Historic day as Irish language legislation officially becomes law

THE passing of Irish language legislation at Westminster has been hailed as ‘historic’ by language campaigners.

The legislation is a huge milestone for Irish language activists as the language will have an official status in the North for the first time.

The legislation will allow for the creation of two Commissioners, an Irish Language and Ulster Scots and an Office of Identity and Cultural Expression.

Irish language campaigners have been at the forefront of delivering this change in law for the protection and promotion of the Irish language in the North. Acht na Gaeilge was an intricate part of the New Decade, New Approach agreement which restored power sharing in January 2020.

The next step for the legislation will be its implementation by the Secretary of State and NIO, in the absence of an Executive.

Spokesperson for the An Dream Dearg campaign for Irish language rights, Dr Pádraig Ó Tiarnaigh said it was “an historic day”.

"This significant and historic milestone stems from the pioneering work of the Shaws Road Gaeltacht over 50 years ago, where the seeds of the modern Irish language revival in the north were first planted. From those small beginnings an Irish language community has flourished and grown.

"Today that community has succeeded in bringing legislative change for the Irish language here. That is historic. For years Irish speakers have challenged the state as the language was marginalised and ridiculed. Today we take another step forward on our journey towards comprehensive Irish language rights. But we also have to take stock of where we are on that journey.

"This Act is only another milestone, another staging-post. It does not deliver the change we need, nor the change we were promised. Tomorrow the work begins to ensure this Act is fully implemented without any delay, and the campaign to strengthen the legislation remains ongoing.

"We now hope to see the appointment of the first Irish Commissioner in the history of the northern state early in the New Year. To all those who walked this path with us, today belongs to you. For all those willing to continue the work we have started, let us walk that path together. Ar aghaidh linn le chéile. "

Paula Melvin, President of Conradh na Gaeilge, said: “The Irish language community has been fighting for these rights for decades and in that regard to see the Irish language be afforded official recognition here for the first time is indeed historic. We want to pay tribute to all of those activists and community pioneers who have been advocating for language rights down through the years. Today is but another historic staging post in this ongoing campaign for equality.

“This Bill, however, is not our final destination. We have pushed hard on several important amendments to the legislation and we now turn our attention to both implementing and to strengthening the bill and bringing it up to international standards of language legislation in the future. But let’s be clear, we now immediately enter the implementation phase of this legislation. Painful experience with the British Government has taught us to take nothing for granted. Until we see this Bill fully enacted and indeed implemented in practice, we will continue to push ahead with the campaign.”

Conchúr Ó Muadaigh, Advocacy Manager with Conradh na Gaeilge, said: “Today’s milestone is testament to the 20,000 people who stood with us on  the streets of Belfast in May and actively called on the British government to honour their word on bringing forward Irish language legislation. From today on, the Irish language will exist in law for the first time in a state which historically discriminated against the language and marginalised it’s community of speakers. The significance of this should not be lost on anyone. However, having legislation is one thing. The implementation of that legislation is another.

"In the absence of a functioning Executive, this bill gives concurrent powers to the Secretary of State to operationalise and implement the bill in its entirety. The British Government must exercise these powers without any delay. The Irish language community have waited long enough. The appointment of an Irish Language Commissioner is the first step in that process. The Irish language community will look upon the appointment of the Commissioner as a litmus test for the British Government. The Irish language community will wait in earnest to see how this legislation will bring the legitimate, long overdue change they require to facilitate them living their lives through Irish.”