100-466: Longford ( Irish : An Longfort ) is the county town of County Longford in Ireland. It had a population of 10,952 at the 2022 census . It is the biggest town in the county and about one third of the county's population lives there. Longford lies at the meeting of Ireland's N4 and N5 roads, which means that traffic travelling between Dublin and County Mayo , or north County Roscommon passes around
200-553: A Gaelscoil and St. Joseph's. There is also an adult education centre in Longford. St. Mel's College is the oldest of these schools, being founded in the 1860s by the Roman Catholic Bishop of Ardagh and Clonmacnois as a diocesan seminary to train students for the priesthood. While the school only briefly functioned as a seminary, it served for many years as a boarding school, while also admitting day students. The boarding school
300-540: 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
400-697: 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
500-560: 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
600-530: A bypass around the town, which consists of single carriageway with hard shoulders and four roundabouts. It was opened on 2 June 1995. Longford railway station (opened 8 November 1855) is on the Dublin-Sligo line of the Irish railway network . About 91 kilometres (57 mi) from Sligo and 122 km (76 mi) from Dublin , it is served by Sligo-Dublin intercity services. Despite its distance from Dublin, there
700-472: 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,
800-616: A decentralized government department which employs approximately 300 people, and a further 130 are employed at the Irish Prison Service's headquarters in the town. Connolly Barracks once employed approximately 180 soldiers, many of whom were involved in UN peace-keeping duties, until the barracks closed in January 2009. While construction was formerly a major local employer, following the post-2008 Irish economic downturn , there were job losses in
900-541: 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
1000-473: A focus on convenience, "heat and eat", products in its grocery shop on the ground floor, with its drapery department located upstairs. The company was said to have held buyout talks in 2000 with U.S. retail giant Wal-Mart , which had expressed an interest in entering Ireland. The Dunne family, however, declined and decided to retain control of their business. In 2003, the Irish government appointed an authorised officer to look into Dunnes Stores' records. While
1100-460: 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
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#17328524802621200-532: A large commercial development on South Great George's Street, Dublin as Headquarters for Dunnes Stores, which entailed the removal of some buildings and facade retention of several others, including the former Dunlop Factory on Stephen Street , and the Connolly Shoes building. The building has a dramatic glass corner atrium leading to an internal street through the development. The facade to George's Street respects existing building heights. The company owns 50% of
1300-531: A new store in Point Square, Dublin. It also extensively refurbished its Henry Street store for a second time. Dunnes Stores introduced a voucher scheme known as “Shop & Save”, whereby customers who spend between €25 and €50 receive a €5 voucher for their next shop, and customers who spend €50 or more receive a €10 voucher for their next shop. This has earned Dunnes Stores a loyal customer following. In March 2020, Dunnes Stores introduced priority shopping for
1400-529: A number of Irish designers such as Paul Costelloe, Padraic Harrington, Carolyn Donnelly, Joanne Hynes and Paul Galvin. They also sell in-house clothing brands such as Savida and Gallery, along with their own Dunnes Stores brand of clothing. Ben Dunne began his retail career as an employee at Anderson's drapery shop in Drogheda , Ireland, in 1926. In the mid-1930s, Dunne moved to Roches Stores in Cork . He rose to become
1500-502: A number of concessions including James Whelan Butchers, Sheridan's Cheesemongers and Baxter & Greene Markets Delis. In 2019, new stores opened in Naas, Ilac Centre and the refurbishment of stores in the Jetland and Briarhill. Also in 2019, Dunnes Stores celebrated 75 years of business. The refurbished Jetland store included Dunnes Stores's first beauty department. In 2023, Dunnes Stores opened
1600-574: 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
1700-554: 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
1800-611: 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
1900-488: A result of linguistic imperialism . Today, Irish is still commonly spoken as a first language in Ireland's Gaeltacht regions, in which 2% of Ireland's population lived in 2022. The total number of people (aged 3 and over) in Ireland who declared they could speak Irish in April 2022 was 1,873,997, representing 40% of respondents, but of these, 472,887 said they never spoke it and a further 551,993 said they only spoke it within
2000-528: A senior buyer for Roches Stores. When he was asked to oversee Roches' entire drapery business, he agreed on condition that he receive a pay rise. The owners refused, noting that he would be earning more than any of them. Dunne decided to leave Roches Stores and set up his own business. Dunne opened his first drapery shop on St Patrick’s Street, Cork on 31 March 1944, promising "better value" by offering goods at pre-war prices. Dunnes introduced its own-brand range in 1956, then branded as St Bernard , modelled on
