97-518: Michael Daniel Higgins ( Irish : Mícheál Dónal Ó hUigínn ; born 18 April 1941) is an Irish politician, poet, broadcaster and sociologist who has been serving as the ninth president of Ireland since 2011. Entering national politics through the Labour Party , he served as a senator from 1973 to 1977 having been nominated by the Taoiseach . Elected in 1981 as a Teachta Dála (TD), he represented
194-633: A humanist element, alongside Christian, Jewish and Muslim ones. He receives an annual salary of €250,000, having requested during his first term that the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform reduce his salary by 23.5% from €325,000. Higgins travelled to Derry to attend the final of the All-Ireland school choir of the year competition on 13 November 2011, for his first official presidential engagement in Northern Ireland. In December 2011, he hosted
291-540: 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
388-638: 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
485-560: 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
582-511: A ceremony at Áras an Uachtaráin . Higgins subsequently attended the inaugural final at Richmond Park on 2 March 2014. 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
679-504: A ceremony attended by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar , and former presidents Mary Robinson and Mary McAleese , as well as representatives of all political parties. The ceremony was held in the evening, so that Higgins could attend Armistice Day commemorations in the morning. On 3 July 2019, Higgins began a three-day state visit to Germany. While visiting Germany, Higgins met with German chancellor Angela Merkel and President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier . In July 2021, Higgins sent
776-589: A children's tea party at Áras an Uachtaráin. He attended the Bon Secours Hospital in Galway on 13 December for surgery on the kneecap that was broken in a fall during a visit to Buenaventura , Colombia in 2010. Higgins made his first official trip abroad when he went to London on 21 February 2012. While there he was given a tour of the Olympic Stadium by Sebastian Coe , and attended a production of Juno and
873-472: 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,
970-541: 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
1067-450: A former cabinet minister of President Obote of Uganda during a party", in her words 'snogging an intelligent African judge' (who had one leg, something she did not notice at the time; he was later murdered by Idi Amin), which led poet James Fenton to coin the euphemism " Ugandan discussions " to mean sexual intercourse. The phrase was first used by the magazine Private Eye on 9 March 1973, but has been widely used since then and
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#17330944934621164-460: 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
1261-512: A greener future. The speech was criticised by Irish economists, who responded by arguing that Higgins's criticisms were outdated by several decades and that the study of economics in 2023 pivoted long ago to be highly environmentally conscious, something Higgins would be aware of if he interacted with economists more. Labour senator Marie Sherlock defended Higgins's commentary while the Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe stated he welcomed
1358-499: A homily on Christmas Eve 2013. The Chief of Staff expressed regret for any offence caused by the chaplain. In April 2014, Higgins paid the first state visit to the United Kingdom by an Irish president . He stayed as a guest of Queen Elizabeth II at Windsor Castle and addressed both Houses of Parliament . He also met various people, including British prime minister David Cameron and opposition party leaders at Westminster, and
1455-525: A letter to the Oireachtas expressing concern that there had been a tendency in recent years for him to be sent a large volume of complex legislation to be signed in a short period. On 15 September 2021, Higgins declined an invitation to attend a church service with Britain's Queen Elizabeth in October to mark Northern Ireland's centenary. Two days later on 17 September, Higgins defended his decision not to attend
1552-574: 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
1649-554: 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
1746-611: 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
1843-521: A second term as president in the 2018 Irish presidential election , despite having previously stated during the campaign for his first term that he would not. Higgins won the 2018 presidential election with 56% of the vote on the first count (822,566). His nearest rival, Peter Casey , finished on 23% (342,727). On 11 November 2018, Higgins was inaugurated as president of Ireland in St. Patrick's Hall, Dublin Castle , in
1940-572: A second term of office if elected. He was selected as a candidate for the presidency at a convention in Dublin on 19 June 2011, beating former senator Kathleen O'Meara and former party adviser Fergus Finlay . His candidacy was endorsed by Hollywood actor Martin Sheen , who described Higgins as a "dear friend". Higgins assisted his rival David Norris by urging his party colleagues on Dublin City Council "in
