100-533: McAtee is an Irish surname. The name is an Anglicisation of the Gaelic Mac an tSaoi , meaning "son of the scholar" or "son of the wise man". Notable people with the name include: Irish language Irish ( Standard Irish : Gaeilge ), also known as Irish Gaelic or simply Gaelic ( / ˈ ɡ eɪ l ɪ k / GAY -lik ), is a Celtic language of the Indo-European language family . It
200-540: 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
300-697: 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
400-560: 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
500-472: 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,
600-541: 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
700-460: 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
800-641: A message of goodwill from 268 United States congressmen, including eight senators. The signatories expressed "their ardent congratulations on the birth of the State of Ireland and the consequent coming into effect of the new constitution", adding that "We regard the adoption of the new constitution and the emergence of the State of Ireland as events of the utmost importance." Feminists such as Hannah Sheehy Skeffington claimed that certain articles threatened their rights as citizens and as workers. Article 41.2, for example, equated womanhood with motherhood and further specified
900-563: A national emergency the Oireachtas may pass laws that would otherwise be unconstitutional, and the actions of the executive cannot be found to be ultra vires or unconstitutional provided they at least "purport" to be in pursuance of such a law. However, the constitutional prohibition on the death penalty (Article 15.5.2°), introduced by an amendment made in 2001, is an absolute exception to these powers. There have been two national emergencies since 1937: an emergency declared in 1939 to cover
1000-564: A new social problem or phenomenon not considered at the time of the Constitution being drafted (e.g. children's rights, same-sex marriage), to address outmoded provisions in the Constitution (e.g. special position of the Roman Catholic Church, prohibition on abortion), or to attempt to reverse or alter an interpretation of the court through a corrective referendum (e.g. Oireachtas enquiries). Usually referendums are only proposed when there
1100-757: A number of Christian denominations, such as the Anglican Church of Ireland , the Presbyterian Church in Ireland , as well as "the Jewish Congregations". It also recognised the "special position" of the Catholic Church. These provisions were removed by the Fifth Amendment in 1973 (see below). Nevertheless, the constitution still contains a number of explicit religious references, such as in the preamble,
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#17328587398811200-519: 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
1300-554: 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
1400-410: A prohibition on divorce. The ban on divorce was not removed until 1996. The Constitution had, from 1983 to 2018 , contained a prohibition of abortion. From 1992 the constitution did not prohibit the distribution of information about abortion services in other countries or the right of freedom of travel to procure an abortion. In theory, the prohibition of abortion did not apply to cases in which there
1500-611: 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
1600-691: A statewide plebiscite held on 1 July 1937. The Constitution may be amended solely by a national referendum . It is the longest continually operating republican constitution within the European Union . The Constitution of Ireland replaced the Constitution of the Irish Free State , which had been in effect since the independence, as a dominion , of the Irish state from the United Kingdom on 6 December 1922. There were two main motivations for replacing
1700-537: 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
1800-599: A woman's 'life within the home'. The Women Graduates' Association, the Joint Committee of Women's Societies and Social Workers, together with the Irish Women Workers' Union mobilised a two-month campaign seeking the provisions' amendment or deletion. The Republican Congress also critiqued the constitution's "stone-age conception of womanhood". Writing in the Irish Democrat, Peadar O'Donnell and Frank Ryan condemned
1900-511: 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 a result of linguistic imperialism . Today, Irish
2000-448: 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
2100-511: 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
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#17328587398812200-485: Is enrolled in both languages, and in case of conflict the Irish language version takes precedence, even though in practice the Irish text is a translation of the English rather than vice versa . The 1937 Constitution introduced some Irish-language terms into English, such as Taoiseach and Tánaiste , while others, such as Oireachtas , had been used in the Free State Constitution. The use in English of Éire ,
