I disagree with the assessment that it will certainly die. I think its future is unpredictable, but it will likely be spoken still by some people 100 years from now. Positive: Most Irish people cannot speak it, but they spend an average of 13 years studying Irish in grade school. read more
- There is not a decline in the number of first-language speakers, in fact Irish language speakers increased by 7%, between 2006-2011 (look at the daily first-language numbers; forget the bullshit self-assessed number of people who speak as a second-language. read more
With Irish now in its death throes as a living language in the Gaeltacht, while it shows some signs of a renewal among sections of the urban population, the question about its future may yet ignite into a full-scale national debate. read more
No stability can be reached in relation to the future of the language unless there is an Irish speaking middle-class, not only in the Gaeltacht, but throughout the country. There has also, in recent years, been a significant interest in growth in all-Irish medium education. read more