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85-726: The Iveragh Peninsula ( Irish : Uíbh Ráthach ) is located in County Kerry in Ireland . It is the largest peninsula in southwestern Ireland . A mountain range, the MacGillycuddy's Reeks , lies in the centre of the peninsula. Carrauntoohil , its highest mountain, is also the highest peak in Ireland. Towns on the peninsula include Killorglin , Cahersiveen , Ballinskelligs , Portmagee , Knightstown , Waterville , Caherdaniel , Sneem and Kenmare . The Ring of Kerry ,

170-547: 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

255-717: 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

340-575: 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

425-431: A cave containing the paleolithic paintings were isolated and their growth on natural substrates assessed. Development was analyzed with and without supplemented nutrients ( glucose , ammonium , phosphate , peptone ). Results showed that the assayed bacterium on natural substrate was able to develop best at in situ temperature and that the addition of organic nutrients and perhaps phosphate enhanced its growth. The growth of

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

595-553: 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

680-460: 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

765-585: 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

850-575: 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

935-562: A popular tourist trail, circles the coastlines as well as the Skellig Ring, beginning and ending at Killarney , just east of the peninsula. Valentia Island lies off the northwestern tip of the peninsula. It is connected with the peninsula by a bridge at Portmagee village, but it can also be reached by ferry crossing between Renard Point on the mainland and Knightstown on the island. The Skellig Islands lie about 12 kilometres (7.5 statute miles or 6.4 nautical miles) off

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1020-625: 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

1105-492: A result of linguistic imperialism . Today, Irish is still commonly spoken as a first language in Ireland's Gaeltacht regions, in which 2% of Ireland's population lived in 2022. The total number of people (aged 3 and over) in Ireland who declared they could speak Irish in April 2022 was 1,873,997, representing 40% of respondents, but of these, 472,887 said they never spoke it and a further 551,993 said they only spoke it within

1190-565: A ringfort with ogham stone, is a National Monument ; as is Leacanabuaile , a stone ringfort (cashel). Loher Cashel , a stone ringfort ( caiseal ) is located at the western edge of Iveragh. The Iveragh Peninsula has also been home to the Kerry International Dark-Sky Reserve since 2014. The Iveragh Gaeltacht or Gaeltacht Uíbh Ráthaigh is one of the smallest of the Gaeltachts . The main town

1275-545: 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

1360-580: Is Baile an Sceilg and smaller villages and townlands include Dún Géagáin, Cíllin Liath, Lóthar and Cuan an Chaisleáin. It is sparsely populated and According to the 2016 Census, there were 1,753 people over the age of three living in the Iveragh Gaeltacht, With only 6.9% claiming to speak Irish on a daily basis outside the education system. This makes it the 5th weakest Gaeltacht out of 26 in Ireland by rate of daily speakers. The Iveragh Gaeltacht

1445-603: 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

1530-467: Is a community group established in 1998 to act as an umbrella for the development groups in the 5 Gaeltacht areas on the Iveragh Peninsula. The organisation is involved in many things including promoting the Irish language and developing community projects. The Iveragh Peninsula is host to one of the highest concentrations of Atlantic rock art in Ireland. The art is scattered throughout

1615-430: Is a form of landscape art, and includes designs that have been placed on boulder and cliff faces, cave walls and ceilings, and on the ground surface. Rock art is a global phenomenon, being found in many different regions of the world. There are various different forms of rock art. This includes pictographs , which were painted or drawn onto the panel (rock surface), petroglyphs , which were carved or engraved onto

1700-452: 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

1785-511: Is divided into four separate phases with the intention of improving 9 main areas of action including: The general goal for this strategy was to increase the number of daily speakers from 83,000 to 250,000 by the end of its run. By 2022, the number of such speakers had fallen to 71,968. Before the partition of Ireland in 1921, Irish was recognised as a school subject and as "Celtic" in some third level institutions. Between 1921 and 1972, Northern Ireland had devolved government. During those years

