Introduction/Réamhrá: A special edition of Weekend dedicated to the Irish language

The covers of this Saturday's Weekend magazine - in English, agus as Gaeilge

Introduction:

We have a phrase, “ Is fearr Gaeilge bhriste ná Béarla cliste”. It translates to, “Broken Irish is better than clever English”. 

It was a saying that sprang to mind last February when Paul Mescal tried out his cúpla focail on the cairpéad dearg at the BAFTAs.

The TG4 interviewer asked a question in Irish; the actor tentatively responded as Gaeilge. The two-minute video clip went viral, and go tobann – as the TG4 intern tweets with frequency - our native tongue was cool again.

It all began, of course, months earlier with the release of An Cailín Ciúin, the Irish-language film that captured the hearts of cinema audiences around the world. 

Securing nominations at the Oscars, the BAFTAs, and international festivals, An Cailín Ciúin broke box office records, becoming the highest-grossing Irish-language film of all time.

“The number of Irish speakers may not have magically increased since the film’s release,” writes Colm Bairéad, the director of this ‘little movie that could’ in today’s special edition of Weekend, “but the respect for the language and for its capacity to represent us, even though we may not all speak it fluently, I believe, has. It has shown me that there is still a connection between Irish people and their indigenous language that hasn’t been entirely lost.” 

If this connection was lost, all the signs are it has been rediscovered.

Just two years ago, Irish was listed as one of 12 European languages in danger of extinction. Roll on to 2023 and our native language is having a cultural moment, from movies to books, music to TV.

Today, we celebrate this new appreciation of our native tongue. We talk to the Irish language filmmakers, the educators, who are part of, as An Cailín Ciúin producer Cleona Ní Chrualaoi describes it, “this new wave”.

“We were about to become,” she writes in our Weekend magazine, “a part of something bigger than any one film.” 

• In our print edition tomorrow, enjoy our free summer wall chart so you can practice your own cúpla focail over the coming months. And thanks to TG4.

Réamhrá:

Deirtear sa Ghaeilge, “is fearr Gaeilge bhriste ná Béarla cliste”. Is éard a chiallaíonn sé sin i mBéarla “ Broken Irish is better than clever English”. 

Tháinig an ráiteas sin isteach i mo cheann i mí Feabhra seo caite nuair a rinne Paul Mescal iarracht an cúpla focal a bhí aige a úsáid ar an gcairpéad dearg ag gradaim BAFTA.

Chuir agallóir TG4 ceist i nGaeilge ar an aisteoir agus dár ndóigh, d’fhreagair an t-aisteoir í i nGaeilge. Scaip an físeán dhá nóiméad sin go tréan ar an idirlíon, agus go tobann - mar a bhíonn á tvuíteáil ag intéirneach TG4 go minic - bhí teanga dhúchais sin againne cúláilte arís. 

Cuireadh tús leis sin ar fad dár ndóigh sna míonna roimhe sin nuair a eisíodh An Cailín Ciúin, an scannán Gaeilge a mheall lucht pictiúrlainne ar fud an domhain. 

Fuair an scannán ainmniúcháin ag na Oscars, na BAFTAs agus ag féilte idirnáisiúnta, agus sháraigh An Cailín Ciúin curiarrachtaí pictiúrlainne. 

Is é an scannán Gaeilge é is mó é a bhfuil airgead tugtha isteach aige riamh é. 

“B’fhéidir nach bhfuil aon ardú suntasach tagtha ar líon na gcainteoirí Gaeilge ó eisíodh an scannán,” a scríobhann Colm Bairéad, stiúrthóir an ‘scannáin bhig ar éirigh thar cionn leis’ in eagrán speisialta an lae inniu de Weekend, “ach creidim go bhfuil níos mó measa ag daoine anois ar an teanga agus ar an acmhainn atá inti léargas a thabhairt orainn, cé go mb’fhéidir nach bhfuilimid ar fad in ann í a labhairt go líofa. Tá sé cruthaithe aici domsa go bhfuil ceangal fós idir muintir na hÉireann agus a dteanga dhúchais agus nach bhfuil an ceangal sin imithe ar fad fós.” 

Má bhí an ceangal sin imithe, is léir go bhfuil an ceangal sin ar ais arís. 

Níl sé dhá bhliain ó bhí an Ghaeilge ar cheann de 12 theanga a bhí i mbaol a díothaithe. Téigh ar aghaidh anois go dtí an bhliain 2023 agus tá athbheochan chultúir tagtha ar ár dteanga dhúchais, ó scannáin go leabhair, ceol go teilifís. 

Inniu, déanaimid ceiliúradh ar an meas nua seo atá ar ár dteanga dhúchais. Labhraímid le déantóirí scannán Gaeilge, leis na hoideoirí, atá páirteach ann. “An ré nua seo”, a thugann léiritheoir An Cailín Ciúin Cleona Ní Chrualaoi air. 

“Táimid ag fáil faoi réir le bheith páirteach i rud éigin atá i bhfad níos mó ná aon scannán amháin”, a scríobhann sí i Weekend an lae inniu.

• Inár n-eagrán clóite, bain sult freisin as ár gcairt bhalla samhraidh saor in aisce chun go mbeidh tusa in ann an cúpla focal atá agat féin a chleachtadh sna míonna amach romhainn. Gabhaimid buíochas freisin le TG4.

An bhfuil Gaeilge agat? Cliceáil ar an bpictiúr seo.