104-604: The Treaty of Limerick ( Irish : Conradh Luimnigh ), signed on 3 October 1691, ended the 1689 to 1691 Williamite War in Ireland , a conflict related to the 1688 to 1697 Nine Years' War . It consisted of two separate agreements, one with military terms of surrender, signed by commanders of a French expeditionary force and Irish Jacobites loyal to the exiled James II . Baron de Ginkell , leader of government forces in Ireland, signed on behalf of William III and his wife Mary II . It allowed Jacobite units to be transported to France ,
208-540: 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
312-697: 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
416-560: 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
520-472: 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,
624-541: 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
728-460: 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
832-654: A high figure, but it was important as regards quality. In this context, James Francis Fitz-James Stuart (1696–1739), Duke of Berwick and of Liria is just one example of this success. He began to serve the monarchy in 1711 and succeeded in becoming General Lieutenant (1732), ambassador in Russia, in Austria and in Naples, where he died. In 1702, an Irish grenadier company led by Francis Terry entered Venetian service. This company of Jacobite exiles served at Zara until 1706. Colonel Terry became
936-574: 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
1040-554: 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
1144-420: A pro-war faction, headed by Sarsfield , who argued military victory was still possible, and those led by Tyrconnell , who advocated negotiating peace while they still retained an army. In May, a French convoy reached Limerick with additional French troops, arms and provisions but lack of transport meant most of it remained in the port. These articles dealt with the treatment of the disbanded Jacobite army. Under
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#17328547384251248-611: 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
1352-503: A resumption of war with England and refused their request. Nevertheless, their arrival led to the formation of a new Irish regiment in Flanders, officered by Gaelic Irish nobles and recruited from their followers and dependents in Ireland. This regiment was more overtly political than its predecessor in Spanish service and was militantly hostile to English Protestant rule of Ireland. The regiment
1456-537: 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
1560-595: 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 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
1664-448: 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
1768-511: 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
1872-567: 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
1976-412: 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
2080-659: 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
2184-617: The Battle of Boyne in July 1690 was less decisive than appeared at the time, Jacobite losses being around 2,000 out of a force of 25,000. That assumption formed the basis of the Declaration of Finglas , largely dictated by Irish Protestants; it offered the Jacobite rank and file amnesty, but by excluding senior officers, threatened another round of land confiscations. The war continued, with French victories in
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#17328547384252288-647: The Battle of Klushino , against largely Catholic Poland, the only European country with statutory freedom of religion at the time. The Irish then served in Polish service for several years during the Polish–Muscovite War (1605–1618) , until their wages went unpaid. Irish recruitment for continental armies declined sharply after it was made illegal in 1745. In practical terms, this meant that recruiting within Ireland itself effectively ceased and Irishmen seeking employment in foreign armies had to make their own way to
2392-668: The Flight of the Wild Geese . The Jacobite soldiers also had the option of joining the Williamite army. 1,000 soldiers chose this option. The Jacobite soldiers thirdly had the option of returning home which some 2,000 soldiers chose. This treaty had twenty-nine articles, which were agreed upon between Lieutenant-General Ginkle , Commander-in-Chief of the English army, and the Lieutenant-Generals D'Usson and de Tessé , Commanders-in-Chief of
2496-722: The Franco-Prussian War a volunteer Irish medical unit, the Franco-Irish Ambulance Brigade , was serving with the French Army. It was some time before the British armed forces began to tap into Irish Catholic manpower. In the late 18th century, the Penal Laws were gradually relaxed and in the 1790s the laws prohibiting Catholics from bearing arms were abolished. Thereafter, the British began recruiting Irish regiments for
2600-669: The Irish House of Commons in December 1699 as follows: Of these, 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 is a member of the Goidelic language group of the Insular Celtic sub branch of the family and
