Gaeltacht

( , , ) are the districts of Ireland, individually or collectively, where the Irish government recognises that the Irish language is the predominant vernacular, or language of the home.
The ''Gaeltacht'' districts were first officially recognised during the 1920s in the early years of the Irish Free State, following the Gaelic Revival, as part of a government policy aimed at restoring the Irish language.

The Gaeltacht is threatened by serious language decline. Research published in 2015 showed that Irish is spoken on a daily basis by two-thirds or more of the population in only 21 of the 155 electoral divisions in the Gaeltacht. Daily language use by two-thirds or more of the population is regarded by some academics as a tipping point for language survival. RTÉ News Report of Friday 29 May 2015

History

In 1926, the official Gaeltacht was designated as a result of the report of the first Gaeltacht Commission '' Coimisiún na Gaeltachta''. The exact boundaries were not defined. At the time, an area was classified as Gaeltacht if 25% or more of the population was Irish-speaking; however, Gaeltacht status was also accorded to many areas that did not meet the 25% threshold. The Irish Free State recognised that there were predominantly Irish-speaking or semi-Irish-speaking districts in 15 of its 26 counties.

In the 1950s, another Gaeltacht Commission concluded that the Gaeltacht boundaries were ill-defined. It recommended that Gaeltacht status be based solely on the strength of language use in an area. In the 1950s, Gaeltacht districts were initially defined precisely and excluded many areas in which the number of Irish speakers had declined. Gaeltacht areas were recognised in seven of the state's 26 counties (nominally Donegal, Galway, Mayo, Kerry, and Waterford).

The Gaeltacht boundaries have not officially been altered since then, apart from minor changes. Those changes were: The inclusion of An Clochán (''Cloghane'') and Cé Bhréanainn (''Brandon'') in County Kerry in 1974; the inclusion of a part of West Muskerry in County Cork (although the Irish-speaking population had decreased markedly from what it had been before the 1950s); and the inclusion of Baile Ghib (''Gibstown)'' and Ráth Chairn (''Rathcarran'') in Meath in 1967.

21st century

A study in 2005 by ''An Chomhairle um Oideachas Gaeltachta agus Gaelscolaíochta'' (The Educational Council for Gaeltacht and Irish-Medium Schools, which was established in 2002 under the Education Act 1998) said that Gaeltacht schools were facing a crisis. It forecast that, without support, few of them would be teaching in Irish in 20 years' time. This would threaten the future of the Gaeltacht. Parents felt that the educational system did not support their efforts to pass on Irish as a living language to their children. The study added that a significant number of Gaeltacht schools had switched to teaching in English, and others were wavering.

In 2002 the third ''Coimisiún na Gaeltachta'' stated in its report that the erosion of the use of Irish in the Gaeltacht was now such that it was only a matter of time before the Gaeltacht disappeared. In some areas, Irish had already ceased to be a community language. Even in the strongest Gaeltacht areas, current patterns of bilingualism were leading to the dominance of English. Policies implemented by the State and voluntary groups were having no effect.

The report recommended that a new language reinforcement strategy was required, one that had the confidence of the community itself. The Commission recommended, among many other things, that the boundaries of the official Gaeltacht should be redrawn. It also recommended a comprehensive linguistic study to assess the vitality of the Irish language in the remaining Gaeltacht districts.

The study was undertaken by '' Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge'' (part of the National University of Ireland, Galway). On 1 November 2007 ''Staidéar Cuimsitheach Teangeolaíoch ar Úsáid na Gaeilge sa Ghaeltacht'' ("A Comprehensive Linguistic Study of the Usage of Irish in the Gaeltacht") was published.

Concerning Gaeltacht boundaries, it suggested creating three linguistic zones within the Gaeltacht region:

* A – more than 67% daily Irish speaking – Irish dominant as the community language
* B – 44%–66% daily Irish speaking – English dominant, with large Irish-speaking minority
* C – less than 44% daily Irish speaking – English dominant, but with Irish-speaking minority much higher than the national average of Irish speaking

The report suggested that Category A districts should be the State's priority in providing services through Irish and development schemes. It also said that Category C areas that showed a further decline in the use of Irish should lose their Gaeltacht status.

The 2006 Census data shows that of the 95,000 people living within the official Gaeltacht, approximately 17,000 belonged to Category A areas, 10,000 to Category B, and 17,000 to Category C, leaving about 50,000 in Gaeltacht areas that did not meet the minimum criteria. In response to this situation, the government introduced the Gaeltacht Bill 2012. Its stated aim was to provide for a new definition of boundaries based on language criteria, but it was criticised for doing the opposite of this.

Critics drew attention to Section 7 of the Bill, which stated that all areas "currently within the Gaeltacht" would maintain their current Gaeltacht status, regardless of whether Irish was used. This status could only be revoked if the area failed to prepare a language plan (with no necessary relationship to the documented number of speakers). The Bill was also criticised for placing all responsibility for the maintenance of Irish on voluntary organisations, with no increase in government resources.

The annual report in 2012 by the Language Commissioner for Irish reinforced these criticisms by emphasising the failure of the State to provide Irish-language services to Irish speakers in the Gaeltacht and elsewhere. The report said that Irish in the Gaeltacht was now at its most fragile and that the State could not expect that Irish would survive as a community language if the State kept forcing the use of English on Gaeltacht communities.

