Operational definitions: Obstetrics represents grumbling; Random is signified by trivial; Finglas remains unchanged; Horse-trading is expressed as bargaining; Lukewarm is otherwise known as cold-boiled; Junior holds its original meaning; A project maintains its original term; Wrestling is self-explanatory.
Unfulfilled government strategies, unmet academic needs, incomplete broad language plans, and the state’s lukewarm tendency towards the Irish language and Gaeltacht are frequently bodders.
It probably didn’t shock many Irish speakers when Fine Gael failed to assign a junior Gaeltacht minister from their own party.
As the rumour went, the ministry had been returned to Fianna Fáil thanks to the absence of a Fine Gael member who was willing or sufficiently proficient in the language to shoulder this critical role.
Regardless of the justification, whilst manipulation and dodging took place on Kildare Street, an alternative type of promotion occurred barely a 10-minute walk from Leinster House’s gate.
In the city’s north-side on the historical O’Malley street, the Lord Mayor of Dublin, Daithí de Róiste, was attending to official duties.
Starting a novel Irish language programme, the Lord Mayor visited local establishments, including Troy’s Butchers, Uí Mór Street’s traders, and Stoney road’s Hyne’s Bar.
The “Give Gaeilge a Go” scheme, a joint project between Dublin-Irish-language and the City Council, was initiated with the aim to boost the use of Irish amongst shops and the city’s retailers.
According to Mr. de Róiste, “Dublin homes to the greatest count of everyday Irish speakers in the country.” He highlights the utmost importance for those who speak Irish to have opportunities in the community to “use our native language”.
At present, Dublin City Council is making significant efforts in the Irish language field. Last year, it launched a pilot project titled “Gaeilge 365” to develop best practice concerning the Irish language.
Daithí de Buitléir, who is notably affiliated with the creation of the Irish-language club CLG na Gaeil Óga, was appointed to manage the new project.
The project seeks to uncover novel strategies local authorities can utilise to achieve legislative and language policy goals whilst escalating opportunities to speak Irish in the city.
Mr. de Buitléir communicated to the Report that the goal of the project is to amplify the chances for use of the Irish language within the city tenfold by 2027. An appealing aspect about the City Council in relation to the Irish language is its extensive reach in its perspective.
The council is involved in diverse activities such as festivals, arts, sports, public gyms, libraries, housing, and community development. “The concept is fairly straightforward,” Butler expresses. “Everything we execute is either number-driven or goal-oriented,” he elucidated.
According to him, there are 360,000 residents in Dublin city who desire to utilise Irish more frequently. Out of these, 164,000 people can speak Irish but only 6,000 use it daily. He is of the belief that upon an in-depth analysis of the census data and taking into account the existing research, it is crystal clear that people have a desire to frequently use the Irish language.
Nevertheless, de Buitléar suggests that instead of adhering rigidly to strategies or persistently interrupting long-term policies and projects, the Irish language’s promotion should be pursued in a novel manner. A workgroup comprising City Council workers was formed to brainstorm and evolve innovative projects recently labelled as the Crazy Council.
This process has borne fruit in the form of various concepts, such as a language-oriented housing model for Irish speakers in the city, language tourism, and a language scheme for library groups. “A significant amount of work was executed with the employees, and now we’re planning to equip them with resources to bring their ideas to life,” stated Butler.
The City Council provided leadership training for its employees to foster the development of innovative projects. Butler noted that people start showing interest when they realise that the language is applicable and living. At present, nearly 100 employees are attending Irish language classes.
Currently, we are conducting nine different groups. One group is for those who have no prior knowledge of Irish, mostly people from outside Ireland. They are currently embarking on a language learning adventure.”
“It is our hope that many of them will move forward and be active participants in the Crazy Council or other initiatives. The Irish language is as much theirs as it is mine or yours. This point is crucial,” he concluded.
Plenty of individuals hail from countries with a strong emphasis on multilingualism, considering the learning of different languages as quite natural. When it comes to keeping the Irish language alive for subsequent generations, apart from family, the close-knit community follows as an important contributor.
In a bid to promote and encourage a fresh system of language practice, Gaeilge365 initiated a synonymously industry-level project called Spraoi Sráid. In order to gauge the language tendencies of the community, the census offers an array of useful information so it was decided to concentrate on a single street.
According to de Buitléir, the census can be analysed at the street level to get an idea of the number of people conversant in Irish. He refuted the frequent critique of the census language proficiency statistics, stating his steadfast belief in their authenticity, though conceding they could be excessively cautious in certain areas.
A street in Finglas was chosen arbitrarily, described by Butler as a typical Dublin street. The strategy involved going from house to house, querying the occupants about their proficiency in the Irish language. They discovered a handful of individuals with varying proficiency in standard Irish, including those from the Gaeltacht and others who had an exceptional grasp of the language, as well as some who had already returned to studying it.
The idea of organising a neighbourhood arts project through Irish was proposed to these individuals and they agreed, leading to a street festival at one of the residents’ houses. All residents were invited, and remarkably, a quarter of the street’s populace attended, largely conversing in Irish.
De Butler noted a potential oversight was not directly concentrating on the local population in conversations about the language. Politicians could potentially gain insights from this approach. Not only did city council members and local people exhibit significant willingness and interest in the project, it proved that by creating new avenues for usage, the language can be revived. It might also be possible to create new language networks through such creative ventures.