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1870-401: Is evidence for regional variation amongst this tradition. Many archaeologists and scholars have theorised on the purpose of the art but given its mostly abstract nature and little direct context for its presence on rock surfaces, it is difficult to form a conclusive explanation for it. A widely considered theory is that the art marks routeways and boundaries within prehistoric societies. Perhaps

1955-587: 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

2040-811: Is sometimes found alongside figurative carvings, such as those at Galicia in North western Spain and a discovery made in Argyll in Scotland in 2020. The carvings associated with the tradition of Atlantic rock art in Europe are often found in rural settings, in open-air landscapes and occur on boulders and outcrops. Many of these panels remain in situ, however some smaller more portable examples have been moved to museums for safe keeping. The abstract nature of many of these carvings provide us with very little information of their purpose in prehistory. However, this art form has become

2125-412: 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

2210-666: 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

2295-403: The Gaeltachts published in 2007 recommended that the Iveragh Gaeltacht be categorized as a class C Gaeltacht. The percentage of daily speakers along with the population have been falling consistently. Between 1956 and 2011 the population of the Iveragh Gaeltacht declined from 3,036 to 1,795. A decrease of 41%. This is despite a 67% increase of the Irish population in that same timeframe. Many of

2380-631: 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 ")

2465-634: 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

2550-789: 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

2635-403: 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

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2720-571: 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

2805-459: The Atlantic art form, with new examples being added to the archaeological record regularly by archaeologists and enthusiasts. 51°53′46″N 10°01′44″W  /  51.89611°N 10.02889°W  / 51.89611; -10.02889 Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ),

2890-471: 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

2975-549: 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

3060-467: The Medieval period. After its discovery, Lascaux quickly became a major tourist attraction. Eventually, its caretakers realized that the equilibrium of the climate in the cave that had kept the images intact for tens of thousands of years, was being disrupted by so many people visiting the cave. It was closed in 1963. Around 2000, the cave became filled with a fungus that many blamed on air conditioning,

3145-620: 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 ,

3230-618: The UK and of these over 2000 can be found in Scotland with the highest concentration found in Kilmartin Glenn, Argyll. Northern England is host to several rock art landscapes most notably in the counties of Northumberland and Durham. In recent years many conservation and recording initiatives have been undertaken in this region by archaeologists at the University of Newcastle. In Ireland the Atlantic rock art appears in clusters throughout

3315-623: The amount of art that they contain. At Mount Bego, in southwest France, near the Italian border, over 30,000 illustrated figures have been discovered in the valleys and outliers surrounding the mountain, situated on the high-altitude slopes far above the agricultural land. Archaeologists have dated to the images to the Copper and Bronze Ages, between 2500 and 1700 BCE, because many of the figures are depicted holding daggers and halberds which are stylistically consistent with this period. Similarly, many of

3400-492: The archaeology of religion. The academic field of rock art studies , a form of archaeology , investigates instances of past rock art to learn about the societies that produced it. Caves with spectacular artwork also have been found in Africa (e.g. Namibia ), Argentina, Australia, China, India, and other locations. Published discussions of discoveries of cave art that date to the nineteenth century, long before scientific dating

3485-746: 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

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3570-665: The cave art had deep links to prehistoric rituals promoting fertility and successful hunting. Supporting that later interpretation, recent scientific studies have found a systematic sequencing in the representations of horses, aurochs (an extinct ancestor of domestic cattle), and stags that corresponds to the seasonal characteristics of each species that may be identified as distinctively related to spring, summer, and autumn. More than 300 caves with parietal art from prehistoric times have been discovered in Spain and France. Entrances to some have been discovered underwater, having been inundated as

3655-575: The coastal region that extends from the Strait of Gibraltar up to the British Isles . The term Atlantic rock art was popularised in the 1990s by archaeologist Richard Bradley. The art is characterised by abstract geometric motifs, most notably the cup-and-ring motifs. The art can be found in Portugal, Spain, France, Britain, and Ireland . Although the art is characterised by abstract motifs it

3740-609: The continent, the British isles and all over the Scandinavian peninsula as well as in Finland and Russia. Perhaps the most famous site is the Rock carvings at Alta in the north of Norway with the largest collection of hunter gatherer rock art in northern Europe. Rock art engraved on open surfaces, rather than inside shelters or caves, was also produced in the mountainous Alpine region during later prehistory. Found predominantly in

