98-493: Grafton Street ( Irish : Sráid Grafton ) is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city centre — the other being Henry Street . It runs from St Stephen's Green in the south (at the highest point of the street) to College Green in the north (the lowest point). The street, on the Southside of the city, was developed from a laneway in the early 1700s, and its line
196-540: 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
294-436: A 100-metre (330 ft) distance of that location until the following day. Grafton Street has been the traditional home of the "big busk" on Christmas Eve, which aims to raise money for homeless charities. Grafton Street buskers have included: Citations Sources Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ),
392-697: 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
490-560: 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
588-481: A brothel, it was a 'kip' and the madams we called them, 'kip-keepers'. But the girls were very good, they were generous. They were very fond of kids. If you went for a message for them you'd get a thruppence or a sixpence. If they seen a kid running around in his bare feet they'd bring him into Brett's and buy him a pair of runners... The girls were generous." Billy Dunleavy, who grew up in the Monto before, during, and after
686-472: 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,
784-541: 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
882-516: A dining room, bedchamber and closet. The theatre manager Louis Du Val lived in Grafton Street in 1733, as did the novelist Charles Robert Maturin 's family. The street was largely rebuilt in the late 1700s, following the completion of Carlisle Bridge (now O'Connell Bridge) in 1758, spanning the River Liffey, when Grafton Street came to form part of an important north-south thoroughfare. Many of
980-460: 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
1078-618: A hope that it might re-open after the pandemic. The northern end of the street was for many years the location of the Molly Malone statue, a well-known tourist attraction and meeting place. The statue was moved from Grafton Street to nearby Suffolk Street in 2014, to make way for an extension to the Luas tram system, which runs along the northern part of Grafton Street. A life-size bronze statue of Dublin musician and leader of Thin Lizzy , Phil Lynott ,
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#17328446914071176-469: A last resort. According to Kearns, "By all accounts, the girls were typically young, attractive, and known for their generosity, especially to slum children". In an interview with Kearns, Mary Corbally, who grew up in a tenement on Corporation Street during the 1920s, recalled, "I don't feel any shame in coming from the Monto, but the reputation was there cause of the girls. We never heard the word 'Whores', never heard 'Prostitute'. Very rarely you'd hear of
1274-502: A mixture of periods and styles, with few notable interiors or street surfaces extant. Some of the Georgian plot sizes and facades are still visible on some buildings, such as Nos. 31–33 and 63. No. 14 retains the window pattern of an early Dutch Billy house. At the north end of Grafton Street, surviving largely intact, is the Provost's House, Trinity College , home to the head of the college and
1372-652: A much lower region of €3,300/m/year. By the 1960s, Grafton Street had become congested with cars and buses, which caused serious pollution. Pedestrianisation of the street was first trialled in September 1971, for a period of 4 weeks. After many delays, permanent pedestrianisation of most of the street was established in 1982, and the street was then repaved in 1988, with new street lighting also fitted. Objections to pedestrianisation came from councillors and small business owners, who alleged that it would lead to an increase in petty crime and antisocial behaviour. The northern end of
1470-503: A needle. They were so far gone and at that time there was no cure. The hospital was built for that purpose. That's right. They wouldn't do them all, just an odd one. They'd be nearly dead before they'd do it." In an interview with Kearns, Johnny Campbell, who had been a legendary Monto brawler in his youth, "Now there were also mobs fighting against one another, animal gangs. There were four gangs that used to go against one another - Stafford Street , Ash Street , Sheriff Street , and here,
1568-574: 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
1666-554: 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
1764-611: 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
1862-538: 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
1960-537: 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
2058-584: 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
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#17328446914072156-448: 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
2254-511: 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
