Efforts to Preserve the Irish Language

After years of decline, the Irish language has seen a recent resurgence.

County Donegal in Ireland, home of one of the largest concentrations of Irish speakers on the island. Giuseppe Milo (www.pixael.com). CC BY 2.0.

Before the 1800s, the Irish language dominated Ireland. Irish, or Irish Gaelic, is in the Celtic language group, related to Scottish Gaelic and Breton, and is one of the oldest languages still in existence today. However, as England gradually conquered Ireland over many centuries, the Irish language began to diminish. Under the dominion of the British crown until 1922, English was the language of the imperial administration. When the Republic of Ireland was founded, only a scattering of people in rural areas of the island could speak Irish. 

Today, the Irish language has seen a reversal of fortune. It is now spoken by 1.2 million people, with 98% of them located within the Republic of Ireland. 42% of the Irish population reported to be able to speak Irish in the 2006 census. There is even a part of Ireland called the Gaeltacht where Irish is the primary language in use. How did this resurgence occur?

The interest in the Irish language re-emerged in the late 19th century as Ireland was struggling for independence. Irish nationalists wanted to use the Irish language as a means to differentiate themselves from the English. To “de-anglicize” Ireland, the Gaelic League was founded in 1893 to promote the Irish language. During this Gaelic Revival, as it was soon called, writers started to produce literature in the Irish language while others such as W.B. Yeats produced literature in English but in a distinctively Irish style.

By the mid 20th century, the Irish government, now fully independent from Britain, took on the mantle of the preserver of the Irish language. The government made the Irish language a compulsory subject in school and attitudes toward the language changed.  No longer was it seen as a backwards language; the Irish population began to take pride in their language. There are even some schools where Irish is the primary language of instruction.

A sign in both Irish and English representing Irish pride. jodimarr. CC BY-NC 2.0.

Irish was declared an official language of Ireland, requiring the government to provide services and resources in the language. In 2007, it was declared a working language of the European Union. Having official status in Ireland, most public signs are now written in both English and Irish.

But, it is not all good news. While much of the resurgence of the Irish language is occurring largely in urban areas, the Gaeltacht, the area designated by the Irish government as areas where the Irish language predominates, is diminishing. Always having been a rural area with small populations, Gaeltacht, and the youth in the area, is preferring to use English as their primary language rather than Irish. 

Irish is now a language of the urban elite, and its turnaround is a linguistic revival unparalleled in modern times except for the case of modern Hebrew, according to Reg Hindley. Visitors to Ireland can tune in to the radio station Raidió na Gaeltachta to hear traditional Irish tunes and watch TG4, the Irish language television station. While there is still work to be done to revive the language even further, the Irish language has grown considerably since Irish independence.

Bryan Fok

Bryan is currently a History and Global Affairs major at the University of Notre Dame. He aims to apply the notion of Integral Human Development as a framework for analyzing global issues. He enjoys hiking and visiting national parks.

Stargazing in Scotland’s Cairngorms National Park

Scotland’s Cairngorms National Park, which has been awarded the status of “International Dark Sky Park” for its low levels of light pollution, is a hot spot for stargazing in the UK.

Looking out over the Cairngorms National Park. Rab Lawrence. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

Tomintoul and Glenlivet in Cairngorms National Park (which were awarded international Dark Sky Park status in November 2018) are known for their location as the most northerly Dark Sky Park in the world. And, as one of the darkest skies in the UK, it is the perfect place to see the Perseid meteor showers, making it a hot spot for nighttime photographers and those interested in observing the night sky.

Away from street residential lights, the Cairngorms’ clear skies and northern latitude (the same latitude as Norway and Alaska) means that it’s also one of the best places in the world to see the Aurora Borealis, or the Northern Lights. But for normal stargazing, the best time to visit is during the darker months of the year from October to March.

Although it may be easier to see the stars with a telescope or camera, no equipment is necessary to see the vast expanse of stars in the Cairngorms’ night sky. Even neighboring galaxies and the Milky Way can be seen with just your eyes.

The Cairngorms offer a network of waymarked paths through Glenlivet Estate to guide photographers to many vantage points with big skies and distant horizons. There are also three designated Dark Sky discovery sites in the area.

Cairngorms National Park. Cliff Hellis. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0.