2100-564: A supermarket. The grocery side of the business does not operate outside of Ireland, save for a limited grocery range in the Spanish stores. The larger stores usually contain a café branded as either Café Sol or Dunnes Stores Café. Dunnes Stores' original own brand of groceries was sold under the St Bernard brand introduced in 1956, becoming an Irish household name, but was rebranded as "My Family Favourites" in 2013. The main domestic competitors in
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#17328524802622200-474: A swimming pool, gym, and indoor and outdoor football and basketball facilities. Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is " Cfb " (Marine West Coast Climate/ Oceanic climate ). Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ),
2300-564: A system of apartheid, in which Ewan MacColl wrote a song about the issue. The Irish Government eventually banned all imports from South Africa until the end of apartheid, which happened between 1991-94. The workers eventually met African National Congress leader and political prisoner Nelson Mandela on the occasion of his conferral of the Freedom of the City of Dublin in 1990. A plaque presented by President of South Africa Thabo Mbeki , commemorating
2400-537: 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
2500-584: 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
2600-656: Is a regular, well-utilised commuter service to Dublin with journeys to Dublin Connolly generally taking about an hour and three-quarters. The Royal Canal reopened in October 2010 after years of being derelict and overgrown. Navigation is now possible from Spencer Dock, in Dublin, to the Shannon , in Clondra. There are a number of bus services to Dublin and other towns both outside and inside
2700-448: 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
2800-475: Is also a local bus service, operate a route from Longford railway station and Longford to Cavan via Drumlish , Arvagh and Crossdoney . As of 2014, this service is funded by the National Transport Authority . Longford's main air transport centre is located south-east of the town, at Abbeyshrule . Abbeyshrule Aerodrome receives a regular influx of small general aviation aircraft, including
2900-522: Is an Irish multinational retail chain that primarily sells food, clothes and household wares. It was founded by Ben Dunne in 1944. In addition to its main customer base in Ireland, the chain also has operations in Spain. The format of most of the chain's stores in Ireland involves a grocery supermarket operating alongside a clothing/textiles store, although some stores contain only textiles and some contain only
3000-511: 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
3100-567: 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
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3200-412: 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
3300-558: Is the major services centre for the county as well as the location of the Department of Social Welfare and the Irish Prison Service. The town is also a local commercial centre, with a number of retail outlets including multiples such as Tesco , German discount retailers , Aldi and Lidl and Irish retail outlets such as Dunnes Stores and Penneys . A retail park, the N4 Axis Centre, opened in Longford in October 2005. Longford town has
3400-659: 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
3500-532: The Arts Council . Backstage is a member of two arts touring networks: Nasc a nationwide network of seven venues and Nomad a north midlands based network. The town has a number of sports clubs and facilities, including the Gaelic Athletic Association , rugby and tennis clubs, a League of Ireland soccer club (Longford Town FC), two indoor swimming pools, a gym and an 18-hole golf course. A swimming pool
3600-496: The Cessna 182 and 150 . The airport also has two flight training centres; one for general aviation fixed wing aircraft training ( Aeroclub 2000 ) and one for microlight aircraft flight training ( Ultraflight ). The Backstage Theatre and Centre for the Arts is a facility for arts and culture projects in the town and surrounding areas. It is funded by Longford County Council with support from
3700-539: The Marks & Spencer St Michael brand. Through the 1950s, Dunne established stores in Wexford , Waterford , Limerick and Dublin , with the first Dublin shop being opened on Henry Street in 1957. Dunne opened a large shop on South Great George's Street, Dublin in 1960. This shop allowed customers to browse through items on racks before making a purchase, which was new to Irish retail. Dunnes continued to expand during
3800-619: 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 ")
3900-459: The Times described as a rare interview in 1971, "If there is one thing I hate it is publicity. No one is allowed to write about Ben Dunne. The people I do not like are the people who talk about what they have done and the people who talk about what they are going to do." In that same interview, Dunne reaffirmed his commitment to maintaining family control of his business, saying: "Public companies are like
4000-611: 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
4100-425: The 1960s, and in 1963, Dunne grouped his growing number of stores under a new corporate structure, Dunnes Holding Company, which took over ownership of the entire operation. He also set up a family trust at the same time, in part to ensure that the company remained family controlled. In the middle of the decade Dunne sparked a new revolution in the Irish retail scene. Until then, the company's stores had operated, like