2704-634: The Irish Rebellion of 1641 and fought in the armies of Confederate Ireland – a movement of Irish Catholics. When the Confederates were defeated and Ireland occupied after the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland , around 34,000 Irish Confederate troops fled the country to seek service in Spain. Some of them later deserted or defected to French service, where the conditions were deemed better. During
2808-514: The Low Countries briefly increasing hopes of a Stuart restoration. The Jacobites established a defensive line along the Shannon , and repulsed attempts to capture Limerick and Athlone . However, Connacht and County Kerry could not feed an additional 20,000 soldiers, plus refugees, while the loss of the south-western ports of Kinsale and Cork made resupply from France extremely difficult. By
2912-740: The Nine Years' War against the Dutch. Five regiments, led by Justin McCarthy, Viscount Mountcashel formed the nucleus of Mountcashel's French Irish Brigade . A year later, after the Irish Jacobites under Patrick Sarsfield agreed to favourable peace terms and capitulated at the Treaty of Limerick in 1691, the fully armed and equipped Irish Army withdrew to France. Sarsfield sailed to France on 22 December 1691, leading 19,000 of his countrymen and countrywomen to enter
3016-619: 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 ")
3120-826: The Royal Irish Rifles , the Royal Irish Fusiliers , the Connaught Rangers and the Royal Munster Fusiliers . With the creation of the Irish Free State in 1922, five of the above regiments were disbanded, with most of the remainder undergoing a series of amalgamations between 1968 and 2006. The United Kingdom still retains four Irish-named regiments: the Irish Guards , the Royal Irish Regiment ,
3224-648: The Scottish and North Irish Yeomanry , and the London Irish Rifles . The Queen's Royal Hussars , the successor regiment of the Queen's Royal Irish Hussars , and the Royal Dragoon Guards , the successor regiment of the 4th Royal Irish Dragoon Guards and the 5th Royal Inniskilling Dragoon Guards , maintain the Irish heritage of their antecedent regiments through their uniforms, regimental bands and traditions, such as
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3328-494: The Siege of Astorga (1812) where an Irish detachment of elite voltigeurs formed the "forlorn hope" and led the assault battalion, comprising the 47th Regiment of the Line, which stormed through the breach, taking cover all night under heavy fire inside the city's walls. By morning the defenders surrendered as they were out of ammunition. The last significant action involving the unit was during
3432-632: The siege of Antwerp in 1814, when the Irish Legion defended the city for three months against an Anglo-Prussian force which had landed in the Low Countries to defeat Napoleon. The siege was lifted after Napoleon's abdication and the unit was shortly afterwards disbanded, ending a 125-year-old Irish military tradition in France. Despite being less studied, the ancient and traditional " mestiere delle armi " in Italy
3536-645: The 16th, 17th and 18th centuries. An earlier exodus in 1690, during the same war, had formed the French Irish Brigade , who are sometimes misdescribed as Wild Geese. The first Irish troops to serve as a unit for a continental power formed an Irish regiment in the Spanish Army of Flanders in the Eighty Years' War in the 1590s. The regiment had been raised by an English Catholic, William Stanley , in Ireland from native Irish soldiers and mercenaries, whom
3640-558: 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
3744-908: The 18th century, Spain's Irish regiments saw service not only in Europe but also in the Americas. As examples, the Irlanda Regiment (raised 1698) was stationed in Havana from 1770 to 1771, the Ultonia Regiment (raised 1709) in Mexico from 1768 to 1771, and the Regiment of Hibernia (raised 1709) in Honduras from 1782 to 1783. At the time of the Napoleonic Wars all three of these Irish infantry regiments still formed part of
3848-719: The 1998 Good Friday Agreement , the language gradually received a degree of formal recognition in Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom, and then, in 2003, by the British government's ratification in respect of the language of the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages . In the 2006 St Andrews Agreement the British government promised to enact legislation to promote the language and in 2022 it approved legislation to recognise Irish as an official language alongside English. The bill received royal assent on 6 December 2022. The Irish language has often been used as
3952-400: 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
4056-403: 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
4160-512: 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
4264-699: The Austrian Habsburg Empire . It was not uncommon for Irish commanders of the Habsburg Empire to encounter enemy armies led by other Irishmen. One such example was Peter Lacy , a field marshal in the Imperial Russian Army, whose son Franz excelled in the Austrian service. General Maximilian Ulysses Browne , the Austrian commanding officer in the Battle of Lobositz , was also of Irish descent. Recruitment for Austrian service included areas of
