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102-599: The Dublin quays ( Irish : Céanna Bhaile Átha Cliath ) refers to the two roadways and quays that run along the north and south banks of the River Liffey in Dublin , Ireland. The stretches of the two continuous streets have several different names. However, all but two of the names (Bachelors Walk and Usher's Island) share the same "quay" designation. The quays have played an important part in Dublin's history. Much of

204-547: A unique dialect of Irish developed before falling out of use in the early 20th century. With a writing system , Ogham , dating back to at least the 4th century AD, which was gradually replaced by Latin script since the 5th century AD, Irish has one of the oldest vernacular literatures in Western Europe . On the island, the language has three major dialects: Connacht , Munster and Ulster Irish . All three have distinctions in their speech and orthography . There

306-717: A bargaining chip during government formation in Northern Ireland, prompting protests from organisations and groups such as An Dream Dearg . Irish became an official language of the EU on 1 January 2007, meaning that MEPs with Irish fluency can now speak the language in the European Parliament and at committees, although in the case of the latter they have to give prior notice to a simultaneous interpreter in order to ensure that what they say can be interpreted into other languages. While an official language of

408-575: A better future for Ireland and all her citizens." The Strategy was produced on 21 December 2010 and will stay in action until 2030; it aims to target language vitality and revitalization of the Irish language. The 30-page document published by the Government of Ireland details the objectives it plans to work towards in an attempt to preserve and promote both the Irish language and the Gaeltacht. It

510-478: A cultural and social force. Irish speakers often insisted on using the language in law courts (even when they knew English), and Irish was also common in commercial transactions. The language was heavily implicated in the "devotional revolution" which marked the standardisation of Catholic religious practice and was also widely used in a political context. Down to the time of the Great Famine and even afterwards,

612-553: A degree course in the NUI federal system to pass the subject of Irish in the Leaving Certificate or GCE / GCSE examinations. Exemptions are made from this requirement for students who were born or completed primary education outside of Ireland, and students diagnosed with dyslexia . NUI Galway is required to appoint people who are competent in the Irish language, as long as they are also competent in all other aspects of

714-710: A few to Simon Douglas and Les Whitfield's Head Entertainment . Virgin entered the Turkish market in March 2011 with a store located in the Demirören shopping centre on Istiklal Street near Taksim , Istanbul . The product mix of books, digital media and electronics failed to compete with better established chains and the store closed in autumn 2012. The Azadea Group of Beirut, Lebanon has an exclusive license since 2001 to operate Virgin Megastores in many countries within

816-460: A fully recognised EU language for the first time in the state's history. Before Irish became an official language it was afforded the status of treaty language and only the highest-level documents of the EU were made available in Irish. The Irish language was carried abroad in the modern period by a vast diaspora , chiefly to Great Britain and North America, but also to Australia , New Zealand and Argentina . The first large movements began in

918-740: A majority takeover of the French arm of Virgin from Lagardère. This deal was finalised in February 2008. In 2007 the real estate company Related Companies and Vornado Realty Trust acquired Virgin Megastores North America. Related and Vornado were the landlords for the two most profitable stores in the United States and those stores were profitable because they had long-term leases in which rents were locked in at an extremely low rate. Both real estate companies wanted to break

1020-571: A new store nearly every year. Antar Group of Damascus has an exclusive to operate Virgin Megastores in Syria since 2007. Since the Syrian Civil War has caused most normal economic activities to virtually cease in the country since 2011, all megastores in the country are currently closed and may not return until political stability returns. Virgin's main store in Lebanon was located in

1122-585: A paper suggested that within a generation, non-Gaeltacht habitual users of Irish might typically be members of an urban, middle class, and highly educated minority. Parliamentary legislation is supposed to be available in both Irish and English but is frequently only available in English. This is notwithstanding that Article 25.4 of the Constitution of Ireland requires that an "official translation" of any law in one official language be provided immediately in

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1224-575: A pass in Leaving Certificate Irish or English, and receive lessons in Irish during their two years of training. Official documents of the Irish government must be published in both Irish and English or Irish alone (in accordance with the Official Languages Act 2003, enforced by An Coimisinéir Teanga , the Irish language ombudsman). The National University of Ireland requires all students wishing to embark on

1326-625: A religious context. An Irish translation of the Old Testament by Leinsterman Muircheartach Ó Cíonga , commissioned by Bishop Bedell , was published after 1685 along with a translation of the New Testament. Otherwise, Anglicisation was seen as synonymous with 'civilising' the native Irish. Currently, modern day Irish speakers in the church are pushing for language revival. It has been estimated that there were around 800,000 monoglot Irish speakers in 1800, which dropped to 320,000 by

1428-843: A second location was opened at the Mall of Arabia in 6th of October City in December 2011. A third location was opened at the Festival City Mall in Cairo in June 2015. And the 4th and newest branch opened in Mall of Egypt on 27 September 2017. The first location in Kuwait opened in 2002. By May 2008, there were two Virgin Megastores in Kuwait , one at Marina Mall in Salmiya and the other at

