117-606: The Green Party ( Irish : Comhaontas Glas , lit. ' Green Alliance ' ) is a green political party that operates in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland . It holds a pro-European stance. It was founded as the Ecology Party of Ireland in 1981 by Dublin teacher Christopher Fettes . The party became the Green Alliance in 1983 and adopted its current English language name in 1987 while
234-547: 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
351-499: A European treaty. The government's response to the post-2008 banking crisis significantly affected the party's support, and it suffered at the 2009 local elections , returning with only three County Council seats in total and losing its entire traditional Dublin base, with the exception of a Town Council seat in Balbriggan. Déirdre de Búrca , one of two Green Senators nominated by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in 2007, resigned from
468-591: A Party". After protracted negotiations, a draft programme for government was agreed to between the Greens and Fianna Fáil. Early Green demands included the introduction of legislation on corporate donations, a moratorium on using public land to build private hospitals, and altering the route of the M3 motorway near the Hill of Tara ; none of these demands appeared in the final government programme. On 13 June 2007, Green members at
585-717: 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
702-575: 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
819-481: A carbon levy on fuels such as petrol, diesel and home heating oil, which the Green Party had sought before the election. A carbon levy was, however, introduced in the 2010 Budget. The 2008 budget did include a separate carbon budget announced by Gormley, which introduced new energy efficiency tax credit, a ban on incandescent bulbs from January 2009, a tax scheme incentivising commuters' purchases of bicycles and
936-478: 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,
1053-553: 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
1170-460: 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
1287-557: A general election but come back and win seats in a subsequent election. The Greens continued to pick up momentum in 2019, performing quite well in May during the concurrent 2019 local elections and 2019 European Parliament election while in November that same year the party saw Pippa Hackett capture a seat in the Seanad and Joe O'Brien bring home the party's first ever by-election win as
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#17327726500161404-464: A national leader until 2001. At a special "Leadership Convention" in Kilkenny on 6 October 2001, Trevor Sargent was elected the first official leader of the Green Party while Mary White was elected deputy leader. Sargent was re-elected to his position in 2003 and again in 2005. The party's constitution requires that a leadership election be held within six months of a general election. Sargent resigned
1521-621: A new scale of vehicle registration tax based on carbon emissions. At a special convention on whether to support the Treaty of Lisbon on 19 January 2008, the party voted 63.5% in favour of supporting the Treaty; this fell short of the party's two-thirds majority requirement for policy issues. As a result, the Green Party did not have an official campaign in the first Lisbon Treaty referendum , although individual members were involved on different sides. The referendum did not pass in 2008, and following
1638-585: 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
1755-575: 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
1872-497: A press conference announcing the withdrawal: For a very long time we in the Green Party have stood back in the hope that Fianna Fáil could resolve persistent doubts about their party leadership. A definitive resolution of this has not yet been possible. And our patience has reached an end. In almost four years in Government, from 2007 to 2011, the Green Party contributed to the passage of civil partnership for same-sex couples ,
1989-625: 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
2106-579: A result of the 2019 Dublin Fingal by-election . At the 2020 general election , the party had its best result ever, winning 7.1% of the first-preference votes and returning 12 TDs, an increase of ten from the last election. It became the fourth-largest party in the Dáil and entered government in coalition with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael . Ryan, Martin and Roderic O'Gorman were appointed as cabinet ministers, with four Green Ministers of State . Clare Bailey ,
2223-545: 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
2340-452: 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
2457-659: Is an Irish independent and former Green Party politician. She served as a Member of the European Parliament (MEP) for the Dublin constituency from 1994 to 2004. She is a practising barrister having been called to the Bar in 2016. A native of Castleshane , a small village in County Monaghan . She attended St Louis' Convent, Monaghan, starting in 1969. She wanted to study art and attended Letterkenny RTC ,
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#17327726500162574-511: 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
