95-550: Meath ( / m iː ð / MEEDH ; Modern Irish : Mí ; Old Irish : Mide [ˈmʲiðʲe] ) was a kingdom in Ireland from the 1st to the 12th century AD. Its name means "middle," denoting its location in the middle of the island. At its greatest extent, it included all of County Meath (which takes its name from the kingdom), all of County Westmeath , and parts of counties Cavan , Dublin , Kildare , Longford , Louth and Offaly . Mide originally referred to
190-670: A trícha cét , such as Leth Cathail or Cenél Guaire; and taísig túaithe at the bottom. The kingdom of Osraige , which had its genealogy traced back by early Irish genealogists to the Laigin, was part of Mumu from the 6th to 8th century and ruled by the Corcu Loígde dynasty. By the 7th century Osraige had lost their dependence on the Corcu Loígde, with the restoration of the local Dál Birn dynasty. Osraige remained part of Mumu until 859 when Máel Sechnaill I , king of
285-547: 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
380-717: 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
475-575: 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
570-478: 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,
665-553: 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
760-460: 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
855-585: 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
950-575: 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
1045-407: A pattern of different grades. In theory in the early medieval period: This pyramid structure, however, by the later medieval period, had little validity. Paul MacCotter proposes the following structure of lordship in the 12th century: High-king of Ireland; semi-provincial king, such as Connacht, Ulaid, Desmumu ; regional king, such as Dál Fiatach and Uí Fhiachrach Aidni ; local king or king of
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#17327720197791140-625: 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
1235-522: A result of the creation of new counties: It would not be until the reign of Elizabeth's successor, James I , that Meath by 1610 would cease to be considered a province and that the provincial borders would be permanently set. The earliest recorded mention of the major division of Ireland is in the Ulster Cycle of legends, such as the Táin Bó Cúailnge . The Táin is set during
1330-545: 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
1425-560: Is cúige (pl. cúigí ). The modern Irish term derives from the Old Irish cóiced (pl. cóiceda ) which literally meant "a fifth". This term appears in 8th-century law texts such as Miadslechta and in the legendary tales of the Ulster Cycle where it refers to the five kingdoms of the "Pentarchy". MacNeill enumerates the five earliest fifths mentioned, these comprising the kingdoms of Ulster, Connacht, Munster, Tara (North Leinster) and Dinn Riogh (South Leinster), located on
1520-452: 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
1615-511: 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
1710-587: 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
1805-485: Is pre-historic and pre-Gaelic, describing the Pentarchy as "the oldest certain fact in the political history of Ireland". The notion of Ireland being divided into five permeated itself throughout Irish literature over the centuries despite what the cuigeadh representing no longer existing by the time of Saint Patrick in the 5th century. By then, Ireland had become divided into seven over-kingdoms. The main body of
1900-533: 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
1995-412: 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
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#17327720197792090-607: Is today represented by its own unique arms and flag. These are joined to represent various All Ireland sports teams and organisations via the Four Provinces Flag of Ireland and a four province Crest of Ireland, with examples including the Ireland national field hockey team , Ireland national rugby league team , Ireland national rugby union team and Irish Amateur Boxing Association . The dinnseanchas poem named Ard Ruide (Ruide Headland) poetically describes
2185-666: 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
2280-517: The Táin Bó Cúailnge , which makes mention of Eochaidh as king of all Munster, with Cu Roi simply a "great Munster hero". He also cites that the Táin makes mention of the four fifths of Ireland that waged war on Ulster, which made reference to only one Munster. Another reason given by MacNeill was a problem made by Keating himself. According to Keating, when the province of Míde
2375-844: The Brega area in County Meath together with Carbury Hill and the plains of Kildare. During the early 6th century, they were expelled across the Wicklow Mountains . The Uí Failge and Uí Bairrche belonged to the Laigin but may also be associated with the Iverni . In medieval Ireland , the Kings of Mide were of the Clann Cholmáin , a branch of the Uí Néill . They came to dominate their Southern Uí Néill kindreds, including
2470-630: 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 a result of linguistic imperialism . Today, Irish
2565-631: 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 ")