1530-647: A selection of scenes along the quays. A number of artists have found inspiration from the quays. In 1898, author Frances A. Gerard described the Dublin quays as follows: "Much of the picturesque appearance of Dublin is due to the Quays which intersect the City and the Bridges which span the Liffey; they impart to it a foreign air resembling the Quays of Paris ." Irish novelist James Joyce had many of his storylines take place at

1632-469: A substantial gunpowder explosion took place on the quays. The explosion demolished as many as forty houses and left dozens of others badly damaged. The explosion claimed the lives of 126 people and inflicted countless injuries. The Custom House , one of Dublin's major landmarks on Custom House Quay, was completed in 1791. The quay takes its name from the building. Later, the Four Courts on Inns Quay

1734-545: A wider meaning, including the Gaelic of Scotland and the Isle of Man , as well as of Ireland. When required by the context, these are distinguished as Gaeilge na hAlban , Gaeilge Mhanann and Gaeilge na hÉireann respectively. In English (including Hiberno-English ), the language is usually referred to as Irish , as well as Gaelic and Irish Gaelic . The term Irish Gaelic may be seen when English speakers discuss

1836-452: Is also An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , a standardised written form devised by a parliamentary commission in the 1950s. The traditional Irish alphabet , a variant of the Latin alphabet with 18 letters , has been succeeded by the standard Latin alphabet (albeit with 7–8 letters used primarily in loanwords ). Irish has constitutional status as the national and first official language of

1938-416: Is an international entertainment retailing chain, founded in early 1976 by Richard Branson as a record shop on London 's Oxford Street . In 1979 the company opened their first Megastore at the end of Oxford Street and Tottenham Court Road . The company expanded to hundreds of stores worldwide in the 1990s, but lost a large number of stores during the 2010s, largely with the sale and eventual closing of

2040-511: Is divided into four separate phases with the intention of improving 9 main areas of action including: The general goal for this strategy was to increase the number of daily speakers from 83,000 to 250,000 by the end of its run. By 2022, the number of such speakers had fallen to 71,968. Before the partition of Ireland in 1921, Irish was recognised as a school subject and as "Celtic" in some third level institutions. Between 1921 and 1972, Northern Ireland had devolved government. During those years

2142-595: Is now a branch of the supermarket chain, SuperValu . A controversial development was at Wood Quay by the Dublin Corporation in the late 1970s, when there were many archaeological Viking finds. This led to a very public and unsuccessful campaign to halt the development. Among the other quays that lost period buildings in the 1980s was Arran Quay, when 5 Georgian houses were demolished illegally in January 1989 by Linders of Smithfield. Announced in 1998 and with

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2244-587: Is only in Gaeltacht areas that Irish continues to be spoken as a community vernacular to some extent. According to data compiled by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht , Sport and Media , only 1/4 of households in Gaeltacht areas are fluent in Irish. The author of a detailed analysis of the survey, Donncha Ó hÉallaithe of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology , described

2346-412: Is still spoken daily to some extent as a first language . These regions are known individually and collectively as the Gaeltacht (plural Gaeltachtaí ). While the fluent Irish speakers of these areas, whose numbers have been estimated at 20–30,000, are a minority of the total number of fluent Irish speakers, they represent a higher concentration of Irish speakers than other parts of the country and it

2448-707: Is the shopping centre's main anchor. In November 2008 they opened a smaller store in a shopping centre called Landmark . Other locations includes Mall of Qatar, Qatar Mall, Doha Festival City, Hamad International Airport (departure area) and a small kiosk at The Pearl. The first Virgin Megastore in the United Arab Emirates in September 2001 at the Deira City Centre in Dubai, two months after

2550-721: The Fíor-Ghaeltacht (true Gaeltacht ), a term originally officially applied to areas where over 50% of the population spoke Irish. There are Gaeltacht regions in the following counties: Gweedore ( Gaoth Dobhair ), County Donegal, is the largest Gaeltacht parish in Ireland. Irish language summer colleges in the Gaeltacht are attended by tens of thousands of teenagers annually. Students live with Gaeltacht families, attend classes, participate in sports, go to céilithe and are obliged to speak Irish. All aspects of Irish culture and tradition are encouraged. The Act

2652-933: The Lagardere Group . By 2001 the Virgin Megastores worldwide were split between the Virgin Group and the Lagardère Group. The Virgin Group kept the United Kingdom, Ireland, United States and Japan outlets while the Lagardère Group obtained the shops in France and travel retail locations globally including Australia , China, United Arab Emirates , Qatar , Greece , Italy , Egypt , Lebanon and Jordan . Virgin Megastores in

2754-839: The Mall of the Emirates in Dubai. Sometime between 2009 and 2010, the ownership for the Virgin Megastore franchise in the United Arab Emirates and the Middle East was transferred from Star Multimedia to Virgin Megastores Middle East, Azadea Group. By May 2010, stores were also added at the Mirdif City Centre and at the Jumeira Beach residence in Dubai to make a total of seven stores in

