It would be churlish not to welcome the latest- maybe not meant to sound as condescending as they did – remarks of DUP Education Minister, Paul Given, MLA regarding the Irish Language and his tentative assertion that: “My Northern Ireland is big enough to accommodate everyone.”
Any truth in the rumours Santa is bringing a hurley and sliotar for Christmas?
Do they indicate a ‘Damascus experience on the way to the Gaeltacht’ for the Minister and his party; akin to the Deputy First Minister’s flirtation with ‘camógaíocht’?
Possibly shaped by a freshly coded pragmatism rather than conviction, is it indicative of a long overdue departure from DUP oppositional thinking and essentialist orthodoxy that needs to be ongoing; less polarisation and more inclusion?
Past DUP policy presented to the observer as symbolic of cultural supremacy and entitlement serving to undermine potential agreement over a Draft Irish Language Bill and the withdrawal of funding for an Irish Language project; to say nothing of the provocative ‘curry my yoghurt’ comments of Gregory Campbell MP when double-jobbing as an MLA.
Judging from the refusal of a DUP MLA to listen to the translation of a presentation in Irish when apparently ‘scrutinising’ at Committee level, change within the party is patchy.
You may not share the same enthusiasm for the Irish language but it does not mean that genuine enthusiasts do not have a right to it especially when it enjoys protection as a minority language.
Freedom and rights for a chosen few is no rights at all.
There is no justification for a political ideology wanting to extend its domination into the realms of culture and ideas? Engagement with Gaelic music, stories, songs and folklore and language can be a positive reflection of modern British cultural diversity, bringing Northern Ireland into line with Scotland and Wales.
These were once standard fare in textbooks used in National schools.
In regard to language, unionist policy makers should be promoting a creative and broad range of cultural experiences and not allow Irish and things Irish to be defined by those who imagine Irish traditions and linguistic heritage as weapons of de‘-colonisation’; equivalent to “a bullet fired in the cause of freedom.”
This is a throwback to H Block sight and sound; an attempt to take forceful ownership of culture and lock it into an outdated agenda.
Like any minority language with rights protection, the Irish Language merits respect and recognition. It does not need the political cover of being promoted historically by Presbyterians, in all probability as a means of proselytization, to justify support or convince the sceptics.
Like Scottish Gaelic, Welsh, Manx and other Celtic languages it is part of the interwoven cultural fabric and heritage of the modern United Kingdom and should be embraced as such; freed from the polemic that some -proponents and opponents – have sought to attach.
Constant refusal to use the name Northern Ireland and referring only to Derry-Londonderry as Derry City ranks equally and is hardly in keeping with the parity of esteem enshrined in the Good Friday Agreement.
Both are loaded with more than a desire to express cultural identity; to continue fighting old battles.
Given that Ireland is in an advantageous position due to its being the only English-speaking country within the EU and with the principle of consent as a basis for government in Northern Ireland, it would be appropriate to de-commission any outdated notion of ‘colonisation.’
Modern financial priorities trump ancestral voices.
It is surely more positive for all to view Irish as connected in a positive and collaborative way to Northern Ireland’s developing and open-door cultural and linguistic hybridity; to build on its growth in urban areas across communal demarcations.
The Minister should then avoid allowing a lack of cultural competence in narrow republican circles to detract from promoting the educational, social and cultural enrichment of preserving and promoting languages, including Irish, in an increasingly shared and diverse community of multi-layered identities; to protect diversity in a world of connected economic and political networks.
This sits comfortably within a wider debate as to why we deny children in primary schools the statutory opportunity to access the many educational, economic and cognitive benefits of speaking different languages, as is the norm in most other countries across the world.
English is the lingua franca of global economics and politics but the benefits of studying languages and their associated cultural social glue are well rehearsed; not least in terms of educational achievement, seeing the other person’s perspective and developing concentration, memory and creativity outside the monolingual box.
Learning a different language serves, amongst other benefits, to promote wider and deeper understanding of shared linguistic and ancestral heritage.
Time will tell if the words of the Minister regarding Irish language indicate previous prejudices being consigned permanently to a growing catalogue of never to be repeated unionist post -1998 missteps.
If so, this can only be beneficial for relationships and mutual understanding but should it also serve to re-open discussion as to why we allow languages to disappear from school and university curriculums?
Cost weighs heavily but we may be delivering a different type of poverty and narrowness of experience.
The same attaches to the wider consideration of allowing endangered languages to disappear.
Terry Wright is a former member of the UUP who, in addition to inter- and intra-community activities works independently to promote Civic Unionism.
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