2660-675: The Síl nÁedo Sláine in County Meath, the Uí Failghe and Uí Faelain tribes of the Laigin and the Kingdom of Dublin . Several were High Kings of Ireland . The position alternated with their kindred the Northern Uí Néill for many centuries. The kingdom came under pressure in the 11th and 12th century from other provincial kings seeking the position of High King of Ireland and the Kingdom of Breifne under Tigernán Ua Ruairc . Mide
2755-478: The Uí Néill , forced Mumu to surrender it to his overlordship. After this situation ended it became an independent kingdom which gradually moved towards the Laigin sphere of influence as they sought to claim the Laigin kingship. It was during the 9th century that Osraige, ruled by Cerball mac Dúnlainge , became a major political player. Airgíalla had come under the dominance of the Ulaid; however, Niall Caille ,
2850-561: The county of Clare as part of the presidency of Connaught in 1569. Around 1600 near the end of Elizabeth's reign, Clare was made an entirely distinct presidency of its own under the Earls of Thomond and would not return to being part of Munster until after the Restoration in 1660. The exact boundaries of the provinces of Ireland during the Tudor period changed several times, usually as
2945-634: 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
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3040-789: 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
3135-403: 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
3230-571: 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
3325-587: The Barrow. The earliest hero tales name the Boyne as the dividing boundary between Ulster and Leinster, indicating that no province representative of Meath or Brega was yet in existence. The kings of Tara and Dinn Riogh were said to derive from the same lineage, which ruled all the Laigin. In the 12th century Lebor na Cert (Book of Rights), the term means province, seemingly having lost its fractional meaning with seven cúigeadh listed. Similarly this seems to be
3420-439: The British withdrew from Northern Ireland , and the creation of a federal state with assemblies for each of its four historic provinces. The song Ireland's Call is used as a national anthem for sports teams representing the entire island (e.g. Ireland national rugby union team and Ireland cricket team ). The first verse says "We have come to answer our country's call from the four proud provinces of Ireland". Each province
3515-471: 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
3610-630: The Five Fifths"; and "Time of the provincial kings". It was also described as "the Pentarchy". The five provinces that made up the Pentarchy where: Historians Geoffrey Keating and T. F. O'Rahilly differ suggesting that it is Munster, not Leinster, that formed two of the fifths. These two fifths were called by Keating: Cuigeadh Eochaidh (eastern Munster) and Cuigeadh Con Raoi (western Munster), both named after their respective king. Eoin MacNeill discounts this suggestion citing
3705-764: The Gaelic order survived, with the last king of Airgíalla being Hugh Roe McMahon , who reigned from 1589 until his execution in September/October 1590. With the collapse of English control in Ireland following the Bruce campaign in Ireland in 1315, and the subsequent collapse of the Earldom of Ulster , the Gaelic order had a resurgence and the Clandeboye O'Neills of the Northern Uí Néill stepped into
3800-549: 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
3895-525: The Norman knight Maurice de Prendergast to resist the Laigin king, Diarmait Mac Murchada , who had also recruited Norman aid. In 1118, the king of Connacht, Tairrdelbach Ua Conchobair , aided the Mac Cárthaigh of south Munster in a rebellion against the ruling Uí Briain dynasty. This resulted in the division of Mumu into two: Tuadmumu ( Thomond , meaning "north Munster") to the north under
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3990-620: 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 ,
4085-539: The Ulaid to avenge a slight against their great-grandfather Cormac mac Airt . The Collas with their army along with a host from Connacht marched to Achaidh Leithdeircc in Fernmagh, southern Ulaid, and fought the Ulaid in seven battles over the course of seven days. The host from Connacht fought the first six battles, and the Collas fought the seventh. It is after this last battle that the king of Ulaid, Fergus Foga ,
4180-597: The Uí Briain; and Desmumu ( Desmond , meaning "south Munster") to the south under the Mac Cárthaigh. Ua Conchobair would then conquer the heartland of the Uí Briain situated around modern County Clare and make it part of Connacht. This was to force them to accept Cormac Mac Carthaig , king of Desmumu, as the king of Mumu. Despite Ua Conchobair's aid, Mac Carthaig and the Uí Briain would form an alliance to campaign against Connacht's hegemony, and by 1138 ended
4275-520: The ancient titles of Kings of Uisnech in Mide and Kings of Tara in Brega and claimed a cattle-tribute, the Bóroma Laigen , on the Laigin. The Uí Failge , under Failge Berraide , were finally expelled from the plain of Mide with the battle of Druim Derg in 514. The Uí Enechglaiss were an early paramount dynasty of the Laigin. An ogham stone found south of Slane suggests they controlled