3825-794: The country, the most significant of those occur in counties Fermanagh/Donegal, Wicklow/Carlow, Louth/Monaghan, and Cork, with the highest concentration occurring in County Kerry on the Dingle and Iveragh Peninsulas . During the Early Bronze Age, which lasted from circa 2300 through to c .1500 BCE, various depictions of weaponry were engraved onto rock surfaces across Atlantic Europe. There are hundreds of rock art sites that represent variations of figures, traditions and chronological differences in Northern Europe. Cave paintings, rock paintings and especially open air sites are found on

3910-664: The education system. Linguistic analyses of Irish speakers are therefore based primarily on the number of daily users in Ireland outside the education system, which in 2022 was 20,261 in the Gaeltacht and 51,707 outside it, totalling 71,968. In response to the 2021 census of Northern Ireland , 43,557 individuals stated they spoke Irish on a daily basis, 26,286 spoke it on a weekly basis, 47,153 spoke it less often than weekly, and 9,758 said they could speak Irish, but never spoke it. From 2006 to 2008, over 22,000 Irish Americans reported speaking Irish as their first language at home, with several times that number claiming "some knowledge" of

3995-474: 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

4080-573: The existence of around 300,000 figures, with depictions or humans and other animals, footprints, steep-roofed buildings, wheeled carts, boats and a large number of geometric shapes, lines, spirals and crosses. Although a few of the images found in Valtellina have been tentatively suggested to be post-glacial in date due to the Palaeolithic animal style they depict, the overwhelming majority of artworks are considered to be late prehistoric. Some of

4165-560: 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

4250-526: The images depict oxen and ploughshares, meaning that they must have been produced following the adoption of agriculture during the Neolithic. It is believed that they all date from the same period, because they are all stylistically consistent and are in a similar state of preservation. At Valcamonica and Valtellina, two lengthy neighbouring valleys in the south-centre of the Alps, archaeologists have estimated

4335-716: 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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4420-410: 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

4505-476: 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 ,

4590-582: 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

4675-742: The most well-known landscape of Atlantic rock art in Europe is that of Galicia in north-western Spain at the Campo Lameiro archaeological park. The majority of the carvings are situated in the Valley of the River Lérez. Over a span of 21.8 hectares hundreds of carvings can be found on the surface of rock panels in various clusters throughout the park. Along with the abstract/ geometric motifs, zoomorphs and anthropomorphs can be seen and many of these combinations form visual representations of hunting scenes. There are over 6000 examples of Atlantic art in

4760-474: The motifs, such as those of humans in an orant posture with arms upraised in prayer or adoration, have been considered Neolithic, with others being attributed to the Copper, Bronze and Iron Ages, the latter being the most numerous. Some of the illustrations have been dated to the historic period, having been produced by the local Camuni people who lived within the Roman Empire , and subsequently also from

4845-804: 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

4930-409: 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

5015-448: The number depending upon how neighbouring occurrences are grouped. These petroglyphs were usually carved with a fine-line technique which meant that they are only a few millimetres thick, and were typically produced on metamorphic rocks, sandstones and schists which are found sporadically across the Alpine chain, rather than on the more common calcareous rocks from which the mountains are geologically formed. Like with most rock art across

5100-522: 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

5185-448: 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

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5270-400: The panel, and earth figures such as earthforms, intaglios and geoglyphs . Some archaeologists also consider pits and grooves in the rock, known as cups , rings or cupules , as a form of rock art. Although there are some exceptions, the majority of rock art whose creation was ethnographically recorded had been produced during rituals. As such, the study of rock art is a component of

5355-526: The peninsula but the greatest prevalence is found in two main clusters, the most notable and well recorded being the adjoining townlands of Derrynablaha and Derreeny near Sneem. The art of these townlands attracted international attention in the 1960’s when Professor Emanuel Anati recorded the art, alongside E. Shee and M.J O’ Kelly. The second cluster of rock art is on the adjoining townlands of Coomasaharn, Kealduff Upper and Letter West, near Glenbeigh . These townlands are host to hundreds of individual examples of

