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111-657: The Great Seal of the Irish Free State ( Irish : Séala Mór do Shaorstát Éireann ) is either of two seals affixed to certain classes of official documents of the Irish Free State ( Saorstát Éireann ): A new seal , for documents signed by the President of Ireland , replaced the internal seal in 1937, when the Constitution of Ireland came into force; it replaced the external seal in 1949 when

222-623: A Provisional Government and Provisional Parliament until the Free State's constitution was enacted. The draft constitution replaced the Lord Lieutenant with a Governor General but made no explicit mention of the seal. In August 1922 the Provisional Government's civil servants sought ministerial approval to adopt a seal. It was thought necessary for legal reasons: the treaty and draft constitution specified that

333-547: 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

444-717: 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

555-575: 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

666-524: A copy of the Treaty, on which the acceptance of its provisions by himself and his colleagues was endorsed. The existence and authority of the Provisional Government were then formally and officially acknowledged, and they were informed that the British Government would be immediately communicated with in order that the necessary steps might be taken for the transfer to the Provisional Government of

777-590: A court-martial established by the Provisional Government, the Master of the Rolls in Ireland , Charles O'Connor , considered the existence of a Provisional Government and its authority to act as proposed and execute the nine. Now we have what is called a Provisional Government in Ireland, and although for the time being it is in a transitional state, it has been formally and legally constituted and derives it validity from

888-478: 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,

999-553: 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

1110-460: 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

1221-794: A meeting of the members elected to the House of Commons of Southern Ireland was held at the Mansion House, Dublin . At the meeting the Anglo-Irish Treaty was ratified by the Irish side in accordance with the Treaty and a Provisional Government was elected for the purposes of Article 17 of the Treaty. Michael Collins was appointed its chairman. The Provisional Government took up office two days later on 16 January 1922 when British administration handed over Dublin Castle to Collins in person. At this time, Westminster had not formally appointed

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1332-619: A name to that Parliament but said that in matters within the jurisdiction of the Provisional Government (i.e. only certain matters concerning Southern Ireland ), it would have power to make laws in like manner as the Parliament of the Irish Free State when constituted. By Order in Council under the Act, the British Government formally transferred powers to the Provisional Government on 1 April 1922. The relevant Order in Council signed on 1 April

1443-585: 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

1554-575: 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

1665-625: 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

1776-492: 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 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

1887-654: A separate Executive Council seal, similar to the Great Seal but with Ard-Chomhairle ( Irish for 'Executive Council') added to the inscription. When republican Civil War leader Éamon de Valera became President of the Executive Council after the 1932 Irish election , sidelining the Governor-General accelerated, until the Constitution (Amendment No. 27) Act 1936 abolished the office altogether and transferred its remaining functions to

1998-545: 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

2109-603: 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 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

2220-452: 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

2331-511: 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

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2442-530: Is generally referred to simply as "the Provisional Government". It is sometimes referred to as "the Provisional Government of Ireland", or "the Provisional Government of the Irish Free State". In article 17 of the Treaty, under which it was set up, it was referred to merely as "a provisional Government", although Article 15, dealing with discussions between North and South, referred to "the provisional Government of Southern Ireland hereinafter constituted". The Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922 , which implemented

2553-486: Is in no sense a party or sectional symbol but one which represents the entire Nation... It is now within the power of an Irish Independent Government to place this emblem of humanising harmony in its high place of honour, unique and not undistinguished amongst the lions , the leopards , and the single and double headed Eagles of the rest of the world. On 28 December 1922 a meeting of the Executive Council of

2664-587: 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

2775-412: 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

2886-666: 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

2997-679: The Anglo-Irish Treaty . In protest at the ratification, Éamon de Valera resigned the presidency of the Dáil then sought re-election from among its members (to clarify his mandate), but Arthur Griffith defeated him in the vote and assumed the presidency. Most of the Dáil Ministers became concurrently Ministers of this Provisional Government. Michael Collins became Chairman of the Provisional Government , while also serving as Minister for Finance in Griffith's Dáil ministry. The members of

3108-668: The Balfour Declaration of 1926 . The external seal, designed by Percy Metcalfe , had on its reverse the same harp image as the 1925 "internal" seal. It was similar in size to the British Great Seal of the Realm, and had on its obverse the same image of the monarch enthroned as that seal, except for the quartered royal arms above the throne, where the English arms in first and fourth quarters were switched with

3219-727: The Dominions Office and the British Great Seal of the Realm was applied alongside the signature. At the 1930 Imperial Conference , the Free State proposed that a Dominion should be allowed to send documents via its High Commissioner in London, bypassing the British government, and to affix its own seal rather than the British one. The conference subcommittee on seals resolved, "The subject should be postponed on

