Broken Promises: Why Irish Independence Failed the Irish Language

In 1922, Ireland gained its independence. The new state promised to revive the Irish language. A century later, English still dominates daily life. What went wrong?

In this episode, I speak to John Walsh of the University of Galway, author of One Hundred Years of Irish Language Policy, 1922–2022, about why a movement that had real momentum in the years before independence stalled in the decades that followed.

John traces the high ambition and lofty ideals to the failed policies of successive Irish governments. He also reveals how at times outright hostility to the language within the political establishment emerged in the later 20th century with devastating consequences. The episode also looks at the very different experience of the language in the Northern State, where the unionist government treated Irish as a threat.

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If you want to find out more

Find out more about John and his work: https://research.universityofgalway.ie/en/persons/john-walsh/

To find out more about this subject, check out John's book One Hundred Years of Irish Language Policy, 1922–2022 https://www.peterlang.com/document/1248601

Check out this episode with Dr Nicholas Wolf on why the Irish language went into decline in the 18th and 19th century. https://shows.acast.com/irishhistory/episodes/the-irish-language-why-ireland-became-english-speaking

John's forthcoming book Ar Lámh Shábhála? Coimisiún na Gaeltachta 1926 will be published by Cló Iar-Chonnacht this autumn https://cic.ie/

Sound by Kate Dunlea.

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