87-652: The Joe McDonagh Cup ( Irish : Corn Sheosaimh Mhic Dhonnacha ) is an annual inter-county hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association . The cup forms the second-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is the first-tier trophy). It is contested by the six county teams ranked 12–17 in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Each year,
174-494: A round-robin format. Each team was guaranteed at least four games each. The eventual group winners and runners-up qualified for the knock-out semi-finals of the competition. The bottom two teams of both groups were involved in a four-way relegation play-off with the eventual loser being relegated to the Nicky Rackard Cup . In 2006 the relegation play-off was limited to just the bottom teams in both groups, while in 2007 there
261-541: A round-robin format. Each team will be guaranteed at least three games each. The eventual group winners and runners-up will qualify for the knock-out semi-finals of the championship. The Coronavirus pandemic in 2020 significantly affected the GAA season, with the Christy Ring Cup reverting for one season only to the partial double elimination format that existed until 2017. In 2017, the majority delegates voted to restructure
348-540: 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
435-697: 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
522-560: 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
609-472: 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,
696-541: 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
783-548: A direct entry route for the top two teams to compete in that year's All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship; the two top-placed teams, in addition to contesting the Joe McDonagh Cup final, are rewarded with immediate entry into the GAA Hurling All-Ireland Senior Championship at the preliminary quarter-final stage. There are reports that this same-year link between the competitions may be severed in
870-460: 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
957-574: 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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#17328522189481044-554: 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
1131-611: 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
1218-538: 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
1305-550: A trophy. The Joe McDonagh Cup is held by the winning team until the following year's final. The presentation is made at a special rostrum in the Ard Chomairle section of the Hogan Stand where GAA and political dignitaries and special guests view the match. The cup is decorated with ribbons in the colours of the winning team. During the game the cup has both teams' sets of ribbons attached and the runners-up ribbons are removed before
1392-537: 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
1479-470: A win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points. The top two teams in the group contest the Christy Ring Cup final. The third, fourth and fifth-placed teams are eliminated from the championship and the 6th-placed team is relegated to the Nicky Rackard Cup. In the event of teams finishing on equal points, the tie shall be decided by the following means (in
1566-584: 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
1653-448: 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
1740-472: Is an annual hurling competition organised by the Gaelic Athletic Association . The cup forms the third-tier of Hurling for senior county teams (the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship is the first-tier trophy). It is contested by the six county teams ranked 18–23 in the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. Each year, the champions of the Christy Ring Cup are promoted to the Joe McDonagh Cup , and
1827-414: Is as follows: The group stage of the cup has resulted in 3 'back-door' Joe McDonagh Cup champions: On one occasion a team was defeated twice but have remained in the championship: Only two counties have appeared in the final more than once, being victorious on all occasions: On the opposite end of the scale, only one county has appeared in the final more than once, losing on each occasion: Kerry have
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#17328522189481914-511: 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
2001-409: Is held by the winning team until the following year's final. The presentation is made at a special rostrum in the Ard Chomairle section of the Hogan Stand where GAA and political dignitaries and special guests view the match. The cup is decorated with ribbons in the colours of the winning team. During the game the cup has both teams' sets of ribbons attached and the runners-up ribbons are removed before
2088-567: 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
2175-412: 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
2262-473: Is widely regarded as one of the greatest hurlers in the history of the game, with many former players, commentators and fans rating him as the number one player of all time. The winning team is presented with a set of gold medals. Legend For each year, the number of counties (in brackets) are shown. The number of years that each county has played in the Christy Ring Cup between 2005 and 2025 . A total of 17 counties have competed in at least one season of
2349-659: 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
2436-488: The 2024 final . In 2003 the Hurling Development Committee (HDC) was charged with restructuring the entire hurling championship. The committee was composed of chairman Pat Dunny (Kildare), Liam Griffin (Wexford), P. J. O'Grady (Limerick), Ger Loughnane (Clare), Cyril Farrell (Galway), Jimmy O'Reilly (Down), Willie Ring (Cork), Pat Daly (GAA Games Development Officer) and Nicky English (Tipperary). Over
2523-555: The 2025 Joe McDonagh Cup , with Carlow relegated from the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship and Kildare promoted from the Christy Ring Cup : The number of years that each county has played in the Joe McDonagh Cup between 2018 and 2025 . A total of 9 counties have competed in at least one season of the Joe McDonagh Cup. Kerry have participated in all 8 seasons. The counties in bold participate in
2610-486: The 2025 Joe McDonagh Cup . promotion relegation absent Best finish ( 2024 ) 2022 2020 -2023 2023 2023 - 2020 - 2022 2024- 2021 - 2024- The Joe McDonagh Cup winners and runners-up qualify for the subsequent All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship at the preliminary quarter-final stage. The teams plays the third-placed teams in the Leinster and Munster championships. Fixtures in