2691-521: Is likely to result in death within six months". It also states that "such a right would only apply where the person has a clear and settled intention to end their own life which is proved by making, and signing, a written declaration to that effect. Such a declaration must be countersigned by two qualified doctors". As other like-minded green parties , it has eco-socialist / green left and more moderate factions. In parallel to other Green Parties in Europe,
2808-587: 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
2925-412: 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
3042-721: The Fíor-Ghaeltacht (true Gaeltacht ), a term originally officially applied to areas where over 50% of the population spoke Irish. There are Gaeltacht regions in the following counties: Gweedore ( Gaoth Dobhair ), County Donegal, is the largest Gaeltacht parish in Ireland. Irish language summer colleges in the Gaeltacht are attended by tens of thousands of teenagers annually. Students live with Gaeltacht families, attend classes, participate in sports, go to céilithe and are obliged to speak Irish. All aspects of Irish culture and tradition are encouraged. The Act
3159-581: The 1985 local elections , buoyed by winning 5,200 first preference votes as a European candidate in Dublin the previous year . The party nationally ran 34 candidates and won 0.6% of the vote. The party continued to struggle until the 1989 general election when the Green Party (as it was now named) won its first seat in Dáil Éireann , when Roger Garland was elected in Dublin South . Garland lost his seat at
3276-529: The 1992 general election , while Trevor Sargent gained a seat in Dublin North . In the 1994 European election , Patricia McKenna topped the poll in the Dublin constituency and Nuala Ahern won a seat in Leinster. They retained their European Parliament seats in the 1999 European election , although the party lost five councillors in local elections held that year despite an increase in its vote. At
3393-563: The 1994 election and was re-elected at the 1999 election , but lost her seat at the 2004 election . She acted as one of the Dáil advisers to Ireland's first Green Party Teachta Dála (TD), Roger Garland . In 1997, she called for a boycott of Dunnes Stores when it was reported to be selling clothes produced in a state-run factory in Myanmar . She is active in People's Movement opposes further European Union integration and campaigned for
3510-642: The 1997 general election , the party gained a seat when John Gormley won a Dáil seat in Dublin South-East . At the 2002 general election the party made a breakthrough, getting six Teachtaí Dála (TDs) elected to the Dáil with 4% of the national vote. However, in the 2004 European election , the party lost both of its European Parliament seats. In the 2004 local elections , it increased its number of councillors at county level from eight to 18 (out of 883) and at town council level from five to 14 (out of 744). The party gained its first representation in
3627-583: The 2011 election . Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family . It is a member of the Goidelic language group of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous to the island of Ireland . It
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3744-468: The Irish language , lowering the voting age in Ireland to 16 , a directly elected Seanad , support for universal healthcare , and a constitutional amendment which guarantees that the water of Ireland will never be privatised. The party also advocates that terminally ill people should have the right to legally choose assisted dying , stating "provisions should apply only to those with a terminal illness which
3861-719: The Limerick School of Art and Design and also the National College of Art and Design in Dublin. She spent some time teaching art and had a studio in Temple Bar . She became involved in politics while at college. McKenna was formerly a member of the Green Party . She became the first Green Party candidate in Ireland to be elected to the European Parliament . She was elected to the European Parliament at
3978-566: The Mansion House in Dublin voted 86% in favour (441 to 67; with 2 spoilt votes) of entering coalition with Fianna Fáil. The following day, the six Green Party TDs voted for the re-election of Bertie Ahern as Taoiseach . New party leader John Gormley was appointed as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government and Eamon Ryan was appointed as Minister for Communications, Energy and Natural Resources . Trevor Sargent
4095-604: The Referendum Commission . She is also well known for her opposition to nuclear power , genetically modified food , and United States -led military action in various parts of the world. She has also expressed concerns about the safety of the MMR vaccine . McKenna ran as Green Party candidate at the 2007 general election for the Dublin Central constituency, but was not elected. She also strongly opposed
4212-576: The Republic of Ireland , and is also an official language of Northern Ireland and among the official languages of the European Union . The public body Foras na Gaeilge is responsible for the promotion of the language throughout the island. Irish has no regulatory body but An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , the standard written form, is guided by a parliamentary service and new vocabulary by a voluntary committee with university input. In An Caighdeán Oifigiúil ("The Official [Written] Standard ")
