Status
Most Irish speakers in Ulster today speak the Donegal dialect of Ulster Irish.
Irish received official recognition in Northern Ireland for the first time in 1998 under the Good Friday Agreement. A cross-border body known as Foras na Gaeilge was established to promote the language in both Northern Ireland and the Republic, taking over the functions of Bord na Gaeilge.
The British government in 2001 ratified the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. Irish (in respect only of Northern Ireland) was specified under Part III of the Charter, thus giving it a degree of protection and status comparable to the Welsh language in Wales and Scottish Gaelic in Scotland. This included a range of specific undertakings in relation to education, translation of statutes, interaction with public authorities, the use of placenames, media access, support for cultural activities and other matters. (A lower level of recognition was accorded to the Ulster variant of Scots, under Part II of the Charter.) Compliance with the state's obligations is assessed periodically by a Committee of Experts of the Council of Europe.
The Education (Northern Ireland) Order 1998 states: "It shall be the duty of the Department (of Education) to encourage and facilitate the development of Irish-medium education."
According to the 2001 Census, 167,487 people (10.4% of the population) had "some knowledge of Irish" - of whom 154,622 were Catholics and 10,987 were Protestants and "other Christians".
Knowledge of Irish by persons over the age of 3 (2001 Census):
- Speaks, reads, writes and understands Irish: 75,125
- Speaks and reads but does not write Irish: 7,183
- Speaks but does not read or write Irish: 24,536
- Understands spoken Irish but cannot read write or speak Irish: 36,479
- Has other combination of skills: 24,167
- No knowledge of Irish: 1,450,467
The ULTACH Trust (Iontaobhas ULTACH) was established in 1989 by Irish language enthusiasts to attract funding from the British Government for language projects and to broaden the appeal of the language on a cross-community basis (among both Protestants and Catholics)
The Shaw's Road Gaeltacht was joined in 2002 by the Gaeltacht Quarter in west Belfast.
Read more about this topic: Irish Language In Northern Ireland
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