2037-454: A successful political career Higgins has had a career as a poet and broadcaster and has produced works of non-fiction. He has contributed widely to political and philosophical journals on numerous subjects, among them ideology, the sociology of literature, clientelism in politics, regionalism and the politics of the media. He wrote and presented a television film on Montserrat, entitled The Other Emerald Isle for Channel 4 and his documentary on
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#17330944934622134-637: A two-week trip, visiting Argentina, Brazil and Chile. Higgins rushed home from a visit to Rome , Italy, to sign the Irish Bank Resolution Corporation Bill 2013 into law at Áras an Uachtaráin early on 7 February 2013, on the urgent request of the Government of Ireland . On 29 July 2013, he convened a meeting of the Council of State , the first of his presidency, to consult on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill 2013 . Special advisor to
2231-537: 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
2328-673: Is a fluent Irish language speaker and also speaks Spanish. His wife, Sabina Higgins (née Coyne), is an actress and a native of Cloonrane, a townland in County Galway near Ballindine , County Mayo. She grew up on a farm there in a family of five girls and two boys. Higgins met Coyne in 1969, at a party in the family home of journalist Mary Kenny in Dublin. Higgins proposed over Christmas 1973, and they married on 8 July 1974 at Haddington Road Church in Dublin. They celebrated 50 years of marriage in 2024. They have four children: Alice-Mary , Daniel, and twins, John and Michael Jr.; Alice-Mary
2425-570: Is a regular at the Galway Races each summer. He has also previously served as president of Galway United F.C. , is a well known football supporter and regularly attends League of Ireland games. In 2014 the Football Association of Ireland introduced a new association football super cup , the President's Cup , in his honour. On 25 February 2014, the cup itself was officially unveiled with
2522-448: 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
2619-689: Is an Irish journalist, broadcaster and playwright. A founding member of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement , she was one of the country's first and foremost feminists , often contributes columns to the Irish Independent and has been described as "the grand dame of Irish journalism". She is based in England. Mary Kenny was born in Dublin , Ireland. Her father was born in 1877. She grew up in Sandymount , and
2716-511: 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
2813-515: 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
2910-412: 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
3007-474: Is the first president of Ireland to have served in both Houses of the Oireachtas , having previously been a member of Dáil Éireann and Seanad Éireann . Before his inauguration, Higgins and his family met his predecessor Mary McAleese and her husband Martin for lunch at Áras an Uachtaráin on 3 November. That night, he presented an award to Niall Tóibín , and received his own standing ovation as he entered
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3104-709: 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
3201-400: The 1969 and 1973 general elections but was unsuccessful on both occasions. One of the people who canvassed for him was future leader of the Labour Party and Tánaiste , Eamon Gilmore , who was then a UCG student. Higgins was appointed to the 13th Seanad in 1973 by Taoiseach Liam Cosgrave . He was first elected to Dáil Éireann at the 1981 general election as a Labour Party TD . He
3298-538: The 2011 general election . He had until this point been living in a two-bed apartment at Grattan Hall on Mount Street, Dublin. He also has a family home in Galway . In September 2010, Higgins indicated that he was interested in receiving the Labour Party's nomination for the 2011 presidential election . He said prior to and during the election campaign that he would serve only one seven-year term as president, and not seeking
3395-758: The Galway West constituency from 1981 to 1982 and 1987 to 2011. Between these terms, he returned to Seanad Éireann from 1983 to 1987 as a senator for the National University . He served as minister for arts, culture and the Gaeltacht from 1993 to 1997 and mayor of Galway from 1981 to 1982 and 1990 to 1991. Higgins was the president of the Labour Party from 2003 to 2011, until he resigned following his election as president of Ireland. Higgins has used his time in office as president to address issues concerning justice , social equality , social inclusion , anti- sectarianism , anti-racism , and reconciliation. He made
3492-701: 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 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
3589-596: The Irish Film Institute . On 5 November, he attended an important football game, featuring Galway United versus Monaghan United in the second leg in the League of Ireland promotion/relegation play-off at Terryland Park , wrapped in the scarf of his favourite team, and being greeted by a large banner hanging from a stand declaring "Welcome home to Galway, Mr President". Higgins was inaugurated as president of Ireland at Dublin Castle on 11 November 2011. The ceremony had
