The origins of this story go back to last week when the Irish language advocacy group Conradh na Gaeilge decided to move to a position of supporting a united Ireland. The organisation’s President Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin hailed the decision, saying
As a result of the constitutional change adopted this morning, the organisation will now be “working towards a United Ireland for the benefit of the Irish language and the Gaeltacht,” and furthermore that “stronger normalisation of Irish can be achieved in the context of a united Ireland, based on equality, mutual respect, and language rights for all.”
The Irish Language Commissioner Pól Deeds, speaking at an event at Stormont to mark Seachtain na Gaelige attempted to contextualise Conradh na Gaeilge’s decision as a reflection of the “frustration that the Irish language community feel” in Northern Ireland. However, according to the BBC, the row erupted when Deeds said that…
Hostility towards the Irish language is not doing unionism “any favours”, Stormont’s Irish language commissioner has said… “every word spoken against the Irish language” could be seen as “another blow struck in the cause of Irish unification”.
According to the Newsletter report on the story, Unionist politicians have been angered by the Commissioner’s phrasing though he has defended himself against the criticism…
Jim Allister has called on Mr Deeds to go, saying the comments are “totally unacceptable”, while DUP Communities Minister Gordon Lyons said the comments were another example of how the Irish language was “being brought into the political sphere”. However, Mr Deeds says that in the BBC interview he “had reflected on how public discourse around the Irish language can shape wider political debate”. In a statement he said “any suggestion that I was endorsing historical slogans or aligning with political causes is incorrect and misleading”.
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