4329-467: The rejection of the Treaty of Lisbon in 2008. McKenna has been involved in many campaigns as an MEP and politician. She is known for her victory in the Supreme Court in 1995, in which she argued successfully that it was unconstitutional for the Government of Ireland to spend taxpayers money promoting only one side of the argument in referendum campaigns. This led to the setting up of
4446-518: The "four pillars" of green politics observed by the majority of Green Parties internationally: ecological wisdom , social justice , grassroots democracy , and nonviolence . They also reflect the six guiding principles of the Global Greens , which also includes a respect for diversity as a principle. While strongly associated with environmentalist policies, the party also has policies covering all other key areas. These include protection of
4563-634: 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
4680-559: The 1980s and 1990s saw a division within the Irish Green Party between two factions; the "Realists" (nicknamed the "Realos") and the "Fundamentalists (nicknamed the "Fundies"). The 'Realists' advocated taking a pragmatic approach to politics, which would mean having to accept some compromises on policy in order to get party members elected and into government in order to enact change. The 'Fundamentalists' advocated more radical policies and rejected appeals for pragmatism, citing that
4797-789: 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
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4914-587: The 2007 Programme for Government between the Green Party and Fianna Fáil . After the election, she declared herself a candidate for the leadership of the Green Party, but the position was won by John Gormley . She was elected to the Green Party National Executive in April 2008. In August 2008, she appeared in RTÉ 's reality show Fáilte Towers . She was the fourth contestant evicted from
5031-659: The 2011 general election. Party Chairman Dan Boyle and Déirdre de Búrca were nominated by the Taoiseach to Seanad Éireann after the formation of the Fianna Fáil–Progressive Democrats–Green Party government in 2007, and Niall Ó Brolcháin was elected in December 2009. De Búrca resigned in February 2010, and was replaced by Mark Dearey. Neither Boyle nor O'Brolchain was re-elected to Seanad Éireann in
5148-400: The 2021 census of Northern Ireland , 43,557 individuals stated they spoke Irish on a daily basis, 26,286 spoke it on a weekly basis, 47,153 spoke it less often than weekly, and 9,758 said they could speak Irish, but never spoke it. From 2006 to 2008, over 22,000 Irish Americans reported speaking Irish as their first language at home, with several times that number claiming "some knowledge" of
5265-403: 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
5382-515: The Act all detailing different aspects of the use of Irish in official documentation and communication. Included in these sections are subjects such as Irish language use in official courts, official publications, and placenames. The Act was recently amended in December 2019 in order to strengthen the already preexisting legislation. All changes made took into account data collected from online surveys and written submissions. The Official Languages Scheme
5499-505: The Dáil in 1989. It has participated in the Irish government twice, from 2007 to 2011 as junior partner in a coalition with Fianna Fáil , and since June 2020 in a coalition with Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael . Following the first period in government, the party suffered a wipeout in the February 2011 election , losing all six of its TDs . In the February 2016 election , it returned to the Dáil with two seats. Following this, Grace O'Sullivan
5616-471: 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
5733-432: The Green Party had sufficient seats to form a majority. Fine Gael ruled out a coalition arrangement with Sinn Féin , opening the way for Green Party negotiations with Fianna Fáil. Some saw the idea of going into coalition with Fianna Fáil as a "sell-out". Before the negotiations began, Ciarán Cuffe TD wrote on his blog that "a deal with Fianna Fáil would be a deal with the devil… and [the Green Party would be] decimated as
5850-481: The Green Party were mixed. According to Green Party Senator Déirdre de Búrca , "The pity about Patricia McKenna's move is that she did not do it at least a year ago and spare herself and her party colleagues a lot of time-wasting and strife. It has been increasingly clear that she does not share the same views on many issues with Green Party members." McKenna was not elected at the 2009 European Parliament election . She received 17,521 first preference votes (4.3%). She
5967-507: The Greens polling at just 2%. The Green Party supported the passage of legislation for EC – ECB – IMF financial support for Ireland's bank bailout. On 19 January, the party derailed Taoiseach Brian Cowen 's plans to reshuffle his cabinet when it refused to endorse Cowen's intended replacement ministers, forcing Cowen to redistribute the vacant portfolios among incumbent ministers. The Greens were angered at not having been consulted about this effort, and went as far as to threaten to pull out of