3686-619: 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 ")
3783-586: The UCG Fianna Fáil university cumann in 1966. He admitted that he had smoked marijuana while at university in the United States. However, media reports said he was "spared the intense grilling Miriam O'Callaghan meted out to some of the others" during the Prime Time debate. Higgins promised he would be a neutral president if elected and not be a "handmaiden" to the government. The Labour Party's budget for
3880-461: The first state visit by an Irish president to the United Kingdom in April 2014. Higgins ran for a second term as president of Ireland in 2018 and was re-elected in a landslide victory . Higgins attained the largest personal mandate in the history of the Republic of Ireland , with 822,566 first-preference votes . Higgins's second presidential inauguration took place on 11 November 2018. Higgins
3977-522: The lord mayor of London , Alan Yarrow . In December 2014, Higgins made a week-long state visit to China. In November 2016, Higgins received criticism from some sections of the Irish media for praising Fidel Castro , saying in a statement that he learned of Castro's death with "great sadness". On 25 August 2018, Higgins received Pope Francis at Áras an Uachtaráin during the Pope's visit to Ireland . On 10 July 2018, Higgins announced that he would stand for
Michael D. Higgins - Misplaced Pages Continue
4074-686: The state funeral of Queen Elizabeth II . On 24 January 2023, Higgins began a five-day state visit to Senegal, his first time in Africa since 2014. While visiting Senegal, Higgins met with Senegalese president Macky Sall . On 13 April, Higgins received U.S. President Joe Biden at Áras an Uachtaráin during his four-day visit to the island of Ireland . On 28 April, Higgins made a speech from Áras an Uachtaráin in which he criticised economists for being "obsessed" with economic growth and consumption, and for promoting " neoliberalism ". The same speech urged economists to be more environmentally conscious and to imagine
4171-555: 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
4268-712: 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
4365-400: 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
4462-403: 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
4559-563: The Act all detailing different aspects of the use of Irish in official documentation and communication. Included in these sections are subjects such as Irish language use in official courts, official publications, and placenames. The Act was recently amended in December 2019 in order to strengthen the already preexisting legislation. All changes made took into account data collected from online surveys and written submissions. The Official Languages Scheme
4656-602: The American Indiana University Bloomington with a Master of Arts degree in sociology. He also briefly attended the University of Manchester . In his academic career, Higgins was a statutory lecturer in the Department of Political Science and Sociology at UCG and was a visiting professor at Southern Illinois University . He resigned his academic posts to concentrate fully on his political career. Higgins
4753-461: The British Monarchy (2009) as "characteristically breezy, racy and insightful". She wrote the play Allegiance , in which Mel Smith played Winston Churchill and Michael Fassbender played Michael Collins in a performance on the 2006 Edinburgh Festival Fringe . Kenny, along with Éamon Ó Cuív and Frank Feighan , is an advocate of the Republic of Ireland returning to its membership of
4850-569: The Dáil at the 1987 general election and held his seat until the 2011 general election . In 1993, he joined the cabinet as Minister for Arts, Culture and the Gaeltacht . During his period as minister he scrapped Section 31 of the Broadcasting Act , re-established the Irish Film Board and set up the Irish language television station, Teilifís na Gaeilge (later renamed TG4 ). He was appointed to
4947-463: 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
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#17330944934625044-536: 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
5141-494: The Labour Party front bench in 2000. In 2003, Higgins succeeded Proinsias De Rossa in the symbolic position of the president of the Labour Party, while continuing as the party's spokesman on foreign affairs. Higgins indicated his interest in contesting the 2004 presidential election for the Labour Party. The party decided on 16 September 2004 against running a candidate in the election, seeing Mary McAleese as unbeatable. In October 2010, he announced he would not be standing at
5238-639: The Paycock at the Lyttelton Theatre . He made his first official visit to his alma mater NUI Galway on 24 February, where he opened an autism centre. On 21 March 2012, Higgins was announced as sole patron of the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra . Addressing a conference organised by youth organisation Foróige on 24 March 2012, Higgins described homophobia and racism in Ireland as a "blight on society". In January 2012, Higgins agreed to become
