Editing Irish language in Northern Ireland

{{short description|none}}
{{Use Hiberno-English|date=November 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2016}}
{{Update|documentation|date=April 2020}}

[[File:Irish speakers in the 2011 census in Northern Ireland.png|thumb|400px|The proportion of respondents in the 2011 census aged 3 and above who stated that they can speak Irish]]
The [[Irish language]] ({{langx|ga|Gaeilge}}) is, since 2022, an official<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-10-26 |title=Irish language and Ulster Scots bill clears final hurdle in Parliament |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-63402597 |access-date=2022-10-27}}</ref> language in [[Northern Ireland]]. The main dialect spoken there is [[Ulster Irish]] (''Gaeilge or Gaeilg Uladh''). Protection for the '''Irish language in Northern Ireland''' stems largely from the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/minlang/|title=European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages|website=www.coe.int}}</ref>

In the 2021 census, Irish was the main language of 0.3% of the population aged 3 and up,<ref name="Census22_Lang">{{Cite book |title=Main statistics for Northern Ireland - Statistical bulletin - Language |publisher=NISRA for Census Office (UK) |location=Belfast |publication-date=22 September 2022 |pages=4, 6, 7}}</ref> an increase from 0.2% in the previous survey,<ref>{{cite news|title=The role of the Irish language in Northern Ireland's deadlock|url=https://www.economist.com/news/britain/21720659-though-less-1-use-it-their-main-language-cutbacks-have-rekindled-enthusiasm|access-date=14 April 2017|newspaper=[[The Economist]]|date=12 April 2017}}</ref>
while 12.4% of that population had some ability in Irish, also an increase from previous census results.<ref name="Census22_Lang"/> As well, for the first time, the census asked the frequency of speaking Irish. 43,557 said they spoke Irish on a daily basis, which accounts for 2.43% of Northern Ireland's population.<ref>{{Cite web |date=21 March 2023 |title=Frequency of Speaking Irish |url=https://www.nisra.gov.uk/system/files/statistics/census-2021-ms-b07.xlsx |website=nisra.gov.uk}}</ref>

==History==
===Language in Gaelic Ireland===
As in other parts of Ireland, Irish was the main language in the region of present-day Northern Ireland for most of its recorded history{{Citation needed|date=June 2021}}. The historic influence of the Irish language in Northern Ireland can be seen in many place names, for example the name of [[Belfast]] first appears in the year 668, and the [[River Lagan|Lagan]] even earlier ("Logia", Ptolemy's ''Geography'' 2,2,8). The [[Plantation of Ulster]] led to a decline in Gaelic culture,{{Citation needed|date=December 2011}} of which Irish was part – while some Scottish settlers were Scots-Gaelic speakers, English was made widespread by the plantation. Despite the plantation Irish continued to be spoken in non-planted areas until the mass immigration in the 19th century caused by economic factors (see below for further).

===Irish Revival in the North===
Intellectuals in Belfast took an antiquarian interest in Irish-language culture towards the end of the 18th century, and an Irish-language magazine ''Bolg an tSolair'' was published in 1795. The Ulster Gaelic Society was founded in 1830. Attitudes among the Anglican and Presbyterian middle class, however, changed in the second half of the 19th century as the [[Gaelic Revival]] began being associated with support for [[Home Rule]] or [[Irish Republicanism]]. The English-born MP for South Londonderry, [[Sir Thomas Lea, 1st Baronet|Thomas Lea]] proposed an amendment to the draft of the [[second Home Rule Bill]] that would have prevented the passing of laws which would increase Irish language use in state schools, legal courts and other public spheres.<ref name="bmg">{{cite web |title=So what's the Irish for déjà vu then?|url=http://belfastmediagroup.com/so-whats-the-irish-for-deja-vu-then/|publisher=Belfast Media Group}} Retrieved on 7 April 2018.</ref> A branch of the [[Gaelic League]] was founded in Belfast in 1895 with a non-sectarian and widely based membership, but the decline in Irish as a first language continued.<ref name="ReferenceA">''Belfast and the Irish language'', ed. Fionntán De Brún, Dublin 2006 {{ISBN|978-1-85182-939-2}}</ref>

Irish was in sharp decline throughout the whole of Ireland from the mid-1800s. From the late 1600s and early 1700s, the [[Church of Ireland]] made some attempts to revive the declining Irish language.{{Citation needed|date=November 2024}} The church printed Bibles and Prayer Books in Irish, and some churches, and some Protestant clergymen like [[William King (bishop)|William King]] of Dublin, held services in the language. However, the English language had been the language of learning and the Roman Catholic Church continued to use [[Ecclesiastical Latin]] for [[Tridentine Mass|Mass]] and English in sermons. English was the language of the industrial east of the island, and Irish started to become confined to the more rural west.<ref name=Tanner>{{cite book
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=AXyq-Umw9DgC&q=stamp+out+any+lingering%2C+semi-pagan+remnants&pg=PA82
  | last = Tanner
  | first = Marcus
  | title = The Last of the Celts
  | publisher = Yale University Press
  | year = 2004
  | isbn = 0-300-10464-2
}}</ref> The proportion of Irish speakers had fallen from about half of the population in 1800 to 23% by 1851, and with only about a third of these speaking it exclusively.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ó Tuathaigh |first=Gearóid |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=cZhnAAAAMAAJ |title=Ireland Before the Famine: 1798-1848 |date=1972 |publisher=Gill & Macmillan |isbn=978-0717105663 |location=Dublin |language=en |access-date=21 September 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Doyle |first=Aidan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NolwCQAAQBAJ |title=A History of the Irish Language: From the Norman Invasion to Independence |date=2015 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-872476-6 |location= |pages=128–129 |language=en |quote=by 1851 the proportion of Irish speakers had fallen to 23 per cent, and less than a third of these spoke Irish only. |access-date=21 September 2024}}</ref>

By the 1860s, of all the Roman Catholic seminaries, only St Jarlath's in [[Tuam]] was teaching in Irish. The Roman Catholic Church had, at that time, desired to "stamp out any lingering, semi-pagan remnants", which included the Irish language. Sir [[William Wilde]] in 1852 accordingly blamed the Catholic Church for the quick decline and was "shocked" by the rapid decline of both the language and Gaelic customs after the [[Great Famine (Ireland)|Famine]].<ref name=Tanner/>

The power of the English language, in business and learning throughout much of the world also influenced the decline of Irish in Ireland. A letter from Dennis Heraghty of [[Letterkenny]] in 1886 to the [[Society for the Preservation of the Irish Language]] complained that the parents in his area all wanted their children to learn English. Bishop MacCormac of [[Achonry]], also in 1886, suggested that "People are apathetic about the preservation of our ancient language" and, "They see that Shakespeare's tongue is the one in use in America and the Colonies."<ref name=Tanner/>

Although there had been attempts and societies formed to reverse the declining trend for the language, it was not until the rise of the [[Gaelic League]], founded in 1893, that any measure of success was achieved.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}} 

[[Douglas Hyde]], in New York in 1905, said, "The Irish language, thank God, is neither Protestant nor Catholic, it is neither a [[Irish Unionism|Unionist]] nor a [[Irish nationalism|Separatist]]."<ref name=Tanner/> By then, however, the [[Gaelic League]] was already being covertly infiltrated and politicised by operatives working for [[Tom Clarke (Irish republican)|Thomas Clarke]] and the [[Irish Republican Brotherhood]].

At the same time, however, the [[Catholic Church in Ireland]] also began to believe in the worth of the language and had begun to take steps to ensure its survival. Ironically, however, both the state and Church interference became something that Irish people began to resent.{{Citation needed|date=September 2024}}

Protestants and Unionists alike began to back away from the [[Gaelic revival]] as, besides the dominant role of the Roman Catholic Church by then, [[Irish people]] were starting to be described as a "[[Race (classification of humans)|race]]".<ref name=Tanner/> [[James Alexander Rentoul]], MP for Down East, stated at Westminster in July 1900 that the Irish language had no value and should not receive any support by the public education system. He also stated that Irish-speaking children should continue being subjected to coercive [[Anglicization]] in the schools so that the Irish language would soon become [[language death|extinct]].<ref name="bmg"/> Even so, in 1905 the [[Irish Unionist Party]] had an Irish slogan, which it proudly displayed at a convention.

The [[British civil service]] officials of the Intermediate Board, the organisation through which public education policy was implemented, attempted to frustrate the improvement of [[Irish-medium education]] provision so severely that the sitting [[Lord Lieutenant of Ireland]], [[John Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair|John Hamilton-Gordon]], had to write to the Board on 25 July 1906 to demand that the provision be implemented.<ref name="bmg"/> In response, [[John Lonsdale, 1st Baron Armaghdale|John Lonsdale]], MP for Mid Armagh and member of the [[Ulster Unionist Council]], claimed that the Gaelic movement which supported the Irish language was simply inspired by [[Irish republicanism]] and [[anti-English sentiment|hatred of all things English]].<ref name="bmg"/> He opposed any teaching of Irish in primary schools as "money wasted" and "useless"<ref name="bmg"/> as well as claiming that Irish was a vehicle for the dissemination of "seditious views."<ref name="bmg"/>

===Since the partition of Ireland===
Following the [[partition of Ireland]] into the [[Irish Free State]] and [[Northern Ireland]] (which remained part of the [[United Kingdom]]), the largest Irish-speaking area in the former province of [[Ulster]]; [[County Donegal]]; had gone into the Irish Free State. However, there were [[Gaeltacht]] areas (communities who continued to speak Irish as their first language) in Northern Ireland at the time; the most prominent of these were the [[Sperrin Mountains]] in [[County Tyrone]] and [[County Londonderry]], [[Rathlin Island]] and the Glens of Antrim in [[County Antrim]], Aghyaran in County Tyrone, parts of south [[Armagh]] and Cashel in south-west [[County Fermanagh]]. Since 1921, the Irish language has been regarded with suspicion by many [[Unionist (Northern Ireland)|unionists]] in Northern Ireland, who have associated it with the [[Republic of Ireland]] and with [[Irish republicanism]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/irish_news/arts2003/feb6_fear_of_irish__JCollins.php|title=Unionist fear of Irish must be overcome|publisher=newshound.com, quoting Irish News|date=6 February 2003|access-date=19 June 2007|archive-date=12 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612164459/http://www.nuzhound.com/articles/irish_news/arts2003/feb6_fear_of_irish__JCollins.php|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The Irish-language movement in Northern Ireland after 1921 responded to a lack of establishment support by pursuing a self-help social and recreational movement aimed at preserving Ulster Irish (an issue which had split the Belfast Gaelic League in 1911).{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}} By 1923, only one branch of the Gaelic League was left in operation in Northern Ireland, but from a handful of branches in 1926 the number of branches peaked at 182 in 1946.{{Citation needed|date=February 2012}} In contrast to the perception of the [[Irish Free State]]'s policy of preserving areas of Irish-speaking countryside, activists in Northern Ireland concentrated on ensuring Irish could survive in urban contexts, organising trips to Irish-speaking areas to bolster urban enthusiasm.

From the early years of the Northern Ireland government, education in Irish was marginalised.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Walsh |first=John |date=May 10, 2022 |title=One Hundred Years of Irish Language Policy, 1922–2022 |url=https://mooreinstitute.ie/2022/05/10/one-hundred-years-of-irish-language-policy-1922-2022/ |access-date=April 10, 2024 |website=University of Galway |quote=Partition in 1920 left Northern Ireland outside the southern state, and decades of systematic repression of the nationalist community led to the total marginalisation of Irish from public life in the North. . . . The [Good Friday] Agreement also obliged the British government to develop Irish-medium education}}</ref> The number of primary schools teaching Irish was halved between 1924 and 1927, and numbers studying Irish as an extra subject fell from 5531 to 1290 between 1923 and 1926. The subsidy for Irish as an extra subject was abolished in 1934.<ref>''Irish in Belfast, 1892–1960'', Aodán Mac Póilin, in ''Belfast and the Irish language'', ed. Fionntán De Brún, Dublin 2006 {{ISBN|978-1-85182-939-2}}</ref>

The last speakers of [[Irish language#Dialects|varieties of Irish]] native to what is now Northern Ireland died in the 20th century. Irish as spoken in Counties [[County Down|Down]]<ref>[[Abraham Hume (priest)|Abraham Hume]], whilst compiling a report for the British Association in 1874, said that "as late as 1820... the Irish language was spoken along with English from Ballynahinch to near Newry." Cited in Ó Casaide (1930: 54ff)</ref> and [[Fermanagh]] were the first to die out, but native speakers of varieties spoken in the [[Glens of Antrim]]<ref>"When Swiss-born scholar Heinrich Wagner began his four-volume ''Linguistic Atlas and Survey of Irish Dialects'' in the 1950s, most of his Ulster material was collected from Donegal – where Gaeltacht areas still exist – although he did manage to locate native speakers of Irish in counties Cavan, Tyrone and Rathlin Island, Co. Antrim, in addition to Omeath, Co. Louth": A.J. Hughs, ''Belfast and the Irish Language'', Fionntán de Brún (ed.), 2006, {{ISBN|1-85182-939-3}}</ref> and the [[Sperrin Mountains]] of [[County Tyrone]]<ref>''Historical Sketches of the Native Irish'' "estimated that around 140,000 of the total 261,867 inhabitants of that county [Tyrone], returned for the 1821 census, spoke Irish": cited in A.J. Hughs ''Belfast and the Irish Language'', Fionntán de Brún (ed.), 2006, {{ISBN|1-85182-939-3}}</ref> and [[County Londonderry]] survived into the 1950s and 1970s respectively, whilst the Armagh dialect survived until the 1930s or '40s.<ref>Coimisiún na Gaeltachta 1926 report and maps based on 1911 census. (This was the last time all of Ireland had a census with the same question regarding language on the same date.)</ref> Varieties of Irish indigenous to the territory of Northern Ireland finally became extinct when the last native speaker of [[Rathlin Island|Rathlin]] Irish died in 1985.<ref>"Counties Down and Fermanagh were the first counties where Irish died out, but according to the 1911 census, Irish was spoken by the majority of the population over 60 years old in parts of the Sperrin mountains and Rathlin Island. Sound recordings have been made of the Irish of Antrim, Armagh, Londonderry and Tyrone. One of the last speakers of Antrim Irish, Jimmy Stewart of Murlough, died in 1950, and the last speaker of Tyrone Irish, Johnny McAleer, died in 1970. Bella McKenna, the last speaker of Rathlin Irish, was recorded on videotape and died in 1985. With her death came the extinction of the East Ulster dialect of Irish which had been spoken in what is present-day Northern Ireland." Iontaobhas ULTACH, http://www.ultach.org</ref> Séamus Bhriain Mac Amhlaigh, who died in 1983, was reportedly the last native-speaker of Antrim Irish.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://feisnangleann.com/?page_id=39|title=Language|date=2005|author=Phoenix, E., Ó Cléireacháin, P., McAuley, E. & McSparran, N.|publisher=Feis na nGleann}}</ref> A wealth of recordings and stories told by Mac Amhlaigh, however, were recorded before his death by researchers from Queen's University in Belfast.