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4368-443: The Colonel of a Venetian Dragoon Regiment, which the Terry family mostly commanded until 1797. Colonel Terry's Dragoons uniforms were red-faced blue in the Irish tradition. The Limerick Regiment, of Irish Jacobites, transferred from Spanish service to that of the Bourbon king of Sicily in 1718. Throughout this period, there were also substantial numbers of Irish officers and men in the armies or service of European powers, including
4472-526: The Continent. Replacements accordingly were drawn increasingly from the descendants of Irish soldiers who had settled in France or Spain; from non-Irish foreign recruits such as more readily available Germans or Swiss; or from natives of the recruiting countries. In 1732, Sir Charles Wogan indicated in a letter to Dean Swift that 120,000 Irishmen had been killed and wounded in foreign service "within these forty years", with Swift later replying: I cannot but highly esteem those gentlemen of Ireland who, with all
4576-401: The Crown Force – including for such units as the Connaught Rangers . Several more Irish-labelled units were created in the 19th century. By 1914 infantry regiments in the British Army that were associated with Ireland included the Prince of Wales's Leinster Regiment , the Royal Dublin Fusiliers , the Irish Guards , the Royal Irish Regiment , the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers ,
4680-425: The English authorities wanted out of the country. (See also Tudor conquest of Ireland ). Stanley was given a commission by Elizabeth I and was intended to lead his regiment on the English side, in support of the Dutch United Provinces . However, in 1585, motivated by religious factors and bribes offered by the Spaniards, Stanley defected to the Spanish side with the regiment. In 1598 Diego Brochero de Anaya wrote to
4784-404: 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
4888-473: The French service in the first phase of the military denuding of Ireland. Sarsfield's exodus included 14,000 soldiers and around 6,000 women and children. This event began what is remembered in Ireland as the Flight of the Wild Geese . In a poem two centuries later, W. B. Yeats would mourn: Was it for this the Wild Geese spread A grey wing on every tide… Sarsfield's Irish army was regrouped and equipped in their red coats, symbolizing their allegiance to
4992-735: The Irish army. The articles were signed by D'Usson, Le Chevalier de Tesse, Latour Montfort, Patrick Sarsfield (Earl of Lucan), Colonel Nicholas Purcell of Loughmoe , Mark Talbot , and Piers, Viscount Galmoy . These articles protected the rights of the defeated Jacobite landed gentry and merchants who chose to remain in Ireland, most of whom were Catholics. Their property was not to be confiscated so long as they swore allegiance to William III and Mary II , and Catholic noblemen were to be allowed to bear arms . Four were included by name: Colonel Lutterel , Captain Rowland White, Maurice Eustace of Yeomanstown , and Chievers of Maystown commonly called Mount Leinster . William required peace in Ireland and
5096-425: 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
5200-557: The Netherlands until 1600 when it was disbanded due to heavy wastage through combat and sickness. Following the defeat of the Gaelic armies of the Nine Years' War , the " Flight of the Earls " took place in 1607. The Earl of Tyrone Hugh O'Neill , the Earl of Tyrconnell Rory O'Donnell and the Lord of Beare and Bantry, Donal O'Sullivan , along with many chiefs, Gallowglass , and their followers from Ulster , fled Ireland. They hoped to get Spanish help in order to restart their rebellion in Ireland, but King Philip III of Spain did not want
5304-424: The Republic of Ireland ), new appointees to the Civil Service of the Republic of Ireland , including postal workers , tax collectors , agricultural inspectors, Garda Síochána (police), etc., were required to have some proficiency in Irish. By law, a Garda who was addressed in Irish had to respond in Irish as well. In 1974, in part through the actions of protest organisations like the Language Freedom Movement ,
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#17328547384255408-430: The Spanish King Philip III : that every year Your Highness should order to recruit in Ireland some Irish soldiers, who are people tough and strong, and nor the cold weather or bad food could kill them easily as they would with the Spanish, as in their island, which is much colder than this one, they are almost naked, they sleep on the floor and eat oats bread, meat and water, without drinking any wine. The unit fought in
5512-431: The Spanish army. Heavy losses and recruiting difficulties diluted the Irish element in these units, although the officers remained of Irish ancestry. The Hibernia Regiment had to be reconstituted with Galician recruits in 1811 and ended the war as an entirely Spanish corps. All three regiments were finally disbanded in 1818 on the grounds that insufficient recruits, whether Irish or other foreigners, were forthcoming. From
5616-480: The Stuart king. In 1692, a large Franco-Irish army had assembled on the French coast for an invasion of England, but the proposed invasion was scuppered due to the French naval defeat at Battles of Barfleur and La Hogue . Sarsfield's Wild Geese were then re-grouped on the same footing as Mountcashel's Irish Brigade. Up until 1745, the Catholic Irish gentry were allowed to discreetly recruit soldiers for French service. The authorities in Ireland saw this as preferable to