4370-712: The area around the Hill of Uisneach in County Westmeath , where the festival of Beltaine was celebrated. The larger province of Meath, between the Irish Sea and the Shannon, is traditionally said to have been created by Túathal Techtmar , an exemplar king, in the first century from parts of the other four provinces. In the fourth and fifth centuries its territories were taken over by the Uí Néill from Connacht and they pushed out Laigin tribes. The Uí Néill assumed
4465-481: The basis for the counties of Ireland. The Northern Uí Néill remained outside of Norman control, eventually absorbing the greater part of Airgíalla, which had by the end of the 12th century lost its eastern territory (afterwards known as "English Oriel" and later as Louth) to the Normans. Airgíalla would eventually no longer be reckoned an over-kingdom; however, it survived in present-day County Monaghan for as long as
4560-746: 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
4655-517: The case in regards to titles with the Annals of Ulster using the term rex in Chóicid (king of the fifth/province) for certain overkings. The origins of the provinces of Ireland can be traced to the medieval cóiceda (literally "fifths") or "over-kingdoms" of Ireland. There were theoretically five such over-kingdoms; however, in reality during the historical period there were always more. At
4750-486: The east bank of the River Shannon in the barony of Clonlonan . Bearers of the name were noted as among the Gaelic nobility as late as the 1690s, though they had lost power long before. Melaugh is the more commonly associated name in Ireland today, though it is more often rendered as McLoughlin. Meath is also considered to have been one of five Provinces ( Irish : cúige meaning "fifths") of Ireland, along with
4845-414: The end of the famine, and under 17,000 by 1911. Irish is recognised by the Constitution of Ireland as the national and first official language of Republic of Ireland (English being the other official language). Despite this, almost all government business and legislative debate is conducted in English. In 1938, the founder of Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League), Douglas Hyde , was inaugurated as
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#17327720197794940-434: The events in the myth of the Three Collas may have occurred in the late 4th to early 5th century; however, as the centuries passed the myth underwent updating and alteration. The most oft quoted version of their story was written by Geoffrey Keating in the 17th century in his work the Foras Feasa ar Éirinn , also known as "The History of Ireland". In it the Three Collas—Colla Menn, Colla Da Crioch, and Colla Uais—were
5035-481: The fiercest warriors of all Ireland, and the queens and goddesses of Ulster are associated with battle and death. Leinster, the eastern kingdom, is the seat of prosperity, hospitality, the importing of rich foreign wares like silk or wine; the men of Leinster are noble in speech and their women are exceptionally beautiful. Munster in the south is the kingdom of music and the arts, of harpers, of skilled ficheall players and of skilled horsemen. The fairs of Munster were
5130-403: The fifth province. In the medieval period, however, there were often more than five. The number of provinces and their delimitation fluctuated until 1610, when they were permanently set by the English administration of James I . The provinces of Ireland no longer serve administrative or political purposes but function as historical and cultural entities. In modern Irish , the word for province
5225-430: The first President of Ireland . The record of his delivering his inaugural Declaration of Office in Roscommon Irish is one of only a few recordings of that dialect. In the 2016 census, 10.5% of respondents stated that they spoke Irish, either daily or weekly, while over 70,000 people (4.2%) speak it as a habitual daily means of communication. From the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922 (see History of
5320-404: The five kingdoms of Ireland. Below is a translation from Old Irish : Connacht in the west is the kingdom of learning, the seat of the greatest and wisest druids and magicians; the men of Connacht are famed for their eloquence, their handsomeness and their ability to pronounce true judgement. Ulster in the north is the seat of battle valour, of haughtiness, strife, boasting; the men of Ulster are
5415-415: The four current provinces of Connacht , Leinster , Munster and Ulster . The Diocese of Meath established by the Synod of Ráth Breasail in 1111 had boundaries similar to those of the kingdom. Present territories: 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
5510-411: The greatest in all Ireland. The last kingdom, Meath, is the kingdom of Kingship, of stewardship, of bounty in government; in Meath lies the Hill of Tara , the traditional seat of the High King of Ireland . The ancient earthwork of Tara is called Rath na Ríthe ('Ringfort of the Kings'). The epic poem , An Táin Bó Cúailnge (the Cattle Raid of Cooley) describes a war between Connacht and Ulster, and