At the same time, [[The Troubles]] exacerbated the politicisation of the Irish language in Northern Ireland. Many republicans in Northern Ireland, including former [[Sinn Féin]] President [[Gerry Adams]], learned Irish while in prison.<ref>Allen Feldman, ''Formations of Violence: The Narrative of the Body and Political Terror in Northern Ireland'', University of Chicago Press, 1991, chapter 3.</ref> Furthermore, co-operative housing scheme in West Belfast aimed at creating an urban [[neo-Gaeltacht]] opened in 1969 in [[Shaw's Road]].<ref name="ReferenceA"/>

According to [[Innti]] poet and scholar of [[Modern literature in Irish]] [[Louis de Paor]], this resulted in [[Belfast Irish]], "a new urban dialect", of [[Ulster Irish]], that was "forged in the heat of [[Belfast]] during [[The Troubles]]" and which is now the main dialect spoken in the [[Gaeltacht Quarter, Belfast|Gaeltacht Quarter]].<ref name="ReferenceB">[[Louis de Paor]] (2016), ''Leabhar na hAthghabhála: Poems of Repossession: Irish-English Bilingual Edition'', [[Bloodaxe Books]]. Page 27.</ref>

To lend support for this effort during the early 1980s, Dublin-based [[Connaught Irish]] [[Modernist poetry|Modernist poet]] [[Máirtín Ó Direáin]] chose to risk both crossing what was still a "hard border" and the danger of falling victim to the ongoing [[paramilitary]] violence by [[Ulster Loyalist]]s during The Troubles. Ó Direáin travelled to Northern Ireland and gave a poetry reading at the [[Cumann Chluain Ard]], an urban [[language revival]] club in the [[Gaeltacht Quarter, Belfast|Gaeltacht Quarter]] of West [[Belfast]].<ref>[https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/books/mairtin-o-direain-remembered-patrols-paramilitaries-and-poetry-1.3429848 Máirtín Ó Direáin remembered: patrols, paramilitaries and poetry], by [[Pól Ó Muirí]]  ''[[The Irish Times]]'', Mon March 19, 2018.</ref>

The Belfast Irish dialect, according to Louis de Paor, has even developed a "street slang", which been used in the poetry of [[Gearóid Mac Lochlainn]] and other radically innovative writers of [[Modern literature in Irish]] like him.<ref name="ReferenceB"/> The very controversial and extremely popular [[hip hop music]] trio ''[[Kneecap (band)|Kneecap]]'' is also based in the Gaeltacht Quarter and performs [[rap music]] in the West Belfast urban dialect of Ulster Irish.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Earley|first=Kelly|title=Who are KNEECAP? Everything you need to know about the Irish rappers in trouble with both BBC and RTÉ|url=https://www.dailyedge.ie/who-are-kneecap-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-irish-rappers-who-got-in-trouble-on-bbc-news-4523426-Mar2019/|access-date=2020-09-07|website=The Daily Edge|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mullally |first=Una |date=2022-03-16 |title=A Celtic Revival, in Hip-Hop and More |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/16/arts/music/kneecap-irish-rap-celtic-revival.html |access-date=2023-12-09 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Mullally|first=Una|title=Kneecap: 'Low-life scum' of west Belfast rap whose day has come|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/kneecap-low-life-scum-of-west-belfast-rap-whose-day-has-come-1.3854738|access-date=2020-09-04|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en}}</ref>

Simultaneously, [[Linda Ervine]] and the ''[[Turas]]'' organisation based in [[Belfast|East Belfast]] continues to seek, with considerable success, to promote the Irish language revival among [[Ulster Protestants]].

==Status==
{{Further|Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022}}
[[File:Multilingual sign Department Culture Leisure Arts Northern Ireland.jpg|thumb|Official administrative identity in English, Irish and Ulster Scots]]
Most Irish speakers in Ulster today speak the [[County Donegal|Donegal]] dialect of Ulster Irish.

Irish received official recognition in Northern Ireland for the first time in 1998 under the [[Belfast Agreement|Good Friday Agreement]], and status as an official language in 2022. A cross-border body known as ''[[Foras na Gaeilge]]'' was established to promote the language in both Northern Ireland and the [[Republic of Ireland|Republic]], taking over the functions of ''[[Bord na Gaeilge]]''.

The British government in 2001 ratified the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]]. Irish (in respect only of Northern Ireland) was specified under Part III of the Charter, thus giving it a degree of protection and status comparable to the [[Scottish Gaelic]] in Scotland. This included a range of specific undertakings in relation to education, translation of statutes, interaction with public authorities, the use of placenames, media access, support for cultural activities and other matters (a lower level of recognition was accorded to the Ulster variety of [[Scots language|Scots]], under Part II of the Charter). Compliance with State obligations is assessed periodically by a Committee of Experts of the [[Council of Europe]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/minlang/report/EvaluationReports/UKECRML3_en.pdf|title=Council of Europe Charter monitoring report, 2010}}</ref>

[[File:Bilingual welcome sign Newry.jpg|thumb|Bilingual welcome sign Newry]]

The ''Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998'' states: "It shall be the duty of the Department (of Education) to encourage and facilitate the development of Irish-medium education."

A question about the Irish language was asked until the 1911 census of Ireland, but after partition was not included in the Northern Ireland census until it was reintroduced in 1991, at the 1911 census, the six counties which would become Northern Ireland had 28,734 Irish speakers.<ref name="Cooley pp. 1–21">{{cite journal | last=Cooley | first=Laurence | title="It will do no more than annoy the Protestants": the 1991 Northern Ireland census and the Irish language | journal=Nationalism and Ethnic Politics | publisher=Informa UK Limited | date=24 March 2022 | volume=28 | issue=3 | issn=1353-7113 | doi=10.1080/13537113.2022.2052594 | pages=269–289| s2cid=247723794 | doi-access=free }}</ref> According to the 1991 Census, 142,003 people (9.45% of the population) had some language skills ability in Irish.

