I don't know about the rest of ye, but maybe the president of Ireland should be given a new role - Guardian of the Irish Language. The president is the head of state, so if the president was speaking mostly irish at both home and abroad that would greatly enhance the status of the language on the world stage. All for free of course!
Conas a ceapeann sibh mo daoine uasle?

You can go round and round saying "this should have been done or this should be done" in a kind of parlour game about "how to restore the Irish language", but it is unlikely to make any difference. In a democracy, any bold initiatives need public support, for starters. It makes more sense to concentrate on learning Irish.

fair enough. we'll agree to differ.

If it provides some comfort Seamás, I'll agree with the speaking at home but I think the abroad might be a bit ambitious. I also like the idea of a 'guardian'!

Go raibh maith agat.

The problem I see with assigning that type of title, is that you are also assigning the responsibility.

Chiefs of State have enough problems just doing their jobs these days. Why put the weight of the language on one person, when it should be equally shared by one nation.

And sadly yes, even though all executive functions are usually carried out by many agencies and subdivisions, the people do not attack the groups responsible, instead they point their fingers at the boss.

For example, imagine you go to a store because you want to buy a new shirt. When you get home, the shirt unthreads and completely falls apart. Who do you blame for the shirt? The CEO of the shirt company? The CEO of the store you bought it from? No, we don't hold them responsible. Most people go down to the lowest level they can find (usually an innocent person who wasn't even involved) and we scream bloody murder at them.

However, when it comes to Presidents and governmental problems, its the opposite. When something is not right, we don't automatically blame the lower levels who probably created the problem...we attack the President, and hold them personally responsible for something they had nothing to do with.

Now it would be a nice thing to see if the Irish Office would assume such a title showing that they are actively aware of and in favor of the language. But at their level, I think I would want them working on slightly more important issues.

duly noted, but at the end of the day making the president earning her keep is a good thing to do, especially if its in the good of the nation's heritage and culture.
Thanks for your imput.

Rather each person of the Island should be the guardians. Maybe its the fact that the Irish have a mostly socialistic society, but perhaps it be better to not look for a government office or official to do your work for you. What is she there for? To uphold the Constitution. Irish is the first language of Ireland, so she needs to uphold it through her office, including speaking it in her official capacity. And this goes for every public office holder, according to their abilities. As for Irish citizens, it is incumbent as well to engage in the Irish language and be active guardians, according to each one's abilities. Anyone who disagrees with this idea should work to change the nation's Constitution. At the end of the day, I think grassroots action of the Irish people will benefit the language best. You can't wait for the government to give you a hand-out because that creates a position of dependence, which is the same place you have been forced to be in for hundreds for years. Don't wait for mammy.

I would love to see the President only give public addresses in the Irish language. I would love to see the news presenters try to give live commentaries on it. That could be priceless ;-)

And I must agree with you Seán...the duty is to uphold the constitution which puts the language first. And in my personal opinion, the Irish language should be the language used for all government business. But until it happens, we may just have to keep wishing for a different tomorrow.

The current Uachtarán is an excellent speaker of Irish. Faced with a choice between the Royal Dublin Society Horse Show and Gael-Oideas Ghleann Cholm Cille she chose the Gaeltacht. The message was not lost on either side. On one occasion a few years ago I had the opportunity of being received by her in Áras an Uachtaráin and she spoke to me in Irish -- having seen the Fáinne on my lapel and Taidhgín Tréan on her guest list -- but afterwards she came over to me and we chatted about books we had read and I was amazed to hear her tell me she was reading Pól Ó Muirí at that time and listening to the CD. I'd be tempted to make comparisons but there is no need. She is streets ahead. As was her predecessor.

I agree with Seánw. We are each curators of the little Irish we know and life being short we must try and use it and pass it on. If we see people younger than us making more use of it than we ever thought of doing we'll die happy. We must pass the living language on. The atrophied written language of the museums is safe. Is í an Ghaeilge labhartha is leochailí. Caithfimid í sin a labhairt cois cliabháin! I sochaí dhá-theangach ní mór an teanga is laige a labhairt le leanbh i dtosach. Tugann an tUachtarán dea-shampla.

Fianna Fáil doesn't even have a full Irish language version of their official website. Just a few articles and headers. For years they had no Irish option at all. Think about that. "First language of Ireland" indeed.

Has there ever, in the history of the State, been a debate between the leaders of the main political parties conducted in Irish? Ever? Not as far as I'm aware. Having a televised debate i nGaeilge would be HUGE. Broadcast it on TG4 or RTÉ1. Cowen, Kenny, Rabbitte all have Irish. Even Gerry Adams (as much as his accent makes me cringe when he speaks it) could do it.

The language will never reach its full potential until people take it seriously and are exposed to it in more meaningful ways. And most don't. And most aren't. And that includes many politicians.

quote:

The current Uachtarán is an excellent speaker of Irish

This is in fact even more notable. Having received her education in Northern Ireland, she had almost no Irish when first elected. She knuckled down, asked for a personal tutor, and learnt it - becoming completely fluent in a very short time.

However, the sideline role of the President does not get the exposure that would make a difference.

There have been debates in Irish, even on non langauge related matters, in Irish. But they are seldom reported in the English Langauge Media

Politicians, being pragamtists, use the media - which forces them to use English 99% of the time.

There are debates! Enda Kenny and Biffo had one accidently a while back, the media were fighting for the headsets but normally they just ignore Irish being spoken in the Dàil as Aonghus has said.

this is the first i've heard of it. well at least somethings being said. both enda and biffo have excellent fair play to them.

Are you referring to debates in the Dáil?

I'm talking about a televised leaders debate on TV as an election day nears. As it's done in English. The one I remember most vividly was when Gerry Adams made an arse of himself and Michael McDowell came across as a real prick.

Of course there are exchanges in Irish in the Dáil from time to time, but an actual televised debate before the nation? I don't think it has ever occurred and that speaks volumes.

during the 2007 general election debate, at the end of the debate Enda Kenny delivered a speech in Irish to the viewing Irish public. I will never forget it. And bertie ahern looked like a complete idiot - he doesn't irish i say. Twas a fine day for the irish language and Fine Gael.