118-619: Clonmacnoise ( Irish : Cluain Mhic Nóis ) is a ruined monastery situated in County Offaly in Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone , founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán , a young man from Rathcroghan , County Roscommon . Until the 9th century it had close associations with the kings of Connacht . Saint Ciarán founded the monastery in the ancient territory of Uí Maine at a point where
236-540: A unique dialect of Irish developed before falling out of use in the early 20th century. With a writing system , Ogham , dating back to at least the 4th century AD, which was gradually replaced by Latin script since the 5th century AD, Irish has one of the oldest vernacular literatures in Western Europe . On the island, the language has three major dialects: Connacht , Munster and Ulster Irish . All three have distinctions in their speech and orthography . There
354-489: A 4.2 cm (1.7 in) crest which has been trimmed to hold the base of the crook. The crest below the upper knop is made of copper alloy and contains two pairs of large cat-like animals facing or confronting each other. The animals are rendered in relief and decorated with niello and inlaid silver. They have lion-like manes , upright ears, long necks and taloned tails. Their intertwined legs begin from spirals which develop or knot into triquetra arcs before merging with
472-697: A bargaining chip during government formation in Northern Ireland, prompting protests from organisations and groups such as An Dream Dearg . Irish became an official language of the EU on 1 January 2007, meaning that MEPs with Irish fluency can now speak the language in the European Parliament and at committees, although in the case of the latter they have to give prior notice to a simultaneous interpreter in order to ensure that what they say can be interpreted into other languages. While an official language of
590-560: A better future for Ireland and all her citizens." The Strategy was produced on 21 December 2010 and will stay in action until 2030; it aims to target language vitality and revitalization of the Irish language. The 30-page document published by the Government of Ireland details the objectives it plans to work towards in an attempt to preserve and promote both the Irish language and the Gaeltacht. It
708-472: A cultural and social force. Irish speakers often insisted on using the language in law courts (even when they knew English), and Irish was also common in commercial transactions. The language was heavily implicated in the "devotional revolution" which marked the standardisation of Catholic religious practice and was also widely used in a political context. Down to the time of the Great Famine and even afterwards,
826-541: A degree course in the NUI federal system to pass the subject of Irish in the Leaving Certificate or GCE / GCSE examinations. Exemptions are made from this requirement for students who were born or completed primary education outside of Ireland, and students diagnosed with dyslexia . NUI Galway is required to appoint people who are competent in the Irish language, as long as they are also competent in all other aspects of
944-460: A fully recognised EU language for the first time in the state's history. Before Irish became an official language it was afforded the status of treaty language and only the highest-level documents of the EU were made available in Irish. The Irish language was carried abroad in the modern period by a vast diaspora , chiefly to Great Britain and North America, but also to Australia , New Zealand and Argentina . The first large movements began in
1062-626: A pair of human feet (an example of a Petrosomatoglyph ) possibly connected with the inauguration of Gaelic rulers. The Annals of Clonmacnoise chronicle events in Ireland from pre-history to A.D. 1408. The original manuscript or manuscripts are lost, and the names of its compilers are unknown. It is so-called because it was thought to be based on materials gathered at the monastery of Clonmacnoise. Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ),
1180-574: A paper suggested that within a generation, non-Gaeltacht habitual users of Irish might typically be members of an urban, middle class, and highly educated minority. Parliamentary legislation is supposed to be available in both Irish and English but is frequently only available in English. This is notwithstanding that Article 25.4 of the Constitution of Ireland requires that an "official translation" of any law in one official language be provided immediately in
1298-554: A pass in Leaving Certificate Irish or English, and receive lessons in Irish during their two years of training. Official documents of the Irish government must be published in both Irish and English or Irish alone (in accordance with the Official Languages Act 2003, enforced by An Coimisinéir Teanga , the Irish language ombudsman). The National University of Ireland requires all students wishing to embark on
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#17328587722721416-530: A plague, and was reportedly buried under the original wooden church, now the site of the 9th-century stone oratory, Temple Ciarán. This location was particularly important because here the major east–west land route through the bogs of central Ireland along the Eiscir Riada (an esker left by the receding glaciers of the last ice age ) crossed the River Shannon. According to Adomnán of Iona, who referenced
1534-435: A plain metal strip. At its top is a looming, grotesque human head in champlevé enamel . Set into the cavity below is a figure added in the 14th or 15th century, who appears to be a bishop or cleric wearing a mitre (a type of bishop's headgear). He has one hand raised in blessing while the other holds a long crozier with a spiral crook, which he uses to impale an animal, probably a dragon, at his feet. De Paor describes
1652-611: A religious context. An Irish translation of the Old Testament by Leinsterman Muircheartach Ó Cíonga , commissioned by Bishop Bedell , was published after 1685 along with a translation of the New Testament. Otherwise, Anglicisation was seen as synonymous with 'civilising' the native Irish. Currently, modern day Irish speakers in the church are pushing for language revival. It has been estimated that there were around 800,000 monoglot Irish speakers in 1800, which dropped to 320,000 by
1770-488: A result of linguistic imperialism . Today, Irish is still commonly spoken as a first language in Ireland's Gaeltacht regions, in which 2% of Ireland's population lived in 2022. The total number of people (aged 3 and over) in Ireland who declared they could speak Irish in April 2022 was 1,873,997, representing 40% of respondents, but of these, 472,887 said they never spoke it and a further 551,993 said they only spoke it within
