The Irish language's rising profile: More than the cúpla focal?

A rising profile for Gaeilge, aka Irish, was one of the year’s more interesting cultural developments. If we’re to judge from the Constitution (aka Bunreacht na hEireann) and a century of policy announcements, its revival and promotion are a foundational, but clearly unfulfilled, ambition for the State.

But the new interest springs more from the street than the State. There are various drivers, for example the generational impact of Gaelscoileanna and TG4, originally launched as TnaG by Michael D. Higgins, while Minister for the Arts. Gaeilge also has increased traction in Northern Ireland. It may be emerging as a crucial alternative to Catholicism as a badge of identity and difference.

That said, Gaeilge also has strong advocates among unionists who argue, correctly, that many of their forebears also spoke the language, in Ireland and Scotland, and that a British Gaeilgeoir is not a contradiction in terms.

Gaeilge’s headline act in 2025 was Kneecap, after Mo Chara was charged with terrorism in the UK for allegedly displaying a Hezbollah flag. The charge has since been dropped.

Mo Chara of Kneecap. Copyright Liam Murphy- hotpress.com

But even without this publicity bonanza, speaking Gaeilge is a thing right now and President Connolly has made it one of her key interests during her term in office. And all this is good, not just from the general cultural perspective, but also as an emerging antidote to the overbearing Anglocentrism of the digital world.

But nonetheless, a fundamental identity question still remains: we’re Irish, yeah, but do we identify as Europeans or Anglos? Or are Ulster Unionists right, that a person can be both, and be happy about it? Some Gaeilgeoirí are puritanical isolationists, but most would identify as European, not Anglo. Young people would agree and Gaeilge is seen as part of that.

Yet, at the same time, our cultural outlook and engagement are largely Anglophone. Likewise, when young people think of emigrating to find employment and housing that reflect their self-image, they mostly end up in Anglophone countries.

As in so many aspects of life in Ireland, and Ireland’s life away from Ireland, we need to find the balance, and then live it. In particular, we need to seriously reboot our engagement with Europe.

That’ll include learning, and using, other languages as well as English and Gaeilge. Like the Dutch or Belgians, who routinely speak three or four.

All this is win-win.

After all, a great deal of research confirms the huge benefits of being multilingual on wellbeing, thinking, adaptability, mobility, perspective, longevity and staving off dementia.

So, araig libh go leir!!

Read The Whole Hog Round-Up of 2025 in the Hot Press Annual – out now: