106-746: The Irish National War Memorial Gardens ( Irish : Gairdíní Náisiúnta Cuimhneacháin Cogaidh na hÉireann ) is an Irish war memorial in Islandbridge , Dublin, dedicated "to the memory of the 49,400 Irish soldiers who gave their lives in the Great War , 1914–1918", out of a total of 206,000 Irishmen who served in the British forces alone during the war. The Memorial Gardens also commemorate all other Irish men and women who at that time served, fought and died in Irish regiments of
212-495: A senator and member of the committee on 9 December 1930 and suggested the present site. At that time known as the "Longmeadows Estates" it is about 60 acres (24 ha) in extent stretching parallel along the south bank of the River Liffey from Islandbridge towards Chapelizod . His proposal was adopted by the committee on 16 December 1931. Cosgrave said at the time that ". ... this is a big question of remembrance and honour to
318-540: 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
424-697: 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
530-560: 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
636-472: 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,
742-541: 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
848-460: 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
954-410: A jingle by Jonathan Swift who wrote: " Now's here's a proof of Irish sense, Here Irish wit is seen, When nothing's left that's worth defence, We build a Magazine ." There are 351 identified plant species in the park; three of these are rare and protected. The park has retained almost all of its old grasslands and woodlands and also has rare examples of wetlands. Deer were introduced into
1060-576: A meeting of over 100 representatives from all parts of Ireland on 17 July 1919, a trust fund was created to consider plans and designs for a permanent memorial "to commemorate all those Irish men and women killed in the First World War". A general committee was formed in November 1924 to pursue proposals for a site in Dublin. For technical and administrative reasons it was not until its meeting on 28 March 1927 in
1166-574: 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
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#17328512132291272-554: 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
1378-541: A regeneration of urban decay in Dublin, and the beginning of a change in the public's view of its pre- Irish Revolution national history and identity, which led to a project of restoration work to renew the park and gardens to their former splendour being undertaken by the Office of Public Works , co-funded by the National War Memorial Committee. On 10 September 1988 the fully restored gardens were re-opened to
1484-611: 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
1590-538: 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
1696-537: 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
1802-545: Is 35 metres (115 ft) high and was built with steel girders. It was installed with some difficulty: after several attempts, the cross was eventually erected just a fortnight before the Pope arrived. When John Paul died in 2005, devotees gathered at the Papal Cross, praying and leaving flowers and other tokens of remembrance. Pope Francis celebrated mass here on the final day of his 2018 visit to Ireland . The Wellington Monument
1908-584: 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
2014-551: Is a 62 metres (203 ft) tall obelisk commemorating the victories of the Duke of Wellington . It is the largest obelisk in Europe and would have been even higher if the publicly subscribed funding had not run out. Designed by Robert Smirke , there are four bronze plaques cast from cannon captured at the Battle of Waterloo —three of which have pictorial representations of Wellington's career while
2120-452: Is a large urban park in Dublin , Ireland, lying 2–4 kilometres (1.2–2.5 mi) west of the city centre, north of the River Liffey . Its 11 kilometres (6.8 mi) perimeter wall encloses 707 hectares (1,750 acres) of recreational space. It includes large areas of grassland and tree-lined avenues, and since the 17th century has been home to a herd of wild fallow deer . The Irish Government
2226-448: 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
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#17328512132292332-511: 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
2438-608: Is lobbying UNESCO to have the park designated as a World Heritage Site . The park's name is derived from the Irish fhionnuisce , meaning clear or still water. After the Normans conquered Dublin and its hinterland in the 12th century, Hugh Tyrrel , 1st Baron of Castleknock , granted a large area of land, including what now comprises the Phoenix Park, to the Knights Hospitaller . They established an abbey at Kilmainham on
2544-567: 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
2650-464: Is outstanding among the many war memorials he created throughout the world. He found it a glorious site. The sunken Garden of Remembrance surrounds a Stone of Remembrance of Irish granite symbolising an altar, which weighs seven and a half tons. The dimensions of this are identical to First World War memorials found throughout the world, and is aligned with the Great Cross and Central Avenue. Opposite to
2756-412: 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
