Does anyone in ireland care about the irish gaelic language?

Question

im an irish-american who almost studied irish. at that point i found out that most irish people hate their language. after telling this to my friends, they all said, "irish and english people are the same god d**n thing, they speak the same language", to which i protested, but i admit they had a point. "a people without their own language arent a people at all", some author, icant remember. at least the welsh have kept their language.

Answer 1

The Aran Islands and the town of Dingle speak Irish almost exclusively.  None of their signs are translated to English, and Irish is taught in school.

Answer 2

Tir gan teanga, tir gan anam! Yes I agree! I too am an Irish American, and I have an intense love for our culture, language, and people. Sadly, I have herd the same thing. If the language is to be saved, it may well fall to  America. Learn Gaelic - teach your children!! We must not let this valuable part of who we are die. Thanks for posting this.

Answer 3

To add to Charlottes answer, It is not the language that was hated-it was the archaic teaching method (for me anyway) Is maith loim Gaelig agus mo tir, (ach ta me i Canada)

Is mise le meas,

Siobhan Ni Mhorain-Bhan Fhinn

Answer 4

the native Irish language was beaten out of the Irish. It was a crime punishable by death to be "Irish in public". So naturally, the language died out. there are pockets of Irish speakers, and there are university classes dedicated to the revival of the language, but it will never be a national language again.

The Irish and English are two distinct peoples! There is a genetic difference!

Answer 5

I live in Ireland and I do care about the language-I wish I could speak it more fluently. the one thing I dont like about it is that you HAVE to pass Irish in your final exams or else you wont be accepted in to college. Most of the students who are best at Irish are the ones who can afford to go to the Gaeltacht every summer-I think thats kind of unfair but it does encourage young people to try harder at learning it.

Answer 6

Does it follow therefore that you must be English as well since it is the language that you speak???????

You seem to have embraced an Irish American identity by calling yourself Irish American but are now trying to assert that a people without their own language are not a people at all-so then-what are you?

Are Waloons French?  Are Argentines Spanish?

In any case Irish people do not hate Irish and it is not dying out.  Most people can manage a basic conversation, there are thousands of native speakers and a huge interest in the language.  There is a dedicated Irish language television station, there are several radio stations and newspapers and a an ever-growing gaelscoileanna movement.  These are obviously manifestations of a deep-seated hatred for the language.

To equate language with culture is ignorant and wrong-the Welsh are more than a language as are the Irish!

Answer 7

You should put your mouth where your money is, come to Ireland, learn Irish and then you can talk all the bollox (abair an các to leor) you want about Irish and English being the same.

It was an Englishman who once said of the Irish "They took a leaden language and coated it with silver".

We would love to speak Irish, write Irish, publish in Irish but we can't afford to be paupers any more.