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97-566: The River Shannon ( Irish : an tSionainn, Abhainn na Sionainne or archaic an tSionna ) is the major river on the island of Ireland , and at 360 km (224 miles) in length, is the longest river in the British Isles . It drains the Shannon River Basin , which has an area of 16,900 km (6,525 sq mi), – approximately one fifth of the area of Ireland. Known as an important waterway since antiquity,

194-589: A land settlement , or plantation after his conquest of Ireland Oliver Cromwell reputedly said the remaining Irish landowners would go to "Hell or Connacht", referring to their choice of forced migration west across the river Shannon, or death, thus freeing up the eastern landholdings for the incoming English settlers. In the Williamite War in Ireland (1689–91), the Jacobites also retreated behind

291-547: 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

388-626: A Breacaun to fish between Limerick City and Plassey until 1929. In 1929, the construction of a dam at Ardnacrusha severely impacted salmon breeding and that, and the introduction of quotas, had by the 1950s caused salmon fishing to cease. However, recreational fishing still goes on. Further down the Shannon Estuary at Kilrush the Currach was used to catch herring as well as drift netting for salmon. Dublin City Council published

485-717: 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

582-575: 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

679-478: 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,

776-553: 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

873-460: 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

970-421: A goddess in a river is common in Irish mythology and typically represents the dissolving of her divine power into the water, which then gives life to the land". A small myth about Sionann tells that the legendary hunter-warrior Fionn mac Cumhaill was attacked by a number of other warriors at Ballyleague, near north Lough Ree. It is said that when Fionn was near to defeat, Sionnan rescued him, and he arrived with

1067-626: A long-term average flow rate of 208.1 m/s (7,350 cu ft/s) (at Limerick ). This is double the flow rate of Ireland's second highest-volume river, the short River Corrib (104.8 m/s [3,700 cu ft/s]. If the discharges from all of the rivers and streams into the Shannon Estuary (including the rivers Feale 34.6 m/s [1,220 cu ft/s], Maigue 15.6 m/s [550 cu ft/s], Fergus 25.7 m/s [910 cu ft/s], and Deel 7.4 m/s [260 cu ft/s]) are added to

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1164-585: 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

1261-575: 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

1358-650: A plan in 2011 to supply up to 350 million litres of water a day from Lough Derg to Dublin city and region. In 2016 the Parteen Basin to the south of lough was chosen as the proposed site of extraction. Water would be pumped to a break pressure tank Knockanacree near Cloughjordan in County Tipperary and gravity fed from there by pipeline to Dublin. Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ),

1455-625: 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

1552-492: A result of linguistic imperialism . Today, Irish is still commonly spoken as a first language in Ireland's Gaeltacht regions, in which 2% of Ireland's population lived in 2022. The total number of people (aged 3 and over) in Ireland who declared they could speak Irish in April 2022 was 1,873,997, representing 40% of respondents, but of these, 472,887 said they never spoke it and a further 551,993 said they only spoke it within

1649-585: A river that empties into an estuary. The 344 km length relates to the distance between Shannon Pot and a line between Kerry Head and Loop Head , the furthest reaches of the land. (It also assumes the current shipping route via Ardnacrusha, which takes 7 km (4.3 mi) off the distance.) The 280 km distance finishes where the Shannon estuary joins the estuary of the River Fergus , close to Shannon Airport . Longer claimed lengths emerged before

1746-596: A topography quite different from the long upper reaches. Here the river falls by 30 m (98 ft) in only 20 km (12 mi). William Ockenden, also from England, was placed in charge of works on this stretch in 1757 and spent £12,000 over the next four years, without fully completing the task. In 1771 parliament handed over responsibility to the Limerick Navigation Company , with a grant of £6,000 to add to their subscriptions of £10,000. A lateral canal, 8 km (5 mi) long with six locks,

1843-545: 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

1940-570: Is Ireland 's largest basin with an area of 11,700 km (4,500 sq mi). Including the estuary and the River Feale , the total catchment drains a total of 16,865 km (6,512 sq mi). It has a Long Term Average Flow of 208.1 m /s (7,350 cu ft/s) (at Limerick City ). This is double the flow rate of Ireland's second largest river, the River Corrib (104.8 m /s [3,700 cu ft/s]). If

2037-403: Is 390 km (240 mi). An official Irish source gives a total length of 360.5 km (224.0 mi) (being 258.1 km [160.4 mi] fresh and 102.1 km [63.4 mi] tidal). Some Irish guides now give 344 km (214 mi). Some academic sources give 280 km (170 mi), although most will refuse to give a number. The reason is that there is no particular end to

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2134-603: 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

2231-452: 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

2328-511: 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

2425-587: 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

2522-669: Is part of the Shannon International River Basin District (SHIRBD) administrative area which has an area of 17,963 km (6,936 sq mi) in area. In addition to the Shannon Basin, the district also covers coastal parts of counties Kerry and Clare which drain to the sea. The SHIRBD contains 7,666 km (4,763 mi) of rivers, 1,220 km (760 mi) of coastline including estuaries, and 113 lakes, including 53 over 50 hectares (120 acres) in size. The main land use throughout

2619-412: 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

2716-498: Is tidal east of Limerick as far as the base of the Ardnacrusha dam . The Shannon divides the west of Ireland (principally the province of Connacht ) from the east and south ( Leinster and most of Munster ; County Clare , being west of the Shannon but part of the province of Munster, is the major exception.) The river represents a major physical barrier between east and west, with fewer than thirty-five crossing points between

2813-666: 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

2910-631: 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 ")

3007-788: The River Suck and canal, while Boyle is connected via the Boyle canal, the river Boyle and Lough Key . There is also the Ardnacrusha canal connected with the Ardnacrusha dam south of Lough Derg. Near Limerick, a short canal connects Plassey with the Abbey River , allowing boats to bypass the Curraghower Falls, a major obstacle to navigation. Lecarrow village in County Roscommon is connected to Lough Ree via

River Shannon - Misplaced Pages Continue

3104-515: The Salmon of Wisdom who swam there, becoming the wisest being on Earth, in others, she merely drank from the well. At any rate, the waters of the well are said to have burst forth, drowning Sionann, and carrying her out to sea. Notably, a similar tale is told of Boann and the River Boyne . It is said that Sionann thus became the goddess of the river. Patricia Monaghan notes that "The drowning of

3201-783: The Shannon Pot source's length of 360.5 km (224 miles), such as the Owenmore River , total length 372 km (231 mi) in County Cavan and the Boyle River , total length 392.1 km (243.6 mi) with its source in County Mayo . The River Shannon is a traditional freshwater river for about 45% of its total length. Excluding the 102 km ( 63 + 1 ⁄ 2  mi) tidal estuary from its total length of 360 km (224 mi), if one also excludes

3298-634: 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

3395-789: 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

3492-416: The 63.5-mile (102.2 km) tidal estuary from its total length of 224 miles (360 km), if one also excludes the lakes ( L. Derg 24 mi, L. Ree 18 mi, L. Allen 7 mi plus L. Boderg , L. Bofin , L. Forbes , L. Corry ) from the Shannon's freshwater flow of 160.5 miles (258.3 km), the Shannon as a freshwater river is only about 100 miles (160 km) long. The Shannon River Basin

3589-403: 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

3686-571: 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

3783-471: 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

3880-549: 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

3977-770: The Lecarrow canal. Jamestown Canal and the Albert Lock form a link between the River Shannon, from south of Jamestown , to Lough Nanoge to the south of Drumsna . According to Irish mythology , the river was named after a woman (in many sources a member of the Tuatha de Danaan ) named Sionann (older spelling forms: Sínann or Sínand), the granddaughter of Manannán mac Lir . She went to Connla's Well to find wisdom, despite having been warned not to approach it. In some sources she, like Fionn mac Cumhaill , caught and ate

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4074-583: The Limerick Vikings clashed with those of Dublin on Lough Ree and were defeated. In the 17th century, the Shannon was of major strategic importance in military campaigns in Ireland, as it formed a physical boundary between the east and west of the country. In the Irish Confederate Wars of 1641–53, the Irish retreated behind the Shannon in 1650 and held out for two further years against English Parliamentarian forces. In preparing

4171-620: 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 ,

4268-663: The SHIRBD area is agriculture (70.7%). Peatlands (11.1%) and forestry (3.2%) are also important. The SHIRBD's population is 618,884 at 34 inhabitants per square kilometre (88/sq mi) (Census data 2002). There are some tributaries within the River Shannon system which have headwaters that are further in length (from source to mouth) than the Shannon Pot source, such as the Owenmore River (County Cavan) in County Cavan , which flows west for 14.5 km (9.0 mi) through

