83-537: The River Bann (from Irish : An Bhanna , meaning "the goddess"; Ulster-Scots : Bann Wattèr ) is the longest river in Northern Ireland , its length, Upper and Lower Bann combined, being 129 km (80 mi). However, the total length of the River Bann, including its path through the 30 km (19 mi) long Lough Neagh is 159 km (99 mi). Another length of the River Bann given
166-547: 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
249-717: 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
332-575: 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
415-478: 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,
498-553: 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
581-460: 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
664-585: 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
747-575: 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
830-625: 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
913-547: A result of linguistic imperialism . Today, Irish is still commonly spoken as a first language in Ireland's Gaeltacht regions, in which 2% of Ireland's population lived in 2022. The total number of people (aged 3 and over) in Ireland who declared they could speak Irish in April 2022 was 1,873,997, representing 40% of respondents, but of these, 472,887 said they never spoke it and a further 551,993 said they only spoke it within
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#1732773242838996-555: A survey was made of the Lower Bann. The Board of Works then instructed their own engineer to carry out a survey. John McMahon estimated that it would cost £183,775 to improve the Lower Bann from Lough Neagh to the sea, and that the navigation works accounted for less than half of this, with the drainage works making up the rest. Removal of the Portna shoal would reduce the level of the lake surface by some 1.8 metres (6 ft). The plan
1079-545: 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
1162-529: Is 90 mi. The river winds its way from the southeast corner of Ulster to the northwest coast, pausing in the middle to widen into Lough Neagh. The River Bann catchment has an area of 5,775 km. The River Bann has a mean discharge rate of 92 m/s. According to C. Michael Hogan, the Bann River Valley is a settlement area for some of the first human arrivals in Ireland after the most recent glacial retreat. The river has played an important part in
1245-603: 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
1328-448: Is a level crossing with the A76 (M1 to Lurgan town road) to the east of the station. The station has two entrances, one on either side of the street. Additionally, it has a staffed ticket office, plenty of seating, covered footbridge and toilets. Mondays to Saturdays there is a half-hourly service towards Portadown or Newry in one direction and to Lisburn and Belfast Grand Central in
1411-452: 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
1494-511: 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
1577-606: Is joined by the Cusher River and connects with the now disused Newry Canal , which once gave access south to the Irish Sea . Although the Upper Bann was officially abandoned as a navigation in 1954, it is still possible to navigate between Whitecoat Point and Lough Neagh. Entrance to the river from Lough Neagh is not easy, as the river is quite shallow at this point, and there are no navigation markers to assist. Once on
1660-592: Is managed by NI Railways. With just under 867,000 passengers boarding or alighting at the station in the year 2023/24 financial year, Lurgan is the 9th-busiest station on the NIR network. The station opened on 18 November 1841 by the Ulster Railway . Following the merger of the Ulster Railway to the new company Great Northern Railway . The station was rebuilt in 1897 designed by William H. Mills to reflect
1743-587: Is only in Gaeltacht areas that Irish continues to be spoken as a community vernacular to some extent. According to data compiled by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht , Sport and Media , only 1/4 of households in Gaeltacht areas are fluent in Irish. The author of a detailed analysis of the survey, Donncha Ó hÉallaithe of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology , described
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#17327732428381826-412: 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
1909-666: 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
1992-990: The A3 road and the A27 road. The junction with the Cusher River and the entrance to the derelict Newry Canal is just over 1 mile (1.6 km) from the final bridge, and navigation of the river is possible for a short distance beyond that point. Spelga Bridge, New Bridge, Eight Mile Bridge, Mill Bridge, Cavan Bridge, Mc Combs Bridge, Bannfield Bridge, Tirkelly Bridge, Roughan Bridge, Seafin Bridge, Kates Bridge, Circular Rd Bann Bridge, Mulligans Bridge, Balilievey Bridge, Lisnaree Bridge, Lindsays Bridge, A1 Bypass Bridge, Bannbridge Bridge, Milltown Bridge, Point Bridge, Tullylish Bridge, Gilford Bridge, White Bridge, Dynes Bridge, Bann Bridge 1838, Shillington Bridge 1970, Bann Railway Bridge, M1 Bridge 1967. The Lower Bann flows from Lough Neagh at Toome to
