78-552: Mount Merrion ( Irish : Cnoc Mhuirfean ) is a suburb of Dublin , Ireland . It is roughly 7 kilometres (5 mi) south of Dublin city centre and is situated on and around the hill of the same name. Mount Merrion is 3 kilometres (2 mi) southwest of the area known as Merrion and 5.6 km west of Dún Laoghaire . As one travels south from the city centre, Mount Merrion is the first neighbourhood of any significant elevation above sea level. The main road in Mount Merrion
156-547: 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
234-717: 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
312-575: 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
390-478: 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,
468-553: 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
546-620: A few months previously fallen off a ladder in his library when he broke a knee. He was buried at St Mary Magdalene, Richmond , where survives his inscribed monument, now affixed to an outside wall. His titles devolved by law successively on his younger brothers, namely John FitzWilliam, 8th Viscount FitzWilliam (1752–1830) and then to Thomas FitzWilliam, 9th Viscount FitzWilliam (1755–1833), following whose death without issue in 1833 they became extinct. He bequeathed his large Irish estates to George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke (1759-1827), his first cousin's son, and his art collection and library to
624-460: 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
702-598: A great view of Dublin city towards the north, which is often used by photographers for panoramas and also by developers to assess the impact of development on the cityscape. Crowds also gather in Deerpark to look out at the annual Skyfest fireworks display around St. Patrick's Weekend which is sometimes held in Dublin city centre. It can also be a good vantage point for observing the Northern Lights, also known as
780-585: 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
858-575: A pass in Leaving Certificate Irish or English, and receive lessons in Irish during their two years of training. Official documents of the Irish government must be published in both Irish and English or Irish alone (in accordance with the Official Languages Act 2003, enforced by An Coimisinéir Teanga , the Irish language ombudsman). The National University of Ireland requires all students wishing to embark on
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#1732790476984936-625: 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
1014-545: 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
1092-629: Is Deerpark Road The main artery through the area is the N11 dual carriageway. Public transport is provided by Dublin Bus on routes 7b, 7d, 17, 46a, 46e, 47, 116, 118, 145 and 155. The nearest DART station to Mount Merrion is Blackrock , while the nearest Luas stops are Kilmacud and Stillorgan on the Green line. The Aircoach services to Dublin Airport from Greystones calls at South Hill Avenue en route to
1170-545: Is a community tennis club, founded in the 1970s. The tennis club, established in 1976, is known as Deerpark Tennis Club. The club has six synthetic surface courts, all floodlit. Competitions are organised throughout the year. The club participates in the Dublin Lawn Tennis Council (DLTC) Leagues in the greater Dublin area. Deerpark opened its new clubhouse in August 2010. Mount Merrion Youths Football Club
1248-705: Is a community-based club. The club first represented Mount Merrion at the 1974 Community Games. In 2007 the club established its first representative all-girls team. All representatives of the club operate on a voluntary basis. In 2005, the club's under-18 representatives won the Leinster Football Association Youths' Cup. Although there is no GAA club in Mount Merrion, some residents play for Kilmacud Crokes who play their juvenile matches in Deer Park. A local school, Scoil San Treasa, plays both Gaelic football and hurling . The district
1326-523: 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 a result of linguistic imperialism . Today, Irish
1404-452: 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
1482-511: 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
1560-613: Is however said in some sources to have split off from the English FitzWilliams during the reign of King Henry II (1154-1189) when a member of that family accompanied the king's son Prince John to Ireland, following his appointment as Chief Governor of Ireland. The coats of arms of the two families, adopted at the start of the age of heraldry c. 1200 -1215, are however apparently identical: Lozengy argent and gules . The family in Ireland are recorded in Dublin since
1638-542: Is in the Dublin Rathdown electoral constituency, and Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown (following the abolition, in 1994, of County Dublin as an administrative division of the state). 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
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#17327904769841716-587: 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
1794-533: 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 the education system. Linguistic analyses of Irish speakers are therefore based primarily on
1872-412: 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
1950-527: Is untraceable) and Fitz, who together with his own wife and children later moved to Richmond, Surrey, close to his natural father, who provided for him in his will. Zacharie's last letter is dated December 1790, during the French Revolution , and details of her future life are unknown. He died unmarried and without legitimate progeny on 4 February 1816, in Bond Street, Mayfair, London, having
2028-666: 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