2300-559: Is more commonly used in the official sphere. A draft of the constitution was presented personally to the Vatican for review and comment on two occasions by the Department Head at External Relations, Joseph P. Walsh. Prior to its tabling in Dáil Éireann and presentation to the Irish electorate in a plebiscite, Vatican Secretary of State Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli , the future Pope Pius XII, said of
2400-567: 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
2500-535: Is partly appointed, partly indirectly elected and partly elected by a limited electorate. There is also an independent judiciary headed by the Supreme Court (Article 34). Under Article 28.3.3° the Constitution grants the state sweeping powers "in time of war or armed rebellion", which may (if so resolved by both Houses of the Oireachtas) include an armed conflict in which the state is not a direct participant. During
2600-529: 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 the education system. Linguistic analyses of Irish speakers are therefore based primarily on
2700-412: 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
2800-500: Is the fundamental law of Ireland . It asserts the national sovereignty of the Irish people . It guarantees certain fundamental rights, along with a popularly elected non-executive president , a bicameral parliament , a separation of powers and judicial review . It is the second constitution of the Irish state since independence, replacing the 1922 Constitution of the Irish Free State . It came into force on 29 December 1937 following
2900-585: Is wide political support for the proposed change. Article 25.5 provides that from time to time, the Taoiseach may cause an up to date text of the Constitution to be prepared in Irish and in English, embodying all of the amendments made so far (and retaining the transitory provisions). Once this new text has been signed by the Taoiseach, the Chief Justice and the President, it is enrolled on vellum and deposited with
3000-659: 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
3100-722: The 1932 general election . After 1932, under the provisions of the Statute of Westminster, some of the articles of the original Constitution which were required by the Anglo-Irish Treaty were dismantled by acts of the Oireachtas of the Irish Free State . Such amendments removed references to the Oath of Allegiance , appeals to the United Kingdom's Judicial Committee of the Privy Council ,
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3200-759: The British Crown and the Governor-General . The sudden abdication of Edward VIII in December 1936 was quickly used to redefine the Royal connection. Nevertheless, the Fianna Fáil government still desired to replace the constitutional document they saw as having been imposed by the British government in 1922. The second motive for replacing the original constitution was primarily symbolic. De Valera wanted to put an Irish stamp on
3300-619: 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 ")
3400-550: The X Case , the Supreme Court ruled that the state must permit an abortion where there is a danger to her life, including a risk of suicide. Writing in 1968 , Irish Times literary editor Terence de Vere White criticised both the constitution and the existing political system, "At the time of this writing, the Constitution of the Republic is under scrutiny, but it is unlikely that any proposed changes therein will radically alter
3500-510: The (non-binding) Directive Principles of Social Policy, as well as the system of vocational panels used to elect the Senate. The Constitution also grants very broadly worded rights to the institution of the family. The remaining religious provisions of the Constitution, including the wording of the Preamble, remain controversial and widely debated. As originally enacted, the Constitution also included
3600-611: 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
3700-502: The 1937 Constitution for upholding private property as a sacred, 'natural right' and declaring that capitalism was 'something ordained by Providence forever, amen!' The Congress further opposed the Roman Catholic Church's position as a 'State or semi-State church' in violation of republican principles and an offence to Protestants throughout the island. The 'Roman Catholic Bishops of the South', O'Donnell claimed, now functioned as 'the watchdogs of
3800-662: 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
3900-506: The 1999 changes to Articles 2 and 3 ; articles 34A and 64 were added by the Thirty-third (2013) to initialise the new Court of Appeal . The rejected 2013 proposal to abolish the Seanad included both the deletion of previous Seanad-related transitory provisions and the addition of two new abolition-related ones. The associated Referendum Commission published the full transitory provisions for
4000-403: 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
4100-512: 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
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4200-475: The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin . Other religious leaders who were consulted were Archbishop Edward Byrne (Roman Catholic), Archbishop John Gregg (Church of Ireland), William Massey (Methodist) and James Irwin (Presbyterian). There are a number of instances where the texts in English and Irish clash, a potential dilemma which the Constitution resolves by favouring the Irish text even though English