2862-831: Is the Phoenix Park, which is on the Northside but forms part of even-numbered districts, the majority of which is in Dublin 8, and also includes an area bordering Chapelizod in the South-West that falls under the Dublin 20 postcode between the Chapelizod and Knockmaroon Gate Lodges (encompassing the St Mary's Campus). The park has its own piece of legislation the Phoenix Park Act, 1925 which includes giving powers to park rangers to remove and arrest of offenders who disobey its bye-laws, which include "No person shall act contrary to public morality in
2968-493: Is the oldest cricket club in Ireland. Founded in 1830 by John Parnell, the father of Charles Stewart Parnell , the club is located in the park. In April 2017 the Hearsum Collection , in collaboration with The Royal Parks of London and Ireland's Office of Public Works , mounted an exhibition at Dublin's Phoenix Park entitled Parks, Our Shared Heritage: The Phoenix Park, Dublin & The Royal Parks, London , demonstrating
3074-659: 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
3180-743: The Allied armies , the British , Canadian , Australian , New Zealand , South African and United States armies in support of the Triple Entente 's war effort against the Central Powers . In 1914, Ireland was part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and many Irishmen joined the British armed forces. In particular, the British Army had eight regiments that were raised in Ireland. Following
3286-634: The British Royal Air Force , died in an accident at the park whilst taking part in a mock aerial combat for Irish Aviation Day. During the Emergency thousands of tons of turf were transported from the bogs to Dublin and stored in high mounds along the main road of the park. In October 2023 the park got its first ever shuttle bus service with the launch of Route 99, connecting the Park's visitor center at Ashford Castle with Parkgate Street just outside
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3392-505: The County Wicklow quarried granite withstood the blast with little damage. Another attempt was made to bring it down again with a bomb detonation in October 1958, which once more failed, resulting in superficial damage. A subsequent lack of financing from the government to provision its up-keep and care allowed the site to fall into dilapidation and vandalism over the following decades, to
3498-469: The Office of Public Works commented, "... the erection, without the necessity of resorting to normal planning procedures, of two major developments in St. Mary's Hospital illustrates the vulnerability of the Phoenix Park to internal development, which impacts significantly on the essential character of the park and its unique value as a historic designed landscape." In a section entitled Pressures and Threats on
3604-561: The Phoenix Park obelisk, it lies about three kilometres from the centre of Dublin, on grounds which gradually slope upwards towards Kilmainham Hill. Old chronicles describe Kilmainham Hill as the camping place of Brian Boru and his army prior to the last decisive Battle of Clontarf on 23 April 1014. The memorial was amongst the last to be erected to the memory of those who sacrificed their lives in World War I (Canada's National War Memorial
3710-768: The Phoenix Park Murders . The Chief Secretary for Ireland (the British Cabinet minister with responsibility for Irish affairs), Lord Frederick Cavendish and the Under-Secretary for Ireland (chief civil servant), Thomas Henry Burke , were stabbed to death with surgical knives while walking from Dublin Castle . A small insurgent group called the Irish National Invincibles were responsible. On 5 August 1933, Oscar Heron , Irish World War I flying ace of
3816-619: 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 ")
3922-709: The River Liffey at the western edge of the gardens. The stream rises west of Inchicore railway works , some distance away, before flowing underneath the site to emerge close to the Liffey on the grounds of the War Memorial Gardens. The stream got its name from pollutants which used to leach into it from the railway works. 53°20′38″N 6°19′01″W / 53.3440°N 6.3170°W / 53.3440; -6.3170 Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ),
4028-611: The Somme to commemorate 4,354 men of the 16th who died in two engagements, is housed in the same building. Three granite replicas of this cross are erected at locations liberated by Irish divisions – Guillemont and Messines-Wytschaete in Belgium, and Thessaloniki in Greece. The Irish National War Memorial Gardens are now managed by the Government's Office of Public Works (OPW) in conjunction with
4134-611: 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
4240-719: 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
4346-403: 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
Irish National War Memorial Gardens - Misplaced Pages Continue
4452-563: 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
4558-463: 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
4664-536: 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
4770-689: The Machine , Swedish House Mafia , Snoop Dogg , Tinie Tempah , Calvin Harris , the Stone Roses and Ed Sheeran . Ubi Dwyer organised one-day free events between 1977 and 1980. As International Times reported "The Hollow in the Phoenix Park spun and danced to the rhythms of the World Peace Band, Free Booze, the Mod Quad Band, Frazzle, Speed, Stryder, Axis, Tudd, Skates to name but a few. The whole thing
4876-603: The Magazine Fort, the farm buildings below St. Mary's Hospital and Mountjoy House in the Ordnance Survey Complex." On 18 July 2022, a weather station in the park set a new record high temperature for July in Ireland of 33.0 °C. Motor racing first took place in the park in 1903 when the Irish Gordon Bennett Race Speed Trials were held on the main straight for both cars and motorcycles. This