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4200-769: 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
4300-403: 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
4400-563: 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
4500-603: The American-style convenience store concept for the Dublin market. By 2001, the company had opened a second store featuring the smaller format and had registered a new subsidiary name, Better Value Conveniently Yours Ltd., in what some observers saw as the company's intent on expanding its convenience store operations. In the meantime, Dunnes continued to open new stores, bringing its total to 125 stores. It opened its 126th shop on Henry Street in Limerick on 20 November 2001, again with
4600-689: The Asian fast-food chain, Neon. In spring 2018, Dunnes Stores confirmed the closure of all stores in England and Scotland , limiting their UK presence to Northern Ireland only. In 2018, Dunnes Stores commenced with a number of substantial refurbishments and expansions on some of its stores, including its stores in Bishopstown and Ballyvolane in Cork and in a number of stores in Dublin including Donaghmede, Blanchardstown and Swords. The refurbished supermarkets now contain
4700-463: 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
4800-536: 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
4900-516: The Leinster title in 2002 and 2010. The major boys' secondary school in Longford town, St. Mel's College , also has a tradition in secondary schools' football (known as Colleges A), winning 29 Leinster and 4 All-Ireland titles (in the Hogan Cup). The main local GAA club is Longford Slashers , based in Longford town, who have won more Longford Senior Football Championship titles (16) than any other team in
5000-533: The RDS Annual Art Industries Exhibition in 1910, where it received second prize. The cathedral was extensively damaged in a fire on Christmas Day 2009. It remained closed for five years after the fire, while it was the centre of one of the largest restoration projects undertaken in Europe. It reopened for services at midnight mass on Christmas Eve 2014 and has since become a tourist attraction. Two of
5100-597: The Republic of Ireland ), new appointees to the Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland , including postal workers , tax collectors , agricultural inspectors, Garda Síochána (police), etc., were required to have some proficiency in Irish. By law, a Garda who was addressed in Irish had to respond in Irish as well. In 1974, in part through the actions of protest organisations like the Language Freedom Movement ,
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#17328524802625200-569: The Republic of Ireland, 26 in Northern Ireland, 9 in Great Britain and 3 in Spain. Dunnes expanded into the Scottish market in 2000, opening a shop in Glasgow. It announced its intention to boost the number of Dunnes stores in the United Kingdom by up to 25, by 2005. In 2000, the business re-opened its unit on South Great George's Street in Dublin, this time as a grocery shop in a new format, adapting
5300-674: The action, was unveiled in Dublin in June 2008, and a street has been named after Mary in Johannesburg . Manning was invited to attend the Funeral of Nelson Mandela in 2013. In September 2011, the Irish Independent found that Dunnes Stores was selling bra-and-knicker sets for three to six-year-old girls. Dunnes also has padded bras for girls with a 28 to 30-inch chest, which are the typical measurements of nine-year-old girls. An attempted boycott
5400-682: The beginning of the following academic year. For a number of years there has been vigorous debate in political, academic and other circles about the failure of most students in English-medium schools to achieve competence in Irish, even after fourteen years of teaching as one of the three main subjects. The concomitant decline in the number of traditional native speakers has also been a cause of great concern. In 2007, filmmaker Manchán Magan found few Irish speakers in Dublin , and faced incredulity when trying to get by speaking only Irish in Dublin. He
5500-530: The company's business practices under Ben Dunne Jr. Dunnes faced other difficulties as well during the decade. The UK retail giant Tesco had entered the Irish market and gained steadily, taking the number one retail spot from Dunnes. At the same time, a new breed of deep-discount supermarket, led by the German Aldi and Lidl chains, had arrived in Ireland, placing Dunnes' own discount formula under pressure. By March 2000, Dunnes had some 119 outlets, with 81 in
5600-519: The construction industry and an increase in unemployment in the region. Longford town has a number of primary schools (for ages 4–12) and three secondary schools (for ages 12–19): two single-sex schools, St. Mel's College (a Catholic boys' school), and Scoil Mhuire (a Catholic girls' school run by the Sisters of Mercy ), as well as a mixed school, ( Templemichael College , formerly known as Longford Vocational School ). Primary schools in Longford include
5700-613: The country's retail sector in general, in Ireland's city centre. In 1965, however, Dunnes opened a store at Cornelscourt in what was then Ireland's first out-of-town shopping centre. Although scoffed at by experts, who believed the company would fail at the new location, the Cornelscourt site was not only a success, but became one of the company's flagship stores. By the end of the 1960s, Dunnes operated 17 stores across Ireland. This increased to 19 by October 1971. The company remained intensely private and, despite an active advertising schedule, wary of publicity. As Ben Dunne explained, in what