The main reason that such stargazing is possible from the Cairngorms is because of its low light pollution—something that some communities in the park have worked hard to achieve. The Tomintoul and Glenlivet area has even been awarded the desired International Dark Sky Gold Tier status.

Local volunteers in the Tomintoul and Glenlivet area are committed to reducing light pollution through their Dark Skies Project. Volunteers work with farms, distilleries, Moray District Council and households to reduce light pollution by promoting environmentally responsible lighting. Their efforts will bring many benefits to wildlife, energy consumption and human health while preserving the beauty of the night sky.

In addition, Cairngorms’ designation as an International Dark Sky Park will help promote dark skies to a wider audience and bring astro-tourism business to the remote areas of Tomintoul and Glenlivet during the off-season when stargazing is at its best.

Funding for the Dark Skies Project comes from The National Lottery with support from the Cairngorms National Park Authority and Crown Estate Scotland.

Read more about the Dark Skies Project here.

Isabelle Durso

Isabelle is an undergraduate student at Boston University currently on campus in Boston. She is double majoring in Journalism and Film & Television, and she is interested in being a travel writer and writing human-interest stories around the world. Isabelle loves to explore and experience new cultures, and she hopes to share other people's stories through her writing. In the future, she intends to keep writing journalistic articles as well as creative screenplays.

How the BLM Movement Blossomed in the UK

As voices of the Black Lives Matter movement flooded American streets, British proponents alike rushed to rally. The seeds of the movement germinated in the U.K., but problems soon sprung up alongside them. 

Black Lives Matter protest in Bristol, England. KSAG Photography. CC BY-NC-SA 2.0. 

In late May, the death of George Floyd ignited outrage in nations across the world, including in the United Kingdom. In the early summer months, the pages of social media and eager British ralliers mirrored the zeal of the Black Lives Matter movement in the United States. However, over the course of a few short months, the unmatched vigor of the movement in Britain quickly dropped off; neither the media channels nor the once fiery minds of residents continued active coverage and support. 

What had started as weekly protests in Britain’s largest cities had dissolved into a deferred dream for a few young activists. As more racial inequalities surfaced, less and less government engagement was found. 

Regardless of this obstacle, the young remaining supporters continue their fight with the unbattered zeal of seasoned activists. A few such activists are the founders of All Black Lives U.K., which is a movement started this past May by a group of students. The group organized protests for 10 weeks this summer and has since made substantial headway; its outreach, primarily made through social media and hosted panels, has garnered enough engagement to establish posts in other urban areas such as Bristol and Manchester. 

The movement pushes for a list of demands to be met by the government, which includes the removal of the highly scrutinized “gangs matrix.” 

The gangs matrix is a database that has been run by the Metropolitan Police since 2012 following the 2011 London riots. The database contains the names of “gang nominals,” or people whose online activity has been flagged for suspected gang affiliation. The Metropolitan Police advertised the database as a tool to combat violence in London, but many studies found that its standards have resulted in the disproportionate representation of young Black males. Thus, All Black Lives U.K. believes that the abolition of this database will remove a racist stronghold in the government. 

Aside from more obvious racial discrimination, many protesters think that the U.K. suffers from a profound lack of diversity. The movement continues to fight for increased inclusion of Black voices in local councils, as well as diversity in the national school curriculum. Campaigns have been launched to modify what is included in the national curriculum, specifically in order to make learning Black history compulsory. Proponents intend for this modification to fairly represent the Black population while creating a more well-rounded picture of the nation’s history for all students. The education campaigns were met with immediate backlash, with claims by educators that this change is too closely tied to political extremism. 

With several months of tumult having reshaped the face of racial discussions in the U.K., there is little that the British government has changed to address the issue. However, the few brave faces trailblazing the movement keep pressing on, calling others to educate themselves in the meantime. 

To Get Involved

To sign up to volunteer for the Black Lives Matter movement in the UK, click here.

To find out more about the Black Lives Matter movement in the UK, click here.

To become a partner or sponsor for the movement in the UK, click here.

Ella Nguyen

Ella is an undergraduate student at Vassar College pursuing a degree in Hispanic Studies. She wants to assist in the field of immigration law and hopes to utilize Spanish in her future projects. In her free time she enjoys cooking, writing poetry, and learning about cosmetics.