4365-489: The Shannon Navigation Act of 1835 appointing five Commissioners for the improvement of navigation and drainage who took possession of the whole navigation. Over the next 15 years, many improvements were made but in 1849 a railway was opened from Dublin to Limerick and the number of passengers fell dramatically. Freight, which had risen to over 100,000 long tons (100,000 tonnes) per year, was also halved. But

4462-404: The Shannon Pot, the river subsumes a number of tributaries before replenishing Lough Allen at its head. The river runs through or between 11 of Ireland's counties , subsuming the tributary rivers Boyle , Inny , Suck , Mulkear and Brosna , among others, before reaching the Shannon Estuary at Limerick . Many different values have been given for the length of the Shannon. A traditional value

4559-488: The Shannon River Basin and the rivers and riverbanks on which they stand: Shannon River : (going downstream) Freshwater Catchments (With Areas – km ) Going downstream Left Bank: Right Bank: Estuarine Catchments Areas Left Bank: Right Bank: There are many other smaller tributaries which join the Shannon along its journey. There are a multitude of lakes within the Shannon River Basin, both on

4656-621: The Shannon after their defeat at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Athlone and Limerick, cities commanding bridges over the river, saw bloody sieges. (See Sieges of Limerick and Siege of Athlone .) As late as 1916, the leaders of the Easter Rising planned to have their forces in the west "hold the line of the Shannon". However, in the event, the rebels were neither well enough armed nor equipped to attempt such an ambitious policy. Though

4753-548: The Shannon first appeared in maps by the Graeco-Egyptian geographer Ptolemy ( c.  100 – c.  170 AD). The river flows generally southwards from the Shannon Pot in County Cavan before turning west and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean through the 102.1 km (63.4 mi) long Shannon Estuary . Limerick city stands at the point where the river water meets the sea water of the estuary . The Shannon

4850-613: The Shannon has always been important for navigation in Ireland, there is a fall of only 18 m (59 ft) in its first 250 km (160 mi). Consequently, it has always been shallow, with 0.5 m (1 ft 8 in) depths in various places. The first serious attempt to improve navigability came in 1755 when the Commissioners of Inland navigation ordered Thomas Omer , a new immigrant from England, possibly of Dutch origin, to commence work. He worked at four places between Lough Derg and Lough Ree where natural navigation

4947-798: The Shannon's 102.2 km (63.5 miles) estuary this gives a total river flow of 392.1 km (243.6 mi), which makes it the longest river within the River Shannon basin (from source to mouth)—31.6 km (19.6 mi) longer than the Shannon Pot source. Thus the Boyle-Shannon river can be regarded as having the longest natural river flow in Ireland. The River Shannon Basin touches more than half (17) of Ireland's counties:- Limerick , Clare, Tipperary , Offaly , Westmeath , Longford , Roscommon , Kerry, Galway , Leitrim , Cavan, Sligo , Mayo , Cork , Laois , Meath and Fermanagh . Towns and Villages (with 2011 populations ) within

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5044-547: The Stone of Sionann, threw the stone, and the warriors were immediately killed. It further says that Fionn was afraid of the power of the stone and threw it into the river, where it remains at a low ford , and that if a woman named Be Thuinne finds it, then the world's end is near. The Shannon reputedly hosts a river monster named Cata, the first known mention being in the medieval Book of Lismore . In this manuscript, we are told that Senán , patron saint of County Clare , defeated

5141-746: 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

5238-644: The bridges high enough for navigation. Since then the leisure trade has steadily increased, becoming a great success story. There are also many canals connecting with the River Shannon. The Royal Canal and the Grand Canal connect the Shannon to Dublin and the Irish Sea . It is linked to the River Erne and Lough Erne by the Shannon–Erne Waterway . Ballinasloe is linked to the Shannon via

5335-419: The discharge at Limerick, the total discharge of the River Shannon at its mouth at Loop Head reaches 300 m/s (11,000 cu ft/s). Indeed, the Shannon is a major river by the time it leaves Lough Ree with an average flow rate (at Athlone weir) of 98 m/s (3,500 cu ft/s), larger than any of the other Irish rivers' total flow (apart from the River Corrib at Galway ). The main flow of

5432-427: The discharges from all of the rivers and streams into the Shannon Estuary (including the rivers Feale 34.6 m /s, Maigue 15.6 m /s, Fergus 25.7 m /s, and Deel 7.4 m /s) are added to the discharge at Limerick, the total discharge of the River Shannon at its mouth at Loop Head reaches 300 m /s (11,000 cu ft/s). The River Shannon is a traditional freshwater river for just 45% of its total length. Excluding

