The facts speak for themselves. In 1800, there were more people speaking Irish-Gaelic than there were speaking Dutch, Swedish, Danish, and Finish. While these languages went on to flourish, Irish-Gaelic was more-or-less killed off by the end of century. Once a proud language, spoken for at least fifteen hundred years and with a glorious vernacular literature, Irish-Gaelic went from being a majority language to a minority one in little over two generations. It has been estimated that by 1901 only approximately 641,000 people spoke Irish with only just 20,953 of those speakers being monolingual Irish speakers. What had brought about this linguistic and cultural calamity?
One cause is the Irish Famine of the 1840s. Known popularly as the “Great Hunger”, millions of Gaelic-speaking men, women and children died of starvation or were forced to emigrate to Britain, Canada, Australia and America. In these English-speaking lands Gaelic would not be understood or tolerated. It was a case then of abandoning the old language to survive.
Another cause was British colonial policy in Ireland. First colonised in the 12th century by Anglo-Norman knights, Ireland had always been a rebellious and troublesome part of the British Empire. Central to Irish national identity was the Gaelic language itself. If the British could somehow eradicate the language, then, it was believed the Irish could be tamed and become loyal colonial subjects. So the British started building National Schools in the early 1830s, offering free elementary education to the Gaelic-speaking majority. But there was a catch. The language of instruction in these National School would be English and English only. Gaelic-speaking was banned.
By the end of the 19th century Irish nationalists attempted to revive the language as part of their struggle to free themselves from British colonial rule. When the Gaelic League in 1900 managed to get the language back in schools, there were not enough teachers to teach it. Hardly anyone had any literacy in the language as nobody had learned to write it. In fact, it was only in the Gaeltacht – the Gaelic-speaking western region of Ireland - that it was mostly taught. When Ireland finally attained independence from Britain in 1922, Gaelic was given full language rights, therefore making it compulsory in school. But a whole generation of teachers had grown up in Ireland only speaking English. As a result, the standard of Gaelic teaching was very low and the recovery period very slow.
Nowadays, Gaelic is a compulsory part of every child’s education. From being a language that was banned from schools for almost 100 years, Gaelic is now given pride of place. And it is not just in Ireland that Gaelic is flourishing. On 13 June 2005, Gaelic was made an official language of the European Union. Once rejected by generations of Irish men, women and children fleeing starvation and poverty, Gaelic language is now a source of national pride and rejoicing. In the Republic of Ireland, the total number of people who answered 'yes' to being able to speak Gaelic in April 2016 was 1,761,420 out of a population of 4,921,500.
Although an ancient language, Gaelic has managed to keep up with today’s ever-changing and digitalised world. Here are some Gaelic words you might find useful if you ever find yourself in the Emerald Isle.
Tvuít – to tweet
Éistphéist – this refers to a snatch of music you can’t get out of your head. Think Kylie Minogue’s “I can’t get you outta my head”.
Vótáil – to vote
Féinspéisí – someone who’s really, really into themselves. And we all know at least one Féinspéisí!
Féinín – a selfie
Macushla – darling. Follow this link if you want to pronounce it correctly.
Gaelic words which have found their way into the English Language:
Tantrum – babyish crying, howling, screaming
Shenanigans – naughty behaviour – can cover a wide variety!
Bother – trouble, annoyance.
Maverick – Tom Cruise’s name in Top Gun. A guy that does his own thing. Won’t be contained by rules
Galore – as in whiskey galore – “abundant”, “a lot of”
Craic – gossip, chat. A word that appears outside a great many Irish pubs. “Come in for the craic!”
Smithereens – as in “smashed to smithereens”.
Brogue from the Irish word for “shoe”