2075-468: The Atlantic Ocean at Barmouth, located behind Portstewart Golf Club, between Portstewart and Castlerock . The Lower Bann is 64 kilometres (40 mi) long and is a canalised waterway, with five navigation locks, at Toome, Portna, Movanagher, Carnroe and Castleroe. The river is very popular with water sports enthusiasts, anglers and cruisers and has minimal commercial traffic. It acts as most of
2158-631: 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 ")
2241-634: 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
2324-789: 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
2407-403: 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
2490-571: 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
2573-471: 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
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2656-549: 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
2739-604: The Lough Neagh (Levels) Scheme 1955 (as amended). The Upper Bann rises at Slieve Muck in the Mourne Mountains , County Down and flows directly into Spelga Reservoir before continuing through a number of towns until after 64 kilometres (40 mi) it joins Lough Neagh at Bannfoot , County Armagh . This stretch is one of the most popular coarse fishing rivers in Europe. At Whitecoat Point near Portadown , it
2822-527: The Lower Bann are: Ptolemy 's Geography (2nd century AD) described a river mouth called Αργιτα ( Argita , "shining"), referring to the Bann. The Lower Bann provides the only outlet for Lough Neagh, the largest freshwater lake in the British Isles, which is fed by six major rivers, including the Upper Bann. The ability of the lake to absorb large quantities of flood water is limited, and consequently,
2905-620: 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 ,
2988-539: The William Street road outside the station. On Sundays there is no services and some morning services only operate on School days. Some routes operate on an hourly service and others operate on a bihourly schedule. On 25 October 2023, Translink the parent company of the operator of Lurgan Railway Station NI Railways , submitted a Proposal of Application Notice to ABC Council (Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council). The Plans included demolishing
3071-700: The annual deficit. A proposal to build a hydro-electric scheme across the Lower Bann in 1925 came to nothing, and four years later, the Lough Neagh Drainage Trust and the Lower Bann Navigation Trust were disbanded, with the Ministry of Finance assuming responsibility for the river. The counties contributing to the Upper Bann Navigation Trust appealed for that to be disbanded too, but the appeal
3154-524: The areas around the lake are prone to flooding. The Lower Bann encountered a large shoal of rock at Portna, which reduced the effectiveness of the outflow, and in 1738, Francis Hutchinson , the Bishop of Down and Connor petitioned the Irish Parliament to do something about the shoals, and hence the annual flooding that affected his people. Although Parliament responded encouragingly, no actual work
3237-746: 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
3320-754: The border between County Antrim and County Londonderry . The only commercial port on the river is at Coleraine . Ships from Londonderry Port and the Port of Belfast transfer coal and scrap metal. The water level on the Lower Bann is controlled by the Rivers Agency using gates situated at Portna (near Kilrea ) and The Cutts at Coleraine. Major tributaries include the Clady River Inveroe Burn, Agivey River , Macosquin Rhee River, Ballymoney River and Articlave River. The bridges over
3403-665: The difference in levels. Quays and swing bridges were erected, and various alterations had to be made around Lough Neagh to cope with the drop in the surface level. The final lock on the Lagan Canal , the Coalisland Canal and the Ulster Canal had to be rebuilt with a lower cill and deeper lock gates, and the River Blackwater had to be made deeper and wider. The cost of the project overran by £50,000 and
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3486-399: The east. It is also seen as a religious, economic and political divide, with Catholics and Irish nationalists being in the majority to the west, and Ulster Protestants and unionists in the majority to the east; and with the financial and industrial capital of Greater Belfast to the east with the west of the Bann being more agricultural and rural. The Lough Neagh catchment drains 43% of
3569-718: The education system. Linguistic analyses of Irish speakers are therefore based primarily on the number of daily users in Ireland outside the education system, which in 2022 was 20,261 in the Gaeltacht and 51,707 outside it, totalling 71,968. In response to the 2021 census of Northern Ireland , 43,557 individuals stated they spoke Irish on a daily basis, 26,286 spoke it on a weekly basis, 47,153 spoke it less often than weekly, and 9,758 said they could speak Irish, but never spoke it. From 2006 to 2008, over 22,000 Irish Americans reported speaking Irish as their first language at home, with several times that number claiming "some knowledge" of
3652-474: 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
