of the Royal Irish Academy, a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, a member of the American Philosophical Society, a corresponding fellow of the British Academy and of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, correspondant etranger, associé etranger, membre de l’Institut.

Watkins is survived by his wife and by four children, Cynthia Watkins, David Cushman, Catherine Cushman, and Nicholas Watkins, and by eight grandchildren.”

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The Homeland Of The Celts, Where The Celts Have Always Been

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The origins of the Celts in western Europe

The origins of the Celts in western Europe – the ancient Atlantic homeland of the Celtic-speaking peoples

For the last century and more historians have believed that the homeland of the Celtic-speaking peoples lay in central Europe and from there they spread across the continent in several waves of migration bringing their language, culture and way of life to almost every corner of the European landmass. The Celts, we were told, originated in the Late Bronze and Early Iron Age communities of southern Germany and northern Austria and this became the default reading of early Celtic and indeed early European history.

However there is problem with all this. Why? Because the theory is wrong and has been suspected or known to be wrong in professional academic circles for decades.

The homelands of the Celtic-speaking peoples were never in central Europe. They were in the one place where Celtic-speakers have always been known to exist and where some still do exist: north-western and western Europe. The modern nations and territories of Ireland, Scotland, Wales, the Isle of Man, Cornwall, England, Brittany, western France, Spain and Portugal formed the historic heartland of the Celts – and their ancient place of origin.

The BBC has news on a new three-year project to trace the origins of the Celtic peoples, including an interview with Professor John Koch, who points out the failure of the old theories to explain the origin of the Celtic-speaking nations.

No Taxation Without Representation!

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Local Property Tax form and booklet - no taxation without representation!

Local Property Tax form and booklet – no taxation without representation!

So the documentation for the latest state-sponsored extortion racket has arrived in the post under the guise of the Local Property Tax. However the information is entirely in the English language. I’m sorry, but where is the Irish language text? What happened to the regulations in force under the Official Languages Act of 2003? Where is the bilingual Irish and English documentation that has become the norm over the last decade? Even the website of the Property Services Regulatory Authority is in English only.

Is that legal?

Irish-speakers are tax-payers too. So, if for no other reason, when it comes to the Local Property Tax – no taxation without representation!

The Property Services Regulatory Authority - but where is the Irish?

The Property Services Regulatory Authority – but where is the Irish?

Meanwhile, the next venue for the Pirates of Taxation? From the NAMA Wine Lake:

“Might the government reach into your deposit accounts for a levy?

…in the past week Labour’s chairman of the Oireachtas finance committee Ciaran Lynch and Fine Gael’s jobs minister, Richard Bruton have both indicated that a levy on sub-€100k could be on the cards despite the existence of the sub-€100k guarantee. There seems to be a feeling that the guarantee only applies if a bank is allowed to go bust, but if there was an intervention before the bank was actually liquidated then all depositors including those with sub-€100k deposits would face “levies” despite the existence of the deposit guarantee scheme. Minister Bruton said on radio today that Cyprus imposing a levy on sub-€100k deposits was “in the remit” of the Cypriot government. The experience of this Government taking €1.88bn from private pensions between 2011-2014 to fund the Jobs Initiative (mostly the reduction in VAT on certain services), would also make you ill-at-ease that the Government would regard as sacred the guarantee for sub-€100k depositors.”

Read the full article for the background to the story (and to understand why the sale of cash-boxes and home-safes in Ireland have risen significantly over the last two years).

Dehumanizing Irish-Speakers – Anti-Irish Propaganda In Modern Ireland

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English versus An Ghaeilge

English versus An Ghaeilge

So I took a few days break away from An Sionnach Fionn. Not to celebrate Saint Patrick’s Day, you understand, which to be honest is a festival that I have little regard for. My own form of Irishness has more in common with the Feis na Samhna than the Féile Phádraig. Rather I simply sought some rest and recuperation after fending off a torrent of abuse stemming from my highlighting of the (almost certainly illegal) arrest and detention of a young citizen of Ireland by the Gardaí (police) in Dublin for answering in the Irish language to a question put to him in the English language. As his description of the incident to the Language Commissioner makes clear, he was made to feel (English translation):

“…shamed and insulted and I was told several times that I did not have a right to conduct business through Irish, that I should desist and that I would not have been arrested if I hadn’t spoken in Irish. It was approximately one hour from the time of my arrest to my release but I felt under threat and nervous all the time. I am convinced that I was arrested for speaking Irish and for that reason alone. Their excuse was that I was refusing to give them my licence but that was not true at all. I am very disappointed, angry and upset about what happened and about the lack of respect and the infringement of my rights…”

