Stop treating a living language like a poker chip at a constitutional card table. For decades, whenever the conversation shifts toward a united Ireland, the Irish language gets dragged into the room as a "concession." You’ve heard the refrain: "Maybe we’ll drop compulsory Irish to make unionists feel more at home," or "We’ll trade language rights for a new flag." It’s a hollow, cynical way to view a culture that belongs to everyone on this island, regardless of their voting record.
A fresh report from Queen's University Belfast, commissioned by Conradh na Gaeilge, makes a blunt point that’s been ignored for too long. The Irish language shouldn’t be a "bargaining chip" or a "symbolic concession." It’s not something to be "de-emphasized" to smooth over political transitions. Instead, it’s a living, breathing community asset that needs to be at the core of any new political arrangement—not as a threat, but as a right.
The trap of the regressive lens
Most talk about the Irish language in the context of unity is stuck in the past. Critics and even some well-meaning academics frame it through a regressive lens. They see it as a "contentious symbol of nationalism" or a "cultural remnant." This view is not just outdated; it’s flat-out wrong.
When you treat a language as a political tool, you ignore the people who actually speak it. There’s a vibrant, growing community of speakers across the entire island. They aren’t "bargaining chips." They’re citizens with rights. If a new Ireland is built on the idea of trading those rights away to placate one group, then the foundation is already cracked.
Beyond the green and orange box
One of the biggest mistakes in this debate is the assumption that the Irish language is the exclusive property of one side. Linda Ervine and the Turas project in East Belfast have spent years proving that’s nonsense. There is a deep, often hidden history of Protestants and the Irish language.
Back in the 19th century, the Presbyterian General Assembly called Irish "our sweet and memorable mother tongue." It wasn’t a political statement then; it was a fact of life. Today, we see people from all backgrounds—unionist, loyalist, and "other"—engaging with the language because it explains the land they live on. It’s in our townlands, our surnames, and the way we speak English.
If we keep framing the language as a "republican weapon," we’re just doing the work of the bigots who want to keep people divided. A united Ireland that starts by "de-emphasizing" the native language to avoid offending a specific political identity is just replacing one form of exclusion with another.
The myth of the compulsory hurdle
The "compulsory Irish" debate is usually the first thing thrown on the chopping block. You’ll hear people say that dropping it in schools would be an easy win for unity. But that’s a lazy solution to a complex problem.
- Removing requirements doesn't create inclusion. It often just kills the language in poorer areas where parents don't have the resources for private tutors.
- Choice isn't always neutral. If you make Irish "optional" while keeping other subjects mandatory, you’re effectively devaluing it in the eyes of the state.
- The "resentment" argument is overblown. Most people who "hated" Irish in school actually just hated the way it was taught—heavy on the poetry, light on the conversation.
We should be talking about how to make the language accessible and inclusive, not how to hide it away so nobody feels uncomfortable.
Building the architecture of a new state
The Queen’s University report argues that the language community needs to move from a defensive crouch to a proactive stance. We shouldn’t be waiting to see what "concessions" are offered. We should be designing the architecture of the state ourselves.
This means a "rights-based" approach. It means ensuring that whether you’re in Belfast, Cork, or Derry, you have a legally protected right to interact with the state in Irish. It’s about visibility and normalization. The recent commencement of the Identity and Language (Northern Ireland) Act 2022 is a start, but it’s just the floor, not the ceiling.
A new Ireland offers a "generational opportunity" to reset the relationship between the state and the people. We’ve seen the failures of the past—the decline of the Gaeltacht, the lack of housing for speakers, and the chronic underfunding of Irish-medium education. A united Ireland isn't a fix-all, but it’s a chance to stop treating the language as an "issue" and start treating it as an essential part of the social fabric.
Moving past the "Jailtacht" legacy
For too long, the image of the Irish language in the North was tied to the "Jailtacht"—the republican prisoners in the H-Blocks who used the language as a form of resistance. While that’s a part of history, it shouldn’t define the future.
The language has moved out of the prison cells and into the community centers, the cafes, and the tech hubs. It’s being used by kids who don’t care about the constitutional wars of their grandparents. When politicians treat the language as a "chip," they’re basically saying those kids' identities are negotiable. They aren't.
Concrete steps for the road ahead
If we're serious about a "New Ireland," we need to stop the horse-trading and start planning for a bilingual reality.
- Stop the trade-offs. No more talk of trading the flag for the language. Rights are not commodities.
- Invest in the Gaeltacht. The heartlands of the language are facing a housing crisis. If the people can't afford to live there, the language dies. This needs an all-island strategy now, not after a border poll.
- Reform, don't remove. Instead of arguing about whether Irish should be compulsory, let's fix how it's taught. Focus on fluency and fun, not just passing exams.
- Listen to the outliers. Pay attention to the unionists who are already learning the language. What do they need to feel like the language belongs to them too? Hint: It’s usually not "less Irish." It’s "less politicized Irish."
The Irish language is a national treasure that belongs to everyone from the most hardcore loyalist to the most traditional Gaeltacht speaker. It’s time we started acting like it.
Linda Ervine on the Tommy Tiernan Show
This video features Linda Ervine discussing her journey with the Irish language in East Belfast and why it shouldn't be seen as a partisan tool.