3735-562: The famine years in Ireland. The other three were the Ballinamore-Ballyconnell Canal linking Lough Erne to the river Shannon across County Leitrim; Loughs Corrib, Mask and Carra in counties Galway and Mayo; and Lough Oughter and Lough Gowna in County Cavan. The Upper Bann Navigation was the only one completed to its full design extent. The Final Award for this scheme was made on 13 April 1859. The finished scheme
3818-560: 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
3901-574: The government was asked to make up the shortfall. The Upper Bann Navigation included the River Bann between its junction with the Newry Canal at Whitecoat Point and Lough Neagh, a route across Lough Neagh to the mouth of the Blackwater, and the lower 10.5 miles (17 km) of the Blackwater as far as Blackwatertown . This was one of four works of navigation part funded by the Treasury during
3984-429: The industrialisation in Northern Ireland, especially in the linen industry. Today salmon and eel fisheries are the most important economic features of the river. The river is often used as a dividing line between the eastern and western areas of Northern Ireland, often labelled the "Bann divide". Towns, councils and businesses "west of the Bann" are often seen as having less investment and government spending than those to
4067-518: The landmass of Northern Ireland, as well as some border areas in the Republic of Ireland , all in Ulster . The Rivers Agency manages the water level in the lough using a barrage at Toome . The current drainage scheme was engineered by Major Percy Shepherd and was enabled by the Lough Neagh and Lower Bann Drainage and Navigation Act (Northern Ireland) 1955. The levels are regulated between 12.45 metres and 12.6 metres above Ordnance Datum , as defined in
4150-716: 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
4233-410: 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
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#17327732428384316-476: 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 ,
4399-445: The lough, so that its flow could be reversed, and the amount of water entering the lough reduced correspondingly. The proposal was no better received than when Nimmo had originally made it. Both the Monck Commission, which sat in the early 1880s, and an enquiry into the Board of Works held in 1887, suggested that for the benefit of flood relief, the navigation should be abandoned, and that the three Trusts were counter-productive. No action
4482-399: The mid-18th century, English was becoming a language of the Catholic middle class, the Catholic Church and public intellectuals, especially in the east of the country. Increasingly, as the value of English became apparent, parents sanctioned the prohibition of Irish in schools. Increasing interest in emigrating to the United States and Canada was also a driver, as fluency in English allowed
4565-497: The name of the language is Gaeilge , from the South Connacht form, spelled Gaedhilge prior the spelling reform of 1948, which was originally the genitive of Gaedhealg , the form used in Classical Gaelic . The modern spelling results from the deletion of the silent ⟨dh⟩ in Gaedhilge . Older spellings include Gaoidhealg [ˈɡeːʝəlˠəɡ] in Classical Gaelic and Goídelc [ˈɡoiðʲelɡ] in Old Irish . Goidelic , used to refer to
4648-423: The new Great Northern Railway 's style. After GNRI was liquidated in 1958 ownership of the station fell on the newly formed Ulster Transport Authority , then temporarily became Ulster Transport Railways (UTR) before being taken over by Northern Ireland Railways (NIR) in 1968. It briefly known as "Craigavon East" for a time back in the 1970s. On 22 July 1972, the original Great Northern Railway station building
4731-409: 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
4814-522: 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
4897-448: 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
4980-402: The other. Extra services run at peak times, and the service reduces to hourly operation in the evenings. On Sundays there is an hourly service in each direction. There is also a Sunday-only Enterprise service with one morning train (0836) to Dublin Connolly and one train in the evening to Belfast Grand Central (2239). Mondays to Saturdays there is 4 Ulsterbus Town Services operating on
5063-415: 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
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#17327732428385146-504: The problems of flooding, but it would also solve the inadequate water supply for the canal, eliminate lock maintenance, and could generate around 2,200 kW as the water would still have to fall by 13.7 metres (45 ft). The plan was a little too ambitious and failed to win support. In 1842, the Board of Works were authorised by an Act of Parliament to carry out works in the Lough Neagh basin, which would improve navigation, drainage and milling. A series of public meetings were held, and
5229-436: 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 )
5312-432: 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
5395-452: 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
