Irish Examiner view: Irish language should have its place in the daily life of the North

Protesters at the Irish language rights demonstration in Belfast city centre. Picture: Bayview Media/Dream Dearg/PA Wire

There was impressive turnout in Belfast in support of the Irish language law. The campaign network An Dream Dearg “the red group” is demanding “language recognition, respect and rights” and legislation along the lines of the 1993 Welsh Language Act. To that extent, supporters should be pushing against an open door.

Legislation has already been promised, although previous plans have stalled in the fractious climate of the North. In his visit last week, British premier Boris Johnson pledged to deliver a portmanteau cultural package in the coming weeks which would include an “office of identity and cultural expression”, as well as an Irish language commissioner and a commissioner to develop language, arts and literature “associated with the Ulster Scots/Ulster British tradition”.