92-545: The Fenian Cycle ( / ˈ f iː n i ə n / ), Fianna Cycle or Finn Cycle ( Irish : an Fhiannaíocht ) is a body of early Irish literature focusing on the exploits of the mythical hero Finn or Fionn mac Cumhaill and his warrior band the Fianna . Sometimes called the Ossianic Cycle / ˌ ɒ ʃ i ˈ æ n ɪ k / after its narrator Oisín , it is one of the four groupings of Irish mythology along with
184-547: 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
276-717: 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
368-575: 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
460-471: A boar hunt, and Diarmuid is badly gored by their quarry. Water drunk from Fionn's hands has the power of healing, but when Fionn gathers water he deliberately lets it run through his fingers before he gets back to Diarmuid. His grandson Oscar threatens him if he does not bring water for Diarmuid, but when Fionn finally returns it is too late; Diarmuid has died. Between the birth of Oisin and the Battle of Gabhra
552-478: 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,
644-553: 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
736-460: 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
828-485: A magical love spot that makes him irresistible to any woman who lays eyes on him. One snowy winter night an unkempt and repugnant woman, "very wild and ugly", appears at the lodge of the Fianna and requests to share one of the men's bedsteads. She is rejected by all but Diarmuid. She makes additional demands on the group's hospitality, which Diarmuid points out are impertinent given her appearance but grants regardless. In
920-585: 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
1012-575: 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
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#17327902296521104-625: 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
1196-547: 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
1288-523: A third time, but this time he was too late: Diarmuid had died. After Diarmuid's death, Aengus took his body back to the Brugh, where he breathed life into it whenever he wished to speak with the hero. Tóraigheacht Dhiarmada agus Ghráinne has often been compared with the earlier love triangle between Deirdre , Noísi and King Conchobar of Ulster, Longes mac nUislenn (The Exile of the Sons of Uisliu), which
1380-545: 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
1472-603: 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
1564-452: 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
1656-511: 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
1748-580: Is named Demne at birth, but bestowed the name "Finn" after gaining mystical knowledge from eating a salmon. The ability (Thumb of Knowledge, Tooth of Wisdom, dét fis ) is manifested by Finn in other works, e. g., the Acallmh , the Ossianic poem about the dog from Iruaidhe , or various lays ( duanaire ) of the Finn cycle. Finn's slaying at Holloween ( Samain ) of the "supernatural burner" Aodh son of Fidga from
1840-456: Is now gravely ill, beyond the help of physicians. The daughter turns out to be Diarmuid's lady. She is overjoyed to see Diarmuid again but states that she will never be well again – partly because of the drop of blood from her heart she lost every time she thought of him on her way home, partly because the cure for her illness consists in three draughts from the cup of the King of Magh an Ionganaidh,
1932-587: 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
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#17327902296522024-672: Is part of the Ulster Cycle. Manannán mac Lir , a sea god, presents Aengus Óg with an invincible magical sword named either Móralltach or Nóralltach, the Great Fury. In The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne it is said of Móralltach that it left no stroke nor blow unfinished at the first trial. Aengus passes Móralltach on to Diarmuid, along with a second sword, Beagalltach, the Little Fury. Diarmuid also owns several other weapons known by specific names, including Gáe Buidhe,
2116-586: Is said to be the founder of the Scottish Clan Campbell . On the Campbell crest is a boar's head, a reference to Diarmuid's geis and death. Diarmuid is a scion of the Fianna in both the paternal and the maternal line. His father's name is usually given as Donn , sometimes Corc; Duibhne of the Fianna is his paternal grandfather. His mother is Cochrann, Cróchnat or Crochnuit, daughter of Cathaír Mór and close relative of Fionn 's herself. Around
2208-412: 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
2300-490: Is the rest of the cycle, which is very long and becomes too complicated for a short summary. Eventually, the High King Cormac dies and his son Cairbre Lifechair wants to destroy the Fianna because he does not like paying the taxes for protection that the Fianna demanded, so he raises an army with other dissatisfied chiefs and provokes the war by killing Fionn's servant. Goll sides with the king against Clan Bascna at
2392-666: 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
2484-697: The Mythological Cycle , the Ulster Cycle , and the Kings' Cycles . Timewise, the Fenian cycle is the third, between the Ulster and Kings' cycles. The cycle also contains stories about other famous Fianna members, including Diarmuid , Caílte , Oisín's son Oscar , and Fionn's rival Goll mac Morna . In the introduction to his Fianaigecht , Kuno Meyer listed the relevant poems and prose texts between
2576-631: 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 ")