5478-412: The river and the headroom is reduced. From the bridge it is around 3 miles (5 km) to Portadown, and the river passes through pleasant rural scenery. Exploration of the town from the river is difficult, because water levels at Shillington Quay and at the jetty a little further upstream are very shallow. The river is crossed by the railway line from Portadown to Lurgan and then road bridges carrying
5561-511: The river, the jetties for the Bann Ferry are soon reached. It is possible to moor there, to visit the villages of Columbkille to the west or Bannfoot to the east. Bannfoot was originally called Charlestown after its builder, Charles Brownlow, who built it around 1830. Some 6 miles (10 km) from the mouth, the river is crossed by the M1 motorway . The bridge is the lowest on the navigable section, with an air draught of around 10 feet (3 m), although in strong northerly winds, water backs up in
5644-427: The south of the lake had to contribute towards the drainage and navigation works which had been completed, and also find £800 per year for ongoing maintenance, with no source of income to cover it. Coleraine was expanded as a port, but even the Lower Bann did not generate the expected revenue, and the adjoining counties had to finance an annual deficit of around £400. A passenger service between Coleraine and Toomebridge
5727-536: 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
5810-594: 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
5893-431: 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
5976-483: Was destroyed by a paramilitary bomb, and subsequently the current station building was erected. The layout of the railway station nowadays is a side platform. Trains to the north and east, such as those to Belfast Grand Central and Lisburn , are served by Platform 2, while trains to the south and west, such as those to Portadown , Newry , and Dublin Connolly station , are served by Platform 1. Additionally, there
6059-487: Was done, and the problem remained. In 1822, the Scottish engineer Alexander Nimmo proposed a radical solution. The Newry Canal provided a route southwards from Lough Neagh to Carlingford Lough , but it rose to a summit and then descended again. His proposal was to lower the summit level so that it was below the level of Lough Neagh, remove all the locks, and so provide a second outlet to the sea. Not only would it solve
6142-668: 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
6225-676: 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. Lurgan railway station Lurgan railway station serves Lurgan in County Armagh , Northern Ireland. Located on William Street. The station
6308-454: Was not well received by the counties through which it ran. As originally conceived, revenue from tolls and water power on the Lower Bann would finance maintenance work on the Upper Bann. Instead, three separate Trusts were set up. These were the Upper Bann Navigation Trust, the Lower Bann Navigation Trust and the Lough Neagh Drainage Trust. The adjoining counties appointed representatives to each and also financed their continued operation. Those to
6391-474: 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
6474-745: Was refused and they had to continue funding it. Some improvements to weirs were made by the Ministry of Finance, and there was some traffic, consisting mostly of sand dredged from Lough Neagh and used by brickworks. Finally, in 1954, responsibility for the Upper Bann was transferred to the Ministry of Commerce, the Trust was disbanded, and the navigation was abandoned. The Lower Bann has seen an increase in use by pleasure craft, and now supports four marinas , two at Coleraine, one at Drumaheglis and one at Portglenone . Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ),
6557-693: 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
6640-471: Was started in 1863, but the increased flow on the river made travel upstream difficult, and the service was abandoned. Like so many schemes that tried to combine drainage and navigation, this one did neither particularly well. Flooding around the southern shores of Lough Neagh continued to be a problem, and in 1882 the chairman of Portadown Town Commissioners suggested that Alexander Nimmo's scheme should be revived. The Upper Bann would be made much deeper near
6723-574: Was taken, and when the President of the Institution of Civil Engineers , Sir Alexander Binnie , was asked for his advice in 1906, he came to a similar conclusion. He suggested that a canalised river, which in winter had a flow of between 188 and 376 cubic metres per second (400,000 and 800,000 cu ft/min) was never going to succeed. Again his advice was ignored, as the navigation works were still relatively new. The counties continued to fund
6806-442: 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,
6889-426: Was well received, and work began in 1847. Charles Ottley acted as chief engineer but found difficulty in recruiting a labour force. The number of men looking for work had been reduced by famine and emigration, and the railways were competing for workers. The project took eleven years to complete. A double-chambered lock was constructed at Portna, where the shoal was removed, and four other locks were needed to negotiate
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