1888-617: A section on the local ecology of the Shannon and the wetland bogs. Other amenities include a theatre for audio/visual presentations, a Fáilte Ireland tourist office, gift shop, tea room, toilets and parking. Guided tours of the site may be booked in advance for groups. Near the Chapel of Clonfinlough at Clonmacnoise there are several limestone boulders, one of which is called the Fairy's or Horseman's Stone. It has many cup-shaped hollows, crosses, daggers, and
2006-558: A stone carving of his family crest above the door. Temple Hurpan: Built in the 17th century at the east end of Temple Dowling, this annex had no religious function outside of being a burial ground for some members of the local parish. Sometimes referred to as MacClaffey's Church. Clonmacnoise was handed over by the Church of Ireland to the Irish Government in 1955 and has been maintained by various departmental bodies since then. Currently
2124-537: A wider meaning, including the Gaelic of Scotland and the Isle of Man , as well as of Ireland. When required by the context, these are distinguished as Gaeilge na hAlban , Gaeilge Mhanann and Gaeilge na hÉireann respectively. In English (including Hiberno-English ), the language is usually referred to as Irish , as well as Gaelic and Irish Gaelic . The term Irish Gaelic may be seen when English speakers discuss
2242-513: Is 13.5 cm (5.3 in) high, 15.5 cm (6.1 in) wide and has a maximum circumference of 3.7 cm (1.5 in). It is composed of a single piece of wood, encased in copper alloy, with an inner binding and plates for the crest and drop. Each side of the crook is decorated with four or five silver cast zoomorphic snake-like animals in rows of tightly bound figure-eight knots and ribbon-shaped pale coloured bodies that intertwine and loop over each other. Designed in an Irish adaption of
2360-584: Is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family . It is a member of the Goidelic language group of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and is indigenous to the island of Ireland . It was the majority of the population's first language until the 19th century, when English gradually became dominant, particularly in the last decades of the century, in what is sometimes characterised as
2478-427: Is a late-11th-century Insular crozier that would have been used as a ceremonial staff for bishops and mitred abbots . Its origins and medieval provenance are unknown. It was likely discovered in the late 18th or early 19th century in the monastery of Clonmacnoise in County Offaly , Ireland. The crozier has two main parts: a long shaft and a curved crook . Its style reflects elements of Viking art , especially
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#17328587722722596-448: Is also An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , a standardised written form devised by a parliamentary commission in the 1950s. The traditional Irish alphabet , a variant of the Latin alphabet with 18 letters , has been succeeded by the standard Latin alphabet (albeit with 7–8 letters used primarily in loanwords ). Irish has constitutional status as the national and first official language of
2714-562: Is based in part on its stylistic resemblance to the Bell Shrine of St. Cuileáin and the early 12th-century Shrine of Saint Lachtin's Arm , as well as the Romanesque elements sometimes found on Insular art of the period. Lucas places it shortly after 1125. Some historians suggest that the crozier was produced in Dublin, based on the so-called " Dublin school " Hiberno- Ringerike patterns on
2832-635: Is described as an "ancient" and ornamental crozier, which once belonged to the Abbots of Clonmacnoise, in an 1841 catalogue for an exhibition of Sirr's collection at the Rotunda Hospital in Dublin, held shortly after his death. It was acquired at that exhibition by the Royal Irish Academy , and transferred to the National Museum of Ireland , Kildare Street , Dublin, on its founding in 1890. Today it
2950-533: Is designed in the Insular style, and contains animal ornament , interlace and Celtic art patterns. Several of the decorations are influenced by the late 10th-century Ringerike and 11th-century Urnes styles of Viking art , both of which are characterised by band-shaped animals (often snakes, dogs and birds), acanthus-leaf foliage, crosses and spirals, and was adapted in Ireland via direct contact and contemporary Anglo-Saxon art from Southern England. Moss describes
3068-511: Is divided into four separate phases with the intention of improving 9 main areas of action including: The general goal for this strategy was to increase the number of daily speakers from 83,000 to 250,000 by the end of its run. By 2022, the number of such speakers had fallen to 71,968. Before the partition of Ireland in 1921, Irish was recognised as a school subject and as "Celtic" in some third level institutions. Between 1921 and 1972, Northern Ireland had devolved government. During those years
3186-411: Is fitted with an inner binding strip, crest and drop-plate, each of which was independently made and, having no structural function, are purely decorative. It was built in two phases: the early 11th-century structure was added to and refurbished in the 14th century, the later additions including the bishop and dragon in the drop-plate, and some of the ornamentation on the upper knop. The first phase
3304-464: Is known to have been in operation at Clonmacnoise in the 11th century, and the crozier contains design elements and motifs unique to contemporary objects found on or near the monastery's grounds. These include the confronted lions with intertwined legs on the collar below the top-most knop, which are also present on a high cross in Temple Ciarán. The crozier is 97 cm (38 in) long (about
3422-523: Is maintained under the auspices of the Athlone Union of Parishes , and each Sunday during the summer a service is held at four o'clock in the afternoon. North Cross: Oldest of the three extant crosses. Created c. 800. Only the limestone shaft and sandstone base (a former millstone) survive. The decoration is non-Christian, with an image of Cernunnos , the Celtic God of hunting and fertility, displayed on
3540-558: Is not cast into the lower knop but is a separate piece. The location and year of the crozier's rediscovery is uncertain. Writing in 1821 in his Notes on the history of Clonmacnoise , Petrie said that it had been found "some 30 years ago [...] [in] the tomb of St. Ciaran", placing its finding c. 1790 . He continued that other objects discovered in the tomb included a chalice and wine vessel which, according to Petrie "fell into ignorant hands, and were probably deemed unworthy of preservation", indicating that their precious metal
