Why throw
our hands up in despair? The Irish language is on the verge of extinction;
we’ve known all along, the death rattles have been deafening for a hundred
years. In highlighting the rapid decline in the usage of the Irish language in
the Gaeltacht areas, the authors of the recent report have also drawn into
question the current Government’s level of commitment to the preservation of
our language.
A friend of
mine, language teacher from Germany, visiting Dublin asked to go somewhere
where she could hear the language being used. I balked. The same difficulty
applied to myself years ago, when as one of a group of sixteen year olds
returning from the Irish language summer college, we agreed to have a reunion
in Dublin; but where? Where is the centre for speakers of our language in our
capital city?
2016 is a
year of celebration; the question being asked is how best do we commemorate,
not only the people and events of 1916, but our Irishness. I suggest that the
finest and most practical gesture we can make is the establishment of a
cultúrlann that, at one stroke, solves difficulties like those I’ve outlined
and proclaims our commitment to the preservation of our Irish heritage. And we
don’t have to reinvent the wheel, but look at the model that is Cultúrlann
McAdam Ó Fiaich, just up the road in Belfast.
Coffee
shop, theatre, art gallery, book-shop; a place that will encourage all who want
to speak Irish, hear it spoken. A warm place, open all day and full of
positivity towards the Irish language and culture. For now we need people with
some imagination and a fondness for Irish in order to make a start.