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#17327726500166084-421: The Irish government's negotiation with EU member states of additional legal guarantees and assurances, the Green Party held another special convention meeting in Dublin on 18 July 2009 to decide its position on the second Lisbon referendum . Precisely two-thirds of party members present voted to campaign for a 'Yes' in the referendum. This was the first time in the party's history that it had campaigned in favour of
6201-549: 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
6318-574: The Irish name was kept unchanged. The party leader is Roderic O'Gorman , the deputy leader is Senator Róisín Garvey and the cathaoirleach (chairperson) is Pauline O'Reilly . Green Party candidates have been elected to most levels of representation: local government (in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland), Dáil Éireann , the Northern Ireland Assembly , and the European Parliament . The Green Party first entered
6435-483: The Northern Ireland Assembly in 2007, the Green Party in Northern Ireland having become a regional branch of the party the previous year. The Green Party entered government for the first time after the 2007 general election , held on 24 May. Although its share of first-preference votes increased at the election, the party failed to increase the number of TDs returned. Mary White won a seat for
6552-564: 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 ,
6669-530: The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. The Green Party in Northern Ireland voted to become a regional partner of the Green Party in Ireland in 2005 at its annual convention, and again in a postal ballot in March 2006. Brian Wilson , formerly a councillor for the Alliance Party , won the Green Party's first seat in the Northern Ireland Assembly in the 2007 election . Steven Agnew held that seat in
6786-437: The Seanad election of 2011, leaving the Green Party without Oireachtas representation until the 2016 general election, in which it regained two Dáil seats. Ryan's leadership was challenged by deputy leader Catherine Martin in 2020 after the 2020 government formation ; he narrowly won a poll of party members, 994 votes (51.2%) to 946. The Green Party is organised throughout the island of Ireland, with regional structures in both
6903-518: The aftermath of the wipeout Eamon Ryan was elected as party leader on 27 May 2011, succeeding John Gormley, while Catherine Martin was later appointed the deputy leader of the party. At the 2016 general election Ryan and Martin gained two seats in the Dáil while Grace O'Sullivan picked up a seat in the Seanad . In doing so the Green party became the first Irish political party to lose all their seats in
7020-413: The aim of the first two budgets creating a 51% reduction by 2030. The five-year budgets will not be legally binding. The party also secured significantly increased budgets for active and sustainable travel including greenways and cycle lanes, the LocalLink rural bus network, decreases in public transport fares, a new forestry programme, increased incentives for solar and for retrofit, and the recognition of
7137-436: The ascendent faction. However, in some respects, the division only laid dormant. Following the 2019 local elections and the 2020 general election , the party had more elected representatives than ever before as well as its highest ever membership. On 22 July 2020, several prominent members of the party formed the "Just Transition Greens", an affiliate group within the party with a green left / eco-socialist outlook, who have
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#17327726500167254-577: 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
7371-435: The circular economy. Outside of the core climate and environmental policies the party also implemented a pilot scheme for a basic income for the arts sector and large cuts in childcare costs. In June 2024, the European Union Environment Council approved the Nature Restoration Law which was described as "among the EU's biggest environmental policies". The role of Minister Eamon Ryan in convincing other ministers to support
7488-534: The coalition unless Cowen set a firm date for an election due that spring. He ultimately set the date for 11 March. On 23 January 2011, the Green Party met with Cowen following his resignation as leader of senior coalition partner Fianna Fáil the previous afternoon. The Green Party then announced it was breaking off the coalition and going into opposition with immediate effect. Ministers Gormley and Ryan resigned as cabinet ministers, and Cuffe and White resigned as Ministers of State. Green Party leader John Gormley said at
7605-454: The deal "fails to deliver on our promise to tackle homelessness and provide better healthcare", "represents an unjust recovery" and "sets out an inadequate and vague pathway towards climate action". The party returned two senators at the 2020 Seanad election, with a further two senators nominated by the Taoiseach , Micheál Martin bringing the total party representation in the Oireachtas to 16. In July 2020, Eamon Ryan retained his leadership of