2856-635: The Republic of Ireland in Dublin in 1986. More stores opened in Ireland from the early 1990s including Cork City . The company had planned to launch an online store specifically for the Republic of Ireland at virginmegastores.ie however plans were shelved when its Irish operations were sold in 2007. At its height of success the company owned 6 stores in the Republic of Ireland, however, by 2002 stores began to close. The Virgin Group sought to sell its Irish operations during 2007, and on 17 September 2007, it

2958-576: The Republic of Ireland , and is also an official language of Northern Ireland and among the official languages of the European Union . The public body Foras na Gaeilge is responsible for the promotion of the language throughout the island. Irish has no regulatory body but An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , the standard written form, is guided by a parliamentary service and new vocabulary by a voluntary committee with university input. In An Caighdeán Oifigiúil ("The Official [Written] Standard ")

3060-724: The Virgin Group . The Virgin Group sought to sell its UK and Ireland stores during 2007, and on 17 September 2007, it was announced that the UK and Ireland arm of the Virgin Megastores brand was to break away from the Virgin Group. A management buy-out offer was accepted. Stores were rebranded as Zavvi . Following the collapse of Woolworths , which owned Zavvi's supplier Entertainment UK , Zavvi entered administration on 24 December 2008 as it had been unable to source stock from other suppliers under favourable terms. By February 2009 Zavvi had closed its stores, selling some to rival HMV , and

3162-520: The airport . However, by late 2011 the airport branch was shut down, while the second branch shut down in March 2012. After a seven-year absence, Virgin Megastores returned to Kuwait in February 2020 by opening its first new store there at The Avenues Mall. Virgin Megastores currently has six stores in Qatar , with one being located in the Villaggio Mall (an Italian-themed mall), Doha which

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3264-571: The 17th century, largely as a result of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland , which saw many Irish sent to the West Indies . Irish emigration to the United States was well established by the 18th century, and was reinforced in the 1840s by thousands fleeing from the Famine . This flight also affected Britain. Up until that time most emigrants spoke Irish as their first language, though English

3366-725: The 1998 Good Friday Agreement , the language gradually received a degree of formal recognition in Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, and then, in 2003, by the British government's ratification in respect of the language of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . In the 2006 St Andrews Agreement the British government promised to enact legislation to promote the language and in 2022 it approved legislation to recognise Irish as an official language alongside English. The bill received royal assent on 6 December 2022. The Irish language has often been used as

3468-400: The 2021 census of Northern Ireland , 43,557 individuals stated they spoke Irish on a daily basis, 26,286 spoke it on a weekly basis, 47,153 spoke it less often than weekly, and 9,758 said they could speak Irish, but never spoke it. From 2006 to 2008, over 22,000 Irish Americans reported speaking Irish as their first language at home, with several times that number claiming "some knowledge" of

3570-403: The 6th century, used the Latin alphabet and is attested primarily in marginalia to Latin manuscripts. During this time, the Irish language absorbed some Latin words, some via Old Welsh , including ecclesiastical terms : examples are easpag (bishop) from episcopus , and Domhnach (Sunday, from dominica ). By the 10th century, Old Irish had evolved into Middle Irish , which

3672-515: The Act all detailing different aspects of the use of Irish in official documentation and communication. Included in these sections are subjects such as Irish language use in official courts, official publications, and placenames. The Act was recently amended in December 2019 in order to strengthen the already preexisting legislation. All changes made took into account data collected from online surveys and written submissions. The Official Languages Scheme

3774-768: The Barcelona Olympics. This opening was followed by another Megastore in Seville (1993) however the opening of a flagship store in Madrid eluded the retailer, because at that time, cinemas and theatres in the Gran Vía (Madrid's most popular commercial thoroughfare) could not easily be reassigned for commercial use. The Spanish company diversified by opening small outlets in busy Spanish and Portuguese airports. In 1994, Virgin Retail España reached an agreement with

3876-562: The Dublin quays, including " Eveline " (1904) and " An Encounter " (1914). Joyce biographer Michael H. Begnal wrote, "Joyce associated the Liffey Quays with the desire for escape." Artist Jack Butler Yeats painted Dublin Quays in 1916. The 1987 film The Dead , adapted from a story by Joyce, was filmed by John Huston at Usher's Island. In Joyce's story, " The Dead ", the sisters Kate and Julia Morkan host their annual dance at their "dark gaunt house on Usher's Island". 'Ushers Island'

3978-471: The European Union , only co-decision regulations were available until 2022, due to a five-year derogation, requested by the Irish Government when negotiating the language's new official status. The Irish government had committed itself to train the necessary number of translators and interpreters and to bear the related costs. This derogation ultimately came to an end on 1 January 2022, making Irish