3658-407: Is not to be confused or conflated with St. Ciarán of Saigir , patron of Osraige ). Here he met Diarmait mac Cerbaill , who later became the first Christian crowned High King of Ireland. Together they built the first church at the site. This was a small wooden structure and the first of many small churches to be clustered on the site. In September 549, not yet thirty-three years of age, Ciarán died of
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3776-567: Is only in Gaeltacht areas that Irish continues to be spoken as a community vernacular to some extent. According to data compiled by the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht , Sport and Media , only 1/4 of households in Gaeltacht areas are fluent in Irish. The author of a detailed analysis of the survey, Donncha Ó hÉallaithe of the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology , described
3894-412: Is still spoken daily to some extent as a first language . These regions are known individually and collectively as the Gaeltacht (plural Gaeltachtaí ). While the fluent Irish speakers of these areas, whose numbers have been estimated at 20–30,000, are a minority of the total number of fluent Irish speakers, they represent a higher concentration of Irish speakers than other parts of the country and it
4012-659: The Fíor-Ghaeltacht (true Gaeltacht ), a term originally officially applied to areas where over 50% of the population spoke Irish. There are Gaeltacht regions in the following counties: Gweedore ( Gaoth Dobhair ), County Donegal, is the largest Gaeltacht parish in Ireland. Irish language summer colleges in the Gaeltacht are attended by tens of thousands of teenagers annually. Students live with Gaeltacht families, attend classes, participate in sports, go to céilithe and are obliged to speak Irish. All aspects of Irish culture and tradition are encouraged. The Act
4130-515: The Archiepiscopal Museum, Ravenna . The distinctive shape of Irish croziers evokes the function of shepherds' crooks in restraining wayward sheep, and according to the art historian Rachel Moss is similar to the crook-headed sticks used by cherubs to grasp vine branches in Bacchic iconography. Croziers became symbols of status for bishops and abbots when Pope Celestine I linked them to
4248-604: The Chronicum Scotorum records that it was finished in 1124 by Turlough O'Connor , king of Connacht , and Gilla Christ Ua Maoileoin, abbot of Clonmacnoise. Eleven years later it was struck by lightning which knocked off the head of the tower. The upper part of the tower is later work, so there is some speculation that the masonry thus toppled in the storm of 1135 may have been reused in the building of McCarthy's Tower. Temple Finghín & McCarthy's Tower: Romanesque church and round tower – 12th century. An unusual occurrence
4366-619: The Republic of Ireland , and is also an official language of Northern Ireland and among the official languages of the European Union . The public body Foras na Gaeilge is responsible for the promotion of the language throughout the island. Irish has no regulatory body but An Caighdeán Oifigiúil , the standard written form, is guided by a parliamentary service and new vocabulary by a voluntary committee with university input. In An Caighdeán Oifigiúil ("The Official [Written] Standard ")
4484-449: The River Shannon . This strategic location helped it become a thriving centre of religion, learning, craftsmanship and trade by the 9th century, and many of the high kings of Tara ( Ard Rí ) and of Connacht were buried here. Clonmacnoise was largely abandoned by the end of the 13th century. Today the site includes nine ruined churches, a castle, two round towers and many carved stone crosses. The crozier's late 11th-century dating
4602-451: The episcopal office in a 431 letter to bishops in Gaul . By tradition, the first Irish example (lost since 1538) was the " Bachal Isu " (Staff of Jesus) given by God to Saint Patrick . According to the archaeologist A. T. Lucas , the croziers thus acted as "the principal vehicle of [Patrick's] power, a kind of spiritual electrode through which he conveyed the holy energy by which he wrought
4720-611: The 17th century, largely as a result of the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland , which saw many Irish sent to the West Indies . Irish emigration to the United States was well established by the 18th century, and was reinforced in the 1840s by thousands fleeing from the Famine . This flight also affected Britain. Up until that time most emigrants spoke Irish as their first language, though English
4838-769: The 1998 Good Friday Agreement , the language gradually received a degree of formal recognition in Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, and then, in 2003, by the British government's ratification in respect of the language of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . In the 2006 St Andrews Agreement the British government promised to enact legislation to promote the language and in 2022 it approved legislation to recognise Irish as an official language alongside English. The bill received royal assent on 6 December 2022. The Irish language has often been used as
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4956-463: The 19th century that the drops acted as containers for smaller relics of saints, while the metal casing held the saint's original wooden staffs; these claims have been in doubt since the mid-20th century, and there is no evidence to support the theories. An exception is the Lismore Crozier , where two small relics and a linen cloth were found inside the crook during a 1966 refurbishment. The crook
5074-403: The 6th century, used the Latin alphabet and is attested primarily in marginalia to Latin manuscripts. During this time, the Irish language absorbed some Latin words, some via Old Welsh , including ecclesiastical terms : examples are easpag (bishop) from episcopus , and Domhnach (Sunday, from dominica ). By the 10th century, Old Irish had evolved into Middle Irish , which
5192-563: The Act all detailing different aspects of the use of Irish in official documentation and communication. Included in these sections are subjects such as Irish language use in official courts, official publications, and placenames. The Act was recently amended in December 2019 in order to strengthen the already preexisting legislation. All changes made took into account data collected from online surveys and written submissions. The Official Languages Scheme