4300-469: The Constitution: either as soon Hyde took office, or three years later in the case of Article 51. Article 51 expressly provides that it would cease to have legal effect once it was removed, but the rest remain in force, which has created subsequent inconvenience. The Second Amendment made changes to Article 56 despite the fact that it was no longer a part of the official text. The transitional continuation of
4400-473: The Department of Finance's preferences for minimal state spending. In line with Ireland's banks and grazier farming interests, the final wording thus preserved the state's existing currency and cattle trading relations with the United Kingdom. The text of the draft constitution, with minor amendments, was approved on 14 June 1937 by Dáil Éireann (then the sole house of parliament, the Seanad having been abolished
4500-463: 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
4600-557: The Great Depression, as social polarisation generated campaigns and strikes, Catholic social jurists aimed to forestall class conflict. Taoiseach Éamon de Valera and clericalist advisors such as John Charles McQuaid considered constitutional provisions to incorporate land redistribution, credit system regulation, and welfare rights. Late in the drafting process, however, de Valera re-wrote these initially robust socio-economic rights as non-binding 'directive principles', primarily to satisfy
4700-671: The Irish Department of Education. De Valera served as his own External Affairs Minister, hence the use of the Department's Legal Advisor, with whom he had previously worked closely, as opposed to the Attorney General or someone from the Department of the President of the Executive Council. He also received significant input from John Charles McQuaid , the then President of Blackrock College , on religious, educational, family and social welfare issues. McQuaid later became, in 1940,
4800-498: The Irish Free State, in future to be described under the Constitution as 'Eire' or 'Ireland' ... [and] cannot recognise that the adoption of the name 'Eire' or 'Ireland', or any other provision of those articles [of the Irish constitution], involves any right to territory ... forming part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland ... They therefore regard the use of the name 'Eire' or 'Ireland' in this connection as relating only to that area which has hitherto been known as
4900-471: The Irish Free State. The other governments of the British Commonwealth countries chose to continue to regard Ireland as a member of the British Commonwealth. A proposal by the Northern Ireland government that Northern Ireland be renamed "Ulster" in response to the new Irish constitution was aborted after it was determined that this would require Westminster legislation. The Irish government received
5000-536: 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
5100-605: The Irish-language name of the state, is deprecated . The Constitution establishes a government under a parliamentary system . It provides for a directly elected, largely ceremonial President of Ireland (Article 12), a head of government called the Taoiseach (Article 28), and a national parliament called the Oireachtas (Article 15). The Oireachtas has a dominant directly elected lower house known as Dáil Éireann (Article 16) and an upper house Seanad Éireann (Article 18), which
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#17328587398815200-412: The Oireachtas had a right "to exercise jurisdiction over the whole of that territory". These articles offended Unionists in Northern Ireland, who considered them tantamount to an illegal extraterritorial claim. Under the terms of the 1998 Good Friday Agreement , Articles 2 and 3 were amended to remove any reference to a "national territory", and to state that a united Ireland should only come about with
5300-425: The Oireachtas", and "shall not be cognisable by any Court under any of the provisions of this Constitution" (preamble to Article 45). The "Directive Principles of Social Policy" feature little in contemporary parliamentary debates. However, no proposals have yet been made for their repeal or amendment. The principles require, in summary, that: The "Directive Principles" have influenced other constitutions. Notably,
5400-440: The President and Seanad — provision was made for their establishment within 180 days, and for the Oireachtas and Presidential Commission to function without them in the interim notwithstanding that they were otherwise essential. Judges were required to swear allegiance to the new Constitution to continue in office, but other continuing public servants were not. Article 51 allowed constitutional amendments without referendum during
5500-546: 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 ,
5600-731: 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
5700-487: The consent of majorities in both the jurisdictions on the island of Ireland. The amended Articles also guarantee the people of Northern Ireland the right to be a "part of the Irish Nation", and to Irish citizenship. This change came into force in December 1999. The Constitution guarantees freedom of worship, and forbids the state from creating an established church. Article 44.1 as originally enacted explicitly "recognised"