2106-519: The 5th Viscount Fitzwilliam , selected 100 acres (0.4 km²) on which he built Mount Merrion House, surrounding the house by an 8-foot-high (2.4 m) granite wall. The house was completed in 1711 and served as a new seat by the 5th Viscount Fitzwilliam on the hill at Mount Merrion. The Fitzwilliam family left for England around 1726. Although the family no longer lived in Mount Merrion House, they retained possession of it, and rented
2184-651: The Aurora Borealis when they are visible in the Dublin area. It is claimed that Strongbow 's white stallion is buried somewhere in Deer Park. Maps such as John Roque's (1760) and Barker's Estate Maps (1762) show much of what is now Deerpark as a formal walled garden and many of the prominent avenues and boundaries of the nearby Mount Merrion House lands form the basis of the present local road network. The estate at Mount Merrion began being sold off to property developers (Mount Merrion Estates) around 1925, as this area of Dublin rapidly built up with suburban housing in
2262-631: 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 ")
2340-634: 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
2418-789: 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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2496-403: 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
2574-571: 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
2652-629: The Decker estate at Richmond as follows: Richard Bradley in his General treatise of husbandry and gardening for the month of July (1723) described the estate as follows: He developed part of south-east Dublin in the Georgian style . This included: Fitzwilliam never married but in the late 1780s it was discovered that starting in 1784 he had a six-year romance with a 15-year-old French Opera dancer from Paris, Marie Anne Bernard (born 1769), known to him by her stage name Zacharie . The relationship
2730-471: 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
2808-553: The Fitzwilliam and later Pembroke Estates. After the move of University College Dublin to its Belfield campus, many students chose to live in the area. On Deerpark Road are two restaurants, a newsagency, a chemist, and various other service and retail facilities. The area also has a Catholic church and school. Deerpark now hosts sports such as football and tennis. The football pitches are used by Mount Merrion Youths Football Club and Kilmacud Croke's GAC. Deerpark Tennis Club
2886-809: The Holyhead mail steamer passes the Kish lightship. Around the wood some 1.2 km² (300 acres) of the richest grazing land in County Dublin slope gently to the high stone wall which surrounds the demesne. To the south and south-west, the horizon is bounded by the swelling outline of the Wicklow and Dublin Hills. To the north, the long low line of the Mourne Mountains, 100 kilometres (60 mi) and more away, are clearly visible when recent rains have left
2964-549: 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
3042-620: 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 ,
3120-594: The airport. Quoting from "Mount Merrion the Old", by Sir Neville Wilkinson : Between the Convent of Mount Anville, above Dundrum, and the broad high road which leads to Stillorgan, rises the wooded hill of Mount Merrion, the centre of the landscape over Dublin Bay, which gradually becomes defined as the opalescent mists of the Irish sunrise fade away. It is a landscape known to every visitor to Ireland who has stood on deck as
3198-498: The area behind the site of Mount Merrion House. The park is now open to the public. It was created in 1971 from a collection of open public spaces and some acquisitions of private land. The park contains both sporting facilities ( Association Football (soccer) and Gaelic football pitches, as well as the Deerpark Tennis Club), and landscaped land for more informal pursuits. Its location and altitude also provide it with
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3276-693: 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
3354-523: The community centre originally involved the demolition of the house, however, the plans were amended due to protests. The stables survive beside the church. The original granite gateway was salvaged and now stands as the entrance to Willow Park School on Rock Road (Willow Park's own original gateway on Booterstown Avenue was later removed). Part of the estate eventually became the Fitzwilliam Lawn Tennis Club . These lands were part of
3432-474: 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
3510-560: 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
3588-588: The house out. The next Fitzwilliam to take a major interest in Mount Merrion was Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Viscount FitzWilliam , who remained a bachelor all his life. It was he who willed £100,000 to build the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge , his former university. Prior to his death in 1816, he bequeathed his vast estates to his cousin George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke . Mount Merrion
3666-716: 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
3744-410: 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
3822-476: 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 ,
3900-582: 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
3978-539: The mid-20th century. Mount Merrion House itself was sold to the Catholic Church in 1936. The main house was converted for use as a Catholic church. A new church, the Church of St Therese, was built alongside in 1956. Much of the house was demolished during the late 1970s. However, the front block of the house was retained and a new community centre was built onto the back of it. Plans for recent construction work on
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#17327904769844056-804: 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
4134-409: 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
4212-522: 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
4290-570: 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