3330-579: The Irish Civil War on 28 June. A general election was held on 16 June 1922, held just before the civil war. By mid-1922, Collins in effect laid down his responsibilities as President of the Provisional Government to become Commander-in-Chief of the National Army , a formal structured uniformed army that formed around the pro-Treaty IRA . As part of those duties, he travelled to his native County Cork . On his way home on 22 August 1922, he

3441-758: The Privy Council of the United Kingdom , which would advise the King to issue an Order in Council for formal approval. In 1925 the Royal Mint fulfilled the commission despite the lack of such an order. In 1931, a separate External Great Seal or Royal Great Seal was created to be used on diplomatic documents which required the signature of the monarch in London rather than the Governor-General in Dublin. Up to 1931, such documents had been transmitted to

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3552-631: 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 ")

3663-794: The Republic of Ireland Act came into force. The Great Seal of Ireland was used in the English king's Lordship of Ireland , which in 1534 became the Kingdom of Ireland . The seal was retained by the Acts of Union 1800 for use by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland in the business of the Dublin Castle administration . The Government of Ireland Act 1920 retained the Lord Lieutenant and Great Seal for use by both Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland . The 1921 Anglo-Irish Treaty envisaged an Irish Free State to replace Southern Ireland, with

3774-537: The Ulster Special Constabulary that was formed in late 1921 to deal with the IRA there. Collins's support for the IRA was limited to defensive actions from 2 August. The Government lifted, then re-imposed and then lifted the "Belfast Boycott", designed to end the sale of Northern Irish goods in the south. On 7 December the House of Commons of Northern Ireland unanimously exercised its right under

3885-634: 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

3996-670: 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

4107-403: 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

4218-522: 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

4329-542: The Anglo-Irish Treaty begins: By way of provisional arrangement for the administration of Southern Ireland during the interval which must elapse between the date hereof and the constitution of a Parliament and Government of the Irish Free State in accordance therewith, steps shall be taken forthwith for summoning a meeting of members of Parliament elected for constituencies in Southern Ireland since

4440-777: The Arms incomplete and broken at the corner.". George Sigerson , the President of the National Literary Society , recommended to Tim Healy , the new Governor-General, that the harp should be adopted as the symbol of the Free State. His view was that: The harp was the common and sacred symbol of the Protestant Volunteer of 1782 , of the Presbyterian and Catholic United Irishmen of 1798, of old and young Ireland and of men of after days – it

4551-509: The British monarch, George VI, continued to sign diplomatic documents using it. This dichotomy reflected ambiguity over who was head of state . The Republic of Ireland Act 1948 transferred diplomatic functions to the President, rendering the External Great Seal obsolete. Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ),

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4662-612: The Capitulations in Egypt on behalf of the Free State. Successive governments minimised the use of monarch and the External Great Seal. The state typically conducted bilateral agreements at inter-government level rather than the nominally more prestigious head-of-state level, so that the Minister for External Affairs would apply his departmental seal to any documents. After signing some multilateral treaties that would have required

4773-471: 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

4884-504: The Executive Council. Rather than using the internal Great Seal in connection with these functions, the Executive Council seal was used. In 1937 de Valera said "I have no idea of what sort of seal that [the internal Great Seal] was. As well as I remember, I never saw a document sealed with it." The die of the internal Free State seal is now on public display at National Museum of Ireland – Decorative Arts and History in Dublin . Ancilllary to

4995-581: The External Great Seal for ratification, the state chose instead to wait until the treaty had come into force and then become a party to it by accession rather than ratification , as the internal Great Seal would suffice for accession. After the Statute of Westminster 1931 , following the Free State's lead, the Union of South Africa in 1934 and Canada in 1939 passed laws permitting themselves to use their own Great Seals for diplomatic functions. South Africa, like

5106-495: The Free State, created a new seal for these purposes, whereas Canada simply extended the use of its existing domestic seal . The fact that the Free State was a monarchy rather than a republic was politically controversial, and caused the 1922–23 Irish Civil War . Although the republicans lost the war, Free State leaders sensitive to the controversy gradually abolished the Governor-General's formal powers, or transferred them elsewhere. The Ministers and Secretaries Act 1924 created

5217-720: The Irish Free State decided that the Celtic harp should be adopted. The first design submitted to the Royal Mint in England placed the harp in a heraldic shield with crest , but the mint said this would be "a disaster". On 28 August 1923 the Executive Council determined that the "Brian Ború" harp in Trinity College Dublin , would be the basis of the new seal. Archibald McGoogan of the Art Department of

