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Programme: accepted abstracts

Abstract ID: 380

Part of Session 122: In the Shadow of Empire (Other abstracts in this session)

Language legislation and language ideology in Ireland

Authors: Walsh, John Charles
Submitted by: Walsh, John Charles (National University of Ireland, Galway, Ireland)

The presentation on Ireland will begin by surveying the various legal protections for Irish since the foundation of the Irish Free State in 1922. Like Canada but unlike the United Kingdom, Ireland has a written constitution and a tradition of constitutional litigation and jurisprudence. Although the Constitution of 1937 declares Irish to be the first official language of the state, it also authorises the exclusive use of English for ‘any one or more official purposes’.

No comprehensive legislation regulating the use of Irish by public bodies and in public services was adopted until 2003. The paper will analyse the constitutional provisions and their impact and then examine various enactments (primary legislation, statutory instruments/orders and regulations) before turning to the main legislation, the Official Languages Act 2003.

The ideological and philosophical basis of the legislation will be discussed and its links to the broader national language policy of the restoration of Irish considered. The structures created by the Official Languages Act will be described and discussed. Particular attention will be paid to the role of the office of the language commissioner (An Coimisinéir Teanga). The implementation of language schemes by public bodies and the use of/attitudes towards services in Irish among Irish speakers will be examined through a case study of one such body, the National University of Galway, Ireland.

The paper will conclude by linking the legislative framework to the evolving policy framework, in particular the 20-Year Strategy for the Irish Language (2010) and the government’s review of the Act, which included a controversial proposal to merge the office of the language commissioner into that of the Ombudsman. The challenge of maintaining a minimal threshold of protection for Irish during a severe recession will also be discussed.