5800-425: The county provided by both the state ( Bus Éireann ) and private bus companies (Kane's, Donnelly's and Farrelly's.) Third level colleges are also served by the private companies during the academic year. Donnelly's Pioneer Bus Service, a local bus company based in Granard , operate a route from Longford to Granard via Ballinalee . There are three journeys each way daily (no Sunday service). Whartons Travel, which
5900-507: The county, including a win in 2013. Longford town's main association football (soccer) club, Longford Town FC , was founded in 1924 and was elected to the League of Ireland in 1984. The club's ground is at Strokestown Road . Longford Town FC has twice won the FAI Cup , in 2003 and 2004. The local rugby union club, Longford RFC , was formed in the 1960s and participates in the Leinster League . Longford Sports & Leisure Centre, located in an area known locally as The Mall, contains
6000-426: The drapery shop it had opened on South Great George's Street in Dublin in 1960, which at the time had been one of Ireland's first self-selection drapery shops. Ben Dunne Jr.'s tenure as leader of the family business came to an end in 1992, when he was arrested for cocaine possession in a Florida hotel. The resulting scandal led the other family members to oust their brother, resulting in a somewhat public battle among
6100-664: 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
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#17328524802626200-452: The elderly and vulnerable between 11:00-13:00, in response to the high volume of customer traffic in the mornings, a result from the COVID-19 pandemic where panic buying became an issue across Ireland . In 1984, Mary Manning, a shop worker in the Henry Street , Dublin branch, made international headlines when she led a picket for almost three years against the sale by Dunnes of oranges sourced from South Africa , then governing under
6300-835: The end of the 1970s, it had built up a network of more than 60 stores. By the beginning of the 1980s, the company operated seven stores in Northern Ireland. In 1980, Dunnes opened its first shop on the European continent, in Fuengirola in the Costa del Sol in Spain. The success of that venture led the company to begin construction on its second Spanish store the following year, which opened in Marbella. By 1981, Dunnes Stores represented 66 locations, producing estimated sales revenues of some £200,000,000. Dunne, by then in his 70s, had succeeded in building his company into one of Ireland's top ten firms. Dunne also had been joined by his five children, Frank, Margaret , Thérèse, Elizabeth, and, especially, youngest son Ben Dunne Jr. The company became swept up in political events in 1982 when Ben Dunne Jr.
6400-414: 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
6500-430: 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
6600-408: The founder of the diocese of Ardagh , was built between 1840 and 1856. It was designed by architect John Benjamin Keane , who also designed St Francis Xavier's Church on Gardiner Street in Dublin. St Mel's Cathedral features several stained glass windows by Harry Clarke studios. These include one of Clarke's earliest works, The consecration of St. Mel as Bishop of Longford , which was exhibited at
6700-415: The government. The government has the privilege of spending money foolishly and public companies are no better." In 1978, Dunnes purchased Crumlin Shopping Centre in Dublin, which had been built four years earlier with 41 units including 2 large units, and having Dunnes Stores as anchor. Dunnes added its first store in Northern Ireland in 1971. The company continued to expand its retail business, and by
6800-406: The intricate stained-glass windows in the transepts of the cathedral, depicting St Anne and the Resurrection, have been restored. Longford town has a 212-seat theatre called Backstage Theatre just outside of the town, and a four-screen multiplex cinema, with restaurants. The Irish Prison Service HQ, which is in the Lisnamuck area of the town, has a sculpture by artist Remco de Fouw , which is one of
6900-498: 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
7000-410: 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
7100-425: 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 ,
7200-408: The largest pieces of sculpture in Ireland. In a 2003 Guardian article about Patrick McCabe , Longford's "features of distinction" are described as including " a hulking cathedral , a rash of fast-food joints, a grubby cinema and a shopping mall". Longford's main industries are food production, sawmills, steelworking, generator retailing, cable making and the production of medical diagnostics. It
7300-453: The meantime, the alleged unorthodoxy of Ben Dunne Jr.'s business practices, which included funnelling Dunnes Stores funds into the offshore bank accounts of a number of Irish political figures, brought the company once again into the limelight in the late-1990s. The resulting political scandal had an additional consequence for the very private company, when the government announced in 1997 that it would appoint an authorised officer to inquire into
7400-563: 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
7500-771: 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
7600-463: 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