5720-444: The Treaty of Limerick. The Galway garrison had been organised by the mostly-Catholic landed gentry of counties Galway and Mayo, who benefited from their property guarantees in the following century. The Limerick treaty marked the end of the war. In the following 8 years further confiscations were made from the continuing adherents to the Jacobite cause, and also further pardons were granted. The Commissioners of Forfeitures reported to
5824-411: The Wild Geese The Flight of the Wild Geese was the departure of an Irish Jacobite army under the command of Patrick Sarsfield from Ireland to France, as agreed in the Treaty of Limerick on 3 October 1691, following the end of the Williamite War in Ireland . More broadly, the term Wild Geese is used in Irish history to refer to Irish soldiers who left to serve in continental European armies in
5928-577: The beginning of the following academic year. For a number of years there has been vigorous debate in political, academic and other circles about the failure of most students in English-medium schools to achieve competence in Irish, even after fourteen years of teaching as one of the three main subjects. The concomitant decline in the number of traditional native speakers has also been a cause of great concern. In 2007, filmmaker Manchán Magan found few Irish speakers in Dublin , and faced incredulity when trying to get by speaking only Irish in Dublin. He
6032-429: The diaspora known as the Flight of the Wild Geese . The other set out conditions for those who remained, including guarantees of religious freedom for Catholics , and retention of property for those who remained in Ireland. Many were subsequently altered or ignored, establishing the Protestant Ascendancy that dominated Ireland until the Catholic emancipation in the first half of the 19th century. William's victory at
6136-401: The disadvantages of being exiles and strangers, have been able to distinguish themselves by their valour and conduct in so many parts of Europe, I think, above all other nations. As noted above, as late as the late 1780s, there were still three Irish regiments in France. During the Napoleonic Wars at least nominally Irish units continued to serve in the Spanish and French armies. At the time of
6240-414: 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
6344-430: 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
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#17328547384256448-498: 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
6552-410: 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
6656-425: 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 ,
6760-444: The late 18th and throughout the 19th century, further Irish officers served in the Habsburg Empire, so Andreas O'Reilly von Ballinlough (1742–1832), whose military service extended through the Seven Years' War , the War of the Bavarian Succession , the Austro-Turkish War , the French Revolutionary Wars , and the Napoleonic Wars , furthermore Laval Graf Nugent von Westmeath and Maximilian Graf O’Donnell von Tyrconnell , who saved
6864-530: The life of Emperor Franz Joseph I during an assassination attempt. Gottfried von Banfield finally became the most successful Austro-Hungarian naval aeroplane pilot in the First World War. In 1609, Arthur Chichester , then Lord Deputy of Ireland , deported 1,300 former rebel Irish soldiers from Ulster to serve in the Protestant Swedish Army . However, under the influence of Catholic clergy, many of them deserted to Polish service. The Catholic Irish troops in Protestant Swedish service changed sides during
6968-575: The mid-17th century or so, France overtook Spain as the destination for Catholic Irishmen seeking a military career. The reasons for this included the increased overlap between French and Irish interests, and the ease of migration to France and Flanders from Ireland. France recruited many foreign soldiers during various periods; Germans, Italians, Irish, Scottish and Swiss. André Corvisier, the authority on French military archives, estimates that foreigners accounted for around 12% of all French troops in peacetime and 20% of troops during warfare. In common with
7072-399: The mid-18th century, English was becoming a language of the Catholic middle class, the Catholic Church and public intellectuals, especially in the east of the country. Increasingly, as the value of English became apparent, parents sanctioned the prohibition of Irish in schools. Increasing interest in emigrating to the United States and Canada was also a driver, as fluency in English allowed
7176-400: The midlands of Ireland, and members of the Taaffe , O'Neill and Wallis families served with Austria. Count Alexander O'Nelly (O'Neill), who came from Ulster, commanded the 42nd Bohemian Infantry Regiment from 1734 to 1743. Much earlier, in 1634, during the Thirty Years' War , Irish officers led by Walter Deveraux assassinated general Albrecht von Wallenstein on the orders of the Emperor. In
7280-497: The name of the language is Gaeilge , from the South Connacht form, spelled Gaedhilge prior the spelling reform of 1948, which was originally the genitive of Gaedhealg , the form used in Classical Gaelic . The modern spelling results from the deletion of the silent ⟨dh⟩ in Gaedhilge . Older spellings include Gaoidhealg [ˈɡeːʝəlˠəɡ] in Classical Gaelic and Goídelc [ˈɡoiðʲelɡ] in Old Irish . Goidelic , used to refer to