5328-427: The Irish Free State would have the same constitutional status as Canada , which had its own Great Seal since its Confederation in 1867. The letters patent issued on 6 December 1922 constituting the office of Governor-General said: There shall be a Great Seal of and for the said State which We do hereby authorise and empower Our said Governor-General to keep and use for sealing all things whatsoever that shall pass

5439-401: The Irish arms in third quarter. George V formally presented the external seal to John W. Dulanty on 18 January 1932 at Sandringham House . Keith commented that this marked "the final establishment of the complete international sovereignty of the Free State and the elimination of any British control". The External Great Seal was used only on ratifications and Full Powers , and not always on

5550-425: 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

5661-408: The Mansion House from where the Chairman of the Provisional Government, Michael Collins issued the following statement (referring to nothing less than a surrender of the Castle): The members of the Provisional Government of Ireland received the surrender of Dublin Castle at 1.45 p.m. today. It is now in the hands of the Irish nation. For the next few days the functions of the existing departments of

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5772-399: The National Museum perfected the design, and the Royal Mint in January 1924 said it was "delighted" with the revised version. Final authorisation was given by the Executive Council on 17 October 1924 for the provision of the various seals, including ministerial seals which had the Brian Ború harp circumscribed with "Saorstát Éireann" and the ministerial title in Irish and English. The knotwork

5883-496: The Provisional Government The following officiaI communique was afterwards issued from the Castle: In the Council Chamber at Dublin Castle this afternoon His Excellency the Lord Lieutenant received Mr. Michael Collins as the head of the Provisional Government provided for in Article 17 of the Treaty of December 6. Mr. Collins handed to the Lord Lieutenant a copy of the Treaty, on which the acceptance of its provisions by himself and his colleagues had been endorsed and other members of

5994-448: The Provisional Government were also members of the Republican Dáil and that parliament held meetings into June. The Dáil had no legitimacy in British law and under its own laws was the parliament to which the Ministry of Dáil Éireann was accountable. One of the earliest and most remarkable events in the short life of the Provisional Government was the handover of Dublin Castle to the Provisional Government. For centuries Dublin Castle

6105-407: The Provisional Government were then introduced. The Lord Lieutenant congratulated. Mr. Collins and his colleagues and informed them that they were now duly installed as the Provisional Government and that in conformity with Article 17 of the Treaty, he would at once communicate with the British Government, in order that the necessary steps might be taken for the transfer to the Provisional Government of

6216-424: 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 ,

6327-401: The Treaty in British law, referred to it only as "the Provisional Government established under that Article [Article 17]". Similarly, the Mansion House meeting at which the government was constituted resolved that "a Provisional Government be and is hereby constituted". The Irish Times story on the meeting referred to it as "the Irish Free State Provisional Government", while its editorial of

6438-431: The Treaty nor the Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922 provided that the Provisional Government was or would be accountable to any such body. On 27 May 1922 Lord FitzAlan , the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , in accordance with the Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922 formally dissolved the Parliament of Southern Ireland and by proclamation called "a Parliament to be known as and styled the Provisional Parliament" . Under

6549-469: The abolition of the Governor-Generalship, the Executive Authority (External Relations) Act 1936 continued the use of the External Great Seal by the King. The distinction between the two Great Seals was not always clearly understood. In 1932, Hugh Kennedy, by then Chief Justice , was under the impression that the internal and external seals were in the custody respectively of the Executive Council and Governor-General. The 1937 Constitution of Ireland created

6660-456: The assembly and, having formed an opposition "republican government" under Éamon de Valera, began a political campaign from March 1922. At the same time the powerful IRA Army Executive divided, and its anti-Treaty members refused to be bound by the Dáil vote that had ratified it. Barracks that were being evacuated by the British army, in line with the Treaty, were sometimes taken over by anti-Treaty forces. The Dunmanway killings in April emphasised

6771-577: 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

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6882-419: The custody of its Minister for External Affairs . Although Arthur Berriedale Keith claimed in 1934 that "this drastic change in Commonwealth relations was carried out without any discussion in the British Parliament or intimation by the British Government of the change", in fact Sir William Davison asked J. H. Thomas , the Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs , about it in April 1931; Thomas referred to

6993-404: The design of the Great Seal, an approach was made by Hugh Kennedy , the Attorney General , to Thomas Sadleir , Registrar of the Office of Arms at Dublin Castle . In his reply Sadlier noted that he was "satisfied that the harp was very early in the 12th century an Irish badge..." . The 1919–1922 seal of the revolutionary Dáil of the self-proclaimed Irish Republic showed a harp surrounded by

