Gaeltacht - Boundaries

Boundaries

Although the Gaeltacht came into being in 1926 after the report of the first Coimisiún na Gaeltachta, the exact boundaries of that region were never accurately defined. The quota at the time was 25%+ Irish-speaking, though in many cases status was given to areas that were linguistically weaker than this. The Irish Free State recognised that there were Irish-speaking or semi-Irish-speaking districts in 15 of its 26 counties. Although there were areas of Northern Ireland that would have qualified as being Gaeltacht districts (in 4 out of its 6 counties) the Government of Northern Ireland did not pass any such legislation, and indeed behaved in a way that was very hostile towards the language. (The language was proscribed in state schools within a decade of partition, and public signs in Irish were effectively banned under laws by the Parliament of Northern Ireland, which stated that only English could be used. These were not formally lifted by the British government until the early 1990s.)

Another Coimisiún na Gaeltachta was established in the early 1950s, and it concluded that the Gaeltacht boundaries were ill-defined and recommended that the admittance of an area should be based solely on the strength of the language in the area. The Gaeltacht districts were initially defined precisely in the 1950s. Many areas which had witnessed a decline in the language ceased to be part of the Gaeltacht. This left Gaeltacht areas in 7 of the state's 26 counties (nominally Donegal, Galway, Mayo, Kerry, Cork, and Waterford). The Gaeltacht boundaries have not officially been altered since then, apart from minor changes:

• The inclusion of Clochán-Bréanann in County Kerry in 1974;
• The inclusion of a part of West Muskerry, in County Cork (although the Irish-speaking population had seriously decreased from what it had been before the 1950s); and
• The inclusion of Baile Ghib and Rath Chairn in Meath in 1967.

It is widely believed that, both in 1926 and 1956, many areas were added to the official Gaeltacht on a political, not a linguistic, basis.

In 2002 the third Coimisiún na Gaeltachta published its report in which it was recommended, among many other things, that the boundaries of the official Gaeltacht should be redrawn. The Coimisiún recommended a comprehensive linguistic study of the Gaeltacht be established to accurately assess the vitality of the Irish language in the remaining Gaeltacht districts.

The study was undertaken by Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge (part of the National University of Ireland, Galway), and "Staidéar Cuimsitheach Teangeolaíoch ar Úsáid na Gaeilge sa Ghaeltacht" ("A Comprehensive Linguistic Study of the Usage of Irish in the Gaeltacht") was published on 1 November 2007. Concerning Gaeltacht boundaries, it suggested creating three linguistic zones within the Gaeltacht region;

• A - 67%/+ daily Irish speaking - Irish dominant as community language
• B - 44%-66% daily Irish speaking - English dominant, with large Irish speaking minority
• C - 43%/- daily Irish speaking - English dominant, but with Irish speaking minority much higher than the national average

The report continued, suggesting Category A districts should be the State's priority in relation to providing services through Irish and development schemes, and that those areas which fell into Category C which would witness a further decline in the usage of Irish should lose their Gaeltacht status. The entire idea was thwarted by the Ireland's Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Éamon Ó Cuív TD, saying that the Gaeltacht could not legally be split into zones. However the Minister failed to provide reasons why such legislation was out of the question.