5440-415: 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

5525-439: The post-Palaeolithic period, during later prehistory, regional variants grew up across the continent, being produced by settled, agricultural communities. Scholarly interest in European rock art began in the 17th century. The defining characteristic of rock art is the fact that it is placed on natural rock surfaces; in this way it is distinct from artworks placed on constructed walls or free-standing sculpture. As such, rock art

5610-436: 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 )

5695-432: 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

5780-452: 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

5865-417: The seas have risen with time. A later type of parietal art that is categorized as the rock art of the Iberian Mediterranean Basin has been found in more than 700 caves and rock shelters. Generally, that artwork is painted in a distinctively different style from earlier parietal art and contains far more human figures. Various different forms of late prehistoric rock art have been found in Atlantic Europe ,

5950-420: The southern part of the Alps, in modern-day Italy and France, few examples of rock art have been identified from the northern slopes of the region, in what is now Switzerland and Germany. Many engravings have been found in the region, along with a few rock paintings (as at Abri Faravel ), and as such, scholars in rock art studies have divided the known collection into between 20 and 30 "regions" of Alpine rock art,

6035-408: The topic of several excavations and studies throughout Europe in recent years. Many of these studies consider a landscape approach. The associated motifs consist of cup-marks ( circular man-made depressions) often surrounded by one or more concentric rings that regularly feature an extending radial groove. Another common motif is the rosette motif which consists of a circular pattern of cup-marks. There

6120-408: The townlands in the centre of the peninsula where much of the Gaeltacht is located are uninhabitated. The lack of basic services is cited as one of the main reasons for the dramatic decline in population and by extension the irish speaking population. The lack of many Gaelscoileanna in the area is probably another reason for the decline of the Irish language. "Comhchoiste Ghaeltacht Uíbh Ráthaigh"

6205-422: The use of high-powered lights, and the high number of visitors, all associated with the public access. The fungus had to be removed painstakingly by hand. Currently, in order to protect the artwork, only a few scientific experts are allowed to work inside the cave and just for a few days a month. The most representative bacterium ( Pseudonocardia sp.) and fungus ( Fusarium sp.) from the microbial communities of

6290-726: 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

6375-496: The west coast and are known for their monastic buildings and bird life. Since 2015 the filming of Star Wars has brought many new tourists to the area. Kerry Geopark is a community initiative on the Iveragh Peninsula which aims to promote geotourism in this area of high geological importance. Some of the interest features are Kenmare Bay (a drowned river valley or ria), signs of past glaciation and volcanic activity and 400-million-year-old fossilised tetrapod tracks. Cloghanecarhan ,

6460-594: 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

6545-611: The world, there are no physical-science methods yet available with which to accurately date the Alpine images, and instead archaeologists have relied on a relative chronology by comparing the pictures with artefacts that have been more securely dated. The two most prominent concentrations of rock art in the Alps are found at Mont Bégo in France and the valleys of Valcamonica and Valtellina in Italy, both of which far outnumber other areas for

6630-531: 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

6715-668: 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

6800-522: 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. Rock art of Europe#Atlantic European rock art In

6885-476: Was one of the strongest in the country at one point. People of all classes spoke the language, with over 93% of the population monolingual Irish speakers in the 1850s. The entire Peninsula was designated as a Gaeltacht when they were first drawn in the 1920s. By the 1980s the percentage of people able to speak Irish in the official Gaeltacht area that was drawn in 1956 was around 60% and has remained at about that level ever since. A comprehensive linguistic study of

6970-474: 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

7055-432: Was possible, resulted in frequent debates regarding the antiquity of the art. Some scholars at the time developed a typology that was overthrown when AMS radiocarbon dating became available. Initial interpretations of the art at Lascaux and in other related grottoes, suggested that the paintings and engravings were decorative, or just art for art's sake. Toward the middle of the twentieth century, new theories suggested that

7140-637: 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

7225-442: 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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