2668-454: The corpus . He grows up to be a skilled warrior and a well-liked, valued member of the Fianna who on one occasion saves Fionn and his band by single-handedly slaying over three thousand enemies in battle. Diarmuid is best known as the lover of Gráinne , the intended wife of Fianna leader Fionn mac Cumhaill in the legend The Pursuit of Diarmuid and Gráinne . Among his sons were Donnchadh, Iollann, Ruchladh and Ioruad. Diarmuid Ua Duibhne
2760-644: The síd occurs in the Macgnímartha Finn , but elaboraed in the Acallamh" as well, where Aodh manifests himself under a different name, " Aillen ". This episode is also told in the poem by Gilla in Chomdéd, Every Samhain , the phantom Aillén mac Midgna , or Aillén the Burner, would terrorise Tara, playing music on his harp that left every warrior helpless. Using a magic spear that rendered him immune to
2852-517: The "great riches" the King will offer him for healing his daughter but to ask only for a ship to bring him home to Ireland. The red man's prediction turns out to be correct. Diarmuid departs. In some versions of the story, the King's daughter restored the greyhound to life as a farewell gift. Fionn has been without female companionship since the death of his wife Maighneis, daughter of Black Garraidh. His son Oisin offers to bring him any woman, "willing or unwilling", Fionn will care to indicate. Diorraing
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2944-634: 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
3036-789: 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
3128-403: 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
3220-571: 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
3312-572: The Druid suggests that the best woman for Fionn would be Gráinne , daughter of Cormac mac Airt , the High King of Ireland , "the woman of the best make and shape ... in the whole world". Fionn sends Osin and Diorraing to ask for Gráinne's hand in marriage. Citing tension between Cormac and himself, he stays behind. Cormac leave the decision to Gráinne, who at first accepts but develops second thoughts when she meets Fionn and notices his advanced age. At
3404-471: 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
3496-527: The Fianna. The onomastics surrounding Almu , the stronghold of the Fianna is also discussed here, quoting from the Metrical Dindsenchas on this landmark. And it is stated that when Finn grew old enough, he received the estate of Almu as compensation ( éraic ) from his grandfather, who was partly to blame for Cumhal's death. Finn's conception and genealogy is also taken up in the Macgnímartha Finn ("Boyhood Deeds of Finn"). Cumhal's son
3588-500: The Fianna. Fionn invited Diarmuid on a boar hunt on the heath of Benn Gulbain ; Diarmuid only took his short sword Beagalltach and his yellow spear, Gáe Buide, not his best weapons. He was gored by a giant boar which had already killed a number of men and hounds. Water drunk from Fionn's hands had the power of healing, but when Fionn gathered water, he twice let it run through his fingers before he could bring it to Diarmuid. Threatened by his son Oisín and grandson Oscar, he fetched water
3680-598: The Headland of the Two Sallows. Diarmuid's friends offer to let him escape, but Diarmuid declines again; he does not wish to bring Fionn's wrath down upon them. He identifies the exact spot where Fionn himself would be facing him, then vaults across Fionn and his immediate retinue with the assistance of his spear. He joins Aengus and Gráinne in Ros-da-Shoileach. Aengus makes it clear to him that he will be on
3772-549: 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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3864-596: The Love Spot , is a hero and demigod in the Fenian Cycle of Irish mythology , traditionally thought to be set in the 2nd to 4th century . He is the son of Donn , son of Duibhne of the Fianna , and Cochrann, daughter of Cathaír Mór. Diarmuid becomes the foster son and protégé of Aengus Óg , one of the Tuatha Dé Danann and the god of love, to the extent that a god of love can be said to exist in
3956-620: 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 ,
4048-541: The Two Huts. Diarmuid's friends arrange for multiple warnings to be sent to Diarmuid, but Diarmuid chooses to stand and confront Fionn, much to Gráinne's dismay. Diarmuid's protector Aengus Óg is given a vision of the danger Diarmuid is in, magically rushed to the Wood, and offers to sneak him out of his hideout under his cloak. Diarmuid declines but convinces Aengus to save Gráinne. Aengus brings Gráinne to Ros-da-Shoileach,
4140-457: The Wood of the Two Huts. When Fionn wakes up in the morning, he is gripped by "a scorching jealously" and immediately sends his trackers after the couple. The trackers, many of them loyal friends of Diarmuid's, declare themselves unable to carry the track across the Sionnan until Fionn threatens them with execution. Once across the Sionnan, Fionn guesses that the couple are hiding in the Wood of
4232-489: The battle. Some stories say five warriors murdered Fionn at the battle, while others say he died in the battle of the Ford of Brea, killed by Aichlech Mac Dubdrenn or Goll, who he killed kind. In any case, only twenty warriors survive the battle, including Oisín and Caílte. Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ),
4324-746: 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
4416-410: The cat, a personification of death. The group retires to bed. The men, one after the other, attempt to sleep with the young girl. The girl, who turns out to be a personification of youth, rejects the men – all of them in some versions, all of them except Diarmuid in others – on the grounds that she belonged to them once and cannot belong to them again. She does mark Diarmuid with the ball seirce ,