A report published in 2015, ''Nuashonrú ar an Staidéar Cuimsitheach Teangeolaíoch ar Úsáid na Gaeilge sa Ghaeltacht: 2006–2011'', said that on present indicators, Irish will cease to be used as a community language in the Gaeltacht within ten years.

Administration

The Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, under the leadership of the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, is responsible for the overall Irish Government policy with respect to the Gaeltacht, and supervises the work of the '' Údarás na Gaeltachta'' and other bodies. '' RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta'' is the '' Raidió Teilifís Éireann'' (RTÉ) radio station serving the Gaeltacht and Irish speakers generally. TG4 is the television station which is focused on promoting the Irish language and is based in the County Galway Gaeltacht.

In March 2005, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Éamon Ó Cuív announced that the government of Ireland would begin listing only the Irish language versions of place names in the Gaeltachtaí as the official names, stripping the official Ordnance Survey of their English equivalents, to bring them up to date with road signs in the Gaeltacht, which have been in Irish only since 1970. This was done under a Placenames Order made under the Official Languages Act.

Gaeltachtaí in the Republic of Ireland

Demographics

At the time of the 2006 census of the Republic of Ireland, the population of the Gaeltacht was 91,862, approximately 2.1% of the state's 4,239,848 people, with major concentrations of Irish speakers located in the western counties of Donegal, Mayo, Galway, and Kerry. There were smaller concentrations in the counties of Cork and Waterford in the south and Meath in the east. The most recent census of 2016 however shows that the population of the Gaeltacht was 96,090. This shows a rise of 4.5% from 2006.

The Gaeltacht districts have historically suffered from mass emigration. Being at the edge of the island they always had fewer railways and roads, and poorer land to farm. Other influences have been the arrival of non-Irish speaking families, the marginal role of the Irish language in the education system and general pressure from the English-speaking community. There is no evidence that periods of relative prosperity have materially improved the situation of the language.

Donegal Gaeltacht

The Donegal (or Tyrconnell) Gaeltacht ( or ''Gaeltacht Thír Chonaill'') has a population of 23,346 (Census 2016) and represents 23.4% of the total Gaeltacht population. The Donegal Gaeltacht encompasses a geographical area of . This represents 26% of total Gaeltacht land area. The three parishes of the Rosses, Gweedore and Cloughaneely constitute the main centre of population of the Donegal Gaeltacht. There are over 17,132 Irish speakers, 14,500 in areas where it is spoken by 30–100% of the population and 2,500 in areas where it is spoken by less than 30%. In 2006 there were 2,436 people employed in a full-time capacity in Údarás na Gaeltachta client companies in the Donegal Gaeltacht. This region is particularly popular with students of the Ulster dialect; each year thousands of students visit the area from Northern Ireland. Donegal is unique in the Gaeltacht regions, as its accent and dialect is unmistakably northern in character. The language has many similarities with Scottish Gaelic, which are not evident in other Irish dialects.

Gweedore in County Donegal is the largest Gaeltacht parish in Ireland, which is home to regional studios of '' RTÉ Raidió na Gaeltachta''. It has produced well-known traditional musicians, including the bands Altan and Clannad, as well as the artist Enya. All three have recorded music in Irish.

Galway Gaeltacht

The Galway County () and Galway City () Gaeltachtaí have a combined population of 50,570 (2016) and represent 50.8% of total Gaeltacht population. The Galway Gaeltacht encompasses a geographical area of . This represents 26% of total Gaeltacht land area.

There is also a third-level constituent college of National University of Ireland Galway (NUIG) called Acadamh na hOllscolaíochta Gaeilge in An Cheathrú Rua and Carna. The national Irish-language radio station Raidió na Gaeltachta is located in Casla, the '' Tuairisc'' online newspaper is in Barna, and the national television station TG4 is in Baile na hAbhann. Galway city is home to the Irish language theatre Taibhdhearc na Gaillimhe.

Kerry Gaeltacht

The Kerry Gaeltacht () consists of two areas – the western half of Gaeltacht Corca Dhuibhne (''Dingle Peninsula'') and central and western parts of Iveragh Peninsula (''Uíbh Ráthach''). The largest settlement in Corca Dhuibhne is Dingle and the largest in Iveragh Peninsula is Ballinskelligs. The Kerry Gaeltacht has a population of 8,729 (6,185 Irish speakers) and represents 9% of total Gaeltacht population. The Kerry Gaeltacht encompasses a geographical area of .

Mayo Gaeltacht

The Mayo Gaeltacht () as of 2011 has a total population of 10,886 and represents 11.5% of the total Gaeltacht population. The Mayo Gaeltacht encompasses a geographical area of . This represents 19% of the total Gaeltacht land area and comprises three distinct areas – Erris, Achill Island and Toormakeady. There are 6,667 Irish speakers, with 4,000 living in areas where the language is spoken by 30–100% of the population and 2,500 living in areas where it is spoken by less than 30%.

Cork Gaeltacht

The Cork Gaeltacht () consists of two areas – Muskerry

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