5310-678: The Clonmacnoise crozier is in the shape of an open shepherd's crook , a symbol of Jesus as the Good Shepherd leading his flock. Psalm 23 mentions a "rod" and a "staff", and from the 3rd century onwards Christian art often shows the shepherd holding a staff, including the 4th-century Sarcophagus of the Three Shepherds in the Vatican Museums in Rome, and the 6th-century Throne of Maximian at
5428-404: The European Union , only co-decision regulations were available until 2022, due to a five-year derogation, requested by the Irish Government when negotiating the language's new official status. The Irish government had committed itself to train the necessary number of translators and interpreters and to bear the related costs. This derogation ultimately came to an end on 1 January 2022, making Irish
5546-568: The Gothic-style north doorway, often called the Whispering Arch, dating to the mid-15th century. The cathedral is the largest of the churches at Clonmacnoise. Rory O'Connor , the last High King of Ireland, was buried near the altar in 1198, joining his father Turlough. Most of the graves currently seen in the church are those of the Coghlan family, whose patriarch extensively rebuilt the cathedral in
5664-550: The Irish (at least 27 times), the Vikings (at least 7 times) and the Normans (at least 6 times). The early wooden buildings began to be replaced by more durable stone structures in the 9th century, and the original population of fewer than ten men grew to perhaps 1,500 to 2,000 by the 11th century. Although the site was based around a core of churches, crosses, graves and ecclesiastical dwellings and workshops, it would have been surrounded by
5782-536: The Irish language policy followed by Irish governments as a "complete and absolute disaster". The Irish Times , referring to his analysis published in the Irish language newspaper Foinse , quoted him as follows: "It is an absolute indictment of successive Irish Governments that at the foundation of the Irish State there were 250,000 fluent Irish speakers living in Irish-speaking or semi Irish-speaking areas, but
5900-563: The Office of Public Works manages the site on behalf of the Department of the Environment and Local Government. The current visitors' centre opened in 1993, replacing a wooden structure, and entry to the site is contingent on the payment of an entry fee seven days a week (from 1973 to 1985 a part-time guiding/interpretative service was maintained, which also required a small admission fee). The centre
6018-597: The Republic of Ireland ), new appointees to the Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland , including postal workers , tax collectors , agricultural inspectors, Garda Síochána (police), etc., were required to have some proficiency in Irish. By law, a Garda who was addressed in Irish had to respond in Irish as well. In 1974, in part through the actions of protest organisations like the Language Freedom Movement ,
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#17328587722726136-611: The Ringerike style, they are outlined with thin strips of niello that appear as decorative flaps that, according to the archaeologist and art historian Griffin Murray , "spring from their heads and bodies forming knotted vegetal-like designs around them" before terminating in spiral patterns. The crest is attached to the top of the crook by rivets and nails. Around half of it has broken away, but what remains consists of an openwork row of five crouching dog-like animals that extends from above
6254-478: The Scriptures: This 4-metre-high sandstone cross is one of the most skilfully executed of the surviving high crosses in Ireland, and of particular interest for its surviving inscription, which asks a prayer for Flann Sinna, King of Ireland, and Abbot Colmán who commissioned the cross. Both men were also responsible for the building of the cathedral. The cross was carved from Clare sandstone c. 900. The surface of
6372-564: The apex of their efforts. The Book of the Dun Cow , a vellum manuscript dating to the 12th century, was written here and its main compiler, Máel Muire mac Céilechair meic Cuinn na mBocht was reputedly murdered in a Viking raid in 1106. By the 12th century Clonmacnoise began to decline. The reasons were varied, although attacks by the Vikings (under Turgesius ) and the Normans contributed. Without doubt
6490-486: The art historian Máire de Paor , as "grasping with [their] jaws the buttocks of the preceding animal". Similarly, the Frazer Crozier-head contains dog-tooth patterns on the upper part of the crook, but these are thought to be 16th-century additions. The shaft is formed from a wooden core plated with two copper alloy tubes and narrows after the lowest knop. The tubing was originally sealed by two binding strips on
6608-646: The back) copper-alloy plates, a feature only otherwise found on the Prosperous Crozier. The largest and uppermost knop is 7.5 cm (3.0 in) high and has a diameter of 4.8 cm (1.9 in). It is centred by a horizontal band of interlace and champlevé enamelling containing geometric and foliage patterns. It is lined with inserted triangular and rectangular plaques (some of which are missing) between which are blue glass studs. The plaques are in copper and decorated with interlace and have borders lined with strips of twisted copper and silver wire. It contains
6726-682: The beginning of the following academic year. For a number of years there has been vigorous debate in political, academic and other circles about the failure of most students in English-medium schools to achieve competence in Irish, even after fourteen years of teaching as one of the three main subjects. The concomitant decline in the number of traditional native speakers has also been a cause of great concern. In 2007, filmmaker Manchán Magan found few Irish speakers in Dublin , and faced incredulity when trying to get by speaking only Irish in Dublin. He
6844-458: The cap of the church's tower. The structure is possibly the earliest example of a church and round tower being part of a single structure in Ireland. Temple Connor: Church used by the Church of Ireland since the 18th century. It underwent significant restoration works in the second decade of the twentieth century, when the pitch of the roof was raised and the internal space was remodelled. The church
6962-500: The chalice. The objects would have been deposited individually at the burial site during the centuries after Ciarán's death. However there is no surviving documentary evidence to support Petrie's account of the find spot. The claim seems based on accounts from 1684 and 1739 which mention that a relic of Ciarán's hand had been found there, while the crozier's style and production technique closely resembles two other contemporary fragmentary croziers sometimes associated with Clonmacnoise;
