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<h1 class="article-header__title">Government opposed bilingualism, despite giving more support for Irish</h1>
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<img class="article-header__lead-image cld-responsive" alt="Sir Patrick Mayhew, centre, pictured here in Carrickfergus, was told that the Irish language was a symbolic issue for nationalists" src="https://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_700,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/https://www.newsletter.co.uk/webimage/1.8317266.1515142341!/image/image.jpg" title="Sir Patrick Mayhew, centre, pictured here in Carrickfergus, was told that the Irish language was a symbolic issue for nationalists">
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Sir Patrick Mayhew, centre, pictured here in Carrickfergus, was
told that the Irish language was a symbolic issue for nationalists
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<time class="article-meta__timestamp-item" datetime="Friday 05 January 2018">
<span class="article-meta__timestamp-label">Published:</span>
<span class="article-meta__timestamp-time">07:02</span>
<span class="article-meta__timestamp-date">Friday 05 January 2018</span>
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<h3 class="article-content__lead"><p>The government’s commitment to
increase support for the Irish language but determination not to pursue a
policy of bilingualism are set out in recently declassified files from
the early 1990s.</p></h3>
<p>At that point, a major review of government policy on the Irish
language had been instigated in response to the looming European Charter
on Regional or Minority Languages.</p><div class="p402_hide">
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</div><p>The government believed that not being seen to
support the Irish language would not only alienate moderate nationalists
who saw it as symbolic of accepting their Irish identity, but of
bolstering support for Sinn Féin and the IRA, an analysis shared by the
Irish Government.</p><div class="p402_hide">
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</div><p>Almost three decades later, the Irish language is
the most explicit issue which appears to be preventing Sinn Féin from
restoring devolution by re-entering power-sharing with the DUP.</p><div class="p402_hide">
</div><p>NIO junior minister Jeremy Hanley wrote in an August 1992 memo
to the Secretary of State, Sir Patrick Mayhew: “Inconclusive as the
legal arguments may be, political considerations drive us to recognise
Irish as a regional minority language...to do otherwise, or indeed to
adopt anything less than a liberal stance towards the language as a
whole, risks putting it (and the whole issue of mutual cultural respect)
back on the political agenda unhelpfully both within Northern Ireland
and in our dealings with the public.”</p><p>The document went on to
highlight two difficulties - the Administration of Justice (Language)
Act 1737 (which prohibits court cases being heard in any language other
than English) and the Public Health and Local Government Miscellaneous
Provisions Act (NI) 1949, which related to street names and was repealed
in 1995.</p><p>“As to the courts, the Lord Chancellor’s letter of 25
June to the Lord Privy Seal expressed concerns at Irish speakers having
rights [underlined] to use Irish in courts here.</p><p>“His officials do
not however object to ratification even if this means amendment of the
1737 act in a way which might for example still leave discretion in the
hands of the judiciary whether to allow spoken evidence in Irish
translated by an interpreter. (There is no question of bilingual court
proceedings.)”</p><div class="p402_hide">
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</div><p>He went on: “The major justification for tackling
these barriers to a more liberal approach lies in political arguments.
We are wholly committed, especially in the Talks, to ‘the <span class="vm-hook-outer vm-hook-default"><span class="vm-hook" style="color:rgb(0,153,0);border-color:transparent transparent rgb(0,153,0)">development</span><span class="vm-hook-icon" style="display:inline-block"></span></span>
of a society in which both main traditions would be respected’ - and
removing barriers to Irish is a litmus test of our intent...a positive
approach will also remove this as a salient political issue, enable us
to respond positively to criticism from the Irish and internationally
and help undermine Sinn Féin/PIRA’s exploitation of the language issue,
not least by providing moderate nationalist politicians with a chance to
pursue, through constitutional channels, an appropriate recognition of
the identity of particular areas.</p><p>“But ratification of the draft charter is a long way from bilingualism which would not be justified.”</p><p>Although
the Tory minister said that unionist reaction to the proposals would be
difficult to predict, “my judgement, and that of officials, is that
unionists (some of whom are Irish language activists) will accept the
removal of barriers, though perhaps with bad grace”.<span class="sewgsiafs848urj"></span><span class="sewnodejb5sg2o1"></span></p><br clear="all"><br>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature">=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+<br><br> Harold F. Schiffman<br><br>Professor Emeritus of <br> Dravidian Linguistics and Culture <br>Dept. of South Asia Studies <br>University of Pennsylvania<br>Philadelphia, PA 19104-6305<br><br>Phone: (215) 898-7475<br>Fax: (215) 573-2138 <br><br>Email: <a href="mailto:haroldfs@gmail.com" target="_blank">haroldfs@gmail.com</a><br><a href="http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/" target="_blank">http://ccat.sas.upenn.edu/~haroldfs/</a> <br><br>-------------------------------------------------</div>
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