7700-639: 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
7800-498: 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
7900-628: The otherwise publicity-shy family. In order to quantify and document the financial dealings of her brother, Margaret Heffernan commissioned a report from Price Waterhouse accountants, which was eventually disclosed in the legal case between the Dunne siblings (and which eventually lead to the McCracken Tribunal ). In the end, the company paid IR£100 million to buy out Ben Dunne Jr.'s share of the business. The family faced other tragedies, as sisters Thérèse and Elizabeth both died at relatively young ages. In
8000-539: 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
8100-487: 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 )
8200-432: 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
8300-560: The results of that investigation were to remain private, it nevertheless represented a new intrusion for the company's carefully guarded privacy. That same desire for privacy had reportedly led the company to quash a story slated to appear about Dunnes Stores in the Irish Independent , which allegedly chose not to run the story in order to safeguard the yearly €1.6 million in advertising revenues provided by Dunnes Stores. In 2007, Dunnes refurbished its shop at Henry Street , Dublin . Also in 2007, architect Arthur Gibney & Partners designed
8400-625: 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
8500-576: The south of Longford, in Keenagh , is the visitor centre of the Corlea Trackway . It houses a preserved 18-metre stretch of Iron Age bog road, which was built in c. 148 BC . There are also a number of portal dolmens located around Longford. The town serves as the cathedral town of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Ardagh and Clonmacnoise . St Mel's Cathedral , dedicated to Saint Mel ,
8600-603: The supermarket business are Tesco , SuperValu , Lidl and Aldi . Since first opening, Dunnes Stores has consistently maintained a top-three market share in Ireland's grocery market, formerly alongside Quinnsworth and currently alongside SuperValu and Tesco. Combined, Dunnes, Tesco and SuperValu currently account for approximately 70% of Ireland's grocery market. Currently, Dunnes Stores is Ireland’s number one supermarket, holding this title since 2018. In clothing, their rivals include Penneys and Marks and Spencer . Dunnes collaborate for many clothing/home wares collections from
8700-467: The sway of the local clan which controlled the south and middle of the County of Longford (historically called Anghaile or Annaly) and hence, the town was known as Longfort Uí Fhearghail (fort/stronghold of O'Farrell). A Dominican priory was founded there in 1400. St. John's Church of Ireland (formerly known as Templemichael Parish Church) was built on the site of the priory in 1710. Located to
8800-599: The town. Longford railway station , on the Dublin-Sligo line , is used heavily by commuters. The town is built at a fording point on the banks of the River Camlin (from Irish Camlinn , meaning 'crooked pool'), which is a tributary of the River Shannon . According to several sources, the name Longford is an Anglicization of the Irish Longphort , referring to a fortress or fortified house. The area came under
8900-608: 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
9000-594: 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
9100-523: 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
9200-586: Was discontinued after 2000 and the school is now only a day school, with the largest student enrolment in County Longford. Longford is at the point of divergence of the N5 road to Castlebar / Westport / Ireland West Airport and the N4 road which continues onwards to Sligo . The N5 originally started in the town centre, causing occasional traffic congestion . The town's bypass opened on 3 August 2012. The N4 Sligo road has
9300-643: 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
9400-497: 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. Dunnes Stores Dunnes Stores
9500-465: Was kidnapped and held captive for several days by the IRA . Ben Dunne Senior died of a heart attack at 4pm on 14 April 1983. Although the business was nominally handed to all five of his children, most of whom played an active role in the company's operations, actual leadership of the company became the responsibility of his son, Ben Dunne Jr. Dunnes expanded into England in 1986. In 1990, Dunnes closed
9600-586: Was made on Dunnes due to reports of selling goods made in Burma. On 2 April 2015, members of the Mandate Trade Union had a one-day dispute at 109 branches of Dunnes Stores. The dispute concerned low-hour contracts (typically 15 hours per week), income and employment security, and the continued failure of Dunnes Stores to recognise or engage with the Mandate Trade Union, contrary to the recommendations of
9700-601: Was opened in Longford in 2007. The sport with most support in County Longford is Gaelic football . The headquarters of the Longford Gaelic Athletic Association is located in Pearse Park in Longford Town, with a ground capacity of around 11,000. The Longford Gaelic football team won a Leinster title at Senior level in 1968 and a National League title in 1966. The minor (under-18) Longford county team won
9800-465: 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
9900-678: 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
10000-442: 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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