7080-504: The cleric as a generic late-period Insular figure, with " pierced eyes , small ears, a large nose, and [a] heavy mustache and beard". The positioning of the human figures is similar to the late 9th-century Prosperous Crozier. The only other surviving example of such a figure is in the drop of the River Laune Crozier ; presumably other croziers once held similar figures but the components were damaged or removed. It seems likely that
7198-533: The cleric is intended to represent the commemorated saint, thus "making the body of the founder saint visible and active", and conferring the saint's authority to the crozier's current bearer. The copper plate underneath the drop contain enamel double-spiral designs rendered in blue, green and yellows. As the most visible portion of the crozier, the drops were the obvious focus point for figure art , an element that is, apart from zoomorphism, otherwise almost entirely absent in Insular metalwork. This led to theories in
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#17328587722727316-514: The corresponding animal on the opposite side. Although usually identified as lions, the figures also bear a resemblance to griffins in an 8th-century Insular knop from Setnes in Norway. The central knop is 8.8 cm (3.5 in) in height and less decorated than the other two, but has bands of open Ringerike-style interlace made of inlaid silver that form series of knotted patterns. The lower knop measures 6.8 cm (2.7 in) in height and, like
7434-536: The crook. It also has zoomorphic designs similar those on the Dublin-manufactured Prosperous Crozier , on the shrine of the Cathach of Saint Columba , which also contains stylistic resemblances to Dublin metalwork, in particular with those found during excavations at High Street, Dublin , during 1962 and 1963. None of these links are definitive nor widely accepted. A significant metal workshop
7552-619: The cross is divided into panels, showing scenes including the Crucifixion, the Last Judgement, and Christ in the Tomb. The original was moved into the visitors' centre in 1991 to preserve it from the elements; a replica stands at the original site. Cathedral (Temple McDermot): Building started around 909 by King Flann Sinna and Abbot Colmán mac Ailella . The west doorway has been recently (and somewhat controversially), comprehensively restored with
7670-412: The crozier as among the finest of the Irish Ringerike-influenced objects, along with the Shrine of Miosach and the Cathach (both 11th-century cumdaigh ). Although it has suffered some losses, damage and detrimental repair work, it is in excellent condition overall. The original drop-plate was replaced in the late medieval period. The wood at the end of the crest is decayed, likely due to one of
7788-452: The crozier until his collection was acquired by the Royal Irish Academy on his death in 1841. It was transferred to the archaeology branch of the National Museum of Ireland on Kildare Street on the branch's foundation in 1890. The archaeologist Griffin Murray has described the crozier as "one of [the] finest examples of early medieval metalwork from Ireland". Like all Insular croziers produced between c. 800 and 1200 CE,
7906-412: The east face of the shaft. Temple Kelly: All that remains of this church are the low-lying perimeter stones, which still give a good indication of the church's original size. Temple Ciarán: At 2.8 by 3.8 metres, the smallest church in Clonmacnoise. Traditionally presented as the grave site of St. Ciarán, excavations of the church unearthed the Clonmacnoise Crozier, but no saintly remains. Cross of
8024-664: The education system. Linguistic analyses of Irish speakers are therefore based primarily on the number of daily users in Ireland outside the education system, which in 2022 was 20,261 in the Gaeltacht and 51,707 outside it, totalling 71,968. In response to the 2021 census of Northern Ireland , 43,557 individuals stated they spoke Irish on a daily basis, 26,286 spoke it on a weekly basis, 47,153 spoke it less often than weekly, and 9,758 said they could speak Irish, but never spoke it. From 2006 to 2008, over 22,000 Irish Americans reported speaking Irish as their first language at home, with several times that number claiming "some knowledge" of
8142-414: The end of the famine, and under 17,000 by 1911. Irish is recognised by the Constitution of Ireland as the national and first official language of Republic of Ireland (English being the other official language). Despite this, almost all government business and legislative debate is conducted in English. In 1938, the founder of Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League), Douglas Hyde , was inaugurated as
8260-430: The family of its hereditary keepers" (a local family who would have looked after and protected the object over centuries), but there is no documentary evidence for this. In 1826, a lithograph representation appeared in Picturesque Views of the Antiquities of Ireland , compiled in 1830 by the architect and draughtsman Robert O'Callaghan Newenham, where it was described as having been "dug up 100 years ago". The crozier
8378-430: The first President of Ireland . The record of his delivering his inaugural Declaration of Office in Roscommon Irish is one of only a few recordings of that dialect. In the 2016 census, 10.5% of respondents stated that they spoke Irish, either daily or weekly, while over 70,000 people (4.2%) speak it as a habitual daily means of communication. From the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922 (see History of
8496-461: The front which were probably of leather but are now lost, although a portion of a leather membrane between the wood and metal still exists. The shaft contains three large and ornately decorated barrel-shaped and individually cast knops, each of which fully wraps around the staff. They are positioned equally distant on the staff, separated by lengths of bare tubing. Each contains openwork patterns and chased or repoussé (i.e. relief hammered from
8614-475: The grounds of Clonmacnoise monastery , County Offaly . The oratory is said to contain the tomb of the monastery's founder Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise ( d. c. 549 ), and he is recorded as having appeared centuries after his death "to smite a would-be raider with his crozier". Petrie recorded that it was found alongside a hoard including a silver chalice dated to 1647, a wine vessel and an arm-shrine or relic of Ciarán's hand, all now lost except for