The Gardaí who arrested the man and kept him in handcuffs during the incident were of the opinion that:

“…those who wished to conduct their business through Irish should be treated
in the same way as “foreign nationals”…”

I’m not sure what that say’s about how members of An Garda Síochána view non-Irish nationals but it certainly says a lot about how they view Irish-speaking Irish nationals. But then they have plenty of supporters in that view. Just take prominent newspaper columnist Declan Lynch in the Irish Independent:

“…Irish is not part of what we are… And it never will be part of what we are…

They have tried everything, including torture.

The only thing they haven’t tried is laying off the bullshit for a while, and abandoning their insane policies of compulsion… And if it doesn’t work, that’s all right too.

They can start the beatings again.”

So Irish-speakers, by the virtue of speaking their indigenous language, are torturers and abusers?

That brings to mind many of the Comments left under my previous post by some of the more militant anglophone zealots out there which shocked so many new and regular readers (while of course leaving many others with a feeling of resigned familiarity):

“Gaelic is a backward primitive language a barbarian language from barbarian times. That is reflected in the culture and mindset of those who speak it. The militant Gael who runs this site is an obvious throwback to the violent low intelligent ancestors of most Gaelic speakers.”

“I have never spoken Irish and never will. I hate it and I hate you bog savages who speak it… When you are not speaking your Irish you are busy raping your daughters. That is what being an Irish speaker is about. Look at the Abos in Australia. Drunken violent cretins…”

One wonders how far this has to go before someone somewhere will be effected by this subliminally violent propaganda in a way far worse than simple institutional or social discrimination? Does the powerful anglophone elite that dominates the media in Ireland wish to create a climate in this country where Irish-speakers are in the same position as the Jews were in 1930s’ Germany? That Irish-speaking citizens and communities in Ireland are so demonized, so stripped of humanity, that they become the scapegoats for all of Ireland’s cultural, social and economic ills?

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Mind Your Language!

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Ireland in chains

Éire in chains

Following on from my post examining the scandal of a young Irish man arrested and detained in handcuffs by the Gardaí (police) in Dublin for answering in Irish to a question put to him in English by a Garda, here is a recent story from Brian Ó Broin, a professor of linguistics, medieval literature and Irish studies at William Paterson University, New Jersey, on the casualness of anti-Irish discrimination in Ireland:

“While hurrying for an American departure in Dublin Airport last week I heard the latecomers being paged on the terminal intercom. Reaching the gate several seconds later I humorously chided the gate agent for forgetting to call my name. “No,” she said, “I saw your name, but it was in Irish, so I left it out.”

I made my flight, and no damage done, but I returned to America amazed that casual acts of discrimination like this can still occur in Ireland without apology or consequence. Would the gate agent still have a job if she applied this policy to names in German?”

Ah, the joys of being a “non-person” in 21st century Ireland.

Just ask Irish Independent journo and professional Irish-hater Declan Lynch. He can tell the real Oirish from the Gaels when he sees ‘em! And thank God we have RTÉ, Ireland’s national public service broadcaster, to give airtime to the not-at-all-prejudiced views expressed so vigorously by so many Irish people journalists.

Eoin Ó Catháin has some more views on the increasingly strident anti-Irish sentiment being publicly expressed in Ireland here.

Update 11.00: To the guys from the same four or five IP addresses who keep trying to post abusive (and frankly racist) Comments don’t bother. I allow the vast majority of views and opinions on An Sionnach Fionn without interference or censure. However there is a line and you people are going well beyond it. If you oppose the Irish language and culture, and the rights of Irish-speaking citizens in Ireland to equal treatment with their English speaking peers, then make your case. I have no problem with a contrary argument, no matter how objectionable to me personally. However sinking to the level of hate-speech will get you nowhere.

Update 13.00: And here comes Squire Myers of Ballyshoeneen with his studiously gratuitous anti-Irish rant. At least I know where the anglophone fundamentalists leaving Comments on An Sionnach Fionn pick up their lexicon of discriminatory words and phases. “Young chimps” is it?

