Flogging an capall marbh? - Promoting Irish in public service

THE Irish Language Commissioner Rónán Ó Domhnaill’s disappointment with Government efforts to promote Irish across the public service may be justified, but it is unlikely his concern is shared by too many people. 

The reality is that official apathy does no more than reflect the widespread disinterest in the tokenism represented by the cúpla focal.

Despite almost a century of mandatory teaching — it would be wrong to call it learning — the position of the language is more precarious than ever. It is the first language of a tiny minority and it is sad but true to say that many who dedicated their lives to promoting it did more harm than good.

This reality stands despite the commitment of exceptional resources — some estimates say we spend up to €1bn a year flogging this capall marbh. However, it would be cultural vandalism on a scale seen when the charlatans of Isis raze the museums of the Middle East if we did not do more to save our beautiful language and bring it to the centre of Irish life.

One of the things that has afflicted any revival is that it is perceived, rightly or wrongly, to have been hijacked by a particular ethos, one that is increasingly unattractive to more and more Irish people. We are on the cusp of marking one of the defining events in our history, so maybe it’s time to depoliticise the language and allow it be a common medium, a shared bond rather than a flag. That, after all, was one of the ambitions set out in the 1916 Proclamation. A tall order.

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