5605-498: The language family, is derived from the Old Irish term. Endonyms of the language in the various modern Irish dialects include: Gaeilge [ˈɡeːlʲɟə] in Galway, Gaeilg / Gaeilic / Gaeilig [ˈɡeːlʲəc] in Mayo and Ulster , Gaelainn / Gaoluinn [ˈɡeːl̪ˠən̠ʲ] in West/Cork, Kerry Munster , as well as Gaedhealaing in mid and East Kerry/Cork and Waterford Munster to reflect local pronunciation. Gaeilge also has
5700-410: 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
5795-425: The language. For most of recorded Irish history , Irish was the dominant language of the Irish people , who took it with them to other regions , such as Scotland and the Isle of Man , where Middle Irish gave rise to Scottish Gaelic and Manx . It was also, for a period, spoken widely across Canada , with an estimated 200,000–250,000 daily Canadian speakers of Irish in 1890. On the island of Newfoundland ,
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#17327720197795890-399: 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
5985-497: 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
6080-409: 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
6175-520: The nine Ulster counties form modern-day Northern Ireland , which is part of the United Kingdom. Many of Northern Ireland's unionist political parties use "Ulster" in their names such as the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) and the Ulster Democratic Party (UDP). The ITV regional service is known as Ulster Television but generally abbreviated to UTV, while BBC Radio Ulster is the main BBC radio station from BBC Northern Ireland . In education Munster Technological University and Ulster University both use
6270-522: 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
6365-570: 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
6460-448: 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
6555-550: The papal grant, Laudabiliter , for Ireland. Osraige would be amongst the first Irish kingdoms to fall following the Norman invasion of Ireland in 1170, and was soon afterwards split from Leinster and made part of the royal demesne lands of Waterford. In the years following the invasion, the kingdoms of Connacht, Desmumu, Laigin, Mide, Tuadmumu, and Ulaid formed the basis for the Norman liberties of Connacht, Desmond, Leinster, Meath, Thomond and Ulster respectively. These liberties were later subdivided into smaller ones that became
6650-415: 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
6745-596: The power vacuum in Ulster bringing it under the sovereignty of the O'Neills of Tyrone. After this they claimed for the first time the title of rí Ulad , "king of Ulster", amalgamating their territory into one united province. This reduced the number of provinces to five—Connact, Leinster, Meath, Munster, and Ulster. During the reign of Mary I (1553–1558), the Lord Deputy of Ireland , Thomas Radclyffe, 3rd Earl of Sussex , sought to divide Ireland into six parts—Connacht, Leinster, Meath, Nether Munster, Ulster, and Upper Munster. His administrative reign in Ireland, however,
6840-481: The proposal of Éire Nua ("New Ireland"), which was supported by the Provisional IRA and Sinn Féin during the 1970s and early 1980s for a federal United Ireland . The proposal was particularly associated with the Dublin -based leadership group centred on Ruairí Ó Brádaigh and Dáithí Ó Conaill , who were the authors of the policy. Éire Nua envisaged a united Ireland that would be created when
6935-485: The provinces have become associated with groups of counties, although they have no legal status . They are today seen mainly in a sporting context. Ireland's four professional rugby teams in the United Rugby Championship play under the names of the provinces. The Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) has separate provincial councils and its county teams contest provincial championships . Six of
7030-646: The provinces in which they are located in their name. Many hotels also use the name of the province in which they are situated. In media many local and regional newspapers use their province in their names such as The Munster Express in Waterford, Leinster Leader in Kildare, Connacht Tribune in Galway and Ulster Herald in Fermanagh. In modern times politically the four provinces were referred to in
7125-479: The reign of Conchobar Mac Nessa , king of Ulster , and is believed to have happened in the 1st century. In this period Ireland is said to have been divided into five independent over-kingdoms, or cuigeadh whose rí (kings) were of equal rank, not subject to a central monarchy. Pseudo-historians called this era Aimser na Coicedach , which has been translated as: "Time of the Pentarchs"; "Time of
7220-492: The relationship between the three Goidelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx). Gaelic is a collective term for the Goidelic languages, and when the context is clear it may be used without qualification to refer to each language individually. When the context is specific but unclear, the term may be qualified, as Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic or Manx Gaelic. Historically the name "Erse" ( / ɜːr s / URS )
7315-432: 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
