Irish Language
The Irish language is spoken in the Gaeltacht areas of Counties Mayo and Galway, the largest being in the west of County Galway. The Galway Gaeltacht is the largest Irish speaking region in Ireland covering Cois Fharraige, parts of Connemara, Conamara Theas, Aran Islands and Dúithche Sheoigeach. Irish speaking areas in County Mayo can be found in Iorras and Acaill. According to the 2011 census Irish is spoken outside of the education system on a daily basis by 14,600 people.
There are between 40,000-55,000 Irish speakers in the province, 30,978 in the Galway Gaeltacht and 6,667 Mayo Gaeltacht. There is also the 4,265 attending the 18 Gaelscoils (Irish language primary schools) and 3 Gaelcholáiste (Irish language secondary schools) outside the Gaeltacht across the province. See also:
- Connacht Irish
- History of the Irish language
Read more about this topic: Connacht
Famous quotes containing the words irish and/or language:
“Of all the characters I have known, perhaps Walden wears best, and best preserves its purity. Many men have been likened to it, but few deserve that honor. Though the woodchoppers have laid bare first this shore and then that, and the Irish have built their sties by it, and the railroad has infringed on its border, and the ice-men have skimmed it once, it is itself unchanged, the same water which my youthful eyes fell on; all the change is in me.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)
“Language makes it possible for a child to incorporate his parents’ verbal prohibitions, to make them part of himself....We don’t speak of a conscience yet in the child who is just acquiring language, but we can see very clearly how language plays an indispensable role in the formation of conscience. In fact, the moral achievement of man, the whole complex of factors that go into the organization of conscience is very largely based upon language.”
—Selma H. Fraiberg (20th century)