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The United States And It’s Irish Revolutionaries

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John Boyle O'Reilly Irish revolutionary and Fenian prisoner in Australia

John Boyle O’Reilly, Irish revolutionary and Fenian prisoner in British Australia, 1866

Two articles from the United States exploring the Irish Republican heritage of Ireland and the US. First up is the Past Imperfect history blog of the Smithsonian Museum examining one of the most famous prison escapes in history: the Catalpa Rescue of 1876. Carried out by the American-based Clann na nGael (CnanG) and its counterpart in Ireland, the Irish Republican Brotherhood (IRB), the operation freed six Fenian revolutionaries from British captivity in Australia and galvanised world opinion in favour of the cause of Irish freedom.

“The plot they hatched was as audacious as it was impossible—a 19th-century raid as elaborate and preposterous as any Ocean’s Eleven script. It was driven by two men—a guilt-ridden Irish Catholic nationalist, who’d been convicted and jailed for treason in England before being exiled to America, and a Yankee whaling captain—a Protestant from New Bedford, Massachusetts—with no attachment to the former’s cause, but a firm belief that it was “the right thing to do.”  Along with a third man—an Irish secret agent posing as an American millionaire—they devised a plan to sail halfway around the world to Fremantle, Australia, with a heavily armed crew to rescue a half-dozen condemned Irishmen from one of the most remote and impregnable prison fortresses ever built.

To succeed, the plan required precision timing, a months-long con and more than a little luck of the Irish. The slightest slip-up, they knew, could be catastrophic for all involved. By the time the Fremantle Six sailed into New York Harbor in August, 1876, more than a year had passed since the plot had been put into action. Their mythic escape resonated around the world and emboldened the Irish Republican Brotherhood for decades in its struggle for independence from the British Empire.”

From the mid-1800s onwards several Irish-American revolutionary organisations operating in the United States and Ireland (as well as globally) were referred to as Fenians, an umbrella title used both by supporters and opponents. These were the Fenian Brotherhood (the FB and the original Fenian organisation), the Clann na nGael (the CnanG which has survived in various forms into the 21st century), the United Irishmen, the Irish National Brotherhood and the Irish Republican Brotherhood (the original and long-lasting sister-organisation of the Fenian Brotherhood).

Meanwhile the Huffington Post carries a story on New York’s Irish revolutionary links examining the American-related lives of James Connolly, Jim Larkin and Éamon de Valera.

The Battle of Eccles Hill a young soldier of the Irish Republican Army military wing of the Fenian Brotherhood

The Battle of Eccles Hill – a young soldier of the Irish Republican Army, the military wing of the Fenian Brotherhood (FB), lies slain on a roadway during the 1870 invasion of Canada

Out of interest, below is a casualty list of the first known soldiers of a military force styling itself the Irish Republican Army or IRA to die on active service. The thirteen men were slain or mortally wounded while fighting in Canada during the Fenian Invasion of June, 1866, and all were members of the military wing of the Fenian Brotherhood; known variously as the Irish Republican Army, the Army of the Irish Republic, the Irish Army, the Army of Ireland or the IRA.

“Thomas Rafferty, 18th Regiment “The Cleveland Rangers”, Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Died on active service 02-06-1866.

Patrick Buckley, 18th Regiment “The Cleveland Rangers”, Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Died on active service 02-06-1866.

Major John C. Canty [Caunty], 18th Regiment “The Cleveland Rangers”, Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Died on active service 02-06-1866.

Colour-Sergeant Michael Cochrane, James Hugh Haggerty’s Company, Terre Haute, Indiana, United States. Died on active service 02-06-1866.

James John Geraghty [Gerrahty], 18th Regiment “The Cleveland Rangers”, Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Died on active service 02-06-1866.

Captain Donohoe [Donoghue], 19th Regiment “Irish Republic Volunteers”, Cincinnati,  Ohio, United States. Died on active service 02-06-1866.

Lieutenant Edward R. Lonergran, 7th Regiment “The Irish Army of Liberation”,  Buffalo, New York, United States. Died on active service 02-06-1866.

Edward [Richard] Scully, 18th Regiment “The Cleveland Rangers”, Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Died on active service 09-06-1866.

Private John Lynch, 18th Regiment “The Cleveland Rangers”, Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Died on active service 11-06-1866.

Sergeant John Lynch, 18th Regiment “The Cleveland Rangers”, Cleveland, Ohio, United States.  Died of wounds received while on active service 27-07-1866.

Lt. Colonel Michael Bailey, 7th Regiment “The Irish Army of Liberation”, Buffalo, New York, United States. Died of wounds received while on active service 18-01-1868.

S. Thompson, 13th Regiment Memphis Company, Tennessee, United States. Died of wounds received while on active service ?-?-?”