5335-460: The Red Cow" and "The Ass ", an ode to a donkey. Poetry Non-fiction Higgins has campaigned for human rights and written of conflict in many parts of the world, including such areas as Nicaragua, Chile, Cambodia, El Salvador, Iraq and Somalia. He spoke in the Dáil in defence of the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla . In recognition of his work for peace with justice in many parts of the world, he became
5432-546: 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 ,
5529-634: 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
5626-559: The campaign was within €320,000. On 29 October 2011, two days after the presidential election was held, Higgins was declared the winner with a total of 1,007,104 votes, far more than any Irish politician in the history of the republic. Thousands of people lined the streets of Galway to welcome him home the following day. International media coverage of his win reported his humble background, poetry and intellect, with The Washington Post noting "local satirists sometimes depict him as an elf, hobbit or leprechaun talking in riddles and verse". He
5723-640: The debate brought about by Higgins's comments. On 6 May, Higgins was at the Coronation of Charles III and Camilla , marking the first time that a President of Ireland had attended the coronation of a British monarch. On 29 February 2024, Higgins was taken to hospital as a precaution, after complaining of feeling unwell. On 24 April, Higgins confirmed he had suffered a mild stroke . Higgins appointed his Council of State nominees on 6 January 2012 for this first term as president. The nominees were: Higgins's nominees for his second term of office are: As well as having
5820-468: The end of the famine, and under 17,000 by 1911. Irish is recognised by the Constitution of Ireland as the national and first official language of Republic of Ireland (English being the other official language). Despite this, almost all government business and legislative debate is conducted in English. In 1938, the founder of Conradh na Gaeilge (Gaelic League), Douglas Hyde , was inaugurated as
5917-545: The first President of Ireland . The record of his delivering his inaugural Declaration of Office in Roscommon Irish is one of only a few recordings of that dialect. In the 2016 census, 10.5% of respondents stated that they spoke Irish, either daily or weekly, while over 70,000 people (4.2%) speak it as a habitual daily means of communication. From the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922 (see History of
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#17330944934626014-793: The first recipient of the Seán MacBride Peace Prize of the International Peace Bureau in Helsinki in 1992. He was a noted critic of U.S. foreign policy under the Ronald Reagan administration. In 2005, in response to a column for the Irish Independent by Kevin Myers about the riots then erupting across immigrant areas in France and Britain, he said "the contents of his column today go beyond his usually crafted cowardice, staying one step on
6111-425: The interests of democracy" not to obstruct Norris's attempts to get onto the ballot at the last moment, adding that the nomination criteria were "outdated". Higgins was confronted by former Tara mines workers while canvassing in County Meath . The workers were upset about their pensions being cut. Higgins was also pursued by his past links to Fianna Fáil, and admitted on 13 October that he had been elected chairman of
6208-498: 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
6305-410: 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
6402-425: 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 ,
6499-429: The life of Noel Browne , for RTÉ , has also been screened. Higgins has had poems published in a number of periodicals, as well as publishing four collections of his poetry, including The Betrayal (1990), his second book of poems The Season of Fire (1993) and his latest book An Arid Season (2004). His personal notes and work books reside at the National Library of Ireland . Among Higgins's poems are "The death of
6596-399: 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
6693-497: 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
6790-409: 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
6887-522: 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
6984-498: 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
7081-600: The patron of Clans of Ireland , including its Order of Merit. On the president's behalf, Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Leo Varadkar , awarded "Companionship" in this Order of Clans of Ireland to several nominees at a ceremony in the Mansion House, Dublin on 28 April 2012. On 11 May 2012, he became the 28th Freeman of Galway. In June 2012, nonprofit housing organisation Habitat for Humanity Ireland announced that Higgins would be their sole Patron. In October 2012, Higgins and his wife Sabina went to South America for
7178-539: 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
7275-520: The president, Mary van Lieshout, who formed part of the management team in Áras an Uachtaráin under Secretary General Adrian O'Neill, resigned in November 2013. The departure raised criticism over presidential management of the team. The presidential Christmas messages delivered by Higgins from 2011 to 2013 did not mention Christianity or religion, which was criticised by the Defence Forces ' chaplain in