5800-452: The constitution in 1937. Firstly, the Statute of Westminster 1931 granted parliamentary autonomy to the six British Dominions (now known as Commonwealth realms ) within a British Commonwealth of Nations . This had the effect of making the dominions sovereign nations in their own right. The Irish Free State constitution of 1922 was, in the eyes of many, associated with the controversial Anglo-Irish Treaty . The anti-treaty faction, who opposed
5900-415: The constitution provided for a smooth takeover from the pre-existing institutions of the Free State to those established by the new constitution. Institutions would initially be assigned to their Free State analogues where available; this applied to the Dáil, courts, government, public service, Attorney General, Comptroller and Auditor General, Defence Forces and police. For constitutional innovations —
6000-430: The constitution's assertion of a territorial claim on Northern Ireland, and the absence in its text of any reference to the British Commonwealth. The London-based Daily Telegraph included in its criticism the special position assigned to the Church of Rome under the new constitution. The Sunday Times concluded it would only help to "perpetuate division" between Dublin and Belfast. The Irish Catholic concluded it
6100-411: The declaration made by the President, and the remaining text of Article 44.1, which reads: The State acknowledges that the homage of public worship is due to Almighty God. It shall hold His Name in reverence, and shall respect and honour religion. A number of ideas found in the Constitution reflect the Catholic social teachings when the original text was drafted. Such teachings informed the provisions of
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#17328587398816200-414: 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
6300-508: The family's "imprescriptible rights, antecedent and superior to all positive law" has been interpreted by the Supreme Court as conferring upon spouses a broad right to privacy in marital affairs. In McGee v. The Attorney General (1974) the court invoked this right to strike down laws banning the sale of contraceptives. The court also issued a controversial interpretation of Article 40.3.3°, which before its replacement in 2018 prohibited abortion. In Attorney General v X (1992), commonly known as
6400-403: The famous "Indian Directive Principles of State Policy" contained in the Constitution of India are influenced by the Constitution of Ireland. Moreover, the previous Constitution of Nepal adopted in 1962 and in force for 28 years and commonly called Panchayat Constitution contained a verbatim translation of the "Directive Principles" of the Irish constitution. The transitory provisions of
6500-401: The final amended draft: "We do not approve, neither do we disapprove; We shall maintain silence." The quid pro quo for this indulgence of the Catholic Church's interests in Ireland was the degree of respectability which it conferred on De Valera's formerly denounced republican faction and its reputation as the 'semi-constitutional' political wing of the 'irregular' anti-treaty forces. During
6600-430: 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
6700-443: The groups who opposed the constitution were supporters of Fine Gael and the Labour Party , Unionists , and some independents and feminists. The question put to voters was "Do you approve of the Draft Constitution which is the subject of this plebiscite?" . When the draft new constitution was published, the Irish Independent described it as one of de Valera's "finest tributes to his predecessors". The Irish Times criticised
6800-449: The information of voters, with a disclaimer that this did not constitute an "official" text. Any part of the Constitution may be amended, but only by referendum. The procedure for amendment of the Constitution is set out in Article 46. An amendment must first be passed by both Houses of the Oireachtas, then be submitted to a referendum, and then finally must be signed into law by the President. Amendments are sometimes proposed to address
6900-477: The institutions of government, and chose to do this in particular through the use of Irish language nomenclature. De Valera personally supervised the writing of the Constitution. It was drafted initially by John Hearne , legal adviser to the Department of External Affairs (now called the Department of Foreign Affairs). It was translated into Irish over a number of drafts by a group headed by Micheál Ó Gríobhtha (assisted by Risteárd Ó Foghludha), who worked in
7000-498: 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
7100-410: 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
7200-425: 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 ,
7300-524: The laws of the Oireachtas and activities of the Government it finds to be unconstitutional. Under judicial review the quite broad meaning of certain articles has come to be explored and expanded upon since 1937. The Supreme Court ruled that Articles 2 and 3, before their alteration in 1999, did not impose a positive obligation upon the state that could be enforced in a court of law. The reference in Article 41 to
