Poll Results Show Deep and Widespread Support for the Gaelic Tongue of Ireland

 The Gaelic League (Conradh na Gaelige) 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.

News From The Gaelic League/ Conradh na Gaeilge

The Céard É An Scéal? Tuairimí an Phobail i Leith na Gaeilgeresearch report commissioned by Conradh na Gaeilge earlier this year shows that 44% of people in the south and 29% of people in the north would like the opportunity to learn more Irish. 70% of people in the south and 54% of people in the north believe that services should be available through Irish for those who wish to use them, and 61% in the south and 48% in the north would like to see more support for the Irish language from the state, according to the research published by Conradh na Gaeilge on the PEIG.ie website today (Monday, 14 December 2015).

Cóilín Ó Cearbhaill, President of Conradh na Gaeilge says:

“The latest research commissioned by Conradh na Gaeilge reveals that most Irish people have a positive opinion about the language, and this is true not only among the Irish-speaking public, but across various sections of the wider community in general as well. It is obvious from this year’s research that there is strong support for providing more services for the Irish-speaking community throughout Ireland however, and the majority on this island believe that the state should do more for the language, and for the language community.”

Opportunities to Use Irish:

·         45% of people in the south and 26% in the north would like the opportunity to use more Irish

·         44% of people in the south and 29% of people in the north would like the opportunity to learn more Irish

·         72% of people in the south and 63% of people in the north believe that Irish-medium education should be available for those who wish to avail of it

Services in Irish & Support from the State:

·         65% of people in the south and 55% of people in the north agree that the state / government should provide support for local communities to develop Irish language strategies in their own area

·         61% of people in the south and 48% of people in the north would like to see more support for the Irish language from the state / government

·         70% of people in the south and 54% of people in the north believe that services should be available through Irish for those who wish to use them

·         53% of people in the south believe that the names of government agencies / semi-state bodies should always be in Irish

·         50% of people in the north believe that bilingual signage should be erected in areas where there is demand

Irish & The Irish Economy:

·         53% of people in the south and 46% of people in the north agree that the Irish language can positively contribute to the economic development of the island

·         42% of people in the south and 37% of people in the north that the Irish language is a unique selling point

Seachtain na Gaeilge (Irish-Language Week):

·         50% of the population in the south and 11% of the population in the north have heard of Seachtain na Gaeilge

·         Of those who are aware of Seachtain na Gaeilge, 33% in the south and 25% in the north have taken part in an event of Seachtain na Gaeilge

Competence in the Irish Language:

·         5% or 90,543 people in the north are confident of their ability to speak Irish, and 8% or 144,869 people in the north are confident of their understanding of Irish

·         26% or 1,192,946 people in the south are confident of their ability to speak Irish, and 35% or 1,605,888 people in the south are confident of their understanding of Irish

Conradh na Gaeilge began the consultation process to assess public opinion on the Irish language at the start of 2015, and the Conradh plans to build on the research by means of henceforth commissioning further consultations on an annual basis and where the questions will focus on different themes each year to widen the scope of the information for analysis.

This year’s report is based on six different focus groups organised by Conradh na Gaeilge in association with Amárach Research both north and south, and on an independent survey conducted on an all-island basis by Millward Brown on behalf of Conradh na Gaeilge in January 2015, whereby the market research company questioned over 2,000 participants from different backgrounds.

Ursula Ní Shabhaois, Research & Analysis Executive with Conradh na Gaeilge and the author of the Céard É An Scéal? report says:

“Conradh na Gaeilge commissioned the Céard É An Scéal? Tuairimí an Phobail i Leith na Gaeilge report on public perceptions about the Irish language with a view to providing a reliable source of information for gaining insight into the needs and priorities of the language community, and as a valuable lobbying resource for the Irish-speaking and Gaeltacht community in general in future.”

Hard copies of the research report are available from Conradh na Gaeilge offices in Galway, Belfast, and Dublin, or you can download a soft copy of the analysis of the current state of the Irish language with relevant graphs online from PEIG.ie/taighdeor by emailing taighde@cnag.ie.

https://cnag.ie/en/