“The Irish Language” — Is Our Education System Failing Our Children? Reclaim the Enlightenment

This contribution examines the historical and contemporary position of the Irish language within the education system in Northern Ireland. It considers the decline of Irish in the northern counties during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, the historical treatment of the language within formal education, and the development of Irish-language teaching and Irish-medium education. The chapter challenges the assumption that the decline of Irish resulted simply from communities voluntarily abandoning the language and instead considers the influence of educational and political policy on language shift. It concludes by considering the changing position of Irish within contemporary education and the continuing relationship between language, educational provision and public policy.