5529-402: The discovery of a reduced eel population. This scheme ensures safe passage for young eels between Lough Derg and the Shannon estuary. Though the Shannon estuary fishing industry is now depleted, at one time it employed hundreds of men along its length. At Limerick , fishermen based on Clancy's Strand used the Gandelow to catch Salmon . The Abbey Fishermen used a net and a boat type known as

5626-664: The education system. Linguistic analyses of Irish speakers are therefore based primarily on the number of daily users in Ireland outside the education system, which in 2022 was 20,261 in the Gaeltacht and 51,707 outside it, totalling 71,968. In response to the 2021 census of Northern Ireland , 43,557 individuals stated they spoke Irish on a daily basis, 26,286 spoke it on a weekly basis, 47,153 spoke it less often than weekly, and 9,758 said they could speak Irish, but never spoke it. From 2006 to 2008, over 22,000 Irish Americans reported speaking Irish as their first language at home, with several times that number claiming "some knowledge" of

5723-406: The end of the last glacial period . Ptolemy 's Geography (2nd century AD) described a river called Σηνος ( Sēnos ) from PIE * sai -/ sei - 'to bind', the root of English sinew and Irish sin ‘ collar ’, referring to the long and sinuous estuary leading up to Limerick. Vikings settled in the region in the 10th century and used the river to raid the rich monasteries deep inland. In 937

5820-414: 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

5917-430: 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

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6014-451: The lakes ( L. Derg 39 km (24 mi), L. Ree 29 km (18 mi), L. Allen 11 km (7 mi) plus L. Boderg , L. Bofin , L. Forbes , L. Corry ) from the Shannon's freshwater flow of 258 km ( 160 + 1 ⁄ 2  mi), the Shannon, as a freshwater river, is only about 161 km (100 mi) long. Apart from being Ireland's longest river, the Shannon is also, by far, Ireland's largest river by flow . It has

6111-498: 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

6208-410: 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

6305-425: 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 ,

6402-454: The lower Shannon above Limerick. The old Killaloe to Limerick canal with its five locks was abandoned and the head race constructed from Lough Derg also served for navigation. A double lock was provided at the dam. In the 1950s traffic began to fall and low fixed bridges would have replaced opening bridges but for the actions of the Inland Waterways Association of Ireland which persuaded the Tánaiste to encourage passenger launches, which kept

6499-399: 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

6596-408: The monster at Inis Cathaigh . Cata is described as a large creature with a horse's mane, gleaming eyes, thick feet, nails of iron, and a whale's tail. Another story has an oilliphéist flee its home in the Shannon, upon hearing that Saint Patrick has arrived to remove its kind from Ireland. Despite being 360.5 km (224.0 mi) long, it rises only 76 m (249 ft) above sea level , so

6693-497: 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

6790-409: 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

6887-522: 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

6984-503: The other official language, if not already passed in both official languages. In November 2016, RTÉ reported that over 2.3 million people worldwide were learning Irish through the Duolingo app. Irish president Michael D. Higgins officially honoured several volunteer translators for developing the Irish edition, and said the push for Irish language rights remains an "unfinished project". There are rural areas of Ireland where Irish

7081-557: The political party holding power in the Stormont Parliament , the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was hostile to the language. The context of this hostility was the use of the language by nationalists. In broadcasting, there was an exclusion on the reporting of minority cultural issues, and Irish was excluded from radio and television for almost the first fifty years of the previous devolved government. After

7178-492: 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 )

7275-432: 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

7372-712: 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

7469-407: The river from Battlebridge to Lough Allen , which was opened in 1820. In the latter part of the 1820s, trade increased dramatically with the arrival of paddle-wheeled steamers on the river which carried passengers and goods. By 1831 14,600 passengers and 36,000 long tons (37,000 tonnes) of freight were being carried. This put new pressure on the navigation and a commission was set up resulting in

7566-753: The river is affected by some distributaries along its course, many of which rejoin it downstream. The Abbey River flows around the northeastern, eastern, and southern shores of King's Island , Limerick before rejoining the Shannon at Hellsgate Island . The Shannon Callows , areas of lowland along the river, are classified as a Special Area of Conservation . Settlements along the river (going upriver) include Kilrush , Tarbert , Glin , Foynes , Askeaton , Shannon Town , Limerick , Castletroy , Castleconnell , O'Briensbridge , Montpelier , Killaloe , Ballina , Portumna , Banagher , Athlone , Lanesborough , Carrick-on-Shannon , Leitrim village and Dowra . The river began flowing along its present course after