7104-456: The distinction between the two posts became irrelevant. On 6 December 1922, the Irish Free State came into being, and the Provisional Government was succeeded by the Executive Council of the Irish Free State , presided over by a prime minister called the President of the Executive Council . The Provisional Government covertly supplied arms to the IRA in Northern Ireland in an attempt to maintain IRA support elsewhere. This undeclared conflict

7215-664: 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 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

7326-414: 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

7437-430: 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

7548-465: The following telegram was sent from the King to the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland : Am gratified to hear from your telegram of successful establishment of the Provisional Government in Ireland. Am confident that you will do all in your power to help its members accomplish the task that lies before them. -George R. There was never again "a meeting of members of the Parliament elected for constituencies in Southern Ireland" after 14 January 1922 and neither

7659-403: The government's lack of control. In May 1,200 Garda Síochána recruits mutinied. A force led by Rory O'Connor occupied four central buildings in Dublin on 14 April. The Provisional Government ignored this challenge to its authority, hoping that the occupiers would realise that they had achieved nothing, and leave. Instead some incidents at the Four Courts in late June led to the open outbreak of

7770-436: The head of High Court proceedings, with the approval of the British government (and to the chagrin of Sir Thomas Molony , the Lord Chief Justice of Ireland ). Several Acts of the post-1922 Oireachtas of the Irish Free State and the post-1937 Oireachtas refer to the "Provisional Government of Ireland". Under the Irish Republic 's Dáil Constitution adopted in 1919, Dáil Éireann continued to exist after it had ratified

7881-404: The institution will be continued without in any way prejudicing future action. Members of the Provisional Government proceed to London immediately to meet the British Cabinet Committee to arrange for the various details of handing over. A statement will be issued by the Provisional Government tomorrow in regard to its intentions and policy. – Michael Collins, Chairman At the end of the day's events,

7992-716: 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

8103-410: 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

8214-476: 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 ,

8325-598: The latter. Lesser seals were used on lesser documents: Whereas the UK's Crown Office Act 1877 permits a small wafer Great Seal to replace the cumbersome wax Great Seal, the Free State's wax seal had no wafer equivalent. The first use of the External Great Seal was not until 1937, when George VI sealed Full Powers allowing Francis T. Cremins to sign the Montreux Convention Regarding the Abolition of

8436-582: 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

8547-804: 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

8658-549: The new Irish ministers or conferred their government with any powers. These gaps were addressed through the Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922 of the British Parliament passed on 31 March 1922. It gave the force of law to the Anglo-Irish Treaty , which was scheduled to the Act. Section 1(2) of the Act provided that for the purposes of giving effect to Article 17 of the Treaty: The Act did not give

8769-469: 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

8880-588: 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

8991-467: The office of President of Ireland , and the Seal of the President was created for the President's formal signature of official documents in the same manner as the internal Free State seal had been used, and having the same design except substituting "Éire" for "Saorstát Éireann", since the constitution had changed the name of the state . The text on the reverse of External Great Seal was changed likewise, and

9102-503: 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

9213-477: The passing of the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, and for constituting a provisional Government, and the British Government shall take the steps necessary to transfer to such provisional Government the powers and machinery requisite for the discharge of its duties, provided that every member of such provisional Government shall have signified in writing his or her acceptance of this instrument On 14 January 1922

9324-557: 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

9435-406: The powers and machinery requisite for the discharge of its duties. He wished them every success in the task that they had undertaken, and expressed the earnest hope that under their auspices the ideal of a happy, free, and prosperous Ireland would be attained. On leaving the Castle the members of the Provisional Government again received a great ovation from a largely augmented crowd. They returned to

9546-400: The powers and machinery requisite for the discharge of its duties. The Lord Lieutenant congratulated … expressed the earnest hope that under their auspices the ideal of a happy, free, and prosperous Ireland would be attained… The proceedings were held in private, and lasted for 55 minutes, and at the conclusion the heads of the principal administrative departments were presented to the members of

9657-492: 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 )

9768-488: 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

9879-647: 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

9990-535: The said Great Seal. Provided that, until a Great Seal shall be provided, the private seal of the Governor-General may be used as the Great Seal of the said State. The wording matched the 1900 letters patent for the Great Seal of the Commonwealth of Australia . The Irish Free State (Consequential Provisions) Act 1922 also created a separate Governor and Great Seal for Northern Ireland. The physical seal

10101-447: The same date referred to it as "the Provisional Government of Ireland". A committee set up to deal with Irish affairs, headed by Winston Churchill , was called the "Provisional Government of Ireland Committee". The Provisional Government styled itself Rialtas Sealadach na hÉireann (Provisional Government of Ireland) in Irish. It overprinted its postage stamps accordingly. Rialtas Sealadach na hÉireann also appeared at