7410-712: 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
7505-493: The son of Áed Oirdnide , brought it under the hegemony of the Northern Uí Néill after defeating the combined forces of the Airgíalla and Ulaid at the battle of Leth Cam in 827. After a period of dynastic infighting in the early 12th century, Osraige fragmented and after a heavy defeat at the hands of High-King Muirchertach Mac Lochlainn became part of Laigin. In 1169, the king of Osraige, Domnall Mac Gilla Pátraic , hired
7600-559: The sons of Eocaidh Doimlén. It is from them that the Airgíalla are said to descend, branching off from the rest of the Connachta. The Northern and Southern Uí Néill dynasties are claimed to descend from Eocaidh's brother, Fiacha Sraibhtine . According to the story the Collas were told by Fiacha's son, Muiredach Tirech , the High King of Ireland, to conquer land of their own to pass on to their descendants, directing them to wage war on
7695-400: The start of the 9th century the following are listed: Airgíalla , Connachta , Laigin , Northern Uí Néill ( Ailech ), Southern Uí Néill ( Mide ), Mumu , and Ulaid . These seven over-kingdoms are again listed in the 12th-century Lebor na Cert . Each over-kingdom was divided into smaller territorial units, the definition of which, whilst not consistent in Irish law tracts, followed
7790-523: The threat from that kingdom. The following decades would see Mumu united and repartitioned several times as the Uí Briain and Mac Cárthaigh vied for complete control. In 1168, the king of Connacht, Ruaidrí Ua Conchobair , ensured Mumu remained divided. After Henry II , king of England , landed in Ireland in 1171, the Mac Cárthaigh submitted to him to prevent an Uí Briain invasion. The Uí Briain eventually followed suit in submitting to Henry II. The eagerness of these submissions encouraged Henry II to revive
7885-726: 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
7980-594: 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
8075-531: 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
8170-408: Was being founded, it was created from portions of each province which all met at the hill of Uisnech. The boundaries given by Keating himself for the five provinces, however, meant that this would have been highly unlikely, with the boundary between his Munster fifths nowhere near this area. Pseudo-historians list 84 kings of Ireland prior to the formation of the Pentarchy. When this mythical kingship
8265-416: Was cut short; and even with his reappointment by Elizabeth I (1558–1603) this plan was never implemented. Sir Henry Sidney during his three tenures as Lord Deputy created two presidencies headed by a Lord President to administer Connacht and Munster . In an attempt to reduce the importance of the province of Munster, Sydney, using the River Shannon as a natural boundary took Thomond and made it into
8360-668: 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
8455-746: 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. Provinces of Ireland There are four provinces of Ireland : Connacht , Leinster , Munster and Ulster . The Irish word for this territorial division, cúige , meaning "fifth part", suggests that there were once five, and at times Meath has been considered to be
8550-574: Was frequently overrun and partitioned and began to collapse as a coherent kingdom. Following the Norman invasion of Ireland , in 1172, the kingdom was awarded to Hugh de Lacy as the Lordship of Meath by Henry II of England in his capacity as Lord of Ireland . De Lacy took possession of the kingdom and the dynasty of the Ua Mael Sechlainn or O Melaghlins were forced west and settled on
8645-443: Was interrupted is a matter of dispute. The Annals of Tigernach state that Ireland was divided into the five upon the slaying of Conaire Mór ; however, it is suggested alternatively that it happened upon the death of Conaire's father, Eterscél Mór , the 84th king of Ireland. Keating, however, suggests it occurred in the reign of Eochu Feidlech who was the 82nd king of Ireland. MacNeill claims that this division of Ireland into five
8740-554: Was killed and his army routed. The Collas then pursued the Ulaid east of the "Glen Righe" (the valley of the Newry River in eastern County Armagh), before returning to loot and burn the Ulaid capital, Emain Macha, after which it never again had a king. They then took possession of central Ulaid spanning the modern counties of Armagh, Fermanagh, Londonderry, Monaghan and Tyrone founding the over-kingdom of Airgíalla. In modern times
8835-474: 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
8930-633: Was spoken throughout Ireland, Isle of Man and parts of Scotland . It is the language of a large corpus of literature, including the Ulster Cycle . From the 12th century, Middle Irish began to evolve into modern Irish in Ireland, into Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, and into the Manx language in the Isle of Man . Early Modern Irish , dating from the 13th century, was the basis of the literary language of both Ireland and Gaelic-speaking Scotland. Modern Irish, sometimes called Late Modern Irish, as attested in
9025-442: 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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