4982-424: The National War Memorial Committee. A further Great War Irish national memorial, taking the form of an all-Ireland journey of conciliation, was jointly opened in 1998 by Mary McAleese , President of Ireland , Queen Elizabeth II and Albert II , King of the Belgians at the Island of Ireland Peace Park , Messines, Flanders , Belgium. A small stream, commonly known as the Creosote Stream, emerges and flows into
5088-414: The Park , subsection Planning Issues , the document expressed concern that, "Without appropriate planning designation, there is a risk that development can take place which is not in line with the co-ordinated vision of this Plan." The document warned of similar risks to the integrity of the park such as "uncoordinated building and construction...and the current condition of certain historic buildings such as
5194-400: The Phoenix Park being a designated and protected national monument. A statement from the Department of Health and Children said the decision was made because of what it called the department's "emergency response to the accident and emergency crisis at the time", although the nursing units, in use since 2008, are mainly for geriatric care. In a 2009 conservative management plan for the park,
5300-437: The Promenade Grounds. They display Victorian horticulture, including ornamental lakes, children's playground, picnic area and bedding schemes. A statue is in the gardens dedicated to executed Easter Rising leader Seán Heuston . There is a plaque in honour of the Irish sculptor Jerome Connor on Infirmary Road, overlooking the gardens which he frequently visited. The opening hours are 8.00 am until dusk. Closing times vary during
5406-424: 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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#17328512132295512-430: The Shelbourne Hotel that Merrion Square, alternatively St Stephen's Green , were proposed. A debate in the Free State Senate failed to resolve the impasse. W. T. Cosgrave , president of the Irish Free State Executive Council then appointed Cecil Lavery to set up a "War Memorial Committee" to advance the memorial process. Cosgrave who was very interested in bringing the memorial to fruition met with Andrew Jameson ,
5618-422: The adverse political conditions of the 1930s, Éamon de Valera 's government still recognised the motives of the memorial and made valuable state contributions to it. The cabinet approved work to be divided 50% between British and Irish WWI ex-servicemen. Many difficulties arose in 1937 for the committee with regard to plants, trees and the need to obtain a completion certificate from the Office of Public Works, which
5724-504: The autumnal earth." There was no discord in its building – workers were so drawn from the unemployed that 50 per cent were former World War I ex- British Army and 50 per cent ex- Irish Army men. To provide as much work as possible the use of mechanical equipment was restricted, and even granite blocks of 7 and 8 tonnes from Ballyknockan and Donnelly's quarry in Barnacullia were manhandled into place with primitive tackles of poles and ropes. On completion and intended opening in 1939 (which
5830-577: 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
5936-487: The dead and it must always be a matter of interest to the head of the government to see that a project so dear to a big section of the citizens should be a success" . General Sir William Hickie said "the memorial is an all-Ireland one" . A generous gift was sanctioned by the Irish Government in an eleven-paragraph agreement with the committee on 12 December 1933, the Dublin City Council Office of Public Works (OPW) having already commenced work with 164 men during 1932. In
6042-664: 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
6148-414: 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
6254-403: The famous Ferrari World Champion racing driver Mike Hawthorn . After the Grand Prix events, motor racing continued at the park through the 1980s and 1990s and up to 2012, with many events broadcast live on RTÉ . It featured many drivers including Eddie Jordan , Eddie Irvine and Tommy Byrne . The Great Ireland Run , a 10 km running competition, has been held annually each April in
6360-430: 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
6466-438: The following terms: "About the centre of the park is a fluted column thirty feet high, with a phoenix on the capital, which was erected by the Earl of Chesterfield during his viceregality." (1747) There is also a monument to commemorate Lord Cavendish and Thomas Henry Burke, who were killed in the park by the Irish National Invincibles . It is a 60 cm long cross, filled with a small amount of gravel and cut thinly into
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#17328512132296572-403: The fourth has an inscription at the base of the obelisk. A second notable monument is the "Phoenix Column" (shown in the header photograph above), a Corinthian column carved from Portland Stone located centrally on Chesterfield Avenue, the main thoroughfare of the park, at the junction of Acres Road and the Phoenix, the main entrance to Áras an Uachtaráin. A contemporary account described it in
6678-419: The gardens with Phoenix Park. In the granite paved pergolas surrounding the garden are the 8 illuminated volumes of Ireland's Memorial Records 1914-1918 which record the names of the dead. Each page is illustrated on four sides with artwork by Harry Clarke . They are displayed in cases designed by Lutyens. A wooden cross of oak, the Ginchy Cross , built by the 16th (Irish) Division and originally erected on
