Let’s speak Gaeilge however we can and wherever we want

IMAGINE my surprise when I saw a sign for the Gaeltacht from a roundabout somewhere deep in Dublin 18. 

Let’s speak Gaeilge however we can and wherever we want

Coláiste Naomh Eoin in Ballinteer is one of the many Gaeltacht experiences on offer this summer in places which haven’t had a native Irish-speaking population since the Norman invasion.

Then I thought, so what? I’ve just packed my eldest off to a Gaeltacht college in glorious Achill Island, Co Mayo. I’ve visited Achill pretty much every year of my adult life and I have dived into turquoise water, surfed in white waves, gazed at stunning sunsets. But I have never heard a single word of Irish. And that’s not surprising since there hasn’t been a cohesive community of native speakers of Irish on Achill for more than half a century.

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