The Irish Language: The Rise and Struggles in Implementation of the Gaelscoileanna
The Irish Language: The Rise and Struggles in Implementation of the Gaelscoileanna
Throughout Irish history, the language has been thought of as anywhere from the learned and intellectual language of the bard and poet to the language of the poor and second-class citizen. Today, it is both a symbol of national pride and heritage to some and an inhibitor of modernization and global communication and commerce to others.
“The Government needs to promote Irish or scrap it; they need to decide what to do” (Harrison 2005). This statement, made by Fergus Seoighe, principal and Irish teacher at Gaelscoil na Cruaiche in Westport, Co. Mayo, summarizes a great deal of Irish sentiment about their language. “Some purists are still trying to keep Irish pure but if you're going to speak it as a living language it needs to be more modern. More people outside the Gaeltacht claim to be able to speak Irish than ever before but the language needs investment.”
This much-needed investment may well be happening in the form of the Irish-medium schools, or gaelscoileanna.
The Irish Language: A Brief History
The Irish language in Ireland has been a source of constant struggle, both politically and socially, since Christianity first landed on Irish shores in the 5th century. Latin, Norse, French, German, and English are just a sampling of the main languages that have challenged the Irish language, both peacefully and in time of war and conquest. The Irish language never encountered a direct assault until the English invasions in the 17th century. This was when the Irish speakers were first forced “underground” in their learning and passing on of the language. Not until the 19th century would the study of Irish again be picked up and thought of as an area of respectable academic study. The end of the 19th century marks the official revival of Irish culture and language. In 1893, The Gaelic League (Condradh na Gaelige) was founded, with the clear purpose of reinstating Irish as a language of literature and art, as well as common use.
Since Ireland officially became the Irish Free State in 1922—following a period of brief inactivity on the part of Irish language organizations—the government itself took on the task of the preservation of Irish. Through a series of legislations and language acts, the government implemented what are called the Gaeltacht regions. The largest Gaeltacht region is located along Ireland's Western seaboard, comprised of mostly land within the counties of Donegal, Mayo, Galway, and Kerry, as well as parts of Cork, Meath and Waterford.
Within these regions, though the population is largely English-speaking, the intent of the community is that there is a greater opportunity for Irish to be spoken in a cultural setting, and as is expected, there are both more religious and cultural activities conducted in Irish in this region than in those that are not in the Gaeltacht.
A Question of Progress
According to a Euromosaic study done by the Research Centre of Wales, only 5% of the native Irish population uses Irish as their “first or main language.” Ten percent use Irish conversationally or to read. The studies show that, all in all, Irish usage has not changed a great deal for the past few decades. Census findings reported in 1981 and 1983 that 13% of the Irish population was “Irish speaking,” but this data has been refuted as highly interpretive. This is due to the fact that, though all school-age children in Ireland have undergone education in Irish, they are far from proficient—just because the census reports that many can speak the language, does not mean that they actually do. And, as is shown by the Euromosaic report, only that small 5% of the population uses Irish as their first language.
What is the problem, then? There is obviously a disconnect somewhere between schooling and actually using the language on a personal, daily basis. Principal Seoighe proposes one such very probable contributor to this problem: “There is too much emphasis on reading and writing Irish and not enough on speaking the language. When you learn English [in Irish schools] you learn to speak it before you learn to read or write but it's done the other way around with Irish. The language won't survive if it is not spoken” (Harrison 2005).
The Euromosaic report also points out an important distinction: “In 1981, 51% of the age-group between 15-19 years were returned as Irish-speakers in the census. As children do not being schooling in Ireland until they have reached the age of four, the ratio of Irish-speakers in the young childhood cohort (3-4 years) is generally taken as a measure of the incidence of Irish-speaking homes. The percentage hardly moved from the 5% level since the 1920s [for the 3-4 year olds]. It is thus clear that the above average ratios of Irish-speakers in young adult groups is due to the schools rather than home of community bilingualism.”
As Seoighe stated, the census backs up his claim that if the Irish language is not actually spoken, though it may “survive,” it will never become anything more than a subject in the schools and will continue to illicit the same percentages as it has since the first attempts were made to “save” it.
In the 1970s, due to the government's realization in the general opinion on the language and language policies were not positive, a number of groups were created to conduct research on public opinion. One such group was the Committee on Irish Language Attitudes Research (CILAR), created in 1973. In their research, they discovered that, in fact, most people were not happy with the education on Irish that they received in the schools. As well, until the government conducted this research, there was a requirement that all students had to write the “Irish language paper” to pass the secondary school Leaving Certificate examination. This was abandoned at the same time because it was found that it also contributed to the discontent; the feeling was that they were only made to learn Irish to pass these examinations, which did the opposite of the government's intent to reestablish the language as alive and widely-used as a sign of national unity and pride (Coady 2001).
If the Irish language is to experience the type of revival that is needed to bring it back into not only the minds of the Irish, but into their hearts and homes, something needs to occur: the appearance of the gaelscoil might be just that missing link.
