The Irish Language in Cork City

19th Mar 2009

The Irish Language in Cork City


Cork city has never been able to claim to be among the urban hubs of the Irish language. Part of this is down to its geographical location and political status. For one Cork is not the capital of Ireland (the official one anyway) and it's no where near the larger Gaeltacht areas like those in Kerry, Conemara and Donegal.

Thus the national emphasis on promoting the language outside academic institutions is primarily focussed outside the county - save for the small strongholds in the Muskerry Gaeltacht west of Macroom.

Déasún Mac An Easpaig: Foinse the weekly Irish language newspaper claims the comedian is doing more for Irish on his own than the government.

In Northern Ireland, generous authorities on both sides of the border placate vociferous demands for culture enhancement in an attempt to satisfy the whims of a volatile and admittedly historically neglected people.

Even the Falls Road area in Belfast has a thriving Irish language scene (with shops, centres and café that has triggered an influx of tourists) and such has been the rapid expansion and desire to embrace the language up North that you can now even take a Karate class as gaeilge!

Such emphasis on other cities leaves little wriggle room for Irish language enthusiasts in Cork desperate for the funding wand to be pointed south. Waterford and Limerick cities suffer the same sensation of being left outside the stadium on a big match day without a ticket - well away from the action.

Limerick to its advantage has the patronage of hundreds of trainee primary school teachers who are obliged by law to be proficient Irish speakers but the language appears to be as campus-bound there as it does on Leeside.

Bord Snip Nua
What could be interpreted as state neglect however is more likely to be the pragmatic concentration of tax payers' money in areas with higher concentrations of people simply interested in using the language every day - hardly a crime.

A can of worms in itself, Irish language funding in the current economic climate is likely to be increasingly scrutinised by the media and followed closely by a trail of populist politicians and Dublin 4 based hacks demanding root and branch cuts.

The Seachtain na Gaeilge website shows Cork has the least amount of events in Munster - albeit several events in the city, including our own, were not added.

While viewed with trepidation by many within the Irish language scene the result may be for the greater good of the language. Unfortunately we have learned as a rule that where tax payers' money goes there will inevitably be some wastage.

The message from government, as it should be to all public servants, must be that if you are of genuine benefit to the state and if you have been prudent and efficient you should have nothing to fear.

The scope of 'genuine benefit' to the state for many people may not go as far as the mind blowing spends on compulsory translation services in the public service which are often used as a stick with which to beat all Irish language enthusiasts and enhance the arguments of the "lads just give it up" brigade.

State of the Nation
The unfortunate reality is that the Irish language scene in Cork city has not been strong for a long time. The largest Irish language event in the country, Oireachtas, took place in the Rochestown Park Hotel last year but its unlikely most locals noticed in a city where the native tongue receives little or no attention outside of signage.

It's easy to dress up some minor events a few times a year in a public relations cloak to claim that the language is alive and well. But is it growing? How can it be measured? Is the lack of interest the state's fault or are we all too lazy to get off our arses and do something about it?

Whether the city would benefit from a cold reality check is uncertain. History has taught that wanton negativity has lent the language no favours but cracks in the wall cannot be continually covered by layers of glossy PR paint and tokenism. The exchequer nowadays has an ever-descending threshold of patience.

Where to now?

Bishop's Blessing
The positivity generated by comedian Des Bishop, whose year learning Irish was captured on the TV series In The Name of the Fada has been an unexpected bonus to those tasked with growing the use of the language nationally who seem short of new ideas to promote it beyond the setting up of yet another Irish language website.

His seemingly limitless energy has come from outside the traditional realm of academia and plethora of state funded organisations - an interesting foot note in itself.

This PR turbo boost is nothing more foreign than the power of an original outside-the-box idea executed by somebody with a social conscious who understands the mechanics of Ireland's media industry and how to generate mass appeal.

To begin to substantially grow its Irish language scene, Cork needs an enormous amount of man hours and some new ideas far beyond any service currently available including the small remit of our monthly club at The Roundy - which, for the record, currently receives no public funding.

Baile Mhic Ire: part of the Muskerry Gaeltacht

In an economy that can hardly support the needy, unwell and disadvantaged, Irish speakers can consider themselves out of sight in the current pecking order of government spending priorities so
the unavoidable reality is that the work must be done voluntarily or the job won't be done - a community of Gaelgóirs who never utter a word outside their homes, schools or colleges is of little benefit to Cork.

Dormant Speakers

Changing the curriculum to promote oral use has to be welcomed but neglecting those who have passed through the faulty processes of the past would be a mistake. People who humbly claim to have no Irish after thirteen years in the education system must be encouraged to come out of their shells but a minimum amount of infrastructure must also be in place to facilitate them.

An Irish language 'mini-economy' of sorts is necessary to really cement the city's language and cultural aspirations - something which will definitely attract tourists both foreign and from other counties as shown, anecdotally at least, by Belfast. The appeal of big name high street chain stores, while important for employment, can only go so far.

Club Daon-Phoblacht...ar súil...

As well as the obvious need for the many classes that take place around the city and county, social outlets beyond the gates of academic institutions like Irish-friendly cafés, bars and community centres where Corkonians can interact with each other in their native tongue will have to spring up to build a substantial community.

Even a certificate with "our staff can take your order in Irish" slapped on local bar entrances, restaurant menus and café tables would spark curiosity if interested staff were offered a crash course to brush up their vocabulary while culturally curious customers are encouraged to thread in waters outside their communicative comfort zones.

Many Irish bar workers, restaurant staff and shop assistants probably have better Irish than many of their co-worker's English - they just need the practice.

This plays fiddle to the real reason people want to speak Irish: because they enjoy it. No patriotic, faux-republican, religious or educational pressure has resulted in any long term sustainable success - arguably they have encouraged the opposite.

Instead, allowing Corkonians to simply enjoy speaking the language with no strings attached may lead to a more sustainable foundation on which to build a long term future for the language in the city.

It is encouraging to witness some enthusiastic fresh blood arrive on the local scene of late and the initial signs over the last few months have been positive. There are also many energetic Corkonians who love the language and are willing to lend a hand - they just don't know where to turn to do so.

Here's hoping that in the next few years Cork will muscle its way to the top in leading the Irish language revival.

Beir bua!

Club Daon-Phoblacht featuring the Céilí All Stars takes place tonight at The Roundy.

Local Irish marketing organisation Gael Taca will launch their new website very soon - click here

A new social group has also been formed and plans to meet regularly at The Clarion on Lapps Quay. Keep an eye on the Irish language forum for details
Next meeting is Monday March 30th at 8pm (to be confirmed).

April's Club Daon-Phoblacht will take place on Thurday the 23rd 8.30pm at The Roundy, Castle Street featuring five piece Lazik


If you'd like to get in touch with us regarding this article or anything regarding the Irish language in Cork drop us a line in English nó as gaeilge:
gaeilge@peoplesrepublicofcork.com