{|class="wikitable sortable"
|+Knowledge of Irish by people over the age of 3 (percentage of population over the age of 3) for each census since 1991
!Census
!width=130|Speaks, reads, writes and understands Irish
!width=130|Speaks and reads but does not write Irish
!width=130|Speaks but does not read or write Irish
!width=130|Understands spoken Irish but cannot read, write or speak Irish
!width=130|Has other combination of skills
!width=130|Has some ability
!width=130|No knowledge of Irish
|-
|1991||79,012 (5.26%) ||6,593 (0.44%) ||45,338 (3.02%) ||N/A||11,060 (0.74%) ||142,003 (9.45%) ||1,320,657 (87.90%)
|-
|2001||75,125 (4.64%) ||7,183 (0.44%) ||24,536 (1.52%) ||36,479 (2.25%) ||24,167 (1.49%) ||167,490 (10.35%) ||1,450,467 (89.65%)
|-
|2011||64,847 (3.74%) ||7,414 (0.43%) ||24,677 (1.42%) ||70,501 (4.06%)||17,459 (1.01%) ||184,898 (10.65%) ||1,550,813 (89.35%)
|-
|2021||71,872 (3.91%) ||9,683 (0.53%) ||37,497 (2.04%) ||90,801 (4.94%) ||18,764 (1.02%) ||228,617 (12.45%) ||1,607,995 (87.55%)
|}

Note:
{{small|The 1991 Census did not ask respondents if they understood Irish but could not read, write or speak it; this was only asked in subsequent censuses.}}