During the Easter Rising of 1916 and the establishment of the Provisional Government of the Irish Republic, several existing Irish revolutionary groups came together to form a new Army of the Irish Republic or Irish Republican Army. These were principally the Irish Volunteers (Óglaigh na hÉireann or ÓnahÉ) and the Irish Citizen Army (Arm Cathartha na hÉireann). This is why the IV/ÓnahÉ is commonly known in the English language as the Irish Republican Army or IRA.

Below is the RTÉ drama-documentary, “The Catalpa Rescue”.

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Arrested For Speaking Irish – Welcome To Anglo-Ireland!

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An Ghaeilge

An Ghaeilge!

Seán Ó Cuirreáin, an Coimisinéir Teanga or the Language Commissioner, released his Annual Report for 2012 at an event in Galway yesterday and it has proven to be yet another dreadful year for the advancement of civil rights for Irish-speaking citizens in Ireland (you can read last year’s 2011 Report here). 2012 saw the highest number of complaints yet, 756 in total, the vast majority relating to practices or services provided by state bodies which discriminate against Irish speakers.

Among the more notable incidents was the arrest by an Garda Síochána in Dublin of a young man who replied in Irish to questions put to him in English by the Gardaí. Though completely innocent of any crime, and later released without charge, he was taken in handcuffs to a Garda station and held in custody until an Irish-speaking Garda could be found to interview him. Again, as the Language Commissioner makes clear, this man, a citizen of Ireland, was completely innocent of any offence and was detained in custody because he chose to speak in Irish when questioned; as is his legal right under the Constitution of Ireland.

“Senior management at An Garda Síochána are organising an overhaul of procedures for dealing with the public through Irish following an investigation by An Coimisinéir Teanga into an incident in Dublin where a young man, who attempted to conduct his business through Irish when stopped by Gardaí in relation to a road traffic matter, found himself arrested and escorted in handcuffs to a Garda station where he was detained until a Garda was found who could deal with him through Irish.

An Coimisinéir Teanga found that An Garda Síochána had failed in this instance to comply with a statutory commitment which recognises the right of the public to conduct business with the force in either official language, Irish or English.

An Coimisinéir Teanga noted a Garda attitude in his investigation, notwithstanding the constitutional status of Irish, that Irish speakers should be dealt with as if they were speakers of a foreign language. The discourse during the investigation placed “using Irish” and “dealing with foreign nationals” in the same space, he said. The person detained in the case was not involved in an accident nor were there any allegations made concerning speeding or driving under the influence of alcohol.”

Not so much Ireland 2012 as Ireland 1912. Among the main abuses noted in the report for last year are:

“…756 cases of difficulties or problems accessing state services through Irish – the largest number of complaints from the public to the Office since its establishment.

A total of 13 formal investigations were commenced during 2012. Findings of breaches of individual elements of language legislation were made against An Garda Síochána; the Department of Justice and Equality; the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform; the Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government; Ordnance Survey Ireland; the Health Service Executive; the Central Bank of Ireland; the National Transport Authority; the University of Limerick; Ennis Town Council; Donegal County Council; and Kildare County Council.

“2012 was not a vintage year for the promotion of the Irish language in the public sector, and for every one step forward there appeared to have been two steps backwards,” according to An Coimisinéir Teanga.

While statistics from the most recent Census showed a positive trend from the previous one, with a 7% increase in the number of people who have Irish and those who use it daily, there was considerable concern among Irish speakers about the future of the Irish language and serious apprehension about the State’s efforts in its protection and promotion.

Three quarters of language schemes (statutory language plans) agreed for state bodies under the Official Languages Act had expired without renewal by the end of 2012 with a quarter of them out of date for three years or more.

“Only 9 language schemes were agreed or renewed during 2012, and at that annual rate of renewal the current schemes might not be fully replaced for twelve years,” said An Coimisinéir Teanga.

In 10 other cases, more than 6 years have elapsed since the Minister for Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltacht requested state bodies to prepare draft language schemes but they remain to be agreed.

A further significant step was taken during 2012 that could prove a dangerous precedent with regard to the language scheme system: for the first time ever, a scheme was amended to cancel an obligation that had previously been confirmed when a member of the public complained that the state body in question was not in compliance with this obligation.”

