Thousands of protesters marched through Dublin city centre on Saturday demanding urgent political intervention to protect the Irish language and Gaeltacht regions.
Organisers estimated 25,000 people took part in the demonstration, billed Cearta: The National Protest for the Irish Language and the Gaeltacht.
Traffic was brought to a standstill as demonstrators wound their way from the Garden of Remembrance, through the city centre, at one point stretching the length of O’Connell Street, before rallying at the Leinster House end of Molesworth Street.
The protest was organised by a coalition of language rights groups and community organisations to highlight what they said were systemic issues facing Irish speakers and that endangered the viability of Gaeltacht regions. They also demanded action on language, housing, education and funding.
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Addressing the crowd, Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin, president of Conradh na Gaeilge, and spokesman for protest group An Dream Dearg, described the protest as “historic” and said “for hundreds of years we have been fighting for recognition, for dignity and respect for our language in our own country”.
Commending the progress made to advance the Welsh language in Wales, where the authorities have set a target of creating one million Welsh speakers by 2050, Mr Mac Giolla Bhéin asked why the Irish government did not follow their example.
“Why can’t our Government in Dublin do the same thing? Why is Irish still in the ha’penny place when we’re told that the State has more money than ever before,” he said in Irish.
He said funding cuts had led to community groups “making difficult decisions every single day about cutting back community schemes, closing offices and letting staff go”.
Mr Mac Giolla Bhéin said: “It’s a disgrace that the Irish language budget through Foras na Gaeilge is down 45 per cent since 2004. It’s a disgrace that the State in the South spends 0.1 per cent on Irish and the state in the North spends 0.02 per cent [of its budget].
“That shows the importance they place on our native language.”
He said the upcoming budget, “decided by the people who sit behind us here in Leinster House, is another litmus test for their sincerity around the language”.
“After successive cuts and decimated services ... we need investment not more words.”
Mr Mac Giolla Bhéin was critical of those who “never miss a chance to express their grá” for Irish yet “consistently miss every single opportunity to support it with action and funding”.
Commending the community-led nature of Irish language campaigning in the North, Mr Mac Giolla Bhéin said “in a state that once banned Irish, we now have an Irish language commissioner”.
“In my own city, where activists were arrested for erecting bilingual signs, we now a transformative dual-language policy, reclaiming our native tongue, street by street,” he said.
“We achieved that together by standing together and raising our voices.”
Many in the crowd carried flags and banners in support of Palestine and Mr Mac Giolla Bhéin condemned “the genocide in Gaza as a stain on humanity” and expressed solidarity with the people of Palestine.
He also condemned the far-right movement and those “who make friends with fascists across the world”.
To cheers, he said: “We say to our newcomer communities, ‘Céad míle fáilte romhaibh go léir’.
“The future we envisage for the language is an inclusive one, one that stands against far-right extremism and fascism.”
“Our language activism is rooted in internationalism and solidarity not intolerance and hatred.”
Heulyn Rees, chief executive of Cardiff-based Welsh language advocacy group Menter Caerdydd, expressed solidarity with Irish speakers and spoke about the Welsh experience.
“Growing up in Cardiff in the 1980s, the city only had one Welsh-language primary school and no secondary schools. Today, there are over 20 Welsh-language schools in Cardiff alone, with unprecedented demand for a fourth secondary school over the coming years.
“For any language to thrive, it must be supported, not just by words and gestures but through legislation, investment and meaningful opportunities to use the language.
“The Irish language, it’s not a relic, it’s not a museum piece to be kept behind glass, it is a living breathing soul of the people. It is the rhythm of your poetry, the fire in your protest and the lullaby in your cradle and it deserves not just respect but rights.
“Never whisper Irish. Shout it, teach it, demand it. Let it ring from Belfast to Derry, from Derry to Dublin. Let it be the voice of your future and not just your past.”
Other speakers, including Adhna Ní Bhraonáin, from the Gaeltacht housing campaign group BÁNÚ, urged the Government to address the housing crisis in the Gaeltacht, the introduction of an Irish-language curriculum suited to all and the delivery of equal language rights for Irish speakers.