7722-414: 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
7839-430: 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
7956-420: The first time in Carlow–Kilkenny ; however, Dan Boyle lost his seat in Cork South-Central . The party had approached the 2007 general election on an independent platform, not ruling any out coalition partners while expressing its preference for an alternative to the outgoing coalition of Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats . Neither the outgoing government nor an alternative of Fine Gael , Labour and
8073-418: The government on the issue of ending a ban on evictions. On 23 July 2021, one of the Greens' flagship policies, the Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Bill 2021, was signed into law by the President . The bill creates a legally binding path to net zero emissions by 2050. Five-year carbon budgets produced by the Climate Change Advisory Council will dictate the path to carbon neutrality, with
8190-412: The introduction of major planning reform, a major increase in renewable energy output, progressive budgets, and a nationwide scheme of home insulation retrofitting. The party suffered a wipeout at the 2011 general election , with all of its six TDs losing their seats, including those of former Ministers John Gormley and Eamon Ryan. Three of their six incumbent TDs lost their deposits. The party's share of
8307-498: The language family, is derived from the Old Irish term. Endonyms of the language in the various modern Irish dialects include: Gaeilge [ˈɡeːlʲɟə] in Galway, Gaeilg / Gaeilic / Gaeilig [ˈɡeːlʲəc] in Mayo and Ulster , Gaelainn / Gaoluinn [ˈɡeːl̪ˠən̠ʲ] in West/Cork, Kerry Munster , as well as Gaedhealaing in mid and East Kerry/Cork and Waterford Munster to reflect local pronunciation. Gaeilge also has
8424-410: 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
8541-425: The language. For most of recorded Irish history , Irish was the dominant language of the Irish people , who took it with them to other regions , such as Scotland and the Isle of Man , where Middle Irish gave rise to Scottish Gaelic and Manx . It was also, for a period, spoken widely across Canada , with an estimated 200,000–250,000 daily Canadian speakers of Irish in 1890. On the island of Newfoundland ,
8658-528: The law was considered to be pivotal to its success. The 2024 Irish local elections saw the party lose almost half of its council seats across the country despite topping the poll in four local electoral areas in Dublin City . The 2024 European Parliament elections also saw Ciarán Cuffe and Grace O'Sullivan fail to retain their seats in the European Parliament , while in the Limerick mayoral election ,
8775-407: The leader of the Green Party in Northern Ireland , was amongst a number of Green members who stood against the coalition. She said it proposed the "most fiscally conservative arrangements in a generation" and that "the economic and finances behind this deal will really lead to some of the most vulnerable being hit the hardest", as well as it not doing enough on climate and social justice. She also said
8892-453: The leadership in the wake of the 2007 general election to the 30th Dáil . During the campaign, Sargent had promised that he would not lead the party into Government with Fianna Fáil. At the election the party retained six Dáil seats, making it the most likely partner for Fianna Fáil. Sargent and the party negotiated a coalition government; at the 12 June 2007 membership meeting to approve the agreement, he announced his resignation as leader. In
9009-466: The leadership role. On 19 June, Roderic O'Gorman and Senator Pippa Hackett both announced that they would be seeking nominations for the leadership position. On 8 July, O'Gorman was narrowly elected over Hackett with 51.89% of the vote. On 14 July, Senator Róisín Garvey narrowly defeated Neasa Hourigan with 51% of the vote to become deputy leader. The Green Party has seven "founding principles", which are: Broadly, these founding principles reflect
9126-472: The looming effects of Climate Change would leave no time for compromise. Following a national convention in 1998 which saw a realist majority of members defeat a minority of fundamentalist members on a number of votes, and the party subsequently enter government for the first time in 2007, the factionalism of the 'Realists vs the Fundamentalists' was seen to have wilted away with the 'Realists' becoming
9243-582: 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
9360-804: 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
9477-469: 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
9594-421: The nicest and most endearingly honest press conference of the whole campaign". The Ecology party took 0.2% of the vote that year. Following a name change to the Green Alliance , it contested the 1984 European elections , with party founder Roger Garland winning 1.9% in the Dublin constituency. The following year, it won its first election when Marcus Counihan was elected to Killarney Urban District Council at