The Gaelscoileanna
When the government finally became independent from Britain and took up the cause of the Irish language, the question of how to teach Irish was raised. In an answer, two different types of schools arose: those that used English as the medium of communication, and had Irish taught as a mandatory subject. The other was the Irish immersion schools, which, though they were to be seen—and this is defended adamently to this day—as totally equal with their English-speaking counterparts, were given a great deal more of governmental support in the form of grants and teachers who taught in Irish were given extra salary stipends (Coady 2001).
In the 1970s, after the government had gotten the negative public response to their research on the Irish language specifically within the schools, it seemed as if the subject of Irish in schools would inevitably see a decline.
But, in the 1970s and 1980s, the number of Irish-medium schools actually began to witness an increase. From 1972 to 2005, the number of primary-level gaelscoileanna rose from eleven to 158, and the number of children attending primary-level gaelscoileanna has about doubled, with 13,163 in 1990 versus 25,039 for the last academic year (Europe Intelligence Wire 2005).
This rise has been attributed by many scholars in large part to the interest of the parents in their children's education in the Irish language. Nora Ni Loinsigh of Gaelscoileanna—“a voluntary national organisation, established in 1973 as Coiste Náisiúnta na Scoileanna Lán-Ghaeilge (the National Committee of Irish-medium Schools) as is stated on their official website— says that “some people went through fourteen years at school learning Irish and found when they came out, they couldn't speak it. A lot of these parents now want their children to be able to speak Irish” (Europe Intelligence Wire 2005). According to Irish language scholar Ó Riagáin, “The new generation of all Irish schools were founded in response to parent groups rather than state pressure and they are, by and large, additions to the school system rather than reconversions of the existing schools to bilingual teaching. Thus, any suggestion that they represent a reversal of trends needs considerable qualification. They are more accurately seen as the start of a substantially new trend” (1997).
Today, though not confined to the Gaeltacht, the gaelscoil (the plural is gaelscoileanna) have a strong presence in the Gaeltacht. The gaelscoileanna now exist not only within the Gaeltacht, but also in larger cities such as Dublin, Belfast, and Cork. Besides the 158 primary-level schools (bunscoileanna), there are also 36 schools at the post-primary level (meanscoileanna), according to the official website of the Gaelscoileanna orginazation.
Problems Facing the Gaelscoileanna
Simply put, there is enough interest in Irish-medium gaelscoileanna to have caused a host of problems. From accommodation to lacking ways of continuing one's Irish language education after primary school, there are efforts being made on both the part of the communities and the government to rectify the situation.
Firstly, there is the accommodation crisis, caused simply by the abovementioned problem of such a huge degree of interest in the gaelscoileanna. As was reported by the Europe Intelligence Wire in November of 2005, gaelscoileanna are being held in “former mortuaries, sanatoriums, supermarkets, factory units and even a hotel nightclub.” London's The Sun reported one such situation in which children in Donegal and Wicklow are using old funeral homes as schools, as well as a school in Galway in a former sanatorium and in a supermarket in Cork. A spokesman and advocate for the gaelscoileanna by the name of Peter Mulligan addresses the issue: “There is something quite humorous about a school being in a funeral home. But the serious side is that children are being educated in places that were never meant to be schools. Parents who set these [gaelscoileanna] up are left with little choice when it comes to accommodation. There has to be an increase in government investment” (Scanlan 2004).
The Gaelscoileanna organization in their meeting in Co. Sligo in November of this year stated that there are an estimated 45 primary schools that are in “temporary conditions which are inappropriate or inadequate”, as reported in an article about the accommodation crisis in the Europe Intelligence Wire. Representative Michael O'Broinn stated at the conference, “What we are about is providing parents with the choice of an all Irish education which is their right under the constitution and a right under the Education Act. Surely parents should not be expected to provide every element of that education.” His latter comment about parents is largely attributed to the fact that, besides government funding to pay for the rent of these buildings—as dilapidated or inappropriate as they might be—parents themselves are also expected to cover 5% of the annual rent. Some gaelscoileanna are also finding themselves without the government acknowledgment of their school as the requirements for funding are continually rising.
A few examples of the conditions at these schools are not only a testament to the poor accommodations, but also of the parent's commitment to their children's gaelscoil education. Another article in London's The Sun reported that on June 15th of this year, children from a “cramped 'Third-World' Dublin school,” Gaelscoil Bharra primary school in Cabra, held class in front of the Department of Education as a protest to their cramped conditions. Their principal, Sean O'Donaile, says in response to the situation, “We've been very patient, but we're not prepared to sit back any longer. We're not going to put up with Third World facilities... We shouldn't have to be doing this but the children here have never even seen a school corridor.” The article does not stop there, though. It gets worse.
“An old builder's hut is being used by seven special-needs children and their teacher,” it reports. “The hut, which is stifling hot in summer and freezing cold in winter, is also used as a storeroom, music room, and library.”
One of the children that attends Gaelscoil Bharra as a special-needs student is eight year old Lauren Devoy-Ni Charoil; she is one of six children in the world with the rare chromosome disease, mosaic trisomy 3Q. Her grandmother, Joyce Carroll, spoke to The Sun: “Education Minister Mary Hanafin visited the school last October and said she'd look into the situation. But nothing has happened. Local Senator Cyprian Brady also visited, tripping over paint tins and wheelie bins just to get inside” (Taylor 2005).