7384-409: The new immigrants to get jobs in areas other than farming. An estimated one quarter to one third of US immigrants during the Great Famine were Irish speakers. Irish was not marginal to Ireland's modernisation in the 19th century, as is often assumed. In the first half of the century there were still around three million people for whom Irish was the primary language, and their numbers alone made them
7488-580: The new regime was automatically suspect. Some managed to have outlawry specifically reversed, such as the 8th Viscount Dillon in 1694, or the Earl of Clanricarde in 1701. The Papacy again recognized James II as the lawful king of Ireland from 1693. From 1695 this provoked a series of harsh penal laws to be enacted by the Parliament of Ireland , to make it difficult for the Irish Catholic gentry who had not taken
7592-639: 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
7696-748: The oath by 1695 to remain Catholic. The laws were extended for political reasons by the Dublin administration during the War of the Spanish Succession (1701–14), and reforms did not start until the 1770s. It is often thought that Limerick was the only treaty between the Jacobites and the Williamites. A similar treaty had been signed on the surrender of Galway on 22 July 1691, but without the strict loyalty oath required under
7800-533: The obverse; "Liberte des Conscience/Independence d'Irlande" ("Freedom of Conscience/Independence to Ireland"). In December 1804 they received a new Colour and Napoleon's cherished bronze-cast Imperial Eagle. Many officers from the ancien régime Irish Brigade also joined the unit, where it gained distinction in the Walcheren Expedition in the Low Countries and during the Peninsular War , in particular during
7904-672: The other foreign troops the Irish regiments were paid more than their French counterparts. Both Irish and Swiss regiments in French service wore red uniforms, though this had no connection with the redcoats of the British army. The crucial turning point came during the Williamite War in Ireland (1688–91), when Louis XIV gave military and financial aid to the Irish Jacobites . In 1690, in return for 6,000 French troops that were shipped to Ireland, Louis demanded 6,000 Irish recruits for use in
8008-498: 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
8112-578: The outbreak of the French Revolution , the Irish Brigade ceased to exist as a separate entity on 21 July 1791 when the 12 non-Swiss foreign regiments then in existence were integrated into the line infantry of the French Army. Although the remaining Irish regiments: Dillon's, Berwick's and Walsh's, lost their distinctive red uniforms and separate status, they were still known informally by their traditional titles. Many individual Franco-Irish officers left
8216-539: 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
8320-511: The potentially disruptive effects of having large numbers of unemployed young men of military age in the country. However, after a composite Irish detachment from the French Army (drawn from each of the regiments comprising the Irish Brigade and designated as "Irish Picquets") was used to support the Jacobite rising of 1745 , the British authorities realised the dangers of this policy and banned recruitment for foreign armies in Ireland. After this point,
8424-513: The rank and file of the Irish units in French service were increasingly non-Irish, although the officers continued to be recruited from Ireland. During the Seven Years' War efforts were made to find recruits from among Irish prisoners of war or deserters from the British Army. Otherwise, recruitment was limited to a trickle of Irish volunteers who were able to make their own way to France, or from
8528-487: 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 )
8632-483: The requirement for entrance to the public service was changed to proficiency in just one official language. Nevertheless, Irish remains a required subject of study in all schools in the Republic of Ireland that receive public money (see Education in the Republic of Ireland ). Teachers in primary schools must also pass a compulsory examination called Scrúdú Cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge . As of 2005, Garda Síochána recruits need
8736-683: The revival was the Gaelic League ( Conradh na Gaeilge ), and particular emphasis was placed on the folk tradition, which in Irish is particularly rich. Efforts were also made to develop journalism and a modern literature. Although it has been noted that the Catholic Church played a role in the decline of the Irish language before the Gaelic Revival, the Protestant Church of Ireland also made only minor efforts to encourage use of Irish in
8840-435: The service in 1792 when Louis XVI was deposed, as their oath of loyalty was to him and not to the French nation. In 1803 Napoleon Bonaparte raised a light infantry Irish unit composed mainly of veterans of the Irish Rebellion of 1798 . Napoleon's Irish Legion originally comprised one under-strength battalion but it was later raised to a regiment comprising four battalions and a regimental depot or headquarters. The Legion