2352-607: Is known to locals as the "Ace with the Bass". Grafton Street is normally lit with Christmas lights during the festive season — in 2022, it was estimated that around 300,000 bulbs were used to illuminate the street. In 2019, a planned "Nollaig Shona Duit" (Irish for "Happy Christmas") light display was cancelled and replaced with "Grafton Quarter" signage, causing controversy. Since the 1980s, Grafton Street has become internationally known for its street entertainment, particularly busking . Musicians, poets and mime artists commonly perform to
2450-479: Is now Connolly Station . Montgomery Street is believed to have been named after Elizabeth Montgomery, who was married to Luke Gardiner, 1st Viscount Mountjoy . In its heyday from the 1860s to the 1950s, there were anything up to 1,600 prostitutes working there at any one time, with all classes of customers catered for. Dublin was reputed to have the biggest red light district in Europe and its profits were aided by
2548-567: 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
2646-412: 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
2744-659: 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
2842-457: The Dublin Builder said the street "abounds in old premises in need of doctoring up." During the late 19th century, a number of retail properties were built and several long-standing businesses established their presence on the street, such as the department stores Switzer's and Brown Thomas . The jewellers Weirs opened in 1869. The street became known for prostitution during this time ; in
2940-458: The Irish War of Independence , later recalled, "It was a hard life for them girls. They were really all country girls that got into trouble and that's where they finished up. A girl (unwed) with a baby, she was in trouble... from farmers' sons. There was a convent around there and they were put up in there for twelve months with the nuns. They had a hard time. Scrubbing floors and everything else and
3038-478: The Montgomery Street (" Monto ") area on the northern side of the city, somewhat allowing Grafton Street's reputation to recover. In 1911, King George V and Queen Mary were led in a procession down Grafton Street which attracted thousands of onlookers. The American chain, Woolworth's , opened a store on the street in 1914. As part of a wider set of proposals to rename a number of Dublin streets in 1921, it
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3136-619: 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 ")
3234-611: The Siege of Cork . The second duke was Lord Lieutenant of Ireland from 1721 to 1724. The street was developed from an existing country lane, connecting College Green to St Stephen's Green , which had been worked on by the Dawson family, after whom the parallel Dawson Street is named. It was developed and widened through the early 1700s, starting in 1708. Four years later, the city's governing body, Dublin Corporation , approved development along
3332-475: The "Cozy Kitchen" on North King Street and "Cafe Continental" on Bolton Street , both of which were run by legendary Dublin madam Dolly Fawcett and remained open, enabled by corruption in the Garda Síochána , well into the 1950s. According to Northside resident Noelle Hughes, who knew Dolly Fawcett in her seventies, "The Cozy Kitchen" was located in the basement of a tenement house at 2 North King Street and
3430-611: 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
3528-576: The 1870s, 1,500 prostitutes were reputed to work the street. This was part of a broader phenomenon − in 1870, there were 3,255 arrests for prostitution in Dublin, compared to 2,183 in London and 1,617 in Manchester. Despite complaints that the street was "impassable to virtuous women", Dublin tourist guides continued to mention it as a fashionable place to visit. By the turn of the 20th century, prostitution had moved to
3626-769: 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
3724-403: 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
3822-563: 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
3920-509: The Army, British Generals . Big shots! It was safe enough. Men wouldn't stay all night. But some of the girls would rob them. Got 'em drunk. Take his trousers away from him and take his money. And the kip-houses had bouncers - whore's bullies we called them - and if a man didn't give up his money he'd get a hiding." The Monto was also a major hive of IRA activity during the Irish War of Independence . Billy Dunleavy further recalls, "The IRA were
4018-463: 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
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4116-546: The Guards could get the bottles and break them up. See, there were manholes out there, where the water goes down. And they'd (kip-owners) put the bottles of stout down the manhole when the police'd be coming. Now your bottle of stout at that time was only around eight pence but if a man brought a girl to Becky Cooper's kip they'd be charged about a pound for that bottle. The police knew where the porter's be hid and they'd raid and take them up and break them." These kip-houses included