{{sticky header}}
{| class="wikitable sortable sticky-header-multi mw-collapsible"
|+ Detailed 2021 Census Results by County, Local District and Parliamentary Constituency
|-
! rowspan=2 |[[2021 United Kingdom census|United  Kingdom Census 2021]]
! rowspan=2 |Total Population
! colspan=2 |Has  Some Knowledge of Irish
! colspan=2 |Can Speak, Read, Write and Understand Spoken Irish
! colspan=2 |Speaks  Irish Every Day
! colspan=2 |Main  Home Language: Irish
|-
! Total !! Percentage !! Total !! Percentage !! Total !! Percentage !! Total !! Percentage
|-
|Northern  Ireland||1,905,175||228,620||12.00%||71,871||3.77%||43,557||2.29%||5,970||0.31%
|-
| colspan= 10|
|-
! colspan=10 | ''By [[Counties of Northern Ireland|County]]''
|-
|[[County Antrim|Antrim]]||651,321||71,689||11.01%||23,732||3.64%||16,585||2.55%||3,011||0.46%
|-
|[[County Armagh|Armagh]]||194,393||31,664||16.29%||9,803||5.04%||5,743||2.95%||564||0.29%
|-
|[[County Down|Down]]||553,262||44,506||8.04%||12,978||2.35%||6,358||1.15%||723||0.13%
|-
|[[County Fermanagh|Fermanagh]]||65,585||9,591||14.62%||2,703||4.12%||1,216||1.85%||138||0.21%
|-
|[[County Londonderry|Londonderry]]||252,231||36,424||14.44%||11,653||4.62%||6,833||2.71%||827||0.33%
|-
|[[County Tyrone|Tyrone]]||188,383||34,746||18.44%||11,002||5.84%||6,822||3.62%||707||0.38%
|-
! colspan=10 | ''By [[Local government in Northern Ireland|Local Government  District (since 2014)]]''
|-
|[[Antrim and Newtownabbey]] ||145,661||11,077||7.60%||3,433||2.36%||2,058||1.41%||245||0.17%
|-
|[[Ards and North  Down]] ||163,660||5,116||3.13%||1,231||0.75%||519||0.32%||36||0.02%
|-
|[[Armagh City,  Banbridge and Craigavon]] ||218,656||25,644||11.73%||7,882||3.60%||4,595||2.10%||429||0.20%
|-
|[[Belfast]] ||345,417||51,583||14.93%||17,986||5.21%||13,110||3.80%||2,659||0.77%
|-
|[[Causeway Coast  and Glens]] ||141,743||13,698||9.66%||4,187||2.95%||2,284||1.61%||231||0.16%
|-
|[[Derry City and  Strabane]] ||150,756||23,172||15.37%||7,474||4.96%||4,133||2.74%||510||0.34%
|-
|[[Fermanagh and  Omagh]] ||116,812||20,066||17.18%||5,837||5.00%||3,166||2.71%||347||0.30%
|-
|[[Lisburn and  Castlereagh]] ||149,106||9,949||6.67%||3,062||2.05%||1,692||1.13%||231||0.15%
|-
|[[Mid and East  Antrim]] ||138,994||6,276||4.52%||1,616||1.16%||788||0.57%||46||0.03%
|-
|[[Mid Ulster (district)|Mid Ulster]] ||150,291||29,397||19.56%||9,544||6.35%||6,179||4.11%||682||0.45%
|-
|[[Newry, Mourne  and Down]] ||182,074||32,639||17.93%||9,620||5.28%||5,033||2.76%||553||0.30%
|-
! colspan="10" |''By [[Reform of local government in Northern Ireland|Local Government  District (1993-2013)]]''
|-
|[[Antrim (borough)|Antrim]] ||57,178||5,606||9.80%||1,756||3.07%||995||1.74%||103||0.18%
|-
|[[Ards (borough)|Ards]] ||81,911||2,314||2.83%||524||0.64%||222||0.27%||16||0.02%
|-
|[[Armagh City and District Council|Armagh]] ||64,960||10,158||15.64%||3,207||4.94%||1,939||2.98%||210||0.32%
|-
|[[Ballymena (borough)|Ballymena]] ||67,392||4,040||5.99%||1,058||1.57%||551||0.82%||35||0.05%
|-
|[[Ballymoney (borough)|Ballymoney]] ||31,631||2,449||7.74%||673||2.13%||288||0.91%||37||0.12%
|-
|[[Banbridge (district)|Banbridge]] ||51,447||4,095||7.96%||1,173||2.28%||596||1.16%||69||0.13%
|-
|[[Belfast]] ||293,297||43,798||14.93%||15,294||5.21%||10,963||3.74%||2,192||0.75%
|-
|[[Carrickfergus Borough Council|Carrickfergus]] ||39,653||814||2.05%||200||0.50%||72||0.18%||4||0.01%
|-
|[[Castlereagh (borough)|Castlereagh]] ||70,092||4,950||7.06%||1,527||2.18%||695||0.99%||67||0.10%
|-
|[[Coleraine Borough Council|Coleraine]] ||58,878||4,217||7.16%||1,258||2.14%||588||1.00%||50||0.08%
|-
|[[Cookstown District Council|Cookstown]] ||39,611||6,786||17.13%||1,957||4.94%||1,224||3.09%||130||0.33%
|-
|[[Craigavon Borough Council|Craigavon]] ||104,278||13,452||12.90%||3,648||3.50%||2,168||2.08%||173||0.17%
|-
|[[Derry City Council|Derry]] ||110,439||17,323||15.69%||5,653||5.12%||3,131||2.84%||412||0.37%
|-
|[[Down District Council|Down]] ||73,134||9,147||12.51%||2,676||3.66%||1,551||2.12%||171||0.23%
|-
|[[Dungannon and South Tyrone Borough Council|Dungannon]] ||64,441||13,056||20.26%||4,469||6.94%||2,869||4.45%||296||0.46%
|-
|[[Fermanagh District Council|Fermanagh]] ||64,140||9,657||15.06%||2,719||4.24%||1,224||1.91%||139||0.22%
|-
|[[Larne Borough Council|Larne]] ||31,949||1,422||4.45%||358||1.12%||165||0.52%||9||0.03%
|-
|[[Limavady Borough Council|Limavady]] ||34,050||4,219||12.39%||1,317||3.87%||832||2.44%||85||0.25%
|-
|[[Lisburn City Council|Lisburn]] ||130,811||12,773||9.76%||4,225||3.23%||3,139||2.40%||631||0.48%
|-
||[[Magherafelt District Council|Magherafelt]] ||47,301||9,712||20.53%||3,172||6.71%||2,110||4.46%||256||0.54%
|-
|[[Moyle District Council|Moyle]] ||17,188||2,819||16.40%||939||5.46%||579||3.37%||60||0.35%
|-
|[[Newry and Mourne District Council|Newry & Mourne]] ||105,839||22,901||21.64%||6,744||6.37%||3,350||3.17%||359||0.34%
|-
|[[Newtownabbey Borough Council|Newtownabbey]] ||88,485||5,473||6.19%||1,677||1.90%||1,062||1.20%||145||0.16%
|-
|[[North Down Borough Council|North Down]] ||82,076||2,808||3.42%||708||0.86%||301||0.37%||20||0.02%
|-
|[[Omagh District Council|Omagh]] ||52,647||10,411||19.78%||3,118||5.92%||1,942||3.69%||208||0.40%
|-
|[[Strabane District Council|Strabane]] ||40,318||5,849||14.51%||1,821||4.52%||1,002||2.49%||98||0.24%
|-
! colspan="10" |''By [[List of parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland|Parliamentary  Constituency (2008-2023)]]''
|-
|[[Belfast East (UK Parliament constituency)|Belfast East]] ||96,322||4,089||4.25%||1,172||1.22%||675||0.70%||125||0.13%
|-
|[[Belfast North (UK Parliament constituency)|Belfast North]] ||109,508||14,108||12.88%||5,414||4.94%||3,220||2.94%||507||0.46%
|-
|[[Belfast South (UK Parliament constituency)|Belfast South]] ||114,002||17,492||15.34%||6,046||5.30%||2,818||2.47%||387||0.34%
|-
|[[Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency)|Belfast West]] ||93,627||22,143||23.65%||8,084||8.63%||7,461||7.97%||1,755||1.87%
|-
|[[East Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)|East Antrim]] ||89,492||3,935||4.40%||1,029||1.15%||440||0.49%||40||0.04%
|-
|[[East Londonderry (UK Parliament constituency)|East Londonderry]] ||99,714||9,416||9.44%||2,867||2.88%||1,554||1.56%||156||0.16%
|-
|[[Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)|Fermanagh & South Tyrone]]||109,208||17,081||15.64%||5,147||4.71%||2,688||2.46%||275||0.25%
|-
|[[Foyle (UK Parliament constituency)|Foyle]] ||103,652||16,342||15.77%||5,361||5.17%||2,998||2.89%||390||0.38%
|-
|[[Lagan Valley (UK Parliament constituency)|Lagan Valley]] ||112,708||5,644||5.01%||1,602||1.42%||882||0.78%||127||0.11%
|-
|[[Mid Ulster (UK Parliament constituency)|Mid Ulster]] ||106,285||22,130||20.82%||7,170||6.75%||4,739||4.46%||547||0.51%
|-
|[[Newry and Armagh (UK Parliament constituency)|Newry & Armagh]] ||123,054||23,641||19.21%||7,276||5.91%||4,128||3.35%||451||0.37%
|-
|[[North Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)|North Antrim]] ||112,262||8,286||7.38%||2,387||2.13%||1,276||1.14%||111||0.10%
|-
|[[North Down (UK Parliament constituency)|North Down]] ||93,172||3,012||3.23%||746||0.80%||318||0.34%||21||0.02%
|-
|[[South Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)|South Antrim]] ||106,390||8,827||8.30%||2,868||2.70%||1,799||1.69%||237||0.22%
|-
|[[South Down (UK Parliament constituency)|South Down]] ||114,285||18,867||16.51%||5,438||4.76%||2,803||2.45%||316||0.28%
|-
|[[Strangford (UK Parliament constituency)|Strangford]] ||93,668||3,365||3.59%||847||0.90%||355||0.38%||27||0.03%
|-
|[[Upper Bann (UK Parliament constituency)|Upper Bann]] ||129,520||13,985||10.80%||4,274||3.30%||2,460||1.90%||195||0.15%
|-
|[[West Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)|West Tyrone]] ||92,990||16,259||17.48%||4,939||5.31%||2,944||3.17%||306||0.33%
|-
! colspan="10" |''By [[List of parliamentary constituencies in Northern Ireland|Parliamentary  Constituency (Since 2024)]]''
|-
|[[Belfast East (UK Parliament constituency)|Belfast East]] ||102,279||5,048||4.94%||1,494||1.46%||818||0.80%||140||0.14%
|-
|[[Belfast North (UK Parliament constituency)|Belfast North]] ||106,490||14,417||13.54%||4,725||4.44%||3,322||3.12%||529||0.50%
|-
|[[Belfast South and Mid Down (UK Parliament constituency)|Belfast South & Mid Down]]||119,550||17,258||14.44%||5,959||4.98%||2,772||2.32%||390||0.33%
|-
|[[Belfast West (UK Parliament constituency)|Belfast West]] ||103,180||22,741||22.04%||8,273||8.02%||7,606||7.37%||1,790||1.73%
|-
|[[East Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)|East Antrim]] ||96,954||4,291||4.43%||1,156||1.19%||486||0.50%||40||0.04%
|-
|[[East Londonderry (UK Parliament constituency)|East Londonderry]] ||103,287||9,752||9.44%||2,967||2.87%||1,584||1.53%||159||0.15%
|-
|[[Fermanagh and South Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)|Fermanagh & South Tyrone]]||111,790||16,798||15.03%||5,597||5.01%||3,002||2.69%||317||0.28%
|-
|[[Foyle (UK Parliament constituency)|Foyle]] ||97,305||15,700||16.13%||5,176||5.32%||2,938||3.02%||387||0.40%
|-
|[[Lagan Valley (UK Parliament constituency)|Lagan Valley]] ||112,010||5,827||5.20%||1,679||1.50%||871||0.78%||96||0.09%
|-
|[[Mid Ulster (UK Parliament constituency)|Mid Ulster]] ||105,229||21,278||20.22%||6,935||6.59%||4,577||4.35%||512||0.49%
|-
|[[Newry and Armagh (UK Parliament constituency)|Newry & Armagh]] ||111,747||21,597||19.33%||6,619||5.92%||3,766||3.37%||411||0.37%
|-
|[[North Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)|North Antrim]] ||103,831||7,919||7.63%||2,255||2.17%||1,230||1.18%||111||0.11%
|-
|[[North Down (UK Parliament constituency)|North Down]] ||97,900||3,137||3.20%||777||0.79%||330||0.34%||21||0.02%
|-
|[[South Antrim (UK Parliament constituency)|South Antrim]] ||106,441||8,513||8.00%||2,744||2.58%||1,685||1.58%||213||0.20%
|-
|[[South Down (UK Parliament constituency)|South Down]] ||105,240||17,632||16.75%||5,170||4.91%||2,640||2.51%||296||0.28%
|-
|[[Strangford (UK Parliament constituency)|Strangford]] ||98,154||4,443||4.53%||1,099||1.12%||512||0.52%||41||0.04%
|-
|[[Upper Bann (UK Parliament constituency)|Upper Bann]] ||122,038||13,153||10.78%||3,962||3.25%||2,320||1.90%||184||0.15%
|-
|[[West Tyrone (UK Parliament constituency)|West Tyrone]] ||99,752||17,501||17.54%||5,284||5.30%||3,100||3.11%||339||0.34%
|}