7372-487: 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 )
7469-432: 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
7566-683: 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
7663-563: The safe side of prosecution for incitement to hatred or racism." Higgins has voiced his support for the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly , an organisation which campaigns for democratic reformation of the United Nations, and the creation of a more accountable international political system. Higgins's eclectic mix of interests also extends to sport; he
7760-480: The service and decided it would be "inappropriate to attend". Pope Francis described Higgins as a "wise man of today" during an audience in the Vatican. On 15 June 2022, Higgins described housing in Ireland as "our great, great failure", saying "It isn't a crisis anymore — it is a disaster." On 19 September 2022, Higgins was among 500 presidents, prime ministers, foreign royal family members and dignitaries who attended
7857-705: 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
7954-594: 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
8051-460: 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
8148-523: 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
8245-894: Was born on 18 April 1941 in Limerick . His father, John Higgins, was from Ballycar, County Clare , and was a lieutenant with the Charleville Company, 3rd Battalion, 2nd Cork Brigade of the Irish Republican Army . John, along with his two brothers Peter and Michael, had been active participants in the Irish War of Independence . When John's father's health grew poor, with alcohol abuse as a contributing factor, John sent Michael, aged five, and his four-year-old brother to live on his unmarried uncle and aunt's farm near Newmarket-on-Fergus , County Clare. His elder twin sisters remained in Limerick. He
8342-402: Was educated at Ballycar National School, County Clare and St. Flannan's College , Ennis . As an undergraduate at University College Galway (UCG), he served as vice-auditor of the college's Literary and Debating Society in 1963–64, and rose to the position of auditor in the 1964–65 academic year. He also served as president of UCG Students' Union in 1964–65. In 1967, Higgins graduated from
8439-502: Was elected to Seanad Éireann in 2016. He has a Bernese Mountain Dog named Misneach (Courage). He previously had two Bernese dogs named Síoda and Bród , who died in 2020 and 2023 respectively. Higgins originally joined Fianna Fáil in UCG while a mature student and was elected its branch chairman in 1966; he switched to the Labour Party shortly thereafter. He was a Labour candidate in
8536-643: 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
8633-512: 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. Mary Kenny Mary Kenny (born 4 April 1944)
8730-536: Was expelled from convent school at age 16. She had a sister, Ursula. She began working at the London Evening Standard in 1966 on its " Londoner's Diary " column, later as a general feature writer, and was woman's editor of The Irish Press in the early 1970s. Kenny was one of the founding members of the Irish Women's Liberation Movement. Although the group had no formal structure of officials, she
8827-595: Was included by the BBC in a list of "The 10 most scandalous euphemisms" in 2013. Kenny has written for numerous broadsheet publications in Ireland and Britain, including the Irish Press , Irish Independent , The Times , The Guardian , The Irish Catholic , The Daily Telegraph and The Spectator . She has written books on feminism, Catholicism in Ireland and a biography of William Joyce . Roy Foster described Crown and Shamrock: Love and Hate between Ireland and
8924-503: Was often seen as the "ring leader" of the group. In March 1971, as part of an action by the IWLM, she walked out of Haddington Road church after the Archbishop of Dublin's pastoral was read out from the pulpit, confirming that "any contraceptive act is always wrong", saying "this is Church dictatorship". In a follow-up letter to The Irish Times she explained her actions by saying Ian Paisley
9021-465: 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
9118-694: Was re-elected at the February 1982 election ; he lost his seat at the November 1982 election (blaming his loss in part on his opposition to the Eighth Amendment ), but returned to the Seanad when he was elected by the National University constituency. He served as Mayor of Galway on two occasions, 1982–1983 and 1991–1992. Within the Labour Party during the 1980s he was one of the main figures, along with Emmet Stagg , who opposed going into coalition. Higgins returned to
9215-464: Was right: "Home Rule is Rome Rule ". In 1971, Kenny travelled with Nell McCafferty , June Levine and other Irish feminists on the so-called " Contraceptive Train " from Dublin to Belfast to buy condoms, then illegal within the Republic of Ireland . Later that year she returned to London as Features Editor of the Evening Standard . In 1973, Kenny was allegedly "disturbed in the arms of
9312-678: 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
9409-442: 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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