Irish Language Is Dead In Dublin
TG4 is to air a four part series with Manchán Magan travelling Ireland using only the Irish language when communicating. He wanted to find out how difficult life would be in Ireland if you only spoke Irish, 1.6 million people claim they speak Irish in Ireland but is that a true figure?
Manchán Magan claims the Irish language is dead in Dublin and he experienced first hand how an Irish speaker, in their own country, might be perceived.
In a Dublin pub, on Grafton Street, Manchán was told to speak English or get out and had one man place his fingers in his ears at the Ordnance Survey Office. Worse yet, the tourist office in Dublin were somewhat angry at him speaking Irish as they couldn’t understand a word he was speaking and it is an official office that is supposed to have all information available in Irish.
I found this a very interesting experiment as I know people in the West of Ireland who don’t speak English at all and even one of my close friends has a son who can’t read English but is fluent in Irish.
The show is called No Béarla and is to aired on Sunday 7th January.
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December 21st, 2006 at 10:46 am
Why wouldn’t anyone want to speak Irish? It just sounds so cool. I’m tempted to go try to learn it now after watching that.
January 6th, 2007 at 10:47 am
the irish language is dead in Dublin for a long time,sure it was the first part of Ireland to give in to British rule,the centre of the pale.What a joke for a capital city,dont even have Irish speakers-very very sad.
January 6th, 2007 at 1:25 pm
I’m a fluent Irish-speaker from Clontarf in Dublin and I hate it so much when I hear people saying that Irish is in any way dead, in Dublin or elsewhere. Roughly 75% of friends are either fluent ‘Gaeilgeoirí’ or are very interested in the language. Its awful to see though that there are people out there who are Irish and are so racist against their own culture and race. People have to remember that Irish is one of the oldest literary languages in the world, third only to Sanskrit and Greek. Our own language is so rich! In my opinion, to be born with English is to be born with the so-called silver spoon, but to be born into an Irish-speaking family is to be born with a golden spoon.
January 6th, 2007 at 4:08 pm
THIS COINCIDES WITH A PROJECT I HAVE IN MIND
IT IS HOPES THAT A SERIES OF IRISH FOLK STORIES WILL BE SELECTED AS THE BASIS FOR AN UPDATE BY FAMOUS IRISH PEOPLE FROM THE BIRTH OF THE TIGER TO PRESENT DAY THOSE LIVING THRU THE GROWTH PERIOD FROM THE EARLY SIXTIES WILL BE ASKED TO WRITE A STORY BASED ON THEIR UNDERSTANDING OF THOSE QUALITIES WHICH STILL EXIST IN THE IRISH PEOPLE WHICH MERIT HEROIC UNDERSTANDING
YOUR INTEREST IN THE DEMISE OR DENIGRATION OF THE IRISH LANGUAGE WILL BE MIRRORED IN THE WRITERS’ APPROACH TO MODERN HEROIC VALUES
January 8th, 2007 at 8:50 am
[...] In a fascinating experiment aired on TG4 last night called No Bearla, Manchan Magan attempts to travel around Ireland speaking nothing but Irish, of which 1.6 million of us claim “the cupla focail”. Particularly topical in the week that Irish is announced as the newest EU language, some people even resorted to hostility when spoken to As Gaeilge. [...]
January 13th, 2007 at 7:07 pm
Sílim féin gurb í an stiúir a bhí faoi Mhanchán ba chúis leis an bhfáilte fhuar a fuair sé roimhe, mar Ghaeilgeoir. D’aithin gach aon mhac máthar air nach raibh sé ach ag pleidhcíocht agus ag aicteáil ar na daoine.
Maidir liom féin, fuair mé romham Gaeilgeoirí sna háiteanna ba lú a raibh súil agam leo in Éirinn. Is cuimhin liom uair amháin agus mise agus cara liom ag dul abhaile ar an tacsaí, agus muid ag caint le chéile as Gaeilge. Nuair a chuala an tiománaí go raibh muid ag Gaeilgeoireacht, tháinig an teanga aige féin, agus tar éis an tsaoil bhí sí aige líofa go leor. Tiománaí tacsaí eile óna bhfuair mé marcaíocht i nGaillimh, chonaic mé an greamaitheoir úd “? Gaeilge” ar a gluaisteán (bean a bhí ann), agus nuair a chuir mé forrán uirthi as Gaeilge, fuair mé freagra uaithi sa teanga céanna.
Mar sin, de réir an taithí a rinne mé, bíonn scoth na Gaeilge ag na tiománaithe tacsaí in Éirinn in áiteanna, i mBaile Átha Cliath ar a laghad ar bith.
February 4th, 2007 at 10:49 pm
Ireland should be proud of having the Irish language. Many people abroad are interested in Irish culture and we all know that Irish is a fundamental piece.
April 20th, 2007 at 2:14 pm
i dont think irish is dead in dublin… i know a few guys that were speaking irish on a bus and someone said go back to your own country eh this is their country
i think that the guy that didnt understand my friends was embarassed for not knowing his native language
April 20th, 2007 at 2:15 pm
is aoibhinn liom na gaeilge
August 9th, 2007 at 7:21 pm
Im a fluent irish speaker from dublin and think that ciaran should read up on his history a bit more. It is a disgrace that its so hard to find irish speakers here but the same can be said for every county in ireland if you exclude the gaeltacht areas. There is as little or less irish spoken outside dublin than inside. The problem isnt lack of interest. Its how the government including the education dept have treated the language since independance,…secondary. The leaving certificate paper is so ridiculous it is killing any chance of the language surviving. Its purpose is redundant. Compare it to the french paper-completely based on reading and writing of the language with HALF the no. of questions, and irish- trying to include literarture, poetry, history and folklore all in one, theres not enough room. It is this and only this that has turned generations of students off the language.
June 13th, 2008 at 9:11 pm
Ambien sleeping pill….
Ambien sleeping pill….
July 31st, 2008 at 3:34 pm
Hi all,
I’m a 28 year old Australian professional living in London but with a strong ancestral connection to Ireland. I am currently learning Irish so that I can better read the old texts and bardic poetry of the O Maolchonaire and Mac Flannchadha and O Dalaigh families of Co Clare. I love Irish history and am immensely proud that despite the fact that my ancestors migrated to Australia as poor migrants they flourished there and so when I eventually visited the spot whence they came from in Ireland I must admit I was brought to tears….So I am one example of a descendent of the Irish Diaspora who sees the value of preserving Irish and I am learning the language for that fact. I scorn those Irish who regard the language as ‘quaint’. it’s ironic as it echoes the colonial prejudice that the English had against the language ever since the 1366 Statutes of Kilkenny.
Solution: to hell with them and speak Irish in public as much as possible and preferably loudly. Make yourself known!!
slán,
Lúcás Mac an Oirchinnigh
August 6th, 2008 at 11:44 am
Hi, sorry this is off the topic, but I was just wondering whether there might be anyone interested in giving me a few Irish classes (in Dublin)… just one or two nights a week. I’ve an interview at the end of August and just need to brush up. I’d be willing to pay the standard rate. Or if anyone has any idea of where I might be able to find someone?!
Thanks!