The ''[[ULTACH Trust]]'' (''Iontaobhas ULTACH'') was established in 1989 by Irish language enthusiasts to attract funding from the British Government for language projects and to broaden the appeal of the language on a cross-community basis (among both [[Protestant]]s and [[Catholic]]s<ref>"The Trust has a strong cross-community ethos. Since it was established, the Trust has recognised that cross-community activity works on a number of levels: tackling prejudice; stimulating interest in Irish across the community as a whole; researching the tradition of Protestant involvement in the language and raising awareness of that tradition; analysing those factors which inhibit Protestant and unionist interest in Irish; and providing opportunities to people from that community to engage with, acquire and use the language." Iontaobhas ULTACH, http://www.ultach.org</ref>)

The Shaw's Road Gaeltacht was joined in 2002 by the [[Gaeltacht Quarter, Belfast|Gaeltacht Quarter]] in west Belfast.<ref>Mac Póilin, Aodán (2007) "Nua-Ghaeltacht Phobal Feirste: Ceachtanna le foghlaim?" In: Wilson McLeod (Ed.) ''Gàidhealtachdan Ùra; Leasachadh na Gàidhlig agus na Gaeilge sa Bhaile Mhòr.'' Edinburgh: Edinburgh University, pp. 57–59.</ref>

===Citizenship services===
The lack of provision for legal and citizenship services in the [[Irish language]], including for the [[Life in the United Kingdom test]], has been met with criticism from the ''Committee of Experts'' of the [[European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages]], of which the UK has ratified for the [[Cornish language]], the [[Irish language]], [[Manx Gaelic]], the [[Lallans dialect|Scots]] & [[Ulster Scots dialect]]s, [[Scottish Gaelic]] and the [[Welsh language]]. In a 2014 report detailing the application of the charter in the UK, the committee were given no justification for the inequality in the treatment of Irish speakers in contrast to that of English, Scottish Gaelic and Welsh speakers, and that efforts to rectify the inequality were non-existent.<ref name="CoE1">{{cite book |last1=European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages |first1=Committee of Experts |title=Application of the Charter in the United Kingdom |date=15 January 2014 |publisher=[[Council of Europe]] |location=[[Strasbourg]] |page=15 |url=http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/minlang/Report/EvaluationReports/UKECRML4_en.pdf |access-date=21 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170101082715/http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/education/minlang/Report/EvaluationReports/UKECRML4_en.pdf |archive-date=1 January 2017 |language=en |chapter=Chapter 3(78)|author1-link=European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages }}</ref><ref name="CLWR1">{{cite journal |last1=Mac Síthigh |first1=Daithí |title=Official status of languages in the United Kingdom and Ireland |journal=[[Common Law World Review]] |date=March 2018 |volume=47 |issue=1 |page=111 |doi=10.1177/1473779518773642 |url=https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/141540053/Status_OA_Feb_2018.pdf |access-date=21 January 2021 |location=[[Queen's University Belfast]] |s2cid=219987922 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201219231021/https://pureadmin.qub.ac.uk/ws/portalfiles/portal/141540053/Status_OA_Feb_2018.pdf |archive-date=19 December 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

==Education==
[[File:Irish language medium school sign Newry.jpg|thumb|Sign of an Irish medium school in [[Newry]]]]
Six families in Belfast established a [[Gaeltacht]] area in [[Belfast]] in the late 1960s and opened ''Bunscoil Phobal Feirste'' in 1970 as the first Irish-[[Medium of instruction|medium]] school in Northern Ireland, and in 1984 was granted the status of a voluntary maintained primary school. The first ''Naíscoil'' (Irish-medium nursery school) opened in 1978. Not long after the opening of Bunscoil Phobal Feirste, a second all-Irish primary school opened, ''Gaelscoil na bhFál,'' situated on the Falls Road. Founded by the parents of children that wanted Irish education but couldn't find a space in 'BPF', one of the parents, named Sue Pentel, played a major role in the making of the school and about two years after the opening of Gaelscoil na bhFál, a daycare service, ''Ionad Uíbh Eachach,'' was opened and founded and managed by Sue Pentel. The school and daycare both provide services through the Irish language and work together in the way that many of the children that attended Ionad Uíbh Eachach then go on to attend nursery- Primary 7 (Naí ionad- R7) in Gaelscoil na bhFál. This is a very valuable connection that not that many schools have and what with the Ionad providing after-school care it is both convenient for the school and parents.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.bunscoilphobalfeirste.com/Page/School-History/369/Index.html|title=School History|website=Bunscoil Phobal FeirsteAs Dúchas Dóchas}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.goodschoolsguide.co.uk/|title=Find the best school for your child|date=2015-03-19|website=The Good Schools Guide|language=en-gb|access-date=2019-12-13}}</ref>

[[Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta]] (CnaG) is the representative body for Irish-medium Education.  It was set up in 2000 by the Department of Education to promote, facilitate and encourage Irish-medium Education. One of CnaG's central objectives is to seek to extend the availability of Irish-medium Education to parents who wish to avail of it for their children. Irish language pre-schools and primary schools are now thriving and there are official Irish language streams in secondary schools in [[Maghera]], [[Donaghmore, County Tyrone|Donaghmore]], [[Castlewellan]] and [[Armagh]].

In December 2014 [[Minister for Education for Northern Ireland]] [[John O'Dowd]] announced that the Department of Education were going to set up Northern Ireland's second ''gaelcholáiste'' in [[Dungiven Castle]] in [[County Londonderry]].<ref>http://www.deni.gov.uk/news/news-de-101214-odowd-approves-proposal.htm Dept. of Education press release (December 2014)</ref> Gaelcholáiste Dhoire opened in September 2015.