7663-472: The river is easily navigable, with only a few locks along its length. There is a hydroelectric generation plant at Ardnacrusha belonging to the ESB . Shipping in the Shannon estuary was developed extensively during the 1980s, with over IR£ 2 billion (€2.5 billion) investment. A tanker terminal at Foynes and an oil jetty at Shannon Airport were built. In 1982 a large-scale alumina extraction plant

7760-664: The river sections and there were still shoals in the summer months, as well as a lack of harbour facilities at Limerick, and boats were limited to 15–20 long tons (15–20 tonnes) load, often less. With the approaching opening of the Grand Canal , the Grand Canal Company obtained permission from the Directors General of Inland Navigation, and asked John Brownrigg to do a survey which found that much of Omer's work had deteriorated badly, so they started repairs. After protracted negotiations on costs and conditions,

7857-602: The slopes of Cuilcagh. This area includes Garvah Lough, Cavan, 2.2 km (1.4 mi) to the northeast, drained by Pollnaowen . Further sinks that source the pot include Pollboy and, through Shannon Cave , Pollahune in Cavan and Polltullyard and Tullynakeeragh in County Fermanagh , Northern Ireland . The highest point in the catchment is a spring at Tiltinbane on the western end of the Cuilcagh mountain ridge. From

7954-513: The use of modern surveying instruments. At a total length of 360.5 km (224 miles), it is the longest river in Ireland. That the Shannon is the longest river in the British Isles was evidently known in the 12th century, although a map of the time showed this river as flowing out of the south of Ireland. There are some tributaries within the Shannon River Basin which have headwaters that are further in length (from source to mouth) than

8051-726: 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

8148-422: The valley of Glangevlin before joining the Shannon about 3 km (2 mi) below the Shannon Pot at Lugnashinna, thus adding 11 km (7 mi) to the Shannon's overall length, bringing it to 372 km (231 mi). Also the Boyle River has a similar claim. The river flow from the furthest reaches of the Boyle catchment to Limerick city has a measurement of 290 km (180 mi). When added to

8245-414: The village of Dowra in the north and Limerick city in the south. By tradition the Shannon is said to rise in the Shannon Pot , a small pool in the townland of Derrylahan on the slopes of Cuilcagh Mountain in County Cavan , Republic of Ireland , from where the young river appears as a small trout stream. Surveys have defined a 12.8 km (4.9 sq mi) immediate pot catchment area covering

8342-594: 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

8439-543: The work the commissioners carried out failed to solve the problems of flooding and there were disastrous floods in the early 1860s. Given the flat nature of most of the riverbank, this was not easily addressed and nothing much was done till the twentieth century. One of the first projects of the Irish Free State in the 1920s was the Shannon hydroelectric scheme which established the Ardnacrusha power station on

8536-471: The work was completed by 1810, so that boats drawing 1.75 m (5 ft 9 in) could pass from Athlone to Killaloe . Improvements on the lower levels were also undertaken, being completed by 1814. When the Royal Canal was completed in 1817 there was pressure to improve the navigation above Lough Ree. The Jamestown Canal was repaired, harbours built and John Killaly designed a canal alongside

8633-531: 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

8730-461: Was built at Aughinish . 60,000-tonne cargo vessels now carry raw bauxite from West African mines to the plant, where it is refined to alumina. This is then exported to Canada where it is further refined to aluminium. 1985 saw the opening of a 915 MW coal-fired electricity plant at Moneypoint , fed by regular visits by 150,000-tonne bulk carriers. A trap and transport scheme is in force on the Shannon as part of an eel management programme following

8827-668: 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

8924-577: 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. Shannon River Basin The Shannon Basin

9021-401: Was obstructed, by installing lateral canals and either pound locks or flash locks . He then continued north of Lough Ree and made several similar improvements, most notably by creating the first Jamestown Canal which cut out a loop of the river between Jamestown and Drumsna , as well as lateral canals at Roosky and Lanesborough . The lower Shannon between Killaloe and Limerick had

9118-474: 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

9215-693: 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

9312-477: Was started but the company needed more funds to complete it. In 1791, William Chapman was brought in to advise and discovered a sorry state of affairs – all the locks had been built to different dimensions and he spent the next three years supervising the rebuilding of most of them. The navigation was finally opened in 1799, when over 1,000 long tons (1,000 tonnes) of corn came down to Limerick, as well as slates and turf . But even then, there were no tow paths in

9409-442: 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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