Do some people in Ireland actually speak Irish?

Question

Just curious, because I want to travel to (the Republic of) Ireland one day, and I am wondering if it would be a good idea to learn Irish?

Answer 1

yes some people do speak Irish.It is not called "gaelic". I live in Dublin and I was educated through Irish.It is not necessary to learn it but it is a brilliant language.

Answer 2

only about 4% of the population can speak fluent irish here in ireland and most of those people are primary and secondary school teachers that teach irish

it's a useless language really,i've never needed it after school

and everyone speaks english  so it will not be a problem

Answer 3

Begorrah!!! what a question to ask?

Well, to be sure to be sure, I don't think you'll be required to 'speak' the language, but it would help you greatly if you adopt the mindset of the irish culture and be open to its music and the "Craic".

The roads are good and you'll enjoy visiting around the country.

Research your trip and visit your relatives if you have them over there.

Answer 4

I'm fluent, but that'd be a rarity outside the gaeltacht. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaeltacht) Everyone speaks English as their main language in most parts of the country and for the most part, only have basic Irish.

If you want to learn Irish, go for it, but it's pretty difficult to learn it from abroad. There aren't that many books or language courses availible. You're better off just learning a few phrases, because that's all most Irish people would have anyway. Check out this site: http://www.irish-sayings.com/

Make sure to watch the short film jk suggested, it's really good. ^_^

Answer 5

No. People in Ireland do not speak Irish, They are a few of course, but EVERYONE in Ireland who can speak Irish can also speak English totally fluently.

The Irish Language is dying away slowly.

The only people that speak Irish are primary school teachers, Irish secondary school teachers and People who are from the Gaeltacht in Ireland.

The Gaeltacht are  Irish speaking regions in Ireland eg. Spideal and Cara Ro in Galway, Gweedore in Donegal etc.

The only Irish I can remember is from when I was in school and Trust me, That's not a lot at all!

So No, You don't need a word of Irish to go to Ireland.

= )

Answer 6

English is the main language and learingin Irish woiuld be of no reall use to you unless you intenede to stay in the gaeltacht but the people there can speak english too. You should watch this film about learning irsh. Most people dont speak it once they leave school.

http://www.atomfilms.com/film/name_yu_mi...

Answer 7

you bet ye! but  it is used only as the vernacular  in officially recognized pockets along the Atlantic coast (called "gaelteacht") . In truth there are  not many monolingual  Irish speakers left. the young mostly  are fluent in English too in these areas( and in some cases more languages as well).

there was a version of Irish in Newfoundland Canada too in case you're interested.- some believe it be have been a  remnant of Leinster Irish  from the south east of  Ireland -which is extinct in Ireland itself.

Answer 8

Yes, there are regions where Irish is the common language, but everyone speaks English.

Answer 9

Irish is just an accent of English. The traditional language of Ireland is called Gaelic, only some people know it though. As long you can speak English you will be fine.

Answer 10

Depends on where you're going. In some parts of Galways and the Aran Islands (both in the west btw) there are a few Gaeltacht regions, which basically means that Gaeilge (rather than "Gaelic" or "Irish") is the language used in everyday life and is the first language of the children. However, and rather sadly, the number of Gaeilgeors (Irish speakers) are dying out. 'Tis a pity, mar tá an teanga go hálainn -(because the language is lovely)

We only speak English here because of all that history, the English taking over, etc. etc. etc. (if ur interested google it its quite interestng) but before any of that happened every native Irish person spoke Gaeilge.

So to conclude...no. Unfortunatly, i wouldn't bother learning it. Unless (and its preety unlikely) you are travelling to the very few areas that speak Gaeilge, everyone speaks English as their first language. We do learn it in schools here but thats about it these days. Kinda sad really. But anyway enough of my moping good luck and hope you enjoy Ireland whenever you do come. Its a beautiful country especially the rural areas (cork, donegal, galway, etc.) so although you should check out Dublin, don't confine tour trip to the city

:-) x

ps: as you can see, tá piosa beag Gaeilge agam (I have a small bit of Irish)

Answer 11

yes some people speak irish it is taught in school.sadly alot of irish people are not interested in the language alot of people moving to ireland take a great interest in the language and go to classes to learn it kinda puts us to shame

Answer 12

Ireland is bilingual: people there speak both English and Irish. Irish is a little different from English, in pronunciation and some words it is true challenge. Good luck!

Answer 13

Some do. Not that many though because they mostly spoke it back in the olden days, but it wouldn't hurt if you learned a few words in GAELIC. That's what it's called. Maybe you should learn the basics, like, Hello,Thank You, I don't speak much Gaelic, and Good Bye.

Answer 14

Yes, some people do, but almost everyone speaks fluent english - only some elderly people in the gaelteacht areas (west Kerry, west Cork, Connemara, south west Donegal and part of Waterford) are Irish only speakers. Irish is only called gaelic by forigners - we natives always refer to the language as Irish. Officially the country is bilingiual, but as others have said, the day to day use of the language is confined to the areas I've mentioned. Enjoy your time here.

Answer 15

yes thistle, some folks over here do speak irish,but sadly to say,most of us do not bother..tis a sad thing when a language of a country is not seen by the people of that place to be of much use in 2008,you wont need irish to use on your visit if you come here,just come over and i wish you a happy and rewardin visit..in fact mandarin chinese and polish are in more use over here now than irish is..

Answer 16

I've just got back from Ireland and pretty much every sign is sign posted in england and "irish". I've been walking around and hearing people have full conversations on their phone and such in irish. But you will be fine speaking english.

Answer 17

yooh dont hav to learn it...ony if your goin to a gaeltacht area...eg Gwedore in Donegal!.....we all hav irish classes in skul.....so i no a bit!

Answer 18

We do indeed, not so much in dublin  but if you travelled to galway, mayo or sligo, you,d find its mostly spoken there, sadly its not spoken enough, i think its a beautiful language, quiet difficult to learn also, it took me a long time to learn it in school, but you,ll get the hang of it like learning any new language it takes time. slainte, lol.

Answer 19

yea some people do speak irish in the gaeltacht areas of ireland lik the west of donegal, west of galway and mayo.

Its more or less along the west coasts of ireland!

the rest of us speak english...x

Answer 20

Yes I have three sons who are fluent Gaeilge speakers.They're primary education was entirely in Irish.We live in a Gaeltacht.

Seo duit ceachtanna maith ar an idirlin faoi choinne an teanga a fhoglaim: http://www.erinsweb.com/gaelic1.html Baineann me fhein usaid as na cheachtanna seo chun an teanga a fhoghlaim aris go ceart, ta siad go h-an maith agaus furast fosta.

Here are good lessons on the internet for learning the language: http://www.erinsweb.com/gaelic1 I myself used these lessons to learn the language again properly, they're very good and easy too.

Answer 21

well im irish and i speak a bit of irish ., but it is not generally spoken everywhere only in certain parts of the country.Like some places in kerry and Mayo and Donegal etc.., really irish is a very hard language to learn but is a nice language .There are alot of different meanings of words it gets confusing .But if you wanna learn irish great , and goodluck with it ..Slan

Answer 22

I am assuming that you mean Gaelic when you say "Irish."  And no, most people speak English.

Answer 23

Some people do like me, and I live in england now but theres no need to learn the language. Most speak english x]