4080-594: The European, North American, Australian, Japanese and Chinese stores. By 2015, it operated only in the Middle East and in North Africa. Richard Branson and Nik Powell had initially run a small record shop called Virgin Records and Tapes on Notting Hill Gate , London , specialising particularly in " krautrock " imports, and offering bean bags and free vegetarian food for the benefit of customers listening to

4182-549: The Irish language policy followed by Irish governments as a "complete and absolute disaster". The Irish Times , referring to his analysis published in the Irish language newspaper Foinse , quoted him as follows: "It is an absolute indictment of successive Irish Governments that at the foundation of the Irish State there were 250,000 fluent Irish speakers living in Irish-speaking or semi Irish-speaking areas, but

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4284-611: The Middle East currently trades as V Star Multimedia LLC. Culture Convenience Club owns what was Virgin Megastores Japan, which have since been rebranded as Tsutaya. The Australian Virgin Megastores and Virgin at Myer concept stores were operated by Brazin Limited. ( Sanity Entertainment after 2009) until all were closed in 2010; Brazin also ran local HMV outlets, in addition to their own Sanity brand. In December 2007 Butler Capital Partners announced their intention to mount

4386-473: The Middle East, except for countries which already have a franchise. Operating as Virgin Megastores Middle East, Azadea has stores in UAE , Qatar , Bahrain , Egypt , Kuwait , and Jordan . Megastores of Lebanon S.A.L. has an exclusive franchise to operate Virgin Megastores in Lebanon and Saudi Arabia . Best Financière (Label Vie Carrefour) of Rabat has an exclusive license to operate Virgin Megastores within Morocco . Since 2010, Best has been opening

4488-424: The Republic of Ireland ), new appointees to the Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland , including postal workers , tax collectors , agricultural inspectors, Garda Síochána (police), etc., were required to have some proficiency in Irish. By law, a Garda who was addressed in Irish had to respond in Irish as well. In 1974, in part through the actions of protest organisations like the Language Freedom Movement ,

4590-435: The Roshana Centre, Red Sea Mall and on in Jeddah domestic airport in Jeddah and there's one at Dhahran Mall Eastern Province . In November 2017, a fifth Saudi location was open at the Hayat Mall in Riyadh . As of September 2008, there is currently one Virgin Megastore in Bahrain . It is in the Bahrain City Centre . The first Egyptian store was opened at the City Stars Mall in Cairo in October 2005. Six years later,

4692-441: The UAE. The eighth store in the UAE was opened in September 2011 at the Dubai Mall in Dubai. The Jumeirah Beach residence appeared to have been closed sometime before September 2012, bring the store count back down to seven. A second store in Abu Dhabi opened at the Al Wahda Mall in November 2012. As of November 2012, there were eight Virgin Megastores in the UAE six of which are located in Dubai. In December 2014,

4794-446: The Virgin Entertainment Group from 1999 to 2009 was instrumental in the growth of the stores in particular developing the stores in the Middle East before their eventual disposals under license detailed under Ownership. Like many of Branson's Virgin brands, Virgin Megastores is not wholly owned by the Virgin Group . During the early to mid-2000s Virgin Group decided to sell off most of its Virgin Megastores to various companies, including

4896-413: The Virgin Megastore in Piazza Duomo Milan closed. Currently this building is occupied by a Mondadori retail store. After the Italian franchise Virgin Retail Italy filed for bankruptcy and liquidation, the Italian bankruptcy court ordered in May 2004 the immediate closure of three out of four of the remaining stores while allowing the store in Bergamo to remain open for a few additional months to allow

4998-577: The beginning of the following academic year. For a number of years there has been vigorous debate in political, academic and other circles about the failure of most students in English-medium schools to achieve competence in Irish, even after fourteen years of teaching as one of the three main subjects. The concomitant decline in the number of traditional native speakers has also been a cause of great concern. In 2007, filmmaker Manchán Magan found few Irish speakers in Dublin , and faced incredulity when trying to get by speaking only Irish in Dublin. He

5100-436: The chain in 2001. In December 2007 Butler Capital Partners announced their intention to mount a majority takeover of the French arm of Virgin from Lagardère. This deal was finalised in February 2008. According to the Lagardère 2007 report, 80% of the Virgin stores was to be sold by Lagardère Services at a value of €76.4 million, and 20% would be kept. Prior to this sale 51% of VirginMega, France's number 2 music download website,

5202-514: The company opened their first Megastore at the end of Oxford Street and Marble Arch . Virgin Megastores and Virgin Records operated as entirely separate entities, like many of the other Virgin companies. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s Virgin Megastores opened over 100 stores in the UK, and many others around the world, including expansion into Asia Pacific and North America, under the leadership of Ian Duffell – President & CEO of Virgin Entertainment Group until 1998. Simon Wright – Chief Executive of

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5304-471: The company to depose of its remaining inventory. Virgin Megastores entered the Dutch market in the 1990s and operated four stores (Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Maastricht). In 2000, it decided to exit the market. Three stores were sold to the Free Record Shop group, while the Maastricht branch was closed. Free Record Shop also acquired three Virgin Megastores in Belgium. Virgin Retail España, S.L. opened its Barcelona store in November 1992, just after

