Race and Immigration in the New Ireland

6. The Irish Language in Twenty-First-Century Ireland: Exploring Legislative and Policy Protections North and South

C H A P T E R S I X THE IRISH LANGUAGE IN TWENTY-FIRST-CENTURY IRELAND Exploring Legislative and Policy Protections North and South V E R O N A N Í D H R I S C E O I L INTRODUCTION Between 1999 and 2007, over 650,000 people immigrated to Ireland. Among those immigrating were returning Irish nationals, UK nationals , economic migrants, political refugees, and asylum seekers.1 The pull factor was economic. Successful industrial relations and good investment incentives during this boom period made Ireland a viable location for establishing businesses and in turn an attractive location to earn a livelihood. Remarkable progress in the economy coupled with the influx of immigrants brought with it dramatic changes to the societal and cultural landscape of Ireland. Ireland became an increasingly multicultural and multilingual state during the Celtic Tiger era.2 The transformation in social diversity brought with it many positive opportunities but also vulnerabilities and resistances, some of which have been highlighted in this volume. What has also been highlighted is the other dramatic transformation since the original conference in 2007: 131 the economic downturn and its effect on race and immigration. The new Ireland of wealth and cozy cartels, of immigration and construction has been replaced with recession, emigration, and ghost estates. The new has become the old, and the boom has become the bust. Ireland is now in transition, experiencing change and crisis in every realm of society. In this political, social, and economic matrix, it is worth reflecting on the place of the Irish language and question what the future might bring. Indeed, the Irish-language question has long been a source of debate, but the nature of this debate has dramatically changed. In A New View of the Irish Language, Caoilfhionn Nic Pháidín and Seán Ó Cearnaigh note that “the Irish language question is entering a phase of unprecedented challenge and change.” They note that “the results may be as startling as those which occurred at other historical watersheds like the Flight of the Earls or the revival movement of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century.”3 Such dramatic shifts are unparalleled, and therefore key questions are raised. Will the striking changes of contemporary Ireland have a positive or negative impact on the Irish language? Has the influx of migrants brought with it a new era in government language policy, or do remnants of nationalism remain? What impact will the economic crisis have on the future of the Irish language? Developing an understanding of the place of the Irish language in twenty-first-century Ireland and the influences that international language arguments have had on the legislative developments provides the central focus of this chapter. I begin by exploring the relationship between the Irish language and national identity and how this relationship is continually changing . As noted by Michael Cronin in his seminal text Irish in the New Century , the ends are no longer the same. To declare the language simply as part of what we are makes little sense if we are no longer so sure of who or what we are.4 This discussion will be followed by a brief examination of the international context and trends toward the protection of minority languages through positive obligations on states to guarantee language rights. This will provide a broader context within which to discuss the recent legal linguistic developments in the Republic of Ireland as well as in Northern Ireland. Such developments have arisen primarily because of the increased provision for minority 132 Verona Ní Dhrisceoil languages at an international level, a changed Irish society, and a shift in the relationship between identity and the Irish language. Changes in Irish-language policy in Northern Ireland must be viewed within the context of the dramatic changes brought about by the Belfast/ Good Friday Agreement of 1998 and language, along with equality claims being made in a postconflict society. In this regard the approach to language policy in Northern Ireland differs substantially from language policy in the Republic of Ireland. Given the current economic downturn, the chapter will conclude with some analysis on the future of the Irish language. At this stage it is impossible to fully understand the impact the recession will have on the Irish language in terms of cuts to government spending and, more importantly, whether the attitudes of the Irish people toward the language will shift. Nevertheless, the proposed policy changes for Irish put forward...