9711-655: The number now is between 20,000 and 30,000." In the 1920s, when the Irish Free State was founded, Irish was still a vernacular in some western coastal areas. In the 1930s, areas where more than 25% of the population spoke Irish were classified as Gaeltacht . Today, the strongest Gaeltacht areas, numerically and socially, are those of South Connemara , the west of the Dingle Peninsula , and northwest Donegal, where many residents still use Irish as their primary language. These areas are often referred to as
9828-410: The objective of moving the party towards policies based on the concept of a " Just Transition ". During the 2020 Green Party leadership election, a significant aspect of the candidacy of Catherine Martin was that it was suggested that Martin could better represent the views of these individuals within the party than the incumbent Eamon Ryan. The National Executive Committee is the organising committee of
9945-503: 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
10062-529: The party and her seat in 2010, in part owing to the party's inability to secure her a job in the European Commission . On 23 February 2010, Trevor Sargent resigned as Minister of State for Food and Horticulture owing to allegations over contacting Gardaí about a criminal case involving a constituent, with Ciarán Cuffe being appointed as his replacement the following March. By 2010, opinion polls showed strong support for an immediate election with
10179-531: The party entered government there were no substantive changes in government policy on these issues, which meant that Eamon Ryan oversaw the Corrib gas project while he was in office. The Green Party had, at its last annual conference, made an inquiry into the irregularities surrounding the project (see Corrib gas controversy ) a precondition of entering government but changed its stance during post-election negotiations with Fianna Fáil. The 2008 budget did not include
10296-433: The party for "championing climate action and inclusion". In May 2022, Green TDs Neasa Hourigan and Patrick Costello were suspended from the party for six months after they went against the party whip and voted for an opposition motion calling for the new National Maternity Hospital to be built on land wholly owned by the state. Hourigan was suspended again in March 2023, this time for 15 months, after she voted against
10413-476: The party or dissatisfaction with the coalition and its policies as the cause. Amongst the resignations were councillors Lorna Bogue and Liam Sinclair, who subsequently formed a new left-wing green party called An Rabharta Glas – Green Left in June 2021. Infighting continued in 2021 when the party Cathaoirleach Hazel Chu , then Lord Mayor of Dublin , launched a campaign to run for the 2021 Seanad by-elections with
10530-523: The party upon the Greens entering government with Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil, parties she believed would damage public enthusiasm for environmentalist policies by pairing them with "socially regressive" policies. Over the course of 2020, 4 councillors as well as both the leader of the Young Greens and the leader of the Queer Greens would also depart from the party, all citing either bullying within
10647-429: The party with a narrow leadership election victory over Catherine Martin in the 2020 Green Party leadership election by 994 votes to 946, a margin of 48 votes. Despite the success at the general election, the party found itself dogged by infighting and resignations afterwards. Prominent member Saoirse McHugh , a candidate in the 2019 European elections, 2020 general election and the 2020 Seanad election , resigned from
10764-540: The party's candidate, Brian Leddin, won 2.89% of the vote and was eliminated on the fifth count. On 18 June 2024, Eamon Ryan announced he would be stepping down as party leader, but would remain in the role until the new leader is elected. Ryan also announced that he would not be seeking re-election as a TD for Dublin Bay South at the next general election. Later the same day Catherine Martin announced she would be standing down as deputy leader and would not be seeking
10881-720: The party. It comprises the party leader Roderic O'Gorman, the deputy leader Róisín Garvey, the Cathaoirleach Pauline O'Reilly, the National Coordinator, the General Secretary (in a non-voting role), a Young Greens representative, the Treasurer and ten members elected annually at the party convention. Note: Although Christopher Fettes chaired the party initially, the position of Cathaoirleach was not created until 2002. The party did not have
10998-557: 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
11115-480: The position as party chair for the duration of the election. This was passed by 11 votes to five at a meeting of the Parliamentary Party. The Executive Council of the party, however, decided not to follow the Parliamentary Party's decision and Chu remained in the position of Cathaoirleach until the end of her term in December 2021. Chu subsequently ran in the 2022 Seanad by-election and was commended by
11232-492: 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 )
11349-432: 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
11466-647: 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