In the academic year 2018/19, over 6,000 children are enrolled in Irish-medium education:
*43 nurseries (''Naíscoileanna'') with over 1,000 pupils
*35 primary schools (''Bunscoileanna'') with over 3,000 pupils
*2 second level gaelscoileanna (''Gaelcholáiste'') with over 800 pupils
*3 Irish language streams (''Sruith Lán-Ghaeilge'')

The [[British Council]] administers a scheme to recruit Irish language assistants for English-medium schools in Northern Ireland.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://nireland.britishcouncil.org/programmes/advisory-committee/role|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070302093120/http://www.britishcouncil.org/northernireland-education-irish-language-assistants.htm|url-status=dead|title=Role of the committee &#124; British Council|archivedate=2 March 2007|website=nireland.britishcouncil.org}}</ref>

In 2013, there were 309 entries for [[Advanced Level (UK)|A-Level]] examinations in Irish and 2,078 for [[GCSE]].<ref>http://www.ultach.dsl.pipex.com/ForLearners/faqs.htm {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160609212656/http://www.ultach.dsl.pipex.com/ForLearners/faqs.htm |date=9 June 2016 }} Frequently asked questions about the Irish Language- Ultach (2013)</ref>

==Media==

[[File:Irish languge northern ireland two thousand and one.jpg|thumb|Areas in [[Northern Ireland]] in which more than one third of the local population can speak Irish, according to the [[United Kingdom Census 2001|2001 Census]].]]

[[BBC Radio Ulster]] began broadcasting a nightly half-hour programme, called ''Blas'' ('taste'), in Irish in the early 1980s, and there is now an Irish-language programme on the station every day. [[BBC Northern Ireland]] broadcast its first television programme in Irish in the early 1990s, SRL ('etc.'). In March 2005, TG4 began broadcasting from the Divis transmitter near Belfast, as a result of agreement between the [[Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade|Department of Foreign Affairs]] and the [[Northern Ireland Office]]. Following Digital Switchover for terrestrial television transmissions in both parts of Ireland in 2012, TG4 is now carried on Freeview HD for viewers in Northern Ireland (channel 51) as well as to those households in Border areas that have spillover reception of the ROI Saorview platform (channel 104). TG4 also continues to be available on other TV delivery platforms across Northern Ireland: Sky (channel 163) and Virgin Cable customers in Belfast (channel 877).

RTÉ's Irish-language radio station, [[RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta]] based in the Republic of Ireland is also available in many areas in Northern Ireland. [[Raidió Fáilte]] a community radio station based in West Belfast covers the Greater Belfast area and started broadcasting in 2006 and broadcasts 24 hours per day seven days per week. It broadcasts a selection of programmes; music, chat, news, current affairs, sports, arts, literature, environmental and community issues. It is also available worldwide on the internet at RaidióFáilte.com.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://raidiofailte.com/|title=Éist le Ceol na hÉireann &#124; Raidió Fáilte, Stáisiún Raidió Gaeilge &#124; Béal Feirste|website=Raidió Fáilte, Irish Radio Station}}</ref>

Residents of Northern Ireland have access to web based media in Irish such as online newspaper [[Tuairisc.ie]] or online lifestyle magazine [[Nós]]. An Irish-language daily newspaper called ''[[Lá Nua]]'' ("new day") folded in 2008 due to lack of funding.

The [[Northern Ireland Film and Television Commission]] administers an Irish Language Broadcast Fund (announced by the [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]] in April 2004) to foster and develop an independent Irish-language television production sector in Northern Ireland. The [[European Commission]] authorised public funding for the fund in June 2005 considering that ''"since the aid aims to promote cultural products and the Irish Language, it can be authorised under EU Treaty rules that allow state aids for the promotion of culture"''.<ref>{{cite web
| url         = http://www.cec.org.uk/ni/press/pr/0508.htm
| title       = Representation in the United Kingdom: Northern Ireland Press Office – Press Releases: EU approves Irish language broadcast fund for Northern Ireland
| access-date  = 26 October 2008
| publisher   = [[European Commission]]
| archive-url  = https://web.archive.org/web/20060113065840/http://www.cec.org.uk/ni/press/pr/0508.htm
| archive-date = 13 January 2006
}}</ref>

==Political aspects==
The Irish language in [[Northern Ireland]] has long been associated with identity. Prior to the turn of the 20th century, the Irish language was embraced by both sides of the community, although in decline. But the [[partition of Ireland]] in 1921 was a turning point in attitudes towards the language. Nationalists in Northern Ireland who felt that they had been abandoned by their southern counterparts{{Weasel inline|date=February 2022}} felt that the Irish language was a significant marker of identity they now needed as a minority group.<ref name="Irish language devise?">{{cite news|last1=O'Leary|first1=Jennifer|title=Why is Irish Language divisive issue in Northern Ireland?| work=BBC News | date=17 December 2014 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-30517834|access-date=25 January 2016}}</ref><ref name="Prods and Irish language">{{cite book|last1=Pritchard|first1=Professor Rosalind M.O.|title=Protestants and the Irish Language: Historical Heritage and Current Attitudes in Northern Ireland|date=2004|publisher=CAIN|location=Coleraine, Londonderry|url=http://www.cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/language/pritchard04.htm|access-date=26 January 2016}}</ref>

During [[The Troubles]], the Irish [[language revival]] became increasingly politicised. Its survival is sometimes described as largely due to families in the nationalist Shaw's Road neighborhood of west [[Belfast]], who during the 1960s decided to make the area a [[neo-Gaeltacht]] (a new Irish speaking area outside the traditional [[Gaeltacht]]aí). The result was a neighborhood now known as the [[Gaeltacht Quarter, Belfast|Gaeltacht Quarter]], which has become a centre for [[Modern literature in Irish]]. <ref>[[Louis de Paor]] (2016), ''Leabhar na hAthghabhála: Poems of Repossession: Irish-English Bilingual Edition'', [[Bloodaxe Books]]. Page 27.</ref> The [[hip hop music]] trio ''[[Kneecap (band)|Kneecap]]'' is also based in the Gaeltacht Quarter and performs [[rap music]] in the West Belfast urban dialect of Ulster Irish.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Earley|first=Kelly|title=Who are KNEECAP? Everything you need to know about the Irish rappers in trouble with both BBC and RTÉ|url=https://www.dailyedge.ie/who-are-kneecap-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-irish-rappers-who-got-in-trouble-on-bbc-news-4523426-Mar2019/|access-date=2020-09-07|website=The Daily Edge|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Mullally |first=Una |date=2022-03-16 |title=A Celtic Revival, in Hip-Hop and More |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/16/arts/music/kneecap-irish-rap-celtic-revival.html |access-date=2023-12-09 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Mullally|first=Una|title=Kneecap: 'Low-life scum' of west Belfast rap whose day has come|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/kneecap-low-life-scum-of-west-belfast-rap-whose-day-has-come-1.3854738|access-date=2020-09-04|newspaper=The Irish Times|language=en}}</ref> 