2697-416: The Nicky Rackard Cup : Fixtures in the five group stage rounds of the cup are played at the home ground of one of the two teams. Each team is guaranteed at least two home games. During the inaugural staging of the competition some teams had three home games. The Christy Ring Cup final is played at Croke Park . At the end of the cup final, the winning team are presented with a trophy. The Christy Ring Cup
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2784-619: 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 ")
2871-611: 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
2958-769: 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
3045-403: 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
3132-405: The 6th-placed team is relegated to the Christy Ring Cup. In the event of teams finishing on equal points, the tie shall be decided by the following means (in the order specified): Final: The top two teams in the group stage contest the final. The winning team are declared champions. The Joe McDonagh Cup is unique among the four lower-tier hurling competitions in that it also currently provides
3219-563: 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
3306-549: The Christy Ring Cup was the second tier hurling championship. With the introduction of the Joe McDonagh cup, the Christy Ring Cup is the highest tier of the championship system without entry to that year's All-Ireland finals series (the top two teams in the Joe McDonagh Cup usually gain entry to preliminary quarter-finals of the All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship). At present ( 2021 ), Wicklow holds
3393-463: 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
3480-536: 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
3567-454: The Nicky Rackard Cup, however, the relegation play-offs in 2008 were rendered meaningless as all four bottom-placed teams were relegated. In 2009 a double elimination format was introduced, thus guaranteeing each team at least two games before being eliminated from the competition. The eight teams play four Round 1 matches. There are two Round 2A matches. There are two Round 2B matches. There are two quarter-final matches between
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3654-597: 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 ,
3741-568: The Round 2A losers and Round 2B winners. There are two semi-final matches between the Round 2A winners and the quarter-final winners. The winners of the final (with the exception of Down in 2013, are promoted to the Liam MacCarthy Cup for the following year. 2018 saw the reintroduction of a group phase format to all tiers of the hurling Championship structure. The eight participating teams are divided into two groups of four and will play in
3828-731: 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
3915-479: The champions of the Joe McDonagh Cup are promoted to their provincial championship , and the lowest finishing team is relegated to the Christy Ring Cup . The cup is named in honour of Joe McDonagh , the former president of the GAA who died in 2016. The last of the five tiers to be established, the competition was contested for the first time in 2018 . The title has been won by five different counties, two of whom have won
4002-482: The championship once again. The new format led to the introduction of the round robin within the championship and the creation of the Joe McDonagh Cup , making the Christy Ring Cup the third tier in the championship. Group stage: There are six teams in the Cup. During the course of a season (from May to June) each team plays the others once (a single round-robin system ) for a total of five games. Teams receive two points for
4089-409: The course of a season (from May to June) each team plays the others once (a single round-robin system ) for a total of five games. Teams receive two points for a win and one point for a draw. No points are awarded for a loss. Teams are ranked by total points. The top two teams in the group contest the Joe McDonagh Cup final. The third, fourth and fifth-placed team are eliminated from the championship and
4176-474: The course of three months they held discussions with managers, players and officials, while also taking a submission from the Gaelic Players Association . The basic tenet of the proposals was to structure the hurling championship into three tiers in accordance with 2004 National Hurling League status. The top tier was confined to 12 teams, while the next ten teams would contest the second tier which
4263-464: The dubious distinction of being the only team to fall from the tier-one Leinster championship into the Joe McDonagh and immediately into the hurling's third-tier, the Christy Ring Cup, in successive seasons — in 2018 and 2019. In 2021, teams were divided into 2 groups to lessen the fixtures due to impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Gaelic games . Group stage: There are six teams in the Cup. During
4350-713: 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
4437-468: 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
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#17328522189484524-545: 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
4611-465: The five group stage rounds of the cup are played at the home ground of one of the two teams. Each team is guaranteed at least two home games. During the inaugural staging of the competition some teams had three home games. The Joe McDonagh Cup final is played at Croke Park as the curtain-raiser to the Leinster final on the first Sunday in July. At the end of the cup final, the winning team are presented with
4698-602: The future. At the end of the championship, the winning team is promoted to the provincial championship for the following season. Which provincial championship depends on the provincial allegiance of the winner: The bottom team in the Joe McDonagh group stage is relegated to the third-tier Christy Ring Cup for the following year, being replaced by the champions of the Christy Ring Cup for that year. Since 2018 there has been no promotion/relegation playoff between tiers two and three. Winner of Cup Final Promoted to Leinster or Munster Hurling Championship. Six counties will compete in
4785-698: 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
4872-410: 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
4959-472: 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 ,
5046-445: The longest tenure in the Christy Ring Cup. They have appeared in every season of the cup. Down and Kildare had appeared in every season until 2021, when they participated in the Joe McDonagh Cup. The title has been won by 9 different counties, 5 of whom have won the title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Kildare , who have won the cup on 5 occasions. Kildare are the title-holders, defeating Derry by 4-21 to 1-22 in
