(Seo alt ónár bhfoireann Gaeltachta. Is féidir an bunleagan as Gaeilge a léamh anseo)

THE IRISH LANGUAGE and the Gaeltacht are being presented as an obstacle to Irish unity by writers and academics, when they should instead be a central and positive part of the architecture of a new all-island state — so says a new report published today at Queen’s University Belfast.

According to the report, United Ireland: A Transformative Opportunity for the Irish Language and the Gaeltacht, carried out by doctoral researcher at the university Róisín Nic Liam and commissioned by Conradh na Gaeilge, the language question is central to a debate that has been underway since Brexit and as a result of the ongoing demographic changes in the North.

The publication of this report follows on from the Ard Fheis of Conradh na Gaeilge in February, at which a motion was passed amending the constitution of the language advocacy organisation to make it a goal of the organisation to “act towards a United Ireland for the benefit of the Irish language and the Gaeltacht.”

That decision attracted some dissent at the conference in Belfast, as a number of members believed that such a political objective would be a barrier to people who did not support the unification of the country — Irish speakers from the Unionist community, for example. The motion was nonetheless passed by a large majority.

The argument of the report published today is that while Irish is “at the centre of the debate,” the country’s native language is “far more commonly discussed in negative rather than positive terms to date, and is often framed by political and academic commentators as if it were a matter for negotiation in order to allay the concerns of Unionists.”

“Irish is consistently imagined as a contentious symbol of Nationalism, or as a cultural remnant of the old Gaelic tradition, rather than as a living community language, a question of rights and a national treasure that could contribute to the social, cultural and academic enrichment of everyone,” writes Nic Liam in her report.

“This same reductive negative framing means that the language community finds itself responding defensively to debates that are already biased against Irish and the Gaeltacht in discussions about a new Ireland.”

Speaking at the launch, Nic Liam said that “many of the conversations on constitutional change have framed the Irish language through an incredibly regressive and negative lens, rather than as a living community language across Ireland, and subsequently, as a rights-based issue”. 

This has resulted in the Irish language being proposed by academics and senior politicians alike as something which must be reconsidered or ‘de-emphasized’, in the event of Irish unity, or offered up as a bargaining chip or a symbolic concession to be negotiated.

The report itself analyses the treatment of Irish by certain writers over the years, and the way the language and the Gaeltacht have been handled both north and south of the border. Part of the argument locates the Irish language within the history of colonialism in Ireland.

The report recommends that Conradh na Gaeilge organise an academic conference on the question of Irish in a United Ireland before the end of this year and that events focused on that theme be held at the organisation’s regular gatherings such as Oireachtas na Samhna.

By the end of 2027, it is proposed that Conradh na Gaeilge establish a discussion forum on a United Ireland for the Irish language and Gaeltacht community in the form of ‘reflective cafés.’ The aim of these would be to “raise public awareness of constitutional change and its connection to the language and Gaeltacht question, and to foster the democratic participation of the language community in the national unity campaign.”

Related Reads

Good Friday generation of Irish speakers votes overwhelmingly for Irish unity at Belfast event

Mary Lou gets stuck into An Taoiseach over his Irish unity remarks on TG4 programme

Not much of substance behind Sinn Féin's push for unity poll, Taoiseach says in TG4 interview

It is also recommended that Conradh na Gaeilge stand alongside leaders in civil society “and others in the field of politics” in making an appeal to the Irish Government to “begin planning for constitutional change, particularly as it relates to the question of Irish and the Gaeltacht therein.”

The author of the report also recommends that a Citizens’ Assembly be part of that planning process and that it would be timely for this to take place in 2028 — thirty years after the Good Friday Agreement, which set out the path by which the unification of the country could be achieved.

Speaking at today’s launch, Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin, President of Conradh na Gaeilge, said the organisation hoped the report would serve “as a major source of inspiration in reframing the debate on Irish and the unity of the country, based on rights and respect.”

He added that the hope was that the language would  act as a catalyst to inspire a more inclusive, progressive vision for a new Ireland in the debate which lay ahead,

The Journal’s Gaeltacht initiative is supported by the Local Democracy Reporting Scheme. 

This article was originally written in the reporter’s native Irish and has been translated to English here. AI was used as part of the translation process before final edits.