11583-606: The show. She subsequently graduated with a degree in Law and Political Science from Trinity College Dublin . She was called to the Bar in 2016. In May 2009, after the bank bail-outs, McKenna announced her intention to run as an Independent candidate at the 2009 European Parliament election in Dublin - attacking her party colleagues as " nothing but hypocrites " due to their role in the coalition government , and that she would be " embarrassed to stand as their candidate ". Reactions by former party colleagues to McKenna's departure from
11700-494: The subsequent leadership election, John Gormley became the new leader on 17 July 2007, defeating Patricia McKenna by 478 votes to 263. Mary White was subsequently re-elected as the deputy Leader. Gormley served as Minister for the Environment, Heritage and Local Government from July 2007 until the Green Party's decision to exit government in December 2010. Following the election defeats of 2011, Gormley announced his intention not to seek another term as Green Party leader. Eamon Ryan
11817-544: The support of six members of the Green Party Parliamentary Party, but without official backing from the party. Senators Pippa Hackett , Pauline O'Reilly and Róisín Garvey tabled a motion of no confidence in Chu as Cathaoirleach of the party. Deputy leader, Catherine Martin urged the senators to withdraw the motion and it was later replaced with a motion calling for Chu to temporarily step aside from
11934-675: 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
12051-464: The vote fell below 2%, meaning that they could not reclaim election expenses, and their lack of parliamentary representation led to the ending of state funding for the party. The party candidates in the 2011 election to the Seanad were Dan Boyle and Niall Ó Brolcháin ; neither was elected, and as a result, for the first time since 1989 the Green Party had no representatives in the Oireachtas . In
12168-594: 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
12285-411: Was 1,873,997, representing 40% of respondents, but of these, 472,887 said they never spoke it and a further 551,993 said they only spoke it within the education system. Linguistic analyses of Irish speakers are therefore based primarily on the number of daily users in Ireland outside the education system, which in 2022 was 20,261 in the Gaeltacht and 51,707 outside it, totalling 71,968. In response to
12402-531: 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
12519-568: Was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food with responsibility for Food and Horticulture . Before its entry into government, the Green Party had been a vocal supporter of the Shell to Sea movement, the campaign to reroute the M3 motorway away from Tara and (to a lesser extent) the campaign to end United States military use of Shannon Airport . After
12636-446: Was elected as the new party leader, over party colleagues Phil Kearney and Cllr Malcolm Noonan in a postal ballot election of party members in May 2011. Monaghan-based former councillor Catherine Martin defeated Down-based Dr John Barry and former Senator Mark Dearey to the post of deputy leader on 11 June 2011 during the party's annual convention. Roderic O'Gorman was elected party chairperson. The Green Party lost all its Dáil seats in
12753-445: Was elected to the Seanad on 26 April that year of 2016 and Joe O'Brien was elected to Dáil Éireann in the 2019 Dublin Fingal by-election . In the 2020 general election , the party had its best result ever, securing 12 TDs and becoming the fourth largest party in Ireland. The Green Party began life as the Ecology Party in 1981, with Christopher Fettes serving as the party's first chairperson. The party's first public appearance
12870-436: Was eliminated at the fifth count, after her former party colleague Déirdre de Búrca, who was eliminated at the third count. In June 2010, she attended meetings with a number of former Green Party members to facilitate the formation of a new political party, Fís Nua . In 2016, McKenna campaigned with Green Leaves, an EU critical faction of the Green Party of England and Wales whose members include Baroness Jenny Jones , for
12987-552: 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
13104-530: 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. Patricia McKenna Patricia McKenna (born 13 March 1957)
13221-455: Was modest: the event announced that they would be contesting the November 1982 general election , and was attended by their seven election candidates, 20 party supporters, and one singular journalist. Fettes had opened the meeting by noting the party didn't expect to win any seats. Willy Clingan, the journalist present, recalled that "The Ecology Party introduced its seven election candidates at
13338-474: 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
13455-693: 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
13572-499: Was the majority of the population's first language until the 19th century, when English gradually became dominant, particularly in the last decades of the century, in what is sometimes characterised as a result of linguistic imperialism . Today, Irish is still commonly spoken as a first language in Ireland's Gaeltacht regions, in which 2% of Ireland's population lived in 2022. The total number of people (aged 3 and over) in Ireland who declared they could speak Irish in April 2022
13689-442: 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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