5406-408: The corner of Passeig de Gràcia and Gran Vía de les Corts Catalans. This building is currently occupied by Zara clothes store. The first Virgin Megastore opened in the United Kingdom in 1979 and between the 1980s and 1990s, the chain grew, including via its merger with Our Price whilst under the ownership of WH Smith . By the 1990s Virgin Megastores had become an international franchise as part of

5508-438: The country. In 1996, local merchandising group Fotex opened the first and only Hungarian Virgin Megastore (1000 m2) in the first "western" shopping mall, Duna Plaza, in Budapest. It was operated under a franchise until 2000. Between 2001 and 2006, Fotex operated the store as "Hungaroton Gigastore". The shop was closed in 2006 and no more Virgin Megastore shops were opened in Hungary. Virgin Megastores opened its first store in

5610-433: The department store chain Galerías Preciados and opened small concessions in their Madrid stores (Callao, Goya, Serrano, La Vaguada and Parquesur). Galerías Preciados ceased trading the following year and Virgin Retail España quickly re-organised its operations and opened medium-sized stores in ABC Serrano (Madrid), La Coruña, Vigo, Málaga, Bilbao and Santander. Larger stores followed in Portugal (Lisbon and Oporto) but by 1997

5712-414: The end of the famine, and under 17,000 by 1911. Irish is recognised by the Constitution of Ireland as the national and first official language of Republic of Ireland (English being the other official language). Despite this, almost all government business and legislative debate is conducted in English. In 1938, the founder of Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League), Douglas Hyde , was inaugurated as

5814-562: The family and is indigenous to the island of Ireland . It was the majority of the population's first language until the 19th century, when English gradually became dominant, particularly in the last decades of the century, in what is sometimes characterised as a result of linguistic imperialism . Today, Irish is still commonly spoken as a first language in Ireland's Gaeltacht regions, in which 2% of Ireland's population lived in 2022. The total number of people (aged 3 and over) in Ireland who declared they could speak Irish in April 2022

5916-430: The first President of Ireland . The record of his delivering his inaugural Declaration of Office in Roscommon Irish is one of only a few recordings of that dialect. In the 2016 census, 10.5% of respondents stated that they spoke Irish, either daily or weekly, while over 70,000 people (4.2%) speak it as a habitual daily means of communication. From the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922 (see History of

6018-407: The first and only Virgin Megastore in Vienna, on Mariahilferstraße, was sold and closed. There were 35 Virgin Megastores in France. Twelve additional stores in France were branded Furet du Nord , and about ten international stores were owned by the same company. The French Megastore business was launched in 1988 by Branson and Patrick Zelnick, CEO of music publisher Naïve. Lagardère Group bought

6120-454: The first phase opened in late 2000, the Liffey Boardwalk is a series of pedestrian walkways which were developed along the quays in the early 21st century. On 21 February 2004, near the Clarence Hotel on Wellington Quay, a Dublin Bus lost control and mounted the pavement, crashing into a queue of 30 people boarding another bus to Maynooth . Five people were killed and 14 injured. The city's south quays were closed as rescue workers attended

6222-432: The first settlers in Dublin and many Viking artefacts were found at what is now Wood Quay. The quays were first developed during the time of King John in the early 13th century when the monarch licensed citizens to erect buildings on the River Liffey. They became the centre of the Irish shipping trade until the 1800s when the river in this section was considered too shallow for the more modern heavy ships. On 11 March 1597,

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6324-445: The impact of digital technology had already hit their distribution model very hard. Music was by then being traded freely on the Internet but the major music labels did little to help support high street retailers. Inevitably, the Virgin Retail Group took the difficult strategic decision to close all of Virgin's high street stores in southern Europe. In July 1998 Virgin Megastores closed its southern European flagship store in Barcelona on

6426-498: The language family, is derived from the Old Irish term. Endonyms of the language in the various modern Irish dialects include: Gaeilge [ˈɡeːlʲɟə] in Galway, Gaeilg / Gaeilic / Gaeilig [ˈɡeːlʲəc] in Mayo and Ulster , Gaelainn / Gaoluinn [ˈɡeːl̪ˠən̠ʲ] in West/Cork, Kerry Munster , as well as Gaedhealaing in mid and East Kerry/Cork and Waterford Munster to reflect local pronunciation. Gaeilge also has

6528-410: The language was in use by all classes, Irish being an urban as well as a rural language. This linguistic dynamism was reflected in the efforts of certain public intellectuals to counter the decline of the language. At the end of the 19th century, they launched the Gaelic revival in an attempt to encourage the learning and use of Irish, although few adult learners mastered the language. The vehicle of

6630-425: The language. For most of recorded Irish history , Irish was the dominant language of the Irish people , who took it with them to other regions , such as Scotland and the Isle of Man , where Middle Irish gave rise to Scottish Gaelic and Manx . It was also, for a period, spoken widely across Canada , with an estimated 200,000–250,000 daily Canadian speakers of Irish in 1890. On the island of Newfoundland ,