In other words the institutions of the Irish state are actively and knowingly breaking the law in regard to their legal obligations under the Official Language Act of 2003. Or where they cannot breach the law (with apparent impunity) they are twisting or amending the law to suit themselves.  But then the Irish state as a whole under the Fine Gael-Labour coalition government is in the process of systematically rolling back a decade’s worth of civil rights legislation for Irish-speaking citizens in Ireland while starving Irish-speaking communities across the country of resources and legal protection.

One wonders how far all this has to go before the institutional discrimination against Irish-speakers that permeates the anglophone culture of the Irish state is finally tackled head on? Or do the Irish-speaking citizens of this nation need their own Derry March of 1968 or their own Burntollet? Will it take a Gaeilgeoirí Battle of the Bogside before anyone will take notice?

But then some would love to see the Irish-speaking population beaten into the ground. Just look to the Comments section of the Irish Independent or the online Journal. So many anglophone voices filled with subliminal violence, hatred, discrimination and racism. As I said, beaten into the ground.

The 2012 Annual Report by An Coimisinéir Teanga can be read in full here (PDF). More analysis on the report and its conclusions by Eoin Ó Riain here.

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We Shall Overcome - Civil Rights In Ireland - The 1960s

We Shall Overcome – Civil Rights In Ireland – The 1960s

Update 23.10, 13/03/2013: Ever feel like you are under attack? Perhaps because you are.

Update 13.10, 14/03/2013: Okay. There has been a lot of hate-messages coming my direction in relation to this article. Some of it directly via email, Twitter or Facebook. Some of it in the Comments facility provided by the blog. I certainly seem to have annoyed a lot of anglophone people in Ireland by highlighting the erosion and abuse of civil rights for Irish-speaking citizens in this country. Who knew so many English-speaking Irish people identified with English colonial ancestors? Who knew that so many  English-speaking Irish people regarded the pre-English Irish-speaking population as “uncivilized”, “barbarians”, “savages” and “animals”? What does that say about their ancestry?

There have been several threatening messages or Comments. Rather silly ones to be honest, not to be taken seriously. And a lot of stuff about Jews and Native Americans that would put the KKK to shame. I’ve passed the less extreme Comments. The full-on Neo-Unionist and Neo-Nazi ones are in the moderation queue.

Thanks to the many, many people on Twitter and Facebook who sent private messages of support and I understand why you didn’t feel free to make them public (for obvious reasons). Thanks also to the emailers and the regular WordPress posse.

 

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Speak English, Read English, Think English – Hate Irish?

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Saoirse? Not in English Ireland!

Saoirse? Not in English Ireland!

Someone has expressed support for the Irish language and the rights of Irish-speaking citizens and communities in an English language newspaper in Ireland? Shock! Horror! How long before the Anglophone supremacists arrive?

From the Irish Independent:

“IRISH rugby international Luke Fitzgerald has called for more money to be put into promoting wider use of the Irish language and helping people develop their Irish language skills.

Speaking a day after Ireland’s bruising encounter with France, the Leinster and Ireland winger said he would like to see “a big revival of the Irish language”.

A fluent Irish speaker himself, the 25-year-old Dubliner said that despite the tough economic circumstances it was still important to put money into the language as it gave people a sense of Irishness.”

Watch out! Here come the Angloban!

“nijinski: The Irish language was for many years used as an elitist barrier to those of us who were not proficient in it… It was a disgraceful use of discrimination by a privileged minority of self appointed culture ayatollahs. Irish is a dead language. It is not spoken by the Irish people.”

“MetroMan1: The boggers with no clue as to how to run a traffic light system get to run the country…and doesn’t that in itself answer a multitude of questions… complete discrimination against those of us who don’t hail from gaeltacht areas. Watch out for the gaelgor nazis response to this ….will tell you all you need to know. This language should have died out decades ago, around the time we sold ourselves to Europe.”

“Tomtack: …the Irish language is dead in the water, and good riddance to it.”

“MetroMan1: …the ‘ruling’ class NOW coming from a Dublin based mandarin and banking class, they are no more than a generation or two from the bog and their standards are agricultural and animalistic ie. self, self, self. They have no understanding of modern urban society and how it should work. …there is only contempt for the years wasted on trying to keep up with the kids from Irish speaking backgrounds and teachers from bogholes who discriminated in their favour….(and still do). Languages die as societys, borders, geography and peoples change…its Darwinian, its natural, stop trying to hold the rest of us back just so we can have a faux national language and can bleat about being oirish…”

Ah, nothing like the good old-fashioned racism of a few English-speaking bigots to remind one of where one’s place truly is in modern Ireland.

At the back of the bus.

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