8944-628: The sons of former members of the Irish Brigade who had remained in France. During the Seven Years' War, the Irish Regiments in French service were: Bulkeley, Clare, Dillon, Rooth, Berwich and Lally. Additionally, there was a regiment of cavalry: Fitzjames . By the end of the 18th century, even the officers of the Irish Regiments were drawn from Franco-Irish families who had settled in France for several generations. While often French in all but name, such families retained their Irish heritages. Following
9048-611: The spring of 1691, both soldiers and civilians were starving. Although the English Parliament was divided politically, all parties broadly agreed on the need to re-establishing the pre-1685 settlement. In fact, Parliament wanted more resources dedicated to Ireland than William , who viewed it as secondary to the war in Europe. In 1691, French preparations for an offensive in the Low Countries led William to authorise De Ginkell to offer whatever terms were necessary to make peace. This caused much conflict later on. Jacobite strategy
9152-510: The treaty, Jacobite soldiers in formed regiments had the option to leave with their arms and flags for France to continue serving under James II in the Irish Brigade . Some 14,000 Jacobites chose this option and were marched south to Cork where they embarked on ships for France, many of them accompanied by their wives and children. Individual soldiers wanting to join the French, Spanish or Austrian armies also emigrated in what became known as
9256-705: 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
9360-594: 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
9464-460: 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 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
9568-745: Was allied to the Papacy in 1691 within the League of Augsburg . This Treaty contained thirteen articles which were agreed upon, on the Williamite side, by the Lords Justices of Ireland — Sir Charles Porter and Thomas Coningsby, 1st Earl Coningsby — and the Commander-in-Chief, Baron de Ginkel; and on the Jacobite side by Patrick Sarsfield, 1st Earl of Lucan ; Piers Butler, 3rd Viscount Galmoye ; Colonels Nicholas Purcell of Loughmoe , Nicholas Cusack , Garrett Dillon , and John Brown; and Sir Toby Butler , who
9672-507: Was also a well-known profession by the Irish. The " tercio " of Lucas Taf (around 500 men) served in Milan towards 1655. The Army of Savoy included also Irishmen, but in Italy, the Irish were organized basically by the Spanish administration. In 1694, another regiment in Milan was exclusively composed of Irishmen. Around 3–4% of a total of 20,000 men were Irish in the Spanish Army of Milan. It is not
9776-523: 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
9880-512: Was created over plans to use the Irish regiment to invade Ireland in 1627. The regiment was garrisoned in Brussels during the truce in the Eighty Years' War from 1609 to 1621 and developed links with Irish Catholic clergy based in the seminary there, creating the Irish Colleges – including Florence Conroy . Many of the Irish troops in Spanish service returned to Ireland after
9984-467: Was designated as a distinctly Irish unit from its establishment. The intention was that the Legion would spearhead an invasion of Ireland, supported by French troops. The unit was dressed in emerald-green uniforms faced with gold and received their regimental colour of a gold harp in each corner on a green background inscribed with "Le Premier Consul aux Irlandos Uni" ("The First Consul to United Ireland") and on
10088-643: 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
10192-476: 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. Flight of
10296-578: Was impacted by internal divisions. James II saw Ireland as a distraction, a perspective shared by many of the English and Scots exiles. For the French, it was a way to divert Williamite resources, and their approach was purely military. After the Boyne, they recommended Dublin be destroyed, and argued Limerick should not be defended; they withdrew to Galway in September 1690, and many of their troops returned to France. The Irish Jacobites were broadly divided into
10400-479: Was led by Hugh O'Neill's son John. Prominent officers included Owen Roe O'Neill and Hugh Dubh O'Neill . A fresh source of recruits came in the early 17th century, when Roman Catholics were banned from military and political office in Ireland. As a result, the Irish units in the Spanish service began attracting Catholic Old English officers such as Thomas Preston and Garret Barry . These men had more pro-English views than their Gaelic counterparts and animosity
10504-465: 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
10608-678: 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
10712-530: Was the actual draftsman. The treaty was signed by Porter, Coningsby, and de Ginkel, and witnessed by Scavenmoer, H. Mackay, and T. Talmash. It has been said that "the ink was not dry on the Treaty" before the English broke it—the civil articles were not honoured by the victorious Williamite government. The few Catholic landowners who took the oath in 1691-93 remained protected, including their descendants. Those who did not were known as " non-jurors ", and their loyalty to
10816-442: 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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