4508-562: The couple safely away through the forest. Fionn went to the Land of Promise to ask his old nurse Bodhmall to kill Diarmuid. Diarmuid was hunting in the forest beside the river Boyne and Bodhmall flew through the air on a flying water-lily and hurled poisoned darts that could penetrate his shield and armour. Diarmuid suffered agony where the darts struck him; he killed her with the Gáe Dearg. Fionn pardoned Diarmuid after Aonghus Óg interceded on
4600-417: The couple's behalf; Diarmuid and Gráinne lived in peace at Ceis Chorainn in present-day County Sligo for several years. They had five children, four sons and a daughter. Diarmuid built a fort, Rath Gráinia. However, they went for years without visiting Grainne's father Cormac Mac Art and Diarmuid's former comrades. Gráinne persuaded Diarmuid to invite their friends and relations to a feast, including Fionn and
4692-478: The day. She promises to take good care of Diarmuid's beloved greyhound and her three new pups. While Diarmuid spends the day hunting, however, one of the Fianna manipulates the woman into giving him one of the pups. Returning home, Diarmuid gets upset and mentions the repellent state the woman arrived in. The following two days, the Fianna convince the woman to give away the remaining two pups, and Diarmuid again brings up her former ugliness. The third time he does so,
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#17327902296524784-482: The dogs using magic, and Diarmuid kills the last few fighting men. The kings are slowly crushed to death by their ropes. Only the messenger survives. In the centre of the Forest of Dubros were magical berries from the rowan tree that could restore the youth of an old person, guarded by the giant Searbhan on the instructions of the Tuatha Dé Danann . Diarmuid and Gráinne asked Searbhan if they could live and hunt game in
4876-718: 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
4968-474: 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
5060-470: The faraway Plain of Wonder. Diarmuid leaves to retrieve the cup. With the assistance of a mysterious "low-sized, reddish man", Diarmuid reaches the dun of the King of the Plain of Wonder and demands the cup. The kings sends multiple waves of fighting men, whom Diarmuid slays in many hours of battle. Having lost his army, the king himself emerges. Having learned that Diarmuid is a man of the Fianna of Ireland,
5152-560: 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
5244-420: The forest. Searbhan agreed on the condition that they would not eat the berries. Gráinne asked to eat the berries. Searbhan refused and attacked Diarmuid with his massive club. Diarmuid used Searbhan's own weapon to kill him. Fionn gathered the Fianna and travelled to the wood where he had a fidchell board set up, and played his son Oisín. Oscar and Cailte assisted Oisín in the game, since no one except Diarmuid
5336-497: The general vicinity. On two consecutive nights, he shows off great and dangerous feats of strength. He manipulates large numbers of men into killing themselves trying to emulate him. On the third night, he kills most of the fighting men remaining, eventually subduing the kings themselves and tying them up. The kings are found by a woman messenger of Fionn's, who is however unable to loosen the ropes they are bound with. The kings manage, using their hounds, to track him down. Muadhan kills
5428-512: The help of a druid, Roc later resurrects his dead son in the form of a boar, then puts the boar under bonds to bring Diarmuid to death. Diarmuid grows up to become a strong warrior. He is given a place among the Fianna and accomplishes many great deeds in their service, on one occasion fighting a wild ox for seven consecutive days and nights. He is popular with women. After one of their hunting trips, Diarmuid and his companions discover they have ventured so far they are unable to get back home for
5520-450: The king realizes that Diarmuid is fulfilling a prophecy and willingly parts with his cup. The "red man" instructs Diarmuid in the use of the cup but warns him that, along with her sickness, Diarmuid's love for the King's daughter will be gone. He identifies himself as a messenger from beyond the world who has come to Diarmuid's help because Diarmuid's "own heart is hot to come to the help of another". He further warns Diarmuid not to accept
5612-716: 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
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#17327902296525704-410: 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
5796-476: 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 ,
5888-582: 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
5980-513: The morning, the visitor has magically become young and beautiful, and a grand new house has magically appeared on a nearby hill, "ready for them, with food and servants; and everything they could wish for." Overjoyed, Diarmuid asks the woman to move into the new house with him. She agrees on one condition: he cannot say out loud how ugly she looked on the night they met, at least not three times. After three days in his new house, Diarmuid grows restless. The woman encourages him to join his comrades for
6072-431: The most famous stories of the cycle. The High King Cormac mac Airt promises the now aging Fionn his daughter Gráinne as his bride, but Gráinne falls instead for a young hero of the Fianna, Diarmuid Ua Duibhne , and the pair runs away together with Fionn in pursuit. The lovers are aided by Diarmuid's foster-father, the god Aengus. Eventually Fionn makes his peace with the couple. Years later, however, Fionn invites Diarmuid on