6732-461: The larger stores do generally stock the full product range. In 2003, all US Stores increased their focus on multiple fashion categories spanning Pop culture, Street, Urban, Movie & TV to complement the music, DVD and video games offers. Virgin Mobile products can also be found in separately run Virgin Mobile Concessions within most Virgin Megastores. Some shops also house cafes or coffee shops run by external companies. In 2005, Virgin Digital

6834-700: The lease on its flagship Champs-Élysées store in Paris after 25 years on the famous avenue. In June 2013 the company was finally liquidated and ceased operations after 25 years. Virgin Megastore withdrew from the German market in 1994, amid complaints that the country's shop-closing law was too restrictive. The Virgin name is used by the Lagardère Group to brand a small number of convenience stores within airports and railway stations. In September 2019 there were seven Virgin shops, of which four are in or adjacent to Frankfurt airport. As of June 2005 there were 15 Virgin Megastores in Greece , operated by Vivere Entertainment. As of 2015, no Virgin Megastores exist in

6936-594: The leases and replace Virgin with new tenants that were willing to pay the then current higher rental rates that would make an entertainment retail business unprofitable. They have since decided to close all the American stores. Virgin shops have a wide selection of CDs , games, books, DVDs , vinyl records , magazines, portable media players, accessories and additional products such as calendars, board games and Virgin branded items. Larger stores also stock electronic equipment and computer peripherals. Not all of these product categories are stocked by all Virgin shops, though

7038-399: The mid-18th century, English was becoming a language of the Catholic middle class, the Catholic Church and public intellectuals, especially in the east of the country. Increasingly, as the value of English became apparent, parents sanctioned the prohibition of Irish in schools. Increasing interest in emigrating to the United States and Canada was also a driver, as fluency in English allowed

7140-606: The music on offer. After making the shop into a success, they turned their business into a fully fledged record label, Virgin Records . The name Virgin , according to Branson (in his autobiography), arose from a colleague of his when they were brainstorming business ideas. She suggested Virgin, as they were all new to business, like "virgins". The first release on the label was the progressive rock album Tubular Bells by multi-instrumentalist Mike Oldfield in 1973. Virgin's first formal store opened on London's Oxford Street in January or February 1971 (exact date uncertain). In 1979

7242-497: The name of the language is Gaeilge , from the South Connacht form, spelled Gaedhilge prior the spelling reform of 1948, which was originally the genitive of Gaedhealg , the form used in Classical Gaelic . The modern spelling results from the deletion of the silent ⟨dh⟩ in Gaedhilge . Older spellings include Gaoidhealg [ˈɡeːʝəlˠəɡ] in Classical Gaelic and Goídelc [ˈɡoiðʲelɡ] in Old Irish . Goidelic , used to refer to

7344-469: The new immigrants to get jobs in areas other than farming. An estimated one quarter to one third of US immigrants during the Great Famine were Irish speakers. Irish was not marginal to Ireland's modernisation in the 19th century, as is often assumed. In the first half of the century there were still around three million people for whom Irish was the primary language, and their numbers alone made them

7446-655: The number now is between 20,000 and 30,000." In the 1920s, when the Irish Free State was founded, Irish was still a vernacular in some western coastal areas. In the 1930s, areas where more than 25% of the population spoke Irish were classified as Gaeltacht . Today, the strongest Gaeltacht areas, numerically and socially, are those of South Connemara , the west of the Dingle Peninsula , and northwest Donegal, where many residents still use Irish as their primary language. These areas are often referred to as

7548-943: The old Cinema Opera on Martyrs' Square , Beirut Central District ; it opened on 3 July 2001 and was shut down in 2018. The four level store's inauguration was attended by Virgin's founder Sir Richard Branson . There are also smaller outlets at ABC Malls at Achrafieh , Dbayeh, Verdun and CityMall Dora , as well as in Beirut International Airport . New stores were opened in ABC Mall Dbayeh in November 2012 and ABC Mall Verdun in November 2017. First megastore in Riyadh opened in February 2015. By December 2015, there were four Virgin Megastores in Saudi Arabia. They were located on Tahliah Street in

7650-823: The opening in Beirut. A few months later, the second store in the country was opened in Abu Dhabi in October 2001. A fourth store in UAE opened in Jumeirah in 2002. By October 2005, there were four stores in the UAE, with stores at the Deira City Center, at Burjuman and at Mercato Mall in Dubai and at the Abu Dhabi Mall in Abu Dhabi. A month later, Branson was present at the Virgin Megastores opening at

7752-503: The other official language, if not already passed in both official languages. In November 2016, RTÉ reported that over 2.3 million people worldwide were learning Irish through the Duolingo app. Irish president Michael D. Higgins officially honoured several volunteer translators for developing the Irish edition, and said the push for Irish language rights remains an "unfinished project". There are rural areas of Ireland where Irish

