Thousands call for Irish Language Act during Belfast rally

housands of people from across Ireland staged a rally and march in Belfast on Saturday calling for the introduction of an Irish Language Act in the North.

Several thousand men, women and children dressed in red marched from the Falls Road in west Belfast to a rally outside Belfast City Hall, where music was played and speeches were made in both Irish and English.

The Acht Anois event organised by An Dream Dearg included Irish language speakers and supporters from schools, youth groups and community organisations in the North, and also from Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway and Monaghan.

Organisers said it took place “to celebrate the vibrancy and diversity of the Irish language and her community of speakers and to allow the public to support the campaign for respect, recognition and rights for the Irish speaking community”.

Paula Melvin (25) from Dublin told The Irish Times “language rights are human rights”.

“An act was promised, young people want an Irish language act, its about equality,” she said.

In January a row between the DUP and Sinn Féin over the controversial “cash for ash” green energy scheme precipitated the collapse of government in the North. The late Martin McGuinness finally collapsing the institutions after a £50,000 Liofa bursary scheme for disadvantaged children was pulled by the DUP communities minister Paul Givan just before Christmas 2016.