The Gaelic League's New President Demands State Services in Irish By 2016

The Gaelic League (Conradh na Gaelige) have just concluded the organisations High Council (Ard-Fheis) over this past weekend in the Irish town of Killarney.  The Gaelic league is the main voluntary community organisation that promotes the Irish language in Ireland and abroad. The League’s primary objective is the reinstatement of the Irish language as the common tongue of Ireland.  Since its founding in 1893, members have been actively promoting Irish in every aspect of life in Ireland, from legal and educational affairs to the development of media and services through Irish.  Members of the Gaelic League are in the forefront of campaigns to strengthen the rights of the Irish speaking community.

The Irish Times and Gaeport.com are reporting that the League have elected Dubliner Cóilín Ó Cearbhaill as its new President.  Under the headline “State Services through Irish Must Be Guaranteed By 2106 – Irish Speaker’s Forum Wants Assurances Cases Can Be Held in Irish without Translation”, the article  quotes the newly elected President Cóilín Ó Cearbhaill calling for state services for Gaeltacht communities through Irish to be guaranteed “without condition or question”.  Mr. Ó Cearbhaill continued that it is “a national embarrassment that the Republic of Ireland is the only independent country in the world where a citizen cannot take legal action in the national language of the country and have their case heard in the court without translation”.

As reported by Gaelport, the High Council (Ard-Fheis) carried motions calling attention to the dumbfounding ruling last week by Ireland’s Supreme Court that a Gaelic speaking defendant does not have the right to a bilingual jury: “The Ard-Fheis recommends that particular attention be given to the decision of the Supreme Court on the question of a bilingual jury in Irish and in English.  As a solution we recommend an amendment to the Official Languages Act 0f 2003 to ensure that a citizen, especially from the Gaeltacht, can be certain that all members of the jury will understand the evidence accurately without assistance or help.”

The Gaeltach of Ireland (Irish Speaking Areas) is defined by the website of the Udaras na Gaeltachta (Gaeltacht Auhority) as follows: "The Gaeltachta covers extensive parts of counties Donegal, Mayo, Galway and Kerry which are all along the western seaboard, and also parts of counties Cork, Meath and Waterford.  There are also six populated off-shore Islands.  The total population of the Gaeltacht according to 2011 census data is 101,000. Around 16,00 Irish Speakers reside within the expanding suburbs of Galway City."

http://www.irishtimes.com/news/ireland/irish-news/state-services-through...

http://www.gaelport.com/default.aspx?treeid=37&NewsItemID=10985