DUBLIN CITY WILL celebrate Lá Mór na Gaeilge next Sunday.

From 12pm-5pm Parnell Square in the city centre will be closed off to traffic, and music, workshops and all sorts of cultural events will be held to celebrate the Irish language.

The Irish language is the native language of this island. For well over a thousand years it was by far the most spoken language among the people.

This shifted over a number of centuries as a result of English colonial rule, the defeat of the old Irish aristocratic order, and seismic events like the Great Famine in the 19th century.

Today, the Irish language the the lifeblood of many homes and communities: the everyday language that people they live their lives in. For others, the language is a passion project, something they are committed to learning and speaking as much as possible.

For others again, Irish is a source of shame or embarrassment, or even an annoying nuisance that they feel should be done away with in education and public life.

So, where do you fall on the matter? An bhfuil Gaeilge agat? 

Today we’re asking: Do you speak Irish?

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