10212-561: The terms of the Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1922, the Provisional Government did become accountable to that Provisional Parliament. Therefore, between its formation on 14 January 1922 and 9 September 1922, when the Provisional Parliament or Third Dáil first met, the Provisional Government was responsible to no parliament at all. In November 1922, when refusing a writ of habeas corpus for Erskine Childers and eight other IRA men who had been sentenced to death by

10323-463: The treaty between Great Britain and Ireland and the Act of Parliament confirming that Treaty. Lord Fitzalan remained in office during the period of the Provisional Government. In the summer of 1922 he frequently held military reviews of departing British soldiers in the Phoenix Park outside the then Viceregal Lodge . Anti-treatyites, having opposed the Treaty in the Dáil, mostly withdrew from

10434-412: The understanding that the whole question should be left for further discussion between Governments should occasion arise". In January 1931 the Free State government tested its proposed procedure; it applied the 1925 Free State seal to the instrument of ratification for a 1929 treaty between the Free State and Portugal, and sent it to High Commissioner John W. Dulanty to transmit to King George V . Dulanty

10545-726: 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

10656-466: The words "Sigullum Reipublicae Hibernicae — Seala Saorstáit Éireann". By contrast, the 1922 Provisional Government 's seal was a quartering of the arms of the four provinces . The Provisional Government's private secretary suggested to Hugh Kennedy a similar seal for the Free State: "If considered desirable to symbolise in the design the present partition of Ulster , this could be done by leaving

10767-594: 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

10878-566: Was a direct copy of the base of the Ardagh Chalice . McGoogan's original drawing was sold at auction in 2007 for €17,000. Mabel McConnell, from a family of heraldic artists , was contracted by the Executive Council to make the sketches which the Royal Mint in England used to cast the die matrix for the seal. The Colonial Office objected that the design ought to have been pre-approved by the King-in-Council : that is, submitted to

10989-484: Was agog with anticipation. From early morning a dense crowd collected outside the gloomy gates in Dame Street , though from the outside little can be seen of the Castle, and only a few privileged persons were permitted to enter its grim gates… [At half past 1] members of the Provisional Government went in a body to the Castle, where they were received by Lord FitzAlan , the Lord Lieutenant. Mr. Michael Collins produced

11100-531: 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

11211-609: 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

11322-529: 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. Provisional Government of Ireland (1922) Article 17 of

11433-455: Was formally ended by the "Craig-Collins Agreement" of 30 March 1922, but Collins continued to supply arms until shortly before his death in August 1922. Provisional Government policy changed between trying to persuade the Government of Northern Ireland to join a re-united Ireland and trying to overthrow it. A major concern was the welfare of Catholics in Northern Ireland, who were distrustful of

11544-501: Was in theory in the custody of the Governor-General for his personal use; in practice the Executive Council kept and used it. The Great Seal features an image of a Celtic harp surrounded by Celtic knotwork and the words " SAORSTÁT ÉIREANN " in Gaelic script . The die comprises an inscribed copper matrix to be placed over the document to be sealed, and a counterpart relief steel patrix to be placed under it. Regarding

11655-474: Was killed in an ambush at Béal na mBláth (an Irish language placename that means 'the Mouth of Flowers'). He was 31 years old. The Second Irish Provisional Government took office on 30 August 1922 until the creation of the Irish Free State on 6 December 1922. After Collins' and Griffith's deaths in August 1922, W. T. Cosgrave became both Chairman of the Provisional Government and President of Dáil Éireann, and

11766-474: 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

11877-412: Was refused an audience, the British objecting on the grounds that the change in procedure had not been agreed, and that the 1925 seal was not in fact a "great seal" within the terms of the 1922 letters patent, but merely a "private seal of the Governor-General", since it had never been formally approved by the monarch. A compromise was negotiated whereby the Free State would use a separate "external seal" in

11988-693: 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

12099-471: Was the "Provisional Government (Transfer of Functions) Order, 1922". This Order passed on the full authority of the state within Southern Ireland to the Provisional Government, including, for the time being, all the laws that applied to Southern Ireland when under British rule. The Ministerial appointments became official and were announced in Iris Oifigiúil No.19 of 4 April 1922. The government

12210-443: Was the symbol, as well as the citadel, of British rule in Ireland . The transfer of the Dublin Castle administration to the representatives of the Irish people was greatly welcomed in Dublin. It was regarded as a significant outward and visible sign that British rule was ending. The handover of Dublin Castle occurred on 16 January 1922. The following is a summary of the account of what happened provided by The Times : All Dublin

12321-442: 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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