5133-486: The lowest finishing team is relegated to the Nicky Rackard Cup . The competition is named in honour of Christy Ring , a legendary player from Cork . The Christy Ring Cup, which was introduced in 2005 , replaced the All-Ireland B Hurling Championship (1974-2004). Originally introduced as a second-tier competition, it is currently the third tier overall in the inter-county hurling championship system. Between 2005 and 2017
5220-563: 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
5307-771: The name of the language is Gaeilge , from the South Connacht form, spelled Gaedhilge prior the spelling reform of 1948, which was originally the genitive of Gaedhealg , the form used in Classical Gaelic . The modern spelling results from the deletion of the silent ⟨dh⟩ in Gaedhilge . Older spellings include Gaoidhealg [ˈɡeːʝəlˠəɡ] in Classical Gaelic and Goídelc [ˈɡoiðʲelɡ] in Old Irish . Goidelic , used to refer to
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#17328522189485394-463: 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
5481-639: 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
5568-468: The order specified): Final: The top two teams in the group stage contest the final. The winning team are declared champions. The Christy Ring Cup is the highest tier in hurling competitions that does not provide a direct entry route to that year's All-Ireland Senior Hurling Championship. To do so, the counties have to get promoted to at least the McDonagh Cup (tier 2). At the end of the championship,
5655-498: 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
5742-539: 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
5829-405: The presentation. The winning captain accepts the cup on behalf of his team before giving a short speech. Individual members of the winning team then have an opportunity to come to the rostrum to lift the cup. The cup is named after Christy Ring . He was an eight time All-Ireland medal winner with Cork whose inter county career spanned twenty-four years from 1939 to 1963. Ring, who died in 1979,
5916-529: The presentation. The winning captain accepts the cup on behalf of his team before giving a short speech. Individual members of the winning team then have an opportunity to come to the rostrum to lift the cup. The cup is named after Joe McDonagh . He was an All-Ireland medal winner with Galway in 1980 before later serving as President of the Gaelic Athletic Association . McDonagh, who died in May 2016,
6003-605: The record number of consecutive participations in the Joe McDonagh Cup, taking part in the all 8 seasons. Although not an officially recognised achievement, a number of teams have achieved the distinction of winning the Joe McDonagh Cup and their respective Division in the National Hurling League : Defending champions are promoted and a number of teams survived the first year of the Leinster Senior Hurling Championship . These are: Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ),
6090-436: 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 )
6177-402: The removal of four counties from the Leinster Championship. These four teams joined the 2017 Christy Ring Cup finalists - Antrim and Carlow - in creating the new Tier 2 Championship. The proposal was carried by a narrow margin with 62% voting in favour (a majority of at least 60% was required). An amendment to the motion from Laois , Offaly and Meath was carried by 87%. This would see
6264-432: 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
6351-625: 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
6438-428: The title more than once. The all-time record-holders are Antrim and Carlow, who have won the championship on two occasions. Offaly are the title holders, defeating Laois by 2-23 to 0-26 in the 2024 final. At the GAA's Special Congress on 30 September 2017, a new provincial hurling championship system featuring five-team round-robin groups in both Leinster and Munster was accepted. This restructure necessitated
6525-479: The two Joe McDonagh Cup finalists participating in preliminary All-Ireland quarter-finals against the third-placed team in both Leinster and Munster with the Joe McDonagh Cup teams having home advantage. The competition has reduced and increased its participants between 5 and 6 teams throughout its history. 9 county teams have participated in at least one edition of the McDonagh Cup. Kerry have been ever-presents, never being promoted or relegated, while Offaly hold
6612-705: 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
6699-472: The winning team is promoted to the Joe McDonagh Cup for the following season. The bottom team in the Christy Ring group stage is relegated to the fourth-tier Nicky Rackard Cup for the following year, being replaced by the champions of the Nicky Rackard Cup for that year. Six counties will compete in the 2025 Christy Ring Cup , with Meath relegated from the Joe McDonagh Cup and Donegal promoted from
6786-594: 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
6873-523: 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
6960-643: 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
7047-547: 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. Christy Ring Cup The Christy Ring Cup ( Irish : Corn Chriostóir Uí Rinn )
7134-434: Was no relegation. The competition was expanded to include twelve teams. The participating teams were divided into four groups of three and played in a round-robin format, thus limiting each team to just two games each. The eventual group winners and runners-up qualified for the knock-out quarter-finals of the competition. The bottom team in each group went into the relegation play-offs. The eventual losers were relegated to
7221-412: Was one of the most respected figures within the GAA. The winning team is presented with a set of gold medals. Legend For year, the number of teams (in brackets) are shown. The following teams have competed in the McDonagh Cup for at least one season. Legend As of 2024 Cup . Includes Relegation Playoffs. The most successful team of each decade, judged by number of Joe McDonagh Cup titles,
7308-465: 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
7395-678: 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
7482-502: Was to be known as the Christy Ring Cup. There would also be promotion-relegation play-offs between the three championship tiers. The HDC also suggested that these games would be played as curtain raisers to All-Ireland quarter-finals and semi-finals. The proposal were accepted at the 2004 GAA Congress . The Christy Ring Cup and the Nicky Rackard Cup competitions were launched at Croke Park on 8 December 2004. The ten participating teams were divided into two groups of five and played in
7569-442: 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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