LL-L: "Celtic connections" LOWLANDS-L, 29.JUL.2000 (02) [E]

[Lowlands-L]

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  L O W L A N D S - L * 29.JUL.2000 (02) * ISSN 189-5582 * LCSN 96-4226
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From: "Ian James Parsley" <parsleyij at yahoo.com>
Subject: LL-L: "Celtic connections" LOWLANDS-L, 25.JUL.2000 (04) [E]

Criostoir wrote:

> It is entirely correct to consider Ulster Irish as
> transitional between western Hebridean Scots Gaelic
> and north Connemara Irish, and even in recent times it
> was difficult to note what would be considered 'Irish'
> and 'Scots Gaelic'.

This is true, although from what I can tell there is a tendency, when
discussing Donegal Irish, to over-estimate the similarities with
Scottish
Gaelic and underestimate those with southern Irish dialects. That said,
most
people viewed Rathlin Gaelic as much more similar to Scottish than
'Irish'
(the Rathlin Islanders themselves often considered their land simply
'an tir
seo', 'this land', i.e. distinct from both Scotland and Ireland).

> Irish never died out in the Six Counties at all. In
> the 1991 census over 100,000 persons returned
> themselves as Irish-speaking, with Belfast having some
> 24,000 speakers and Derry 9,000. The Shaw Road area of
> Belfast is considered a 'neo-Gaeltacht' (new
> Irish-speaking area) and it is supposedly a bilingual
> area. When I visited Derry recently I found no
> shortage of Irish speakers, and I was told that a
> small street within the City walls - I can't remember
> its name exactly - was bilingual.

Actually Irish did die out here, unfortunately. You have to be careful
to
note that those census figures illustrate only those who claimed to
speak
Irish, that is to say who speak Irish as a second language. The only
native
speakers here are those who have moved from Donegal or elsewhere in the
Republic - including, of course, two NI Government ministers. However,
these
do not represent a constant progression. Furthermore, the Belfast
'neo-Gaeltacht' is nothing like as encouraging as it may sound - it is
made
up of two extended families. Better than none, I suppose, but hardly
sufficient to ensure a rebirth. I have heard nothing of the situation
in the
Foyle area. The most encouraging signs, to me, have in fact come from
Armagh
City, where there is an extremely successful Irish medium school in
operation which teaches only in Irish, and includes a large range of
cultural programmes too. It is part of a large business based around
'An
Siopa' in the City Centre (which sells everything from hurley sticks to
second-hand clothes).

I have, in fact, just returned from the Donegal Gaeltacht, where signs
(quite literally) were not always encouraging. When stopping for fuel I
was
addressed in English, and all the signs apart from placenames appeared
in
English, more often than not exclusively. Signs for roadworks and
such-like
appeared only in English. I personally feel the whole point of a
Gaeltacht
is to have everything in Irish. Caution signs should appear only in
Irish
(they are, after all, usually accompanied by a visual signal). People
should
address strangers in Irish first, and switch to English only where it
is
clear the stranger knows no Irish. Otherwise, where can people go to
practise Irish? Where will people hear Irish genuinely spoken? Some
people
may view such ideas as potentially rude, but if we consider Irish worth
saving, like many Lowlands languages under similar threat, then a bit
of
rudeness will go a long way in the long-term!

Best,
------------------
Ian James Parsley

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