7854-557: The political party holding power in the Stormont Parliament , the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was hostile to the language. The context of this hostility was the use of the language by nationalists. In broadcasting, there was an exclusion on the reporting of minority cultural issues, and Irish was excluded from radio and television for almost the first fifty years of the previous devolved government. After

7956-551: The quays that are named after UK monarchs. Member of the European Parliament Gay Mitchell proposed renaming George's Quay or Victoria Quay to Joyce Quay or Behan Quay, for the Irish writers James Joyce and Brendan Behan . A Picturesque and Descriptive View of the City of Dublin , a set of 25 architectural prints of well-known buildings and views in Dublin, illustrated in 1791 by the engraver, watercolourist, and draughtsman James Malton include

8058-423: The quays. In 1845, McBirney, Collis & Company opened a store at 16 and 17 Aston Quay, and remained on the site as a department store as McBirney's until 1984. The building incorporated a set of three three-bay houses on the site, which was later remodelled in 1865. The building still retains the original store frontage of the department store. The building was later occupied by a Virgin Megastore from 1986, and

8160-492: The relationship between the three Goidelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx). Gaelic is a collective term for the Goidelic languages, and when the context is clear it may be used without qualification to refer to each language individually. When the context is specific but unclear, the term may be qualified, as Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic or Manx Gaelic. Historically the name "Erse" ( / ɜːr s / URS )

8262-432: The requirement for entrance to the public service was changed to proficiency in just one official language. Nevertheless, Irish remains a required subject of study in all schools in the Republic of Ireland that receive public money (see Education in the Republic of Ireland ). Teachers in primary schools must also pass a compulsory examination called Scrúdú Cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge . As of 2005, Garda Síochána recruits need

8364-712: The revival was the Gaelic League ( Conradh na Gaeilge ), and particular emphasis was placed on the folk tradition, which in Irish is particularly rich. Efforts were also made to develop journalism and a modern literature. Although it has been noted that the Catholic Church played a role in the decline of the Irish language before the Gaelic Revival, the Protestant Church of Ireland also made only minor efforts to encourage use of Irish in

8466-455: The river along the line of the quays; three of them for pedestrian use only, one a railway bridge, two on which Luas trams run, and the remainder for vehicular and pedestrian use. The name designations of the north roadway are (from west to east): Wolfe Tone Quay, Sarsfield Quay, Ellis Quay, Arran Quay, Inns Quay, Ormond Quay Upper, Ormond Quay Lower, Bachelors Walk , Eden Quay , Custom House Quay and North Wall Quay. The name designations of

8568-619: The scene. Driving conditions on the day were noted as being dry and clear and the driver was tried for dangerous driving causing death. His trial began in February 2007 at Dublin Circuit Court , but he was acquitted. It was found that the most likely cause of the accident had been a power surge in the engine. Volvo Bus Ltd , the manufacturers of Dublin Bus engines, said they were aware of "other cases of power surges in Ireland" in their engines. In 2006, local politicians proposed renaming some of

8670-462: The south roadway are (from west to east): Victoria Quay, Usher's Island, Usher's Quay, Merchant's Quay, Wood Quay , Essex Quay, Wellington Quay, Crampton Quay, Aston Quay, Burgh Quay, George's Quay , City Quay, Sir John Rogerson's Quay and Britain Quay . A majority of the roadways in the city centre are one-way with the north roadway being eastward and the south being westward. Vikings were among

8772-570: The southern roadway and about half of the northern roadway is part of the R148 road , while the other half of the northern roadway is part of the R801 road . Both roadways run approximately 4.3 km (2.7 mi) from Sean Heuston Bridge in the west. The eastern end of the north roadway is at East-Link Bridge while the south roadway turns southward at the Grand Canal . Seventeen bridges cross

8874-601: The titular quay. Rudyard Kipling began his poem "Belts" with the lines: From west to east: Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family . It is a member of the Goidelic language group of the Insular Celtic sub branch of

8976-620: The vacancy to which they are appointed. This requirement is laid down by the University College Galway Act, 1929 (Section 3). In 2016, the university faced controversy when it announced the planned appointment of a president who did not speak Irish. Misneach staged protests against this decision. The following year the university announced that Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh , a fluent Irish speaker, would be its 13th president. He assumed office in January 2018; in June 2024, he announced he would be stepping down as president at

9078-594: The work of such writers as Geoffrey Keating , is said to date from the 17th century, and was the medium of popular literature from that time on. From the 18th century on, the language lost ground in the east of the country. The reasons behind this shift were complex but came down to a number of factors: The change was characterised by diglossia (two languages being used by the same community in different social and economic situations) and transitional bilingualism (monoglot Irish-speaking grandparents with bilingual children and monoglot English-speaking grandchildren). By