6784-418: The grass. The Deerfield Residence (previously the Chief Secretary's Lodge ), originally built in 1776 was the former residence of the Chief Secretary for Ireland and before that was the Park Bailiff's lodge. It has been the official residence of the United States Ambassador to Ireland since February 1927, and was until the early 1960s the Embassy of the United States in Dublin . The oldest building in
6890-422: The historical links between Richmond Park (and other Royal Parks in London) and Phoenix Park. This exhibition was also displayed at the Mall Galleries in London in July and August 2017. The park is featured prominently in James Joyce 's novel Finnegans Wake and tangentially in Ulysses . In general, Dublin postal districts on the Northside are odd numbers, while Southside codes are even. One exception
6996-402: The land in 1662. It contained pheasants and wild deer, making it necessary to enclose the entire area with a wall. The cost of building the park had amounted to £31,000 by 1669. The park originally included the demesne of Kilmainham Priory south of the River Liffey. When the building of the Royal Hospital at Kilmainham commenced in 1680 for the use of veterans of the Royal Irish Army , the park
7102-498: 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
7208-410: 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
7314-425: 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 ,
7420-399: 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
7526-497: 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
7632-658: The names of all the dead. At the north of the gardens overlooking the River Liffey stands a domed temple. This also marks the beginning of the avenue leading gently upwards to the steps containing the Stone of Remembrance. On the floor of the temple is an extract from the "War Sonnett II: Safety" by Rupert Brooke : "We have found safety with all things undying, The winds, and morning, tears of men and mirth, The deep night, and birds singing, and clouds flying, And sleep, and freedom, and
7738-463: 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
7844-639: 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
7950-498: 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
8056-415: The park in the 1660s; the current 400–450 fallow deer descend from the original herd. 30% of the park is covered by trees, mainly broadleaf . A birdwatch survey in 2007–2008 found 72 species of bird including common buzzard , Eurasian sparrowhawk , common kestrel and Eurasian jay . The great spotted woodpecker , Ireland's newest breeding bird has been seen in the park several times, but no sighting
8162-487: The park is Ashtown Castle , a restored medieval tower house dating from the 15th century. Restoration began in 1989 and it is located beside the visitor centre which houses interpretive displays on the 5,500 years of park and area history. The gardens, located close to the Parkgate Street entrance, comprise an area of nine hectares (22 acres), and were re-opened in 1864. These gardens were initially established in 1840 as
8268-465: The park since 2003. It includes races for professional runners and the public and the 2010 edition attracted over 11,000 participants. Athletes such as Sonia O'Sullivan and Catherina McKiernan are among the race's past winners. Music concerts have been performed in the park by such acts as Coldplay , Duran Duran , Robbie Williams , Red Hot Chili Peppers , Ian Brown , Justice , Kanye West , Arcade Fire , Tom Waits , Snow Patrol , Florence and
8374-458: The park, near Heuston Station . The park is split between three civil parishes: Castleknock to the northwest, Chapelizod to the south and St James' to the east. The last-named is mainly centred south of the River Liffey around St James' parish church . The residence of the president of Ireland , Áras an Uachtaráin , built in 1754, is located in the park. As the Viceregal Lodge, it
8480-573: The point that by the late 1970s it had become a site for caravans and animals of the Irish Traveller community, with the Dublin Corporation 's refuse disposal office using it as a rubbish dump for the city's waste. In addition fifty years of storms and the elements had left their mark, with structural damage unrepaired to parts of the garden's ornamentation. In the mid-1980s economic and cultural shifts began to occur in Ireland which facilitated
8586-539: 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
8692-508: The politico-cultural situation in the state, and its nationally dominant ideologically adverse view of Ireland's role in World War I , and of those who had volunteered to fight in World War II , prevented the garden from being civically opened and dedicated. The garden was subject to two Irish Republican paramilitary attacks. On Christmas night 1956 a bomb was placed at the base of its Stone of Remembrance and memorial cross and detonated, but
8798-458: The public areas of the park. The execution of the plan, which included new paths, gate-lodges (including the architecturally significant Chapelizod gate lodge ), levelling and tree planting, and relocating the Phoenix Column, took almost 20 years to complete. According to the park's official site, In 1882, the park was the location for two politically inspired assassinations sometimes known as
8904-428: The public, and formally dedicated by representatives of the four main churches of Ireland, half a century after its creation. In January 2024 a proposal was published to build a bridge over the River Liffey providing access to the gardens from Chapelizod Road. This bridge would be in partial fulfilment of Lutyens' original plan which included a bridge over the river and an additional bridge over Chapelizod Road connecting
