Protesters gather in Belfast to demand introduction of an Irish Language Act

PROTESTERS have gathered outside the headquarters of the Department for Communities in Belfast to demand an Irish Language Act for the north.

The protest had initially been organised against the decision of the communities minister, Paul Givan, to scrap an Irish language bursary scheme totalling £50,000 a year to enable students to attend the Donegal gaeltacht.

Hours before the protest took place in Bedford Street in the centre of Belfast, Mr Givan announced - via a tweet - that he would be restoring funding for the scheme.

Politicians from the SDLP, Sinn Féin and People Before Profit joined students and Irish language activists as the crowd held up placards and chanted “Acht na Gaeilge Anois (Irish Language Act now)”.

Following speeches and the releasing of red flares among an estimated crowd of 300 people, a letter calling for Irish language legislation to be introduced was handed into the minister’s office.

Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin, from An Dream Dearg, a campaign group which organised the protest, said that while they welcomed the minister’s decision to reverse the funding cut, were calling for legislation to ensure the language was legally protected.

Mr Mac Giolla Bhéin said that “this is only the beginning of our campaign”.

“The Irish language community are no longer willing to accept being treated as second class citizens,” he said.

"We are not asking for any special concession or privilege but to be treated with respect and dignity. This can only be delivered through enshrined legislation that secures our rights as Irish speakers.

“Any future political negotiations or attempts to achieve agreement on restoring the power-sharing executive must be dependent on the guaranteed delivery of outstanding commitments regarding Irish language rights.”

Protesters also wore stickers bearing the symbol of a white circle against a red background, representing the social media slogan #DeargleFearg (red with anger), a symbol which has been adopted by several party leaders and boxers Michael Conlan and Paddy Barnes.

More than 12,000 social media accounts have already adopted the white circle on a red background as a profile image.