6164-471: The music, Fionn killed the phantom. As a reward, Fionn was made the leader of the Fianna, replacing Goll, who had to swear fealty to him. Fionn was hunting a fawn, but when he caught it, his hounds Bran and Sceólang wouldn't let him kill it, and that night it turned into a beautiful woman, Sadhbh , who had been transformed into a fawn by the druid Fer Doirich. The spell had been broken by the Dun of Allen, Fionn's base, where, as long as she remained within she
6256-497: 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
6348-409: 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
6440-404: The night. Aimlessly walking through the woods, they encounter a dwelling inhabited by an old man, a young girl, and a cat. The old man invites the group to dinner. Diarmuid and his friends prove their prowess by wrestling a wether – they lose, but only barely, and only because the wether fights with "the strength of the world", whose embodiment it turns out to be. The wether is ultimately subdued by
6532-522: 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
6624-503: 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
6716-557: 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
6808-492: 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 )
6900-432: 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
6992-647: 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
7084-588: The run for the rest of his life. Diarmuid and Gráinne travel on, fording rivers, crossing marshes, sleeping in caves. A young man named Muadhan volunteers to become their servant; he turns out to be of miraculous strength. Diarmuid encounters a great fleet of ships carrying three kings of the Green Champions. The kings, who have been summoned by Fionn to catch Diarmuid, are travelling with twenty hundred good fighting men and three invulnerable magical hounds. Diarmuid denies being Diarmuid but hints he may be in
7176-584: The seventh and fourteenth centuries and further examples can be adduced for later ages: The Finn's father Cumhal is discussed as the leader of the Fianna in Fotha Catha Cnucha ("Cause of the Battle of Cnucha"), his elopement and the conception of Finn mac Cumhal is the cause of the battle, in which Cumhal is killed by Goll mac Morna . This work lays down the theme of the rivalry between Cumhall's Clann Baíscne and Goll's Clann Morna, which will resurface time and again under Finn's chieftainship over
7268-449: The stated reason of the father being a commoner. Attending a dinner party hosted by Aengus at Brú na Bóinne, Donn becomes jealous when the household lavishes the son of Roc with as much attention as his own son. He kills the steward's son, Congus, when no one is looking, but is eventually identified as the murderer through magical means. Roc suggests killing Diarmuid in retaliation but is prevented from immediately doing so by Aengus. With
7360-478: The time of Diarmuid's birth, his father is banished from the Fianna on account of an unspecified dispute. Diarmuid is taken in by Aengus Óg , to be raised in Aengus' house at Brú na Bóinne . When Crochnuit later bears a son to Roc Diocain following an adulterous affair, Fionn's steward, Aengus, accepts Diarmuid's new half brother as his foster son as well. Donn has refused to accept the child into his household for
7452-726: 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
7544-520: The wedding feast, Diarmuid catches her eye. She makes most of those present fall asleep using enchanted wine and asks Diarmuid to abscond with her. When Diarmuid refuses, she puts a spell on him. Diarmuid is magically compelled to leave the party, Gráinne in tow, knowing full well that Fionn will hunt the two of them down. Diarmuid and Gráinne cross the Sionnan and hide in the Doire-da-Bhoth,
7636-461: The woman and the house disappear, and the greyhound dies. Carrying his dead dog, Diarmuid sets out to search for his lady. An enchanted ship carries Diarmuid "out over the sea, and then down below it", to the otherworldly "Land-under-Waves". Walking its plains, he finds and collects three drops of blood. He also learns that the daughter of King Under-Wave has just returned home from abroad. She has been under some form of enchantment for seven years and
7728-594: 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
7820-435: Was a match against Fionn in this game. Diarmuid watched the game from above, and couldn't resist aiding Oisín in the game by tossing berries at the pieces. Fionn lost three straight matches to his son. Fionn realised that the couple were hiding in the tree and ordered men to kill his rival. Diarmuid killed seven warriors named Garbh. Oscar, Fionn's grandson, warned that anyone who harmed Diarmuid would face his anger, and escorted
7912-531: 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
8004-668: 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
8096-664: 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. Diarmuid Ua Duibhne Diarmuid Ua Duibhne ( Irish pronunciation: ['dʲiəɾˠmˠədʲ uə 'dˠɪvʲnʲə] , lit. ' Diarmuid, grandson of Duibne ' ), also known as Diarmuid of
8188-474: 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
8280-471: Was protected by the spell. They were married. Some while later, Fionn went out to repulse some invaders and Sadhbh stayed in the Dun. Fer Doirich impersonated Fionn, tempting Sadhbh out of the Dun, whereupon she immediately became a fawn again. Fionn searched for her, but all he found was a boy, whom he named Oisín, who had been raised by a fawn. Oisín became famous as a bard, but Sadhbh was never seen again. One of
8372-633: 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
8464-442: 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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