Not Allowed To Speak Irish In Ireland - A Nasty Reminder Of British Colonialism

A protest, organised by the Irish language rights group Misneach, took place outside the Flying Enterprise Bar & Restaurant in the Irish City of Cork (Irish: Corcaigh) this afternoon. This comes after reports that an Irish speaker, Cormac Ó Bruic, from an Fheothanach in Corca Dhuibhne had left his job as a barman in the pub after the owner had told him that he did not want him speaking Irish on the premises. As reported in the Irish Times, Cork Misneach spokesperson Lar Ó Tuama said “Irish is the national language of Ireland and it is the right of every citizen to use it if and when they please.” 

Cormac Ó Bruic said that he had decided to leave the job because he had a principled objection to being told not to speak Irish. "The thing I'm most proud of is where I come from and my native language." It is understandable why he took this stance. Clearly discrimination against the Irish language is unacceptable and needs to be stamped on wherever it raises its ugly head. This is not the first example of discrimination against native Irish speakers in their own country. Enough is enough and the campaign to put an end to this disgraceful behaviour needs to be stepped up. Irish has the constitutional status as the national and first official language of the Republic of Ireland. There are some that need to be reminded of this.