8732-568: The houses and streets of a larger secular community, the metalworkers, craftsmen and farmers who supported the monastic clergy and their students. Artisans associated with the site created some of the most beautiful and enduring artworks in metal and stone ever seen in Ireland, with the Clonmacnoise Crozier (on display in the National Museum of Ireland ) and the Cross of the Scriptures representing
8850-472: The innumerable miracles attributed to him". In a 2004 survey, the Clonmacnoise Crozier was one of an estimated twenty (or fewer) largely intact Insular croziers in addition to some sixty fragments. The Irish antiquarian George Petrie ( d. 1866) was the first to write about the crozier's discovery, and based on his sources placed the find-spot as in the "Temple Ciarán", a now ruined oratory on
8968-464: The joining with the staff to just before the top of the crook – presumably the row once extended to the top of the drop, especially since the lead animal is the most badly damaged and missing its head, while those nearest are also damaged and have missing parts. The animals are forward-looking and positioned end-to-end, and rendered in the Oseberg Style of Viking art. They each appear, in the words of
9086-698: The language family, is derived from the Old Irish term. Endonyms of the language in the various modern Irish dialects include: Gaeilge [ˈɡeːlʲɟə] in Galway, Gaeilg / Gaeilic / Gaeilig [ˈɡeːlʲəc] in Mayo and Ulster , Gaelainn / Gaoluinn [ˈɡeːl̪ˠən̠ʲ] in West/Cork, Kerry Munster , as well as Gaedhealaing in mid and East Kerry/Cork and Waterford Munster to reflect local pronunciation. Gaeilge also has
9204-410: The language was in use by all classes, Irish being an urban as well as a rural language. This linguistic dynamism was reflected in the efforts of certain public intellectuals to counter the decline of the language. At the end of the 19th century, they launched the Gaelic revival in an attempt to encourage the learning and use of Irish, although few adult learners mastered the language. The vehicle of
9322-472: The language. For most of recorded Irish history , Irish was the dominant language of the Irish people , who took it with them to other regions , such as Scotland and the Isle of Man , where Middle Irish gave rise to Scottish Gaelic and Manx . It was also, for a period, spoken widely across Canada , with an estimated 200,000–250,000 daily Canadian speakers of Irish in 1890. On the island of Newfoundland ,
9440-416: The length of a walking stick) and the crook 13.5 cm (5.3 in) wide. It was probably once 20 cm longer and had four knops, as with most other intact examples; the losses seem to result from its having been broken apart to make it easier to fold and thus hide from Viking and later Norman invaders . The staff is formed from a wooden core overlaid by metal tubes, and comprises two main sections:
9558-418: The long shaft and the crook. The crook ends in a vertical section called the drop , with a drop-plate on the outward-facing side. The casing on the shaft is attached by binding strips connected to each other by three knops, while a protective copper alloy ferrule comprises the tip of the shaft's base. The shaft and crook cores are made from separate pieces of timber but date from the same period. The crook
9676-459: The major east–west land route ( Slighe Mhor ) meets the River Shannon after crossing the bogs of Central Ireland known as the Esker Riada . The strategic location of the monastery helped it become a major center of religion, learning, craftsmanship and trade by the 9th century; and together with Clonard it was one of the most famous places in Ireland, visited by scholars from all over Europe. From
9794-563: The mid-18th century, English was becoming a language of the Catholic middle class, the Catholic Church and public intellectuals, especially in the east of the country. Increasingly, as the value of English became apparent, parents sanctioned the prohibition of Irish in schools. Increasing interest in emigrating to the United States and Canada was also a driver, as fluency in English allowed
9912-507: The mid-seventeenth century. Temple Melaghlin: Built c. 1200. Also called the King's Church, due to the fact that at least seven generations of Melaghlin Kings are said to be buried underneath the structure. The church is also believed to have housed the scriptorium, the room where the manuscripts were designed and decorated. South Cross: A 9th-century piece originally situated at the southern end of
10030-399: The most debilitating factor was the growth of the town of Athlone to the north of the site from the late-12th century. Athlone became the main trading town for the midlands of Ireland, and the most popular route for crossing the Shannon, as well as the best-defended settlement in the region. People migrated north from Clonmacnoise to Athlone, and along with the population decrease went much of
10148-771: The name of the language is Gaeilge , from the South Connacht form, spelled Gaedhilge prior the spelling reform of 1948, which was originally the genitive of Gaedhealg , the form used in Classical Gaelic . The modern spelling results from the deletion of the silent ⟨dh⟩ in Gaedhilge . Older spellings include Gaoidhealg [ˈɡeːʝəlˠəɡ] in Classical Gaelic and Goídelc [ˈɡoiðʲelɡ] in Old Irish . Goidelic , used to refer to
10266-463: The new immigrants to get jobs in areas other than farming. An estimated one quarter to one third of US immigrants during the Great Famine were Irish speakers. Irish was not marginal to Ireland's modernisation in the 19th century, as is often assumed. In the first half of the century there were still around three million people for whom Irish was the primary language, and their numbers alone made them
10384-416: The ninth until the eleventh century it was allied with the kings of Meath . Many of the high kings of Tara ( ardrí ) and of Connacht were buried here. Clonmacnoise was largely abandoned by the end of the 13th century. Today the site includes nine ruined churches, a castle, two round towers and a large number of carved stone crosses and cross-slabs. The Irish government's Office of Public Works manages
10502-639: The number now is between 20,000 and 30,000." In the 1920s, when the Irish Free State was founded, Irish was still a vernacular in some western coastal areas. In the 1930s, areas where more than 25% of the population spoke Irish were classified as Gaeltacht . Today, the strongest Gaeltacht areas, numerically and socially, are those of South Connemara , the west of the Dingle Peninsula , and northwest Donegal, where many residents still use Irish as their primary language. These areas are often referred to as