9180-465: Was 1,873,997, representing 40% of respondents, but of these, 472,887 said they never spoke it and a further 551,993 said they only spoke it within the education system. Linguistic analyses of Irish speakers are therefore based primarily on the number of daily users in Ireland outside the education system, which in 2022 was 20,261 in the Gaeltacht and 51,707 outside it, totalling 71,968. In response to

9282-531: Was also sometimes used in Scots and then in English to refer to Irish; as well as Scottish Gaelic. Written Irish is first attested in Ogham inscriptions from the 4th century AD, a stage of the language known as Primitive Irish . These writings have been found throughout Ireland and the west coast of Great Britain. Primitive Irish underwent a change into Old Irish through the 5th century. Old Irish, dating from

9384-426: Was announced Irish and UK stores would separate from the Virgin Group. A management buy-out offer was accepted. Stores were rebranded as Zavvi . Following the collapse of Zavvi's supplier in December 2008, stores in Ireland were immediately closed in January 2009 with the hope Irish stores could be sold to another buyer unfortunately all were closed with some taken over by other music retailers. In February 2004,

9486-589: Was approved by the Wide Streets Commission in 1816 and work commenced on this building soon afterwards. Its granite facade still remains on Burgh Quay. Shipping came as far upstream as Burgh Quay until 1879 when Butt Bridge was constructed. A number of the buildings on Burgh Quay (including number 8) still retain remnants of the shopfronts designed for the Wide Streets Commissioners. The 20th century saw much development in

9588-663: Was completed in 1802 and is currently home to the Supreme Court of Ireland and the High Court . Both were designed by noted architect James Gandon . Burgh Quay is named after Elizabeth Burgh, wife of Anthony Foster whose son was Rt. Hon. John Foster, last speaker of the Irish House of Commons . Burgh Quay was once the site of the Tivoli Theatre. The Corn Exchange Building, designed by George Halpin in 1815,

9690-668: Was enacted 1 July 2019 and is an 18-page document that adheres to the guidelines of the Official Languages Act 2003 . The purpose of the Scheme is to provide services through the mediums of Irish and/or English. According to the Department of the Taoiseach, it is meant to "develop a sustainable economy and a successful society, to pursue Ireland's interests abroad, to implement the Government's Programme and to build

9792-596: Was establishing itself as the primary language. Irish speakers had first arrived in Australia in the late 18th century as convicts and soldiers, and many Irish-speaking settlers followed, particularly in the 1860s. New Zealand also received some of this influx. Argentina was the only non-English-speaking country to receive large numbers of Irish emigrants, and there were few Irish speakers among them. Virgin Megastores Virgin Megastores

9894-546: Was launched to cater for those that bought their music digitally or wanted to rip and burn their current music collection. This is designed to add to the services provided by Virgin, rather than replace the Megastores. The download service faced some criticism from consumer groups due to its incompatibility with the popular iPod music player. The service has since been discontinued. Around the world there were other Virgin branded digital music retail websites, such as VirginMega.fr, France's number 2 music download website. In 2003,

9996-474: Was passed 14 July 2003 with the main purpose of improving the number and quality of public services delivered in Irish by the government and other public bodies. Compliance with the Act is monitored by the An Coimisinéir Teanga (Irish Language Commissioner) which was established in 2004 and any complaints or concerns pertaining to the Act are brought to them. There are 35 sections included in

10098-693: Was spoken throughout Ireland, Isle of Man and parts of Scotland . It is the language of a large corpus of literature, including the Ulster Cycle . From the 12th century, Middle Irish began to evolve into modern Irish in Ireland, into Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, and into the Manx language in the Isle of Man . Early Modern Irish , dating from the 13th century, was the basis of the literary language of both Ireland and Gaelic-speaking Scotland. Modern Irish, sometimes called Late Modern Irish, as attested in

10200-418: Was the name of a competitor in the 1994 Grand National at Aintree , falling at the third fence. In 2015, folk musician Andy Irvine launched a band called ' Usher's Island ' (a reference to the Dublin quay), with members including Dónal Lunny , Paddy Glackin and Michael McGoldrick . Bachelors Walk was a comedy-drama aired on RTÉ during March 2001, following the lives of three bachelors who lived on

10302-825: Was transferred to the Virgin Stores company (sold to Butler), and the remaining 49% was kept by Lagardère Active. In July 2012, LS Travel Retail announced that they will phase out the Virgin Entertainment brand in France, commencing 2013, converting all remaining Virgin travel outlets into larger sized Fnac formats stocking the same range in addition to more product lines. In January 2013, Virgin Megastore France filed for bankruptcy. At that time there were 26 Megastores in France, employing 1,000 people, after two years of cutting over 200 staff and several shops. The company had taken steps to terminate

10404-442: Was unable to accomplish some everyday tasks, as portrayed in his documentary No Béarla . There is, however, a growing body of Irish speakers in urban areas, particularly in Dublin. Many have been educated in schools in which Irish is the language of instruction. Such schools are known as Gaelscoileanna at primary level. These Irish-medium schools report some better outcomes for students than English-medium schools. In 2009,

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