The last 12 months were very good for the Irish language. After a long and sustained campaign Irish was finally awarded official status within the EU, putting it on a par with other official EU languages. This move has not only given Irish the major fillip it needed for its long term viability. It has also given the language official recognition at an international level for the first time.

“It has certainly given the language a major boost,” says Breandan MacCraith, public relations officer of Foras na Gaeilge, the public body responsible for the promotion of Irish in the 32 counties of Ireland. “What it means in practical terms is that, if an Irish citizen is applying for a job in the EU where two official languages are required, the fact that Irish is a recognized official language means if you have Irish and English you are eligible to apply.”
Some would argue that the move was long overdue and the fact that Irish wasn’t officially recognized at an EU level merely served to hold it back over the years.
The fact is that, since the foundation of the State, Irish has never been spoken as widely as it is today. According to the most recent census (2002) just over 1.57 million people aged three years and over are able to speak Irish, compared with 1.43 million in 1996.
A closer look at those figures is revealing: 55 per cent of private households contained at least one Irish speaker in 2002. The corresponding figure for households in the Gaeltacht was 83 per cent. Nearly a quarter of those who indicated that they could speak Irish were reported as speaking it on a daily basis. Most (76.8 per cent) were of school-going age.
The continuing popularity of Irish courses, particularly for adults whose Irish has become rusty, is just one indication of the rude health of the language. One of the best-known Irish language organizations, Gael Linn, has been teaching Irish to adults for the best part of 50 years.
While the vast majority of the participants are Irish, many foreign students complete courses every year, some having come to Ireland for that specific purpose. In Dublin, courses are held in Gael Linn’s head office, 35 Dame Street, and run two nights a week, three hours each night for six weeks.
The timetable for the year is designed to facilitate students moving from one level to the next with as short an interval as possible between courses.
According to Aine O’Cuireain, academic director at Gael Linn, the courses are so popular they are usually oversubscribed.
“Every time we advertise we have to put on extra classes to cope with the demand, which is of course good news from our point of view,” she says.
There are five course levels, from absolute beginners to people who already have a fairly high standard of fluency.
A Gaeltacht course is also held twice each summer in Pobalscoil Ghaoth Dobhair,Derrybeg, Co.Donegal and runs over eight days. As well as the language classes each day, there are cultural and social activities most evenings.
Located in Glean Cholm Cille, in the Gaeltacht of southwest Donegal, in the scenic Sliabh Liag peninsula, Oideas Gael language courses are specially designed to cater for the needs of adults at all learning stages, including those who are more advanced but in need of practice.
Each course contains three or more levels (beginner, intermediate and advanced) and is usually of one week’s duration.
Class tuition is by specialist teachers who use graded courses, supported by modern audiovisual resources, as well as other proven methods of language teaching. The schedule consists of intensive morning and afternoon tutorials with attention directed towards spoken Irish (except for some units at the highest level), aiming at correct pronunciation, proper idiom and development of vocabulary, particularly of contemporary life.
Recreational activities such as dancing and poetry take place each evening. Later, participants are free to practice their Irish with people from all levels while enjoying the craic in the local pubs.