10620-498: The other official language, if not already passed in both official languages. In November 2016, RTÉ reported that over 2.3 million people worldwide were learning Irish through the Duolingo app. Irish president Michael D. Higgins officially honoured several volunteer translators for developing the Irish edition, and said the push for Irish language rights remains an "unfinished project". There are rural areas of Ireland where Irish
10738-539: The political party holding power in the Stormont Parliament , the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), was hostile to the language. The context of this hostility was the use of the language by nationalists. In broadcasting, there was an exclusion on the reporting of minority cultural issues, and Irish was excluded from radio and television for almost the first fifty years of the previous devolved government. After
10856-465: The preserved ruin. An Interpretive Centre is open to the public, the graveyard is in use and religious services take place in a modern chapel. Clonmacnoise (meaning 'Meadow of the Sons of Nós') is situated in County Offaly , Ireland on the River Shannon south of Athlone . In 544 Saint Ciarán, a young man from Rathcroghan , County Roscommon , arrived at this location with seven companions. (Saint Ciarán
10974-487: The relationship between the three Goidelic languages (Irish, Scottish Gaelic and Manx). Gaelic is a collective term for the Goidelic languages, and when the context is clear it may be used without qualification to refer to each language individually. When the context is specific but unclear, the term may be qualified, as Irish Gaelic, Scottish Gaelic or Manx Gaelic. Historically the name "Erse" ( / ɜːr s / URS )
11092-432: The requirement for entrance to the public service was changed to proficiency in just one official language. Nevertheless, Irish remains a required subject of study in all schools in the Republic of Ireland that receive public money (see Education in the Republic of Ireland ). Teachers in primary schools must also pass a compulsory examination called Scrúdú Cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge . As of 2005, Garda Síochána recruits need
11210-625: The revival was the Gaelic League ( Conradh na Gaeilge ), and particular emphasis was placed on the folk tradition, which in Irish is particularly rich. Efforts were also made to develop journalism and a modern literature. Although it has been noted that the Catholic Church played a role in the decline of the Irish language before the Gaelic Revival, the Protestant Church of Ireland also made only minor efforts to encourage use of Irish in
11328-417: The rivets being exposed, which in turn led to further damage to the structure. The original drop was presumably as highly decorated as the knops, but is lost and was replaced sometime during the 14th or 15th centuries. The current plate, like the original, forms a hollow box-like extension that was fixed to the end of the crook. It is cast from copper alloy and consists of a cast figurative insert attached to
11446-498: The ruins of a cathedral, seven churches, two round towers, three high crosses and a large collection of Early Christian grave slabs. Most of the churches have recently undergone comprehensive conservation works, mostly re-pointing , with the Nun's Church (about 1 km off site), currently under wraps while it too undergoes the same process. O'Rourke's Tower: Though named O'Rourkes' Tower, after 10th-century Connacht king Fergal O'Rourke,
11564-451: The site's central hub. It has one Christian scene on its west face, a rough carving of the Crucifixion of Christ. Many believe that the Cross may have been part inspiration for the later Cross of the Scriptures. Again, the original is in the interpretative centre, with a replica occupying its original site. Temple Dowling: Originally built in the 10th century, this tiny church is named after Edmund Dowling , who renovated it in 1689, placing
11682-503: The snake-like animals in figure-of-eight patterns running on the sides of the body of the crook, and the ribbon of dog-like animals in openwork (ornamentation with openings or holes) that form the crest at its top. Apart from a shortening to the staff length and the loss of some inserted gems, it is largely intact and is one of the best-preserved surviving pieces of Insular metalwork . The crozier may have been associated with Saint Ciarán of Clonmacnoise (died c. 549 CE), and
11800-456: The support that the site needed to survive, and former allies began to recognise the decline in the site's influence. The influx of continental religious orders such as the Cistercians , Franciscans , Augustinians , Benedictines , Cluniacs , etc. around the same time fed into this decline as numerous competing sites began to crop up. Ireland's move from a monastic framework to a diocesan one in
11918-550: The testimony of earlier abbots of Iona who had known Columba, St Columba visited the monastery at Clonmacnoise during the time when he was founding the monastery at Durrow. While he was there he prophesied about the future debates in the churches of Ireland about the dating of Easter and claimed that angels had visited the monastery at Clonmacnoise. While he was there, a young monk named Ernéne mac Craséni (who would later be famous in Ireland) tried to touch Columba's clothes while Columba
12036-400: The twelfth century similarly diminished the site's religious standing, as it was designated the seat of a small and impoverished diocese. In 1552 the English garrison at Athlone destroyed and looted Clonmacnoise for the final time, leaving it in ruins. The monastery ruins were one of the stops on the itinerary of Pope John Paul II during his visit to Ireland in 1979 . The site includes
12154-447: The upper knop, is biconical (i.e. of two parts) and contains copper plaques separated by glass studs. After the lower knop the shaft passes through a free ring and tapers (narrows) into the spiked ferrule (a protective metal-cast foot, here of copper alloy) that forms the crozier's basal point. Unlike the other two Insular examples with surviving ferrules (Lismore and River Laune, both of which have more elaborate and complex endings), it
12272-705: The vacancy to which they are appointed. This requirement is laid down by the University College Galway Act, 1929 (Section 3). In 2016, the university faced controversy when it announced the planned appointment of a president who did not speak Irish. Misneach staged protests against this decision. The following year the university announced that Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh , a fluent Irish speaker, would be its 13th president. He assumed office in January 2018; in June 2024, he announced he would be stepping down as president at
12390-577: The very similar and so-called Frazer Crozier -head (catalogue number NMI 1899:28) and a crozier- knop in the British Museum . The antiquarian William Frazer wrote in 1891 that the Clonmacnoise Crozier was probably revered as holding a relic of Saint Ciarán. Clonmacnoise monastery was founded in 544 by Saint Ciarán in the territory of Uí Maine where an ancient major east–west land route and early medieval political division (the Slighe Mhor) met at
12508-594: The work of such writers as Geoffrey Keating , is said to date from the 17th century, and was the medium of popular literature from that time on. From the 18th century on, the language lost ground in the east of the country. The reasons behind this shift were complex but came down to a number of factors: The change was characterised by diglossia (two languages being used by the same community in different social and economic situations) and transitional bilingualism (monoglot Irish-speaking grandparents with bilingual children and monoglot English-speaking grandchildren). By
12626-523: Was also sometimes used in Scots and then in English to refer to Irish; as well as Scottish Gaelic. Written Irish is first attested in Ogham inscriptions from the 4th century AD, a stage of the language known as Primitive Irish . These writings have been found throughout Ireland and the west coast of Great Britain. Primitive Irish underwent a change into Old Irish through the 5th century. Old Irish, dating from
12744-488: Was concurrently but separately constructed before it was placed on top of the staff. The crozier's decorative attachments include the crest and terminal (or " drop ") on the crook, and the knops and ferrule on the staff; these components are made from silver, niello , glass and enamel . The hook is further embellished with round blue glass studs and white and red millefiori (glassware) insets. The antiquarian and collector Henry Charles Sirr , Lord Mayor of Dublin , held
12862-486: Was designed to cater for a maximum of 80,000 visitors per annum; it attracted roughly 169,000 visitors in 2007 and 135,000 in 2010. Main features of the Interpretative Centre are exhibits depicting the history of Clonmacnoise and the area, archaeological artefacts (including the original stone crosses, brought indoors for preservation and display), information on the people who would have lived and worked there, and
12980-643: Was enacted 1 July 2019 and is an 18-page document that adheres to the guidelines of the Official Languages Act 2003 . The purpose of the Scheme is to provide services through the mediums of Irish and/or English. According to the Department of the Taoiseach, it is meant to "develop a sustainable economy and a successful society, to pursue Ireland's interests abroad, to implement the Government's Programme and to build
13098-515: Was establishing itself as the primary language. Irish speakers had first arrived in Australia in the late 18th century as convicts and soldiers, and many Irish-speaking settlers followed, particularly in the 1860s. New Zealand also received some of this influx. Argentina was the only non-English-speaking country to receive large numbers of Irish emigrants, and there were few Irish speakers among them. Clonmacnoise Crozier The Clonmacnoise Crozier
13216-519: Was melted and sold for its intrinsic value. The "St Ciaran's tomb" referred to by Petrie is most likely Clonmacnoise's Temple Ciarán, a shrine-chapel on the site. The crozier was for a period in the collection of the Lord Mayor of Dublin and collector Henry Charles Sirr (1764–1841), although the circumstances of his purchase are unknown. In 1970, the archaeologist Françoise Henry speculated that Sirr "might have obtained it directly or indirectly from
13334-455: Was not looking. However, the saint immediately noticed and grabbed the boy by the neck, told him to open his mouth, and then blessed him, saying that he would teach the doctrine of salvation. Towards the close of the seventh century a plague carried off a large number of its students and professors. Clonmacnoise's period of greatest growth came between the 8th and 12th centuries. It was attacked frequently during these four centuries, most often by
13452-465: Was passed 14 July 2003 with the main purpose of improving the number and quality of public services delivered in Irish by the government and other public bodies. Compliance with the Act is monitored by the An Coimisinéir Teanga (Irish Language Commissioner) which was established in 2004 and any complaints or concerns pertaining to the Act are brought to them. There are 35 sections included in
13570-458: Was perhaps commissioned by Tigernach Ua Braín (died 1088), Abbot of Clonmacnoise , but little is known of its origin or rediscovery. It was built in two phases: the original 11th-century structure received an addition sometime around the early 15th century. The staff is made from a wooden core wrapped in copper-alloy ( bronze ) tubes, fixed in place by binding strips, and three barrel-shaped knops (protruding decorative metal fittings). The hook
13688-678: Was spoken throughout Ireland, Isle of Man and parts of Scotland . It is the language of a large corpus of literature, including the Ulster Cycle . From the 12th century, Middle Irish began to evolve into modern Irish in Ireland, into Scottish Gaelic in Scotland, and into the Manx language in the Isle of Man . Early Modern Irish , dating from the 13th century, was the basis of the literary language of both Ireland and Gaelic-speaking Scotland. Modern Irish, sometimes called Late Modern Irish, as attested in
13806-613: Was the vandalism of this church in 1864 by a person from Birr on a 'pleasure party' to the Seven Churches, as Clonmacnoise was often termed. This led to a landmark case when a prosecution was brought against the vandal by the Crown, due to the efforts of the Royal Society of Antiquaries of Ireland . Some of the funds which had been raised for the prosecution were later used by the Society to repair
13924-442: Was unable to accomplish some everyday tasks, as portrayed in his documentary No Béarla . There is, however, a growing body of Irish speakers in urban areas, particularly in Dublin. Many have been educated in schools in which Irish is the language of instruction. Such schools are known as Gaelscoileanna at primary level. These Irish-medium schools report some better outcomes for students than English-medium schools. In 2009,
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