The role of legislating language rights in language preservation: A comparative analysis of language legislation in the UK and Ireland.

After a long campaign by Conradh na Gaeilge, amongst others, legal recognition of the Irish language in Northern Ireland was finally enacted by Westminster in 2022. Legislating for Irish language rights in Northern Ireland has caused considerable consternation, not least due to how politically charged the issue of the Irish language has been due to the history of Northern Ireland. The Identity and Language Act 2022 has been hailed as a success by language activists, but comparing the Act alongside similar legislation in Ireland and Wales analyses the potential effects of the legislation.

Furthermore, this paper examines the results of language rights developments in Wales and the Republic of Ireland, and the trials and tribulations such developments have come across. This article critiques the language rights legislative schemes across Wales, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, to examine the effects of language rights legislation on protecting minority languages.