A second wave of the Irish language revival movement in Northern Ireland during the 1970s occurred in another locale – the [[Maze Prison]]. For republican prisoners, learning the Irish language in prison (aka 'Jailtacht') became a way in which to set themselves apart vis-à-vis the British authorities.<ref name="Irish language devise?"/> More broadly, this use of the Irish language inspired many nationalists in Northern Ireland to use the language as a form of cultural expression and resistance to British rule. In particular, the Irish language has been used extensively by the [[Irish republican legitimism|Irish Republican legitimist]] [[Sinn Féin]] [[political party]], which has been accused by unionists of exploiting the Irish [[language revival]] for political gain.<ref name="Irish language devise?"/>

The favouring of the Irish language by "physical force republicans" has therefore led to it receiving mixed responses from unionist communities and politicians. In many unionist communities, the Irish language is regarded as a foreign language or the language of terrorists and therefore – unlike Catholic communities – in Protestant communities its inclusion in school curriculum and public notices continues to be strongly opposed.<ref name="Irish language devise?"/> On the other hand, some moderate nationalists have been reluctant to use Irish too due to the [[paramilitary]] connotations associated with the language revival.<ref name="Nationalists reluctant to use Irish">{{cite news|title=Speaking Irish in Belfast: In the trenches of a language war|url=https://www.economist.com/news/christmas-specials/21591737-northern-irelands-devolved-government-driving-revival-irish-language-not|access-date=28 January 2016|publisher=Ecominst|date=21 December 2013}}</ref> Issues around the use of the Irish language were intensified when a unionist [[Member of the Legislative Assembly (Northern Ireland)|MLA]] was accused of mocking Irish in the [[Northern Irish Assembly]]. In November 2014, in response to a question about minority language policy the [[Democratic Unionist Party|DUP]]'s [[Gregory Campbell (politician)|Gregory Campbell]] said "Curry my yoghurt can coca coalyer" in what was meant to sound like "Thank you, speaker" in Irish which he later claimed was in an attempt to make a point about the continued political use of the language by some Sinn Féin MLAs in post 1998 [[Good Friday Agreement]].<ref name="Irish language devise?"/><ref name="DUP mock Irish">{{cite news|title='Curry my yoghurt': 'Pure ignorance' NI Assembly clash over Irish language|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-29886175|access-date=26 January 2016|agency=BBC Newsline|publisher=BBC|date=3 November 2014}}</ref>

In recent years, cross-community efforts have attempted to make the Irish language more appealing to both sides of the community. Many local councils now use Irish bilingually with English (sometimes with [[Ulster Scots dialects|Ulster Scots]] too) on many of its services in an attempt to neutralise the language. Some former loyalist prisoners such as Robin Stewart have even taken up learning the Irish language in east Belfast in an attempt to reclaim Irish identity and challenge Republicans about their version of Irish history and what it means to be Irish.<ref name="Irish language devise?"/><ref name="Walsh inspiration">{{cite web|last1=Ni Chonchuir|first1=Sharon|title=Finding our voice: Looking to Wales to save the Irish language|url=http://www.irishexaminer.com/lifestyle/features/finding-our-voice-looking-to-wales-to-save-the-irish-language-356769.html|website=Irish Examiner| date=October 2015 |access-date=26 January 2016}}</ref><ref name="Protestants speak Irish">{{cite book|last1=McCoy|first1=Gordon|title=The Irish Language in NORTHERN IRELAND: 'Protestant Learners of Irish in Northern Ireland'|date=1997|publisher=CAIN|location=Belfast|pages=131–171|url=http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/language/mccoy97.htm|access-date=28 January 2016|archive-date=22 October 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091022231127/http://cain.ulst.ac.uk/issues/language/mccoy97.htm|url-status=dead}}</ref> The former [[Red Hand Commando]] prisoner [[William Smith (loyalist)|William Smith]] learnt the language whilst in jail.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/martin-mcguinness-tribute-to-ex-red-hand-commando-william-plum-smith-following-death-34782141.html|title=Martin McGuinness tribute to Ex-Red Hand Commando William 'Plum' Smith following death|newspaper=Belfasttelegraph.co.uk |via=www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk}}</ref> The motto of the Red Hand Commando was the Irish phrase ''Lámh Dearg Abú'' which translated means 'Red Hand to Victory'. [[Linda Ervine]], the sister-in-law of former [[Ulster Volunteer Force]] [[paramilitary]] and politician [[David Ervine]], began learning the language and set up the [[Turas Irish-Language Project]] in the predominately Unionist East Belfast area for others to learn the language in 2011.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.pri.org/stories/2013-04-10/new-protestant-beginning-irish-language-belfast|publisher=PRI|title=A New Protestant Beginning for the Irish Language in Belfast|date=26 January 2015}}</ref>

==In popular culture==
The 2024 [[biopic]] film ''[[Kneecap (film)|Kneecap]]'', in which the actual [[Kneecap (band)|band members]] play themselves alongside more experienced actors including [[Michael Fassbender]], [[Josie Walker]], and [[Simone Kirby]], is set in the [[Gaeltacht Quarter]] in 2019. The film premiered at the [[2024 Sundance Film Festival|Sundance Film Festival]] on January 18, 2024, the first motion picture in the [[Irish language]] to do so.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://m.independent.ie/irish-news/belfast-rap-group-kneecap-make-history-with-new-film-becoming-first-irish-language-movie-at-sundance-festival/a2055017231.html|website=Independent.ie|accessdate=8 December 2023|title= Belfast rap group Kneecap make history with new film becoming first Irish language movie at Sundance Festival|first=Cian|last=O'Broin|date=December 6, 2023 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[An Cumann Gaelach, QUB]]
* [[Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta]]
* [[Forbairt Feirste]]
* [[Languages of Northern Ireland]]
* [[Líofa]]
* [[Líonraí Gaeilge]]
* [[Literature in the other languages of Britain]]
* [[Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022]]
* [[Irish language in Britain]]
* [[POBAL]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/85-schools/10-types_of_school-nischools_pg/schools_-_types_of_school-_irish-medium_schools_pg/schools_-_types_of_school_lists_of_irishmedium_schools_pg.htm List of Irish-medium schools in Northern Ireland] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111222171145/http://www.deni.gov.uk/index/85-schools/10-types_of_school-nischools_pg/schools_-_types_of_school-_irish-medium_schools_pg/schools_-_types_of_school_lists_of_irishmedium_schools_pg.htm |date=22 December 2011 }}
* [http://www.gaeilge.ie Foras na Gaeilge]
* [http://www.ultach.org/ Ultach Trust]
* [http://www.comhairle.org/ Comhairle na Gaelscolaíochta]
* [http://www.bbc.co.uk/northernireland/irish/ BBC Northern Ireland Irish language]
* {{usurped|1=[https://web.archive.org/web/20090716151039/http://www.pobal.org/english/ Pobal]}}
* [https://www.economist.com/christmas-specials/2013/12/21/in-the-trenches-of-a-language-war In the trenches of a language war]
{{Irish linguistics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Irish Language In Northern Ireland}}
[[Category:Irish language]]
[[Category:Culture of Ireland]]
[[Category:Languages of Northern Ireland]]
[[Category:Culture of Northern Ireland]]