4368-448: 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
4446-491: The parish of Richmond , Surrey, to the west of London , where he formed his large art collection. He bequeathed it to his heir George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke , who renamed it "Pembroke House" and the site is now represented by "Pembroke Villas" 5 pairs of large semi-detached Victorian villas on the northeastern side of Richmond Green . FitzWilliam had inherited the estate from his mother Catherine Decker. John Macky in his Journey through England (1722 to 1723), described
4524-492: The parish of Richmond in Surrey, England, was an Anglo-Irish nobleman in the Peerage of Ireland who was a benefactor and musical antiquarian who founded the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge , England , with a bequest of his library and art collection . He was also a significant urban developer in the City of Dublin . He served as a Member of Parliament for Wilton in Wiltshire, England (not precluded by his Irish peerage), from 1790 until his death. Richard FitzWilliam
4602-415: 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
4680-436: 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 )
4758-432: 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
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#17327904769844836-452: 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
4914-428: The sacred border, divots flying from his horse's heels; so that the whole length was scarred and pitted with hoofmarks, as though the plague had passed over it, and it was only after months of patient labour that the unbroken serenity of the surface was restored. The lands came into the possession of the Norman Fitzwilliam family in the 15th century. The family was originally based in Dundrum having come to Ireland in
4992-569: The thirteenth century, and through shrewd business sense, and a series of advantageous marriages, they became the largest landowners in the region. He was educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge in England, and received an MA in 1764. He succeeded to his father's title in 1776 and was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in 1789. He was elected as the second Member of Parliament for Wilton in Wiltshire from 1790 to 1806. Although he made frequent visits to Mount Merrion House , south of Dublin, Richard FitzWilliam lived mainly at FitzWilliam House in
5070-536: 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
5148-447: The washed air clear, while the islands of Lambay and Ireland's Eye give an added beauty to the sea-scape which lies beyond the wind-blown causeway which leads on and up to the rhododendron covered slopes above the ancient castle of Howth. A double avenue of beech trees shades the roadway which runs, straight as a rule, for a full quarter of a mile to the entrance gates on the Stillorgan Road. This roadway, whose immaculate pebbled surface
5226-594: 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
5304-415: The year 1210. The Fitzwilliams inherited Merrion Castle from Sir John Cruys , who built the castle on lands which are today the property of the Sisters of Charity and St Mary's Home and School for the Blind. Merrion features on the 1598 map, "A Modern Depiction of Ireland, One of the British Isles" (by Abraham Ortelius as "Mergon"). By 1710 the castle was in such a bad state of repair that Richard,
5382-431: 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
5460-462: Was baptised on 22 August 1745. He was the eldest son and heir of Richard FitzWilliam, 6th Viscount FitzWilliam (1711-1776) by his wife Catherine Decker, a daughter and co-heiress of Sir Matthew Decker, 1st Baronet (1679-1749) of Richmond, Surrey , England, a wealthy Dutch-born merchant, by his wife Henrietta Watkins. The FitzWilliam family in Ireland appears to have been un-related to the prominent English FitzWilliam Family, Earls FitzWilliam , but
5538-428: Was brought to light when a collection of 299 of her letters sent to Fitzwilliam was found amongst his papers at Wilton House in Wiltshire, the seat of the Herbert family, Earls of Pembroke, descendants of his cousin and heir George Herbert, 11th Earl of Pembroke . The letters make it clear that he fathered three illegitimate children by Zacharie , namely a daughter who died in infancy and two sons, Bily (whose existence
5616-668: 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
5694-667: 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. Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Viscount FitzWilliam Richard FitzWilliam, 7th Viscount FitzWilliam (1 August 1745 – 4 February 1816) of Mount Merrion , Dublin, Ireland, and of FitzWilliam House in
5772-451: Was occupied for a time by the Fitzwilliam agent Barbara Verschoyle and her husband, then Lord Herbert of Lea , and later by Sir Neville Wilkinson , from 1903 to 1914. On first edition OSI Maps (early to mid 19th century) the townland is named 'Mount Merrion or Callary', and that name is still in evidence by Callary Road which runs to the east of Foster Ave. Deer Park was landscaped by the 5th Viscount Fitzwilliam . The parklands comprise
5850-474: 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
5928-571: Was raked daily, had a broad border of century-old shaven turf, the pride of the Scottish gardener; so tended, brushed and rolled was it in those days that the most careless visitor would have hesitated to sully the velvety perfection of the surface with a profane foot. Yet the gardener, his voice, with its rich Highland brogue quivering with fury at the bare recollection, would tell how a distinguished citizen of Dublin, having ridden to pay his respects to his lordship, had, on departing, cantered gaily down
6006-693: 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
6084-442: 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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