Another protest outside the Department of Education in October of 2004 by teachers and students from Gaelscoil Cholmcille in Santry, Dublin, was due to the fact that over 220 students had been waiting nine years for a “proper building”. At the time of the report, they were attending “classes in cramped conditions at a local soccer club, St. Kevin's.” A report of the school's conditions, written for the Irish National Teachers Organisation, lists the dangers of their situation: “Seventy children are taught in freezing pre-fabs on the football grounds, basic health regulations such as proper ventilation and access to drinking water are not met at the school, and first floor classrooms have no fire escapes and banisters are missing from the stairs to the rooms” (Hegarty 2004).
One school's struggle that received a great deal of press was the Gaelscoil na Cruaiche in Westport, Co. Mayo. London's Sunday Mirror reported on December 12th of 2004 that the parents and teachers had “launched a campaign to get a new building.” The urgency of their need was obvious as the article continued: “Pupils attending [the school] have to take classes in a nest of ramshakle Portakabins. The school at Altamount Street has been condemned and the classrooms are seriously overcrowded. Built to accommodate sixty pupils in 1998, they now house 183.” The lease they had on the site of their temporary school was set to expire in 2006 and the Department of Education reportedly left it up to the Board of Management to find the school what would be their third temporary school site in the nine years the school had been operating. The report for the same day states that, “The parents' body, Board of Management, teachers and children from the school brought their case before Westport Town Council. They handed a petition signed by 4,300 people calling for the local authority's backing to identify a permanent site for a new school” (Sunday Mirror 2004).
The following Sunday—December 19th—the Sunday Mirror reported that, “Following the exposure of the health and safety issues the Department of Education has instructed the Office of Public Works to proceed with the acquisition of a site for a new school” (Sunday Mirror 2004).
On May 29th of 2005, London's News of the World reported that nothing had apparently progressed since the previous December's petition. Parents had taken their children out of the classrooms in protest to “highlight the urgent need for a modern school building.” The report stated that they planned to hold classes in Westport's town center, the Octagon, to show their fear at the fact that the school's lease had only twelve months left on it and the Department of Education had done nothing to rectify the situation.
The school received little more progress or press until The Independent Media Centre in Ireland published an article on November 11th on their website written by a parent, saying that the school had finally gotten the land for their permanent Gaelscoil na Cruaiche to be built on. The article outlines how they were able to aquire 2.5 acres on Westport's Golf Course Road, a place that the town had already been actively working on developing. Counselor Keith Martin, chariman of the Pairc Na Coille Residents Association, stated in response to the planned school, “Having a first class school in the area is... a huge benefit. These new facilities will establish the Golf Course Road as the high standard for other areas and other local authorities to aspire to.” He says that the school will also have “...two playgrounds, walkways, a playing pitch... basketball and volleyball courts and a huge green area...”.
This is at least one success story for the gaelscoileanna's overcrowding problems. Though, this is only one aspect of the struggle they are facing.
Other issues that have been raised are: upon students leaving the gaelscoileanna—either from a primary or secondary education—they often have little to no other contact with the language; often, the parents know less Irish than the children, so language proficiency, though not hard to regain, is lost during school breaks; though the number of primary-level gaelscoileanna is relatively high, there are very few options for secondary-level gaelscoileanna; and, in most cases, primary-level and secondary-level gaelscoileanna are “clumped” together, thus giving people in those areas a distinct advantage over those who would have to travel great distances to continue on to a secondary-level gaelscoil.
The Future
Donncha O hEallaithe, a thirty-year resident of Ireland's largest Gaeltacht in Co. Galway, sums up the question the Irish language faces quite eloquently: “If, in the next twenty years, we could look back and say that language shift in the last remaining Irish-speaking strongholds was arrested, that networks of Irish speakers have been developed throughout the country... that the number of children to whom Irish is being transmitted as a first language in the home is accelerating, both inside and outside the Gaeltacht, a lot will have been achieved and the survival of the language may be guaranteed.”
O hEallaithe also speaks about the change he has witnessed, watching his community change from “almost 100% Irish speaking to a precarious balance, in which Irish is still the language of everyday discourse among the older age groups but English is rapidly becoming the most common everyday language of communications for teenagers and for the age group in their twenties”, which he states is “the death knell of Irish as the main language of the community.”
His sentiments on the future being so heavily reliant on the “children to whom Irish is being transmitted as a first language... teenagers... [and] the age group in their twenties” is the most important realization for Ireland to make. Just as the usual cliché goes about children being integral to the future of any society or culture, that is especially true for the Irish language in Ireland. And it is starting to be realized that simply throwing grammar and testing at students isn't going to do the trick.
Through the growing support of the gaelscoileanna on the part of the parents and on the community level, there is a great deal of promise. It's not just the government anymore; it's the people taking control of the language. That is just the thing that needs to happen for the Irish language to survive: people taking it into their own hands, investing in it personally on a community and family-based level. If Irish is to be the language of the people, it must be promoted and implemented by the people.