9010-487: 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 )
9116-483: 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
9222-683: 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
9328-578: The site now occupied by Royal Hospital Kilmainham . The knights lost their lands in 1537 following the Dissolution of the Monasteries under Henry VIII of England . Eighty years later the lands reverted to the ownership of the King's representatives in Ireland. On the restoration of Charles II of England , his Viceroy in Dublin, the Duke of Ormond , established a royal hunting park on 2,000 acres (810 ha) of
9434-515: The third oldest zoo in the world - with animals from the London Society . Within a year the zoo housed 123 species. The Papal Cross at the edge of Fifteen Acres was erected as a backdrop for the outdoor mass celebrated there by Pope John Paul II on 29 September 1979, the first day of his pastoral visit to Ireland . The congregation numbered over one million, equal to Dublin's population. The white Latin cross , which dominates its surroundings,
9540-705: 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
9646-594: 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
9752-586: The year. The Magazine Fort in the southeast of the park marks the location where Phoenix Lodge was built by Sir Edward Fisher in 1611. In 1734 the house was demolished when the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, Lionel Sackville, 1st Duke of Dorset directed that a powder magazine be provided for Dublin. An additional wing was added to the fort in 1801 for troops. It was the scene of the Christmas Raid in 1939. The magazine fort has been satirically immortalised in
9858-523: 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
9964-590: 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
10070-537: 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. Phoenix Park The Phoenix Park ( Irish : Páirc an Fhionnuisce )
10176-470: Was finally issued in January 1938. An official opening was agreed for 30 July 1939, but the looming threat of war led to it being postponed. In the end, no official opening ever happened, but the first public event in the gardens took place in 1940 for Armistice Day celebrations. Designed by the great memorialist Sir Edwin Lutyens who had already landscaped designed several sites in Ireland and around Europe, it
10282-635: Was followed in 1929 by the Irish International Grand Prix; the first of three Irish motor racing Grand Prix. Racing took place from 1932 until the beginning of the Second World War in 1939 and was revived again in 1949 with a sprint on the Oldtown circuit followed the next year by a full racing meeting again and has been used virtually continuously until today. Over the years seven different circuits have been used, two of which are named after
10388-420: Was opened in 1939), and is "the symbol of Remembrance in memory of a Nation's sacrifice". The elaborate layout includes a central sunken rose garden composed by a committee of eminent horticulturalists, various terraces , pergolas , lawns and avenues lined with impressive parkland trees, and two pairs of book rooms in granite, representing the four provinces of Ireland, and containing illuminated volumes recording
10494-527: Was organised by gentle Ubi Dwyer who was formerly involved in the Windsor affair of rock and the rest in England. Certainly, the Irish version was pleasantly good-humoured even if the amplification was too much for squares. A few chappies near the bandstand almost whipped themselves to death with their long hair as they responded to the bio-rhythms of the scene." U2 played at the 1978 festival. Phoenix Cricket Club
10600-465: 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
10706-462: Was postponed) the trustees responsible said: "It is with a spirit of confidence that we commit this noble memorial of Irish valour to the care and custody of the Government of Ireland" . Although commemorations by Irish British Armed Forces veterans and families of those killed in the course of the Great War took place at the site for a few years in the late 1940s and 1950s, with some large attendances,
10812-479: Was recorded in 2015, and the long-eared owl has been confirmed as a breeding species in 2012. The park also holds several brooks, and tributaries of the River Liffey . In July and August 2006, the Minister for Health and Children , Mary Harney , issued three orders exempting two new community nursing units, to be built at St. Mary's Hospital in the park, from the usual legally required planning permission, despite
10918-508: Was reduced to its present size, all of which is now north of the river. It was opened to the people of Dublin by the Earl of Chesterfield in 1745. In the nineteenth century, the expanse of the park had become neglected. With management being taken over by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests , the renowned English Landscape architect , Decimus Burton , was retained to design an overall plan for
11024-678: 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
11130-585: Was the official residence of the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland until the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922. Dublin Zoo is one of Dublin's main attractions. It houses more than 700 animals and tropical birds from around the world. The Zoological Society of Ireland was established in 1830 "to form a collection of animals along the lines of London Zoo". It opened to the public on 1 September 1831 - making it
11236-442: 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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