7400-505: 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
7700-580: 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
7800-619: 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
7900-473: The office of the Registrar of the Supreme Court. Once enrolled, the new text becomes conclusive evidence of the Constitution, and supersedes earlier enrolled copies. The Constitution has been enrolled six times: in 1938, 1942, 1980, 1990, 1999, and 2019. The Constitution states that it is the highest law of the land and grants the Supreme Court of Ireland authority to interpret its provisions, and to strike down
8000-498: 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
8100-539: 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
8200-567: The pre-1937 courts was not formally ended until the Courts (Establishment and Constitution) Act 1961, whose long title refers to "Article 58 of the Constitution". A journalist commented in 1958 that the courts' status was determined by "a non-existent provision of the Constitution". Further transitory provisions have been added by subsequent constitutional amendments, and similarly omitted from officially published texts. The Nineteenth (1998) added subsections 3°, 4° and 5° to Article 29.7 to facilitate
8300-477: The previous year). The draft constitution was then put to a plebiscite on 1 July 1937 (the same day as the 1937 general election ), when it was passed by a plurality . 56% of voters were in favour, comprising 38.6% of the whole electorate. The constitution came into force on 29 December 1937 and, to mark the occasion, the Minister for Posts and Telegraphs issued two commemorative stamps on that date. Among
8400-633: The private property classes'. The official text of the Constitution consists of a Preamble, numbered Articles arranged under headings, and a final dedication ( Irish : Dochum glóire Dé agus onóra na hÉireann "For the glory of God and the Honour of Ireland", from the Annals of the Four Masters ). Its overall length is approximately 16,000 words. Article 8 of the Constitution states: Interpretation of these provisions has been contentious. The Constitution itself
8500-487: 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 )
8600-432: 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
8700-625: 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
8800-441: The system established. A Constitution on the United States model might well suit the people better than the present one; but the Irish are too innately Conservative ever to bring about such a change except by gradual and almost imperceptible degrees." As adopted in 1937, Article 2 asserted that "the whole island of Ireland, its islands and the territorial seas" formed a single "national territory", while Article 3 asserted that
8900-463: The threat to national security posed as a consequence of World War II (although the state remained formally neutral throughout that conflict), and an emergency declared in 1976 to deal with the threat to the security of the state posed by the Provisional IRA . Article 45 outlines broad principles of social and economic policy. Its provisions are, however, intended solely "for the general guidance of
9000-563: The three years after the first President took office ( Douglas Hyde did so on 25 June 1938 ). This was to facilitate the Oireachtas fixing any defects or oversights that quickly became obvious. The President could still demand a referendum in some cases, but the First (1939) and Second (1941) amendments were enacted under Article 51 without referendum. The transitory provisions are mostly still in force but spent . They themselves mandate that they be omitted from all officially published texts of
9100-476: The treaty initially by force of arms, was so opposed to the institutions of the new Irish Free State that it initially took an abstentionist line toward them, boycotting them altogether. However, the largest element of this faction became convinced that abstentionism could not be maintained forever. This element, led by Éamon de Valera , formed the Fianna Fáil party in 1926, which entered into government following
9200-705: 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
9300-594: 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
9400-416: Was a "noble document in harmony with papal teachings". When the new constitution was enacted, the British government, according to The New York Times , "contented itself with a legalistic protest". Its protest took the form of a communiqué on 30 December 1937, in which the British stated: His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom has considered the position created by the new Constitution ... of
9500-523: 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
9600-538: 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
9700-618: 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. Constitution of Ireland The Constitution of Ireland ( Irish : Bunreacht na hÉireann , pronounced [ˈbˠʊnˠɾˠəxt̪ˠ n̪ˠə ˈheːɾʲən̪ˠ] )
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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