4214-466: The IRA men used to go there and hide their stuff. But nobody knew who an IRA man was. Oh, no, you wouldn't know who an IRA man was around here at that time at all. They were all very secret. They had to be that way. Your neighbour could be an IRA man. On a Saturday morning, this big fella, he used to give information - he was an informer against the IRA - and two men came around that morning and riddled him in
4312-536: 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
4410-539: The Monto and established the Sancta Maria hostel, a safe house for the growing number of prostitutes whom they helped to run away from their "kip keepers" and start a new life. Duff also received the co-operation of the first Catholic Commissioner of the Dublin Metropolitan Police , former Irish Army General W.R.E. Murphy . The campaign ended with 120 arrests and Gen. Murphy announced the closure of all
4508-525: The Monto. Most of the animal gangs was dockers, nearly all of them. The dockers were the toughest men in Dublin. Ah, they were because they were going through the mill themselves with the big guns of coal and everything. And, oh, my God, they could put away maybe twenty pints... The coal dust and all. Now there could be a big melee on a Saturday night near Paddy Clare's or Jack Maher's (pubs). There could be twenty men fighting. They'd have razor blades and iron bars and knuckle-dusters and flick knives and hooks off
4606-597: 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 ,
4704-642: The University of Dublin. The English Grammar School was founded at No. 75 Grafton Street in 1758, by Samuel Whyte, first cousin-in-law of the actor and impresario Thomas Sheridan . Students included Richard Brinsley Sheridan , Robert Emmet , Thomas Moore and Arthur Wellesley, 1st Duke of Wellington . It closed in 1824. Hodges Figgis first bookshop was at 104 Grafton Street, opening in 1797. It moved to its current location in Dawson Street in 1920. Bewley's Oriental Café opened on Grafton Street in 1927, on
4802-668: The area, having slipped away from their bodyguards and walked through Dublin. In Kevin Kearns' oral history collection Dublin Tenement Life , he comments that many of the prostitutes in the Monto were, like Philomena Lee , unwed mothers who had been disowned both by their families and by their babies' fathers. Although middle-class Dubliners viewed these women as 'whores', the impoverished but devoutly Catholic residents of Monto tenements referred to local prostitutes as "unfortunate girls", and understood that they had often turned to prostitution as
4900-492: The bales for the dock work. And you might see a fella taking off his belt and start swinging it. Like McCauley, he was a ringleader in the Monto, and he got his eyes taken out by a fella named Browne who hit him with a belt, took his eyes out. Browne got nine months." Also according to Billy Dunleavy, "The kip houses were ordinary houses but you'd see the men going in and out, in and out. Oh, men'd come in with big cars and all. Big shots... businessmen, British soldiers, officers in
4998-634: 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
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#17328446914075096-471: The best men we ever had at that time. The Tans used to go around in the tenders with a wire over the top and if it was going by up there in Talbot Street they'd (IRA) say, 'Get out of the way, quick !' and they'd throw a hand grenade into the car. Now Phil Shanahan , he owned a pub over there on the corner, he was a great man and he used to hide them after they'd been out on a job. He had cellars and all
5194-581: The boy a penny or tuppence to buy sweets. Respectable girls. The wives around here would even say 'hello,' to them and be friendly enough. But we had a hospital here then called the Locke , over here on Townsend Street, and you know what they used to do with the girls (with sexual diseases )? Smother them. When they had syphilis and all... incurable ! They used to be smothered. See, there was no such thing as pills at that time. They couldn't cure them. Smother them to take them out of their pain, or give them some kind of
5292-423: The coffee house Bewley's , mid- and up-market shopping, and as a popular spot for buskers . It has been assessed as one of the most expensive main retail streets in the world on which to rent. The street was named after Charles FitzRoy, 2nd Duke of Grafton , the illegitimate grandson of King Charles II , who owned land in the area. His father, Henry FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Grafton , died on 9 October 1690 following
5390-457: The country, from seventeen into their thirties. They weren't high class prostitutes or anything like that, they were just ordinary commoners. I suppose they charged about two pounds . They'd bring the blokes off to a flat. Or take him around a laneway or around the back, somewhere like that. The whole neighbourhood know of this - the whole of Dublin knew about it cause the sailors off the ships used to go in there an awful lot. Men, they'd come from
5488-410: The docks and all over. It was mostly all outsiders cause the men in the tenements didn't have money." Hughes continues, "And the police raided it a couple of times but they got backhands . Oh, there was backhands going on all the time, paying policemen off. And there was a bit of an argument a couple times about closing it down but nothing ever materialised of it. And then it eventually closed up and
5586-713: 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
5684-468: 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
5782-681: The enormous number of British Army garrisons in the city, notably the Royal Barracks (later Collins Barracks and now one of the locations of the National Museum of Ireland ). According to legend, King Edward VII of the United Kingdom lost his virginity in the Monto while still the Prince of Wales . Later, in the 1880s, the Prince, accompanied by his wife Princess Alexandra and their son Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence strolled unrecognised through
5880-545: 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
5978-631: The founder of the Legion of Mary , and Fr. R.S. Devane launched a campaign, in defiance of the Crypto-Calvinist , or Jansenistic view by the Archbishop of Dublin and the middle class that fallen women should just be written off as whores, to empty the "kip-houses" and clean up The Monto. Similarly to St. Vitalis of Gaza , Duff and the Legion of Mary began a covert spiritual outreach to the "unfortunate girls" in
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#17328446914076076-698: 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
6174-410: 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
6272-472: 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 ,
6370-563: 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
6468-497: 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
6566-409: 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
6664-522: 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
6762-401: The nuns standing over them. Oh, the country girls got a hell of a time of it, that's why all the girls was, 'on the town'. That's where they finished up. Now the madams had them dressed up in good new clothes, that was the attraction." According to Kearns, "The madams, several of whom became legendary figures in Dublin folklore, were Dublin women. They were tough, shrewd businesswomen who ruled
6860-448: 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
6958-452: The point of keeping them virtually housebound for periods." According to Billy Dunleavy, however, "But when they got the money off the men and didn't give it up to the madams they took the clothes off them - stripped! They'd strip them, take all their clothes off them and put them up in the rooms in the houses. They had a bad occupation but they were very decent, very, very kind, the girls. You wouldn't hear them cursing and they might give
7056-539: 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
7154-530: The public house, riddled him with bullets. The IRA killed him. But they were good men and they wouldn't kill any innocent people." Following the Anglo-Irish Treaty (December 1921), the establishment of the Irish Free State (6 December 1922), and the withdrawal of the British Army garrison from Dublin, the financial viability of the kip-houses was severely damaged. Between 1923 and 1925, Frank Duff ,
7252-487: 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 )
7350-473: The remaining kip-houses following a DMP raid on 12 March 1925. However, kip-houses continued to exist in the Monto, long after the 1925 raid. This was enabled by both political corruption and bribery of the Irish Police, or Garda Síochána , well into the 1950s. According to Billy Dunleavy, "The Guards knew what was going on, but they couldn't do anything. But if the kip-houses were selling bottles of stout
7448-561: The remaining residences were redeveloped into shops, and several taverns were established along the street. This was supplemented by the widening and rebuilding which took place as part of the work of the Wide Streets Commission, from 1841. By the latter part of the 19th century, the street was primarily commercial in nature. Throughout the 19th century, Grafton Street became increasingly dilapidated. By 1849, several buildings had broken windows that were patched up with paper. In 1862,
7546-432: 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
7644-625: 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
7742-400: The roost in a strict maternal manner. They clothed their girls, housed them, and took a high percentage of their earnings. Many of the kip-houses also illegally sold drink which made it easier to part a man from his money... Several madams became quite wealthy, wore expensive jewels, owned cars, and even sent their children off to prestigious schools abroad. Some were possessive of their girls to
7840-448: The shopping crowds. This was portrayed in the opening scene of the 2007 film Once , starring Glen Hansard of the Frames , a former Grafton Street busker. In Dublin, street performers must pay for a licence to busk (€30 per year as of 2019, plus €60 if using amplification), and on Grafton Street, each such performance is restricted to a maximum of one hour, and a musician cannot play within
7938-511: The site of Whyte's Academy, and became a popular place to gather and socialise. In 2004, it was announced that Bewley's Grafton Street and Westmoreland Street cafés would close, putting 243 jobs at risk. Following a campaign, the café on Grafton Street, which had closed, was reopened. Subject to a €1m redevelopment scheme in 2015, the café closed again following a collapse of trade during the COVID-19 pandemic . The then mayor, Tom Brabazon , expressed
8036-474: The street in 1977. This was followed by the opening of a number of other UK high-street businesses in the 1980s including HMV , Next , River Island , Miss Selfridge , and Marks & Spencer . In 1987, a major fire broke out on Grafton Street in an employment agency above two shops. The fire quickly spread through the property, causing significant damage and closing the street. Five people were hospitalised for shock and smoke inhalation . Several properties on
8134-487: The street in order to make a "crown causeway". Its line was shaped by the short culverted River Steyne, which rises on one side of St Stephen's Green and flows towards College Green and the Liffey near O'Connell Bridge . Development was largely complete by 1727. From the beginning, the street held a mixture of residential and commercial development. Advertisements from the 1750s and 1760s describe first-floor apartments featuring
8232-421: The street were refurbished in the 1990s. No. 70 was extended in 1992, adding a limestone frontage on the ground floor. Numbers 84–86 were rebuilt the same year in a postmodern brick style. In 2008, Grafton Street was the fifth most expensive main shopping street in the world, with rental pricing of €5,621/m/year, and the thirteenth most expensive main shopping street in the world in 2016 at rental pricing of
8330-416: The street, between Nassau Street and College Green , one side of which is occupied by the walls of Trinity College , is not pedestrianised. Grafton Street has had a number of periods of redevelopment in its history, including in the 1860s, 1880s, early 1900s, and 1990s. On some occasions, the demolition of buildings led to the collapse of some of their neighbour's. Altogether, this activity has resulted in
8428-705: 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
8526-594: 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
8624-523: 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
8722-643: 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
8820-481: 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. Monto Monto
8918-465: 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
9016-726: Was proposed that Grafton Street be renamed Grattan Street in the Report of the Paving Committee by the Dublin Corporation street naming committee. This new naming scheme was not fully implemented. Among the names retained alongside Grafton Street were North Earl Street and Talbot Street . This new name for Grafton Street had first been proposed by a columnist in The Irishman newspaper in 1862. Woolworth's moved to Nos. 65–68 in 1948. The first Irish McDonald's restaurant opened on
9114-539: Was run by Dolly's son Stephen Fawcett until it closed down in 1957. Dolly's other son ran the Cafe Continental on Bolton Street. According to retired Guard Paddy Casey, the Cafe Continental was located next to the Bolton Street Technical School . Hughes later recalled, "The girls would be around the place, at the counter, and a man would start chatting them up. They were mostly country girls up from
9212-400: Was shaped by the now-culverted River Steyne. Initially, a fashionable residential street with some commercial activity, the character of Grafton Street changed after it was connected to Carlisle Bridge and came to form part of a cross-city route. It suffered from dilapidation and prostitution through the 19th century, with several run-down buildings. During the 20th century, it became known for
9310-678: 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
9408-429: Was the nickname for the one-time red light district in the northeast of Dublin , Ireland . The Monto was roughly the area bounded by Talbot Street , Amiens Street , Gardiner Street and Seán McDermott Street (formerly Gloucester Street) in what would now be called Summerhill . The name is derived from Montgomery Street (now called Foley Street ), which runs parallel to the lower end of Talbot Street towards what
9506-442: 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,
9604-506: Was unveiled on Harry Street, off Grafton Street near the Stephen's Green end, in August 2005. In May 2013, the statue was tipped over by two vandals, who were subsequently arrested. In 2017, it was damaged after being hit by a truck, and spent several months in repair. The statue has become a well-known